The Sudan is located in northeast Africa along the Red Sea. With an area of 2,505,810 square kilometers (967,247 square miles), it is Africa's largest nation, about equal to the territory of the United States east of the Mississippi. It contains many of the basins of the White and Blue Niles that meet in Khartoum, the nation's capital. The Sudan borders nine nations, including Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Zaire, Central African Republic, Chad, and Libya. Northern Sudan lies within the Sahara Desert; the central region has rich savanna lands, light rainfall, and a thorny forest; the southern quarter has a tropical climate with high heat and humidity.

The last complete census in the Sudan was undertaken in 1956, and fifty years of civil strife have not allowed for the most accurate census taking. Most estimates are based on growth rates that project the general population at about 35 million. The population...