Economy - overview  Sudan is buffeted by civil war, chronic political instability, adverse weather, weak world commodity prices, a drop in remittances from abroad, and counterproductive economic policies. The private sector's main areas of activity are agriculture and trading, with most private industrial investment predating 1980. Agriculture employs 80% of the work force. Industry mainly processes agricultural items. Sluggish economic performance over the past decade, attributable largely to declining annual rainfall, has kept per capita income at low levels. A large foreign debt and huge arrears continue to cause difficulties. In 1990 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) took the unusual step of declaring Sudan noncooperative because of its nonpayment of arrears to the Fund. After Sudan backtracked on promised reforms in 1992-93, the IMF threatened to expel Sudan from the Fund. To avoid expulsion, Khartoum agreed to make token payments on its arrears to the Fund, liberalize exchange rates, and reduce subsidies, measures it has partially implemented. The government's continued prosecution of the civil war and its growing international isolation continued to inhibit growth in the nonagricultural sectors of the economy during 1999. The government has worked with foreign partners to develop the oil sector, and the country is producing approximately 150,000 barrels per day.

GDP  purchasing power parity - $32.6 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate  3% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita  purchasing power parity - $940 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector  agriculture:41%
industry:17%
services:42% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line  NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share  lowest 10%:NA%
highest 10%:NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices)  20% (1999 est.)

Labor force  11 million (1996 est.)
note:labor shortages for almost all categories of skilled employment (1983 est.)

Labor force - by occupation  agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%, government 6%, unemployed 4%

Unemployment rate  30% (FY92/93 est.)

Budget  revenues:$1.2 billion
expenditures:$1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Industries  cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining

Industrial production growth rate  5% (1996 est.)

Electricity - production  1.815 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source  fossil fuel:44.9%
hydro:55.1%
nuclear:0%
other:0% (1998)

Electricity - consumption  1.688 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports  0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports  0 kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products  cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sesame; sheep

Exports  $580 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Exports - commodities  cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, oil, gum arabic

Exports - partners  Saudi Arabia 24%, Italy 10%, Germany 5%, Egypt 5%, France 3%, Japan 3%, China 1% (1998)

Imports  $1.4 billion (c.i.f., 1999 est.)

Imports - commodities  foodstuffs, petroleum products, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles

Imports - partners  China 27%, France 14%, UK 10%, Germany 7%, Japan 4%, Netherlands 3%, Canada 1% (1998)

Debt - external  $24 billion (1999 est.)

Economic aid - recipient  $187 million (1997)

Currency  1 Sudanese dinar (SD) = 100 piastres; note - in July 1999 the Sudanese Central Bank made the formal declaration that all dealings with the Sudanese pound should stop

Exchange rates  Sudanese dinars (SD) per US$1 - 230.2 (1999), 172.2 (1998), 148.8 (1997), 118.2 (1996); (old currency) Sudanese pounds per US$1 - 2,526.34 (2d Qtr 1999), 2,008.02 (1998), 1,575.74 (1997), 1,250.79 (1996), 580.87 (1995)