Sudan

Since 1997, Sudan has been working with the IMF to implement macroeconomic reforms including a managed float of the exchange rate and a large reserve of foreign exchange. A new currency, the Sudanese Pound, was introduced in January 2007 at an initial exchange rate of $1.00 equals 2 Sudanese Pounds. Sudan began exporting crude oil in the last quarter of 1999 and the economy boomed on the back of increases in oil production, high oil prices, and significant inflows of foreign direct investment until the second half of 2008. The Darfur conflict, the aftermath of two decades of civil war in the south, the lack of basic infrastructure in large areas, and a reliance by much of the population on subsistence agriculture ensure much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years to come despite rapid rises in average per capita income. Sudan’s real GDP expanded by 5.2% during 2010, an improvement over 2009’s 4.2% growth but significantly below the more that 10% per year growth experienced prior to the global financial crisis in 2006 and 2007. While the oil sector continues to drive growth, services and utilities play an increasingly important role in the economy with agriculture production remaining important as it employs 80% of the work force and contributes a third of GDP. In the lead up to the referendum on southern secession, scheduled in January 2011, Sudan saw its currency depreciate considerably on the black market with the Central Bank’s official rate also losing value as the Sudanese people started to hoard foreign currency. The Central Bank of Sudan intervened heavily in the currency market to defend the value of the pound and the Sudanese government introduced a number of measures to restrain excess local demand for hard currency, but uncertainty ahead of the referendum has meant that foreign exchange remained in heavy demand as 2010 came to a close.

$98.79 billion (2010 est.)

$93.91 billion (2009 est.)

$90.12 billion (2008 est.)

$65.93 billion (2010 est.)

5.2% (2010 est.)

4.2% (2009 est.)

6.6% (2008 est.)

$2,200 (2010 est.)

$2,200 (2009 est.)

$2,200 (2008 est.)

11.92 million (2007 est.)

18.7% (2002 est.)

40% (2004 est.)

20.2% of GDP (2010 est.)

94.2% of GDP (2010 est.)

105.1% of GDP (2009 est.)

11.8% (2010 est.)

11.2% (2009 est.)

$7.713 billion (31 December 2010 est)

$7.003 billion (31 December 2009 est)

$13.5 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$12.31 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$10.15 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$9.307 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$NA

cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock

oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly

3.5% (2010 est.)

4.341 billion kWh (2007 est.)

3.438 billion kWh (2007 est.)

0 kWh (2008 est.)

0 kWh (2008 est.)

486,700 bbl/day (2009 est.)

84,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

303,800 bbl/day (2007 est.)

11,400 bbl/day (2007 est.)

6.8 billion bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

84.95 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

-$2.595 billion (2010 est.)

-$2.817 billion (2009 est.)

$9.777 billion (2010 est.)

$7.56 billion (2009 est.)

oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar

China 58.29%, Japan 14.7%, Indonesia 8.83%, India 4.86% (2009)

$8.483 billion (2010 est.)

$8.253 billion (2009 est.)

foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles, wheat

China 21.87%, Saudi Arabia 7.22%, Egypt 6.1%, India 5.53%, UAE 5.3% (2009)

$2.063 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$897 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$37.98 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$35.71 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Sudanese pounds (SDG) per US dollar - 2.36 (2010), 2.32 (2009), 2.1 (2008), 2.06 (2007), 2.172 (2006)