Sudan
- Capital:
- Khartoum
- Continent:
- Africa
- Region(s):
- Northern Africa
- Abbreviation:
- SDN
* As of 1/8/2026
1 birth
Every 18.6 seconds
1 death
Every 1.6 minutes
1 immigrant
Every 2.1 minutes
1 person
Every 19.5 seconds
107K
250K
500K
750K
1M
2.5M
5M
7M
Sudan, officially the Republic of Sudan but sometimes referred to as North Sudan, sits along the Red Sea south of Egypt and has a population consisting mostly of descendants of migrants from the nearby Arabian Peninsula. Sudan has a total area of 1,886,068 square kilometers (728,215 square miles).
Conducting an accurate census has been a challenge in Sudan for several decades due to conflicts in the area, while the South Sudan government has accused Sudan of deliberately manipulating census data in oil-rich regions. Sudan is often referred to as North Sudan as South Sudan seceded in 2011 with the consent of Sudan. The last official census recording the population of Sudan included the populations of Eastern, Western and Northern Sudan in 2008 and recorded over 30 million citizens.
The majority of Sudan’s population is rural, with an urban population of just 33.2%. The largest metropolitan area, Khartoum (which includes Khartoum, Khartoum North and Omdurman) is quickly growing and ranges between 6 and 7 million, which includes approximately 2 million displaced people from the southern war zone and the drought-affected areas in the west and east.
Sudanese Arabs account for 70% of the population of Sudan, with the rest of the population being Arabized ethnic groups of Beja, Copts, Nubians and other peoples. There are more than 597 tribes in Sudan speaking more than 400 dialects and languages. Sudan is almost entirely Muslim with most citizens speaking Sudanese Arabic.
Most Arabized and indigenous tribes, such as the Masalit and Zaghawa, who speak Chadian Arabic show very little cultural integration with the rest of the population due to linguistic and cultural differences. The vast majority of the Arab tribes in the country originally migrated to Sudan in the 12th century and then intermarried with indigenous populations and introduced Islam.
The Sudanese Arabs of the Eastern and Northern parts of Sudan are descended mostly from migrants from the Arabian peninsula and some already existing indigenous populations, such as the Nubian people, who share a common history with Egypt. While some pre-Islamic Arabian tribes lived in Sudan from earlier migrations from Western Arabia, most arrived in Sudan after the 12th century.
Sudanese Arab (approximately 70%) (0%)
Fur (0%)
Beja (0%)
Nuba (0%)
Ingessana (0%)
Uduk (0%)
Fallata (0%)
Masalit (0%)
Dajo (0%)
Gimir (0%)
Tunjur (0%)
Berti (0%)
Other (0%)
The main religion in Sudan is Sunni Muslim.
Sunni Muslim
Christian
Other
Sudan also has a young population with 41% of its total population under the age of 15. 20% of Sudanese people are 15 to 24 years old, 31% are between 25 and 54 and just under 4% are 55 to 64 years old. The population over 65 years of age is only 3.3%. Sudan has a very low median age of 18.9 years.
97% of the Sudanese population practice Islam, specifically the Sunni Sufi branch and the Maliki school Islamic jurisprudence. The remaining people largely follow indigenous beliefs or Christianity. Most Christians are refugees or immigrants.
Sharia Law is the basis of the legal system in Sudan, which means something different in different parts of the country, but in most areas stoning, flogging, and crucifixion are legal forms of punishment even though the 2005 Naivasha Agreement, which allowed the secession of South Sudan, established some protection for non-Muslims.
The secession of South Sudan significantly affected the country’s economy because the south contained over 80% of the nation’s oilfields. Because of this, the GDP has been decreasing and inflation has been increasing since 2010. Most of the population, however, work in agriculture.
The population of Sudan has grown consistently and quickly over the past century. Just 30 years ago, the population was just breaking 10 million. From the 1960s-2000, the growth rate was well over 3% annually, but the dropped by almost over a full percentage point during the period of civil war and the cessation of the south.