World Factbook
Sudan
Jumhuriyat as-Sudan
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Languages
Languages
Arabic (official), English (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, Fur
major-language sample(s)
كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. (English)
Religions
Sunni Muslim, small Christian minority
Sex ratio
at birth
1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.99 male(s)/female
total population
1.01 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
1.07 male(s)/female
Birth rate
32.95 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
6 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
19 years
total
19.5 years (2025 est.)
female
19.6 years
Population
male
25,335,092
total
50,467,278 (2024 est.)
female
25,132,186
Nationality
noun
Sudanese (singular and plural)
adjective
Sudanese
Urbanization
urban population
36.3% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
3.43% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
40.1% (male 10,278,453/female 9,949,343)
15-64 years
56.7% (male 14,211,514/female 14,390,486)
65 years and over
3.2% (2024 est.) (male 845,125/female 792,357)
Ethnic groups
Sudanese Arab (approximately 70%), Fur, Beja, Nuba, Ingessana, Uduk, Fallata, Masalit, Dajo, Gimir, Tunjur, Berti; there are over 500 ethnic groups
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
76.4 (2024 est.)
youth dependency ratio
70.7 (2024 est.)
potential support ratio
17.5 (2024 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
5.7 (2024 est.)
Physician density
0.25 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
2.8% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
6.7% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-1.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
0.7 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Total fertility rate
4.41 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 59.7% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 64.9% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 74.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 40.3% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 35.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 25.8% of population (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
46 deaths/1,000 live births
total
39.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
34.8 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
2.54% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
2.15 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
with the exception of a ribbon of settlement that corresponds to the banks of the Nile, northern Sudan is sparsely populated; sizeable areas of population are found around Khartoum, southeast between the Blue and White Nile Rivers, and throughout South Darfur, as shown on this population distribution map
Life expectancy at birth
male
65.5 years
female
70.2 years
total population
67.8 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
256 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
1.93 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.29 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
1.63 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
6.344 million KHARTOUM (capital), 1.057 million Nyala (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
6.6% (2014)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
33% (2014)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
7 years (2015 est.)
total
7 years (2015 est.)
female
7 years (2015 est.)