World Context: South Sudan

Source and mapping status

This page maps the site registry entry “South Sudan” to the supplied dataset entity “South Sudan.” Mapping status: exact-name. The source is a frozen 2025 snapshot; dates embedded in individual fields remain controlling.

• Source entity count: 1.
• Selected public fields present: 15.
• Independent corroboration in this page: none.

Place and environment

Location: East-Central Africa; south of Sudan, north of Uganda and Kenya, west of Ethiopia Area: total : 644,329 sq km; land: NA; water: NA Climate: hot with seasonal rainfall influenced by the annual shift of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone; rainfall heaviest in upland areas of the south and diminishes to the north Terrain: plains in the north and center rise to southern highlands along the border with Uganda and Kenya; the White Nile, flowing north out of the uplands of Central Africa, is the major geographic feature of the country; The Sudd (a name derived from floating vegetation that hinders navigation) is a large swampy area of more than 100,000 sq km fed by the waters of the White Nile that dominates the center of the country Environmental issues: water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife conservation and loss of biodiversity; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; drought

Population, settlement, and language context

Population: total: 12,703,714 (2024 est.); male: 6,476,341; female: 6,227,373 Population distribution: clusters found in urban areas, particularly in the western interior and around the White Nile, as shown in this population distribution map Urbanization: urban population: 21.2% of total population (2023); rate of urbanization: 4.12% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) Languages: English (official), Arabic (includes Juba and Sudanese variants), ethnic languages include Dinka, Nuer, Bari, Zande, Shilluk

Public and legal context

Capital: name: Juba; geographic coordinates: 04 51 N, 31 37 E; time difference: UTC+2 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time); etymology: the name comes from the name of a small Bari village that was located near the present-day city Government type: presidential republic

Economy and connectivity context

Economic overview: 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 Electricity access: electrification - total population: 8.4% (2022 est.); electrification - urban areas: 15%; electrification - rural areas: 1.7% Internet users: percent of population: 9% (2022 est.) Airports: 89 (2025)

Interpretation and freshness boundary

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