Polity · 2005 CE – present
South Sudan
Republic of South Sudan · جمهورية جنوب السودان · جنوب السودان
Also recorded as Republic of South Sudan
- Peak recorded area
- 616,197 km²
- 2014 CE
- Rulers on record
- 9
- from 1979 CE
- Data series
- 275
- 2005 CE–2025 CE
Overview
South Sudan, officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Sudan to the north, Ethiopia to the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the southwest, Uganda to the south, Kenya to the southeast and to the west by the Central African Republic. South Sudan's diverse landscape includes vast plains and plateaus, dry and tropical savannahs, inland floodplains, and forested mountains.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
2 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. CShapes 2.0 holds 1 further extent, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 46 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 57.85years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population143 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 12.2Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 6,145persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 2% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 60.86years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 54.87years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 101 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 2,950int'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| Female Labor Force Participation34 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 70.39%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Labor Force Participation Rate34 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 73.41%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Unemployment Rate33 obs · 1991 CE–2023 CE | 12.37%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Youth Unemployment Rate33 obs · 1991 CE–2023 CE | 18.52%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| GDP Current Usd22 obs · 2008 CE–2024 CE | 4.6Bcurrent US$2024 CE · IMF World Economic Outlook |
Military
6 of 24 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Expenditure Usd19 obs · 2006 CE–2024 CE | 2Bcurrent US$2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Military Expenditure % GDP18 obs · 2008 CE–2024 CE | 1.96% of GDP2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arms Imports Tiv Million12 obs · 2007 CE–2022 CE | 10tiv_million2022 CE · SIPRI Arms Transfers TIV |
| Armed Forces Personnel11 obs · 2010 CE–2020 CE | 53Kpersons2020 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| CINC Score6 obs · 2011 CE–2016 CE | 0.0019CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production6 obs · 2011 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 47 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Pm25 Air Pollution Mcg M331 obs · 1990 CE–2020 CE | 30.74mcg_per_m32020 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment) |
| Pm25 Exposure Ug M331 obs · 1990 CE–2020 CE | 30.74ug/m32020 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land %24 obs · 2012 CE–2023 CE | 3.94% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Forest Area %24 obs · 2012 CE–2023 CE | 11.33% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Renewable Electricity Output Kwh22 obs · 2000 CE–2021 CE | 1.9Mkwh2021 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Forest Land14 obs · 2012 CE–2025 CE | 7.2Mha2025 CE · FAOSTAT |
Governance
6 of 28 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Control Of Corruption Index14 obs · 2010 CE–2023 CE | -1.97index2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Electoral Democracy Index14 obs · 2011 CE–2024 CE | 0.161index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index14 obs · 2011 CE–2024 CE | 0.072index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index14 obs · 2011 CE–2024 CE | 0.054index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type14 obs · 2011 CE–2024 CE | 0RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index14 obs · 2011 CE–2024 CE | 0.15index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
Development
6 of 29 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Who Skilled Birth Attendance39 obs · 1985 CE–2023 CE | 691.82%2023 CE · WHO Global Health Observatory |
| Clean Fuel Access %24 obs · 2000 CE–2023 CE | 0%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Electricity Access Urban %24 obs · 2000 CE–2023 CE | 19.1%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Electricity Access %17 obs · 2007 CE–2023 CE | 5.4%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Basic Sanitation Access %14 obs · 2011 CE–2024 CE | 14.43%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Basic Water Access %14 obs · 2011 CE–2024 CE | 39.75%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Rulers
9 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Peter GatkuothPresident of South Sudan1979 CE – 1980 CE
- Joseph James TomburaPresident of South Sudan1982 CE – 1983 CE
- Salva Kiir MayarditVice President of South Sudan2005 CE
- Riek MacharVice President of South Sudan2011 CE – 2013 CE
- Salva Kiir MayarditHead of State2011 CE –
- James Wani IggaVice President of South Sudan2013 CE – 2020 CE
- Taban Deng GaiVice President of South Sudan2016 CE – 2020 CE
- Hussein AbdelbagiVice President of South Sudan2020 CE – 2025 CE
- Rebecca Nyandeng De MabiorVice President of South Sudan2020 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- East-Central Africa; south of Sudan, north of Uganda and Kenya, west of Ethiopia
- Government type
- presidential republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Salva KIIR Mayardit (since 9 July 2011); head of government: President Salva KIIR Mayardit (since 9 July 2011); cabinet: National Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the Transitional National Legislative Assembly;
- Ethnic groups
- Dinka (Jieng) approximately 35-40%, Nuer (Naath) approximately 15%, Shilluk (Chollo), Azande, Bari, Kakwa, Kuku, Murle, Mandari, Didinga, Ndogo, Bviri, Lndi, Anuak, Bongo, Lango, Dungotona, Acholi, Baka, Fertit (2011 est.)
- Natural resources
- hydropower, fertile agricultural land, gold, diamonds, petroleum, hardwoods, limestone, iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver
- Economy
- low-income, oil-based Sahelian economy; extreme poverty and food insecurity; COVID-19 and ongoing violence threaten socioeconomic potential; environmentally fragile; ongoing land and property rights issues; natural resource rich but lacks infrastructure
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- English
- Currency
- South Sudanese pounds (SSP)
Memberships
- African UnionAUInternational organisation · founding member2002 CE –
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member2011 CE –
- Sudan–South Sudan Non-Aggression Pact (2012)Historical alliance · member2012 CE – 2012 CE
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CIA World Factbook 2024
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
IMF World Economic Outlook9.0.0
International Monetary Fund. World Economic Outlook (WEO). https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.RES:WEO
© IMF, https://www.imf.org/external/terms.htm
SIPRI (2024). Arms Transfers Database (Trend-Indicator Values).
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
WHO Global Health Observatory2024
World Health Organization (2024). Global Health Observatory data repository.
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment)2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment series). Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
South Sudan is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.