Sudan, situated in Northeast Africa is a country of immense diversity that fascinates and intrigues most of its visitors from anthropologists and archeologists to historians and average travelers. It is a country that is unique and complex in its climate, politics, environment, languages, cultures, religion and ethnicities.
Sudan is the third largest country on the African continent with a total area of 1,882,000 sq km. The country has international borders with 7 states : Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Chad and Libya. The River Nile traverses the country from South to North while the Red Sea washes about 550 miles of eastern coast making Sudan a bridge between Africa and the Middle East.
The country faces a number of environmental challenges related to climate change including soil erosion, desertification and recurrent droughts. Agricultural expansion both public and private has proceeded without conservation measures. The consequences have manifested themselves in the form of deforestation, soil desiccation and the lowering of soil fertility and water tables in various parts of the country.
While the population of Sudan predominately descends from both indigenous African groups and Arabs, today most tribes in the country speak Arabic and the Arab culture predominates. Over 97% of the population of Sudan is Sunni Muslims with a small Christian minority.
