Translation and Localization for Africa: Republic of Sudan
Sudan, known officially as the Republic of Sudan, is a land of ancient civilizations and a diverse culture with ancestors hailing from Nubian and Arabian roots. The Sudanese people are well known for overwhelming hospitality and royal treatment of their guests.
In this blog, we will cover some brief facts about this African country.
Sudanese Demographics
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Population of 40 million (2015 estimate).
- Khartoum is the capital.
- Omdurman is the largest city of Sudan with a population of 2.4 million and is the national center of commerce.
- Sudan was the largest country in Africa, but after the secession of the south, it dropped to third place after Algeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- Unemployment is currently about 20.6%.
- Sudan is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea, Eritrea, and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west and Libya to the northwest.
Sudanese Languages
- Sudanese Arabic is the official language.
- There are approximately 70 languages native to Sudan.
- English is widely used especially among southern tribes.
- The Sudanese literacy rate is 71.9%.
Sudanese Culture
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70% of the population are Arab, other ethnicities include Nubians, Zaghawa and Copts.
- The Republic of Sudan was formed in 1956.
- There are numerous coexisting tribes in Sudan. A conflict between the Arabic north and the south has led to bloodshed and civil war.
- The legal system in Sudan is based on Islamic Sharia law.
- Sudan’s flag is red, white, black and green. The red stripe represents Sudan’s struggle for independence, the white represents peace, light and optimism, the black represents Sudan (in Arabic ‘Sudan’ means black), green represents Islam, agriculture and the prosperity of the land.
Sudanese Consumers
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The official currency is the Sudanese pound.
- Only 29.6% of the population use the internet.
- Sudan represents the fastest growing fixed telephony market, not only in Africa, but worldwide.
- Sudan’s economy is dominated by agriculture, employing 80% of the workforce.
- Cotton and sesame each account for almost a quarter of export earnings.
- Major industries are oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar and petroleum refining.
Sudan’s Future
The government has taken steps for economic reform to encourage investment. Currently, China has shown the most interest in investing in Sudan’s oil industry, along with Turkey, South Africa, Indonesia and several Gulf states.
While an improvement has been achieved in economics reforms and stabilization measures, external debt and its accumulated arrears remain to be a problem facing future development of the country.
Summary
Hopefully Sudan can maintain peace after the south’s secession, which will guarantee a sustainable future. There is a necessity to improve supporting services, provision of technologies and rendering better management capabilities.
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