10/09/2025
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH SUDAN 🇸🇸
Capital: Juba
Area: 644,329 sq km
Population: 11.5 million
Languages: English, also Dinka, Nuer, Murle, Luo, Ma'di, Otuho, Zande and others
Life expectancy: 54 years (men) 57 years (women)
President: Salva Kiir Mayardit
Some key dates in South Sudan's history:
1952 - Egyptian revolution triggers a move towards Sudanese independence. Egypt and Britain allow both Sudanese regions, north and south, to vote on independence.
1956 - Sudan becomes independent but southern states are unhappy with their lack of autonomy.
1955-1972 - First Sudanese Civil War, between north and south over demands for more regional autonomy by southern Sudan region. Some 500,000 are estimated to have been killed.
1972 - Peace agreement signed, but this fails to satisfactorily dispel tensions.
1969 - Colonel Gaafar Nimeiry carries out a coup. Parliament and political parties are abolished.
1983 - Numeiry introduces Sharia Islamic law.
1983-2005 - Second Sudanese Civil War. Between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army. Largely a continuation of the first civil war.
2011 - South Sudan becomes an independent country, after over 20 years of guerrilla warfare. Some two million people are estimated to have died as a result of war, famine and disease caused by the conflict, and more than four million displaced.
2012 - Disagreements with Sudan over the oil-rich region of Abyei erupt into fighting, known as the Heglig Crisis. A peace deal is reached, creating a 10km demilitarized zone along the border and allowing South Sudan's oil exports to restart.
2013 - Civil war breaks out after the president, Salva Kiir, sacks the cabinet and accuses Vice-President Riek Machar of planning a failed coup. Over 2.2 million people are displaced by the fighting and severe famine puts the lives of thousands at risk.
2018 - Renewed bid to end civil war leads to a power-sharing agreement between the warring sides.
Today South Sudan continues to rebuild, rich in oil and cultural diversity, yet facing ongoing challenges in peace, unity, and development.
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