“By the standards of industrial Europe, we are poor peasants. But when I embrace my grandfather, I feel truly rich.”
Tayeb Salih
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Population
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Sunni Islam
Christian and animist minorities
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Political system
After gaining independence in 1956, Sudan was quickly marked by chronic instability, alternating between fragile civilian regimes and military coups. Tensions between the Arab-Muslim North and the predominantly Christian and animist South fueled two long civil wars, culminating in South Sudan’s independence in 2011. The authoritarian regime of Omar al-Bashir (1989–2019), supported by the military and Islamists, combined political repression, peripheral conflicts (Darfur), and international isolation. His fall in 2019 ushered in a fragile transition, which was interrupted by a new military coup in 2021. Since 2023, the country has been plunged into an open civil war between the army and paramilitary groups, leading to state collapse and a severe humanitarian crisis.
As head of the military, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan emerged as a central figure of power following the fall of Omar al-Bashir in 2019, before sidelining civilians from the transitional government in 2021. Since 2023, he has been engaged in an open war against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, plunging the country into widespread conflict. His authority rests primarily on the military apparatus and is exercised in a fragmented manner, mainly in the north and east of the country. Fighting has ravaged Khartoum and Darfur, displacing millions and causing the economy to collapse. Sudan no longer has a unified authority, while several foreign actors are seeking to influence the outcome of the conflict.
