Economy of Sudan

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Economy of Sudan

Currency	Sudanese pound (SDG)
Fiscal year	Calendar Year
Trade organisations	AU, AfCFTA (signed), Arab League, COMESA, WTO
Country group	Developing/Emerging[1] Lower-middle income economy[2]
Statistics
Population	48,109,006 (2023)[3]
GDP	$30.873 billion (nominal, 2019 est.)[4] $175.228 billion (PPP, 2019 est.)[5]
GDP rank	98th (nominal, 2019) 73rd (PPP, 2019)
GDP growth	−2.3% (2018e) −2.5% (2019e) −7.2% (2020e) −3.0% (2021e)[5]
GDP per capita	$714 (nominal, 2019 est.)[4] $4,072 (PPP, 2019 est.)[4]
GDP per capita rank	173rd (nominal, 2019) 138th (PPP, 2018)
GDP by sector	agriculture: 39.6% industry: 2.6% services: 57.8% (2017 est.)[6]
Inflation (CPI)	81.3% (2020 est.)[5]
Population below poverty line	46.5% in poverty (2009)[7] 41% on less than $3.20/day (2009)[8]
Gini coefficient	35.3 medium (2013)[9]
Human Development Index	0.507 low (2018)[10] (168th) 0.332 IHDI (2018)[11]
Labour force	12,064,673 (2019)[12] 41.1% employment rate (2011)[13]
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 80% industry: 7% services: 13% (1998 est.)[6]
Unemployment	25.0% (2020 est.)[5] 19.6% (2017 est.)[6]
Main industries	oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly, and milling.
External
Exports	$4.1 billion (2017 est.)[6]
Export goods	gold; oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, peanuts, gum Arabic, sugar
Main export partners	UAE 53.3%  China 14.3%  Saudi Arabia 6.27% (2021)[14]
Imports	$8.22 billion (2017 est.)[6]
Import goods	foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines, chemicals, textiles, wheat
Main import partners	China 21.2%  UAE 15.9%  Saudi Arabia 13.6%  India 11.7%  Egypt 8.26% (2021)[15]
FDI stock	$25.47 billion (31 December 2016 est.)[6] Abroad: NA
Current account	−$4.811 billion (2017 est.)[6]
Gross external debt	$56.05 billion (2017 est.)[6]
Public finances
Government debt	121.6% of GDP (2017 est.)[6]
Budget balance	−10.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)[6]
Revenues	8.48 billion (2017 est.)[6]
Expenses	13.36 billion (2017 est.)[6]
Foreign reserves	$198 million (31 December 2017 est.)[6]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Sudan is largely based on agriculture and oil exports, with additional revenue coming from mining and manufacturing. GDP growth registered more than 10% per year in 2006 and 2007. Sudan had $30.873 billion by gross domestic product as of 2019, and has been working with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to implement macroeconomic reforms, including a managed float of the exchange rate. Sudan began exporting crude oil in the last quarter of 1999.

Agricultural production remains important, because it employs 80% of the work force and contributes a third of the GDP. The War in Darfur, the aftermath of two decades of war in the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005) 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. The problem remains, despite rapid rises in average per capita income. In January 2007, the government introduced a new Sudanese pound, at an initial exchange rate of US$1 = £S.2. Sudan is still a least developed country according to United Nations.