Economy - overview Sudan is buffeted by civil war, chronic political instability, adverseweather, high inflation, a drop in remittances from abroad, and counterproductiveeconomic policies. The private sector's main areas of activity are agricultureand trading, with most private industrial investment predating 1980. Agricultureemploys 80% of the work force. Industry mainly processes agricultural items.Sluggish economic performance over the past decade, attributable largely todeclining annual rainfall, has kept per capita income at low levels. A largeforeign debt and huge arrearages continue to cause difficulties. In 1990 theInternational Monetary Fund took the unusual step of declaring Sudan noncooperativebecause of its nonpayment of arrearages to the Fund. After Sudan backtrackedon promised reforms in 1992-93, the IMF threatened to expel Sudan from theFund. To avoid expulsion, Khartoum agreed to make payments on its arrearsto the Fund, liberalize exchange rates, and reduce subsidies, measures ithas partially implemented. The government's continued prosecution of the civilwar and its growing international isolation continued to inhibit growth inthe nonagricultural sectors of the economy during 1996. Hyperinflation hasraised consumer prices above the reach of most. Popular unrest erupted severaltimes in 1996 in reaction to unpopular government economic decisions.

GDP purchasing power parity - $26.6 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 4% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $860 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 33%
industry : 17%
services: 50% (1992 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 133% (1996 est.)

Labor force
total: 11 million (1996 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%, government 6%
note: labor shortages for almost all categories of skilled employment (1983est.)

Unemployment rate 30% (FY92/93 est.)

Budget
revenues: $382 million
expenditures: $1.06 billion, including capital expenditures of $91 million (1995 est.)

Industries cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling,shoes, petroleum refining

Industrial production growth rate 6.8% (FY92/93 est.)

Electricity - capacity 500,000 kW (1994)

Electricity - production 1.3 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita 37 kWh (1994 est.)

Agriculture - products cotton, groundnuts, sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sesame; sheep

Exports
total value: $500 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: cotton 44%, livestock/meat 13%, gum arabic 11%, sesame 10%
partners : Egypt 33.3%, Saudi Arabia 16.6%, Japan 13.4%, Italy 12% (1995)

Imports
total value: $1 billion (1996 est.)
commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum products, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment,medicines and chemicals, textiles
partners : EU 29.4%, US 17.6%, Saudi Arabia 8.7%, Egypt 6.3% (1995)

Debt - external $18.5 billion (1996 est.)

Economic aid
recipient : ODA, $387 million (1993)

Currency 1 Sudanese pound (£Sd) = 100 piastres

Exchange rates Sudanese pounds (£Sd) per US$1 - official rate: 1,454.0 (December1996), 750.0 (November 1995), 277.8 (1994), 153.8 (1993), 69.4 (1992); marketrate: 1,4600.00 (January 1997), 1,250.79 (1996), 571.02 (August 1995), 289.61(1994), 159.31 (1993), 97.43 (1992)
note : the market rate is a unified exchange rate determined by a committeeof local bankers, without official intervention, and is quoted uniformly byall commercial banks

Fiscal year calendar year
note: prior to July 1995, Sudan had a fiscal year that began on 1 July andended on 30 June; as a transition to their new fiscal year, a six-month budget was implemented for 1 July - 31 December 1995; the new calendar year (1 January- 31 December) fiscal year became effective 1 January 1996

NOTE: The information regarding Sudan on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Sudan Economy 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sudan Economy 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.