Sudan, once the largest and one of the most geographically diverse states in Africa, split into two countries in July 2011 after the people of the south voted for independence.

The government of Sudan gave its blessing for an independent South Sudan, where the mainly Christian and Animist people had for decades been struggling against rule by the Arab Muslim north. However, various outstanding secession issues - especially the question of shared oil revenues and the exact border demarcation - have continued to create tensions between the two successor states.

Sudan has long been beset by conflict. Two rounds of north-south civil war cost the lives of 1.5 million people, and a continuing conflict in the western region of Darfur has driven two million people from their homes and killed more than 200,000. The economic dividends of eventual peace could be great. Sudan has large areas of cultivatable land, as well as gold and cotton. Its oil reserves are ripe for further exploitation.

The capital of South Sudan is Juba, with an estimated population of 250,000. The population of the country is estimated to be 8.26 million. English and Arabic (includes Juba and Sudanese variants) are the official languages; other regional languages include Dinka, Nuer, Bari, Zande, and Shilluk.

Three religions are practised in South Sudan; Animist, Christian, and Islam.