How Old is South Sudan?

How Old Is South Sudan?

South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in 2011. As of 2022, this makes South Sudan the youngest country to receive widespread global recognition as a sovereign state. Below are key facts about South Sudan:

Languages and Locations

Capital and largest city: Juba. Coordinates: 04°51′N 31°36′E

Official languages: English

Recognised national languages

Dinka

Nuer

Murle

Luo (Anyuak, Acholi, Shilluk, Pari, Jur-Luo, others)

Ma'di

Otuho

Zande

and around 60 other languages

Spoken Languages

Dinka

Juba Arabic

Nuer

Bari

Zande

Jur (Luo)

Murle

Shilluk

Kanuri

Various others

Religions, as of 2020

60.5% Christianity

32.9% Traditional faiths

6.2% Islam

0.4% Others / None

Demonym(s): South Sudanese

Government Info

Government: Federal provisional unity government

• President: Salva Kiir Mayardit

• Vice President: Riek Machar

• Speaker: Jemma Nunu Kumba

• Chief Justice: Chan Reec Madut

Legislature: Transitional National Legislature

• Upper house: Council of States

• Lower house: Transitional National Legislative Assembly

Independence from Sudan

• Autonomy: 9 July 2005

• Declared and recognized: 15 July 2011

• Total area: 644,329 km2 (248,777 sq mi) (41st)

• Population (2019 estimate): 12,778,250 (75th)

• 2008 census: 8,260,490 (disputed)

• Density: 13.33/km2 (34.5/sq mi) (214th)

Economics

• GDP (PPP), 2018 estimate: $18.435 billion

• Per capita: $825 (221st) GDP (nominal) 2018 estimate

• Total: $3.194 billion

• Per capita: $246 (215th)

• Gini (2016): Positive decrease 44.1 medium

• HDI (2019): Increase 0.433

• Currency: South Sudanese pound (SSP)

Additional Info

Time zone: UTC+2 (Central Africa Time)

Date format: dd/mm/yyyy

Driving side: right

Calling code: +211

ISO 3166 code: SS

Internet TLD: .ss

The Current State of South Sudan

South Sudan was originally part of the greater country of Sudan. The Sudanese people have been around since 2500BC, with many tribes vying for power. South Sudan is home to the Nilotic people, some of whom are culturally different from the rest of the Sudanese population. Throughout the years, South Sudan has attempted to win its independence through various wars, most notably the resolution of 1955 to 1972. Due to civil unrest, lack of clean conditions, constant war, and serious neglect of the infrastructure, millions of people have died in the continuing conflict.

South Sudan held an organized referendum in 2011 to gain independence from the rest of the Sudanese government. To no one's surprise, the vast majority of the population voted for it (98.83%), making it one of the most proximal consensus votes for a country to peacefully gain independence. Other names were considered at the time, but it was decided to stick with South Sudan. Of course, many of the groups that were in power rejected this and after independence, South Sudan was at war with numerous other stakeholders in the proximity. South Sudan has only recently achieved some level of peace, as the South Sudanese Civil War lasted from 2013 to 2020, where rivalry among the Dinka factions led to a struggle for regime power.

After about 400,000 people were killed, further millions of casualties, and millions of refugees, the two rivalries were met with a peace deal to form a national unity government on Feb 22, 2020.