Republic of the Sudan

Jumhuriyat as-Sudan

CAPITAL: Khartoum

FLAG: The national flag consists of a tricolor of red, white, and black horizontal stripes, with a green triangle at the hoist.

ANTHEM: Jundi al-Allah (Soldiers of God).

MONETARY UNIT: The Sudanese dinar (SD) is a paper currency of 100 piasters (qurush) or 1,000 milliemes. SD1 = $0.0038 (or $1 = SD260.39) as of May 2003.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is the legal standard, but a highly diverse system based on Egyptian and British standards is in local use.

HOLIDAYS: Independence Day, 1 January; Unity Day, 3 March; Uprising Day, 6 April; Decentralization Day, 1 July; Christmas, 25 December. Movable Muslim religious holidays include the 1st of Muharram (Muslim New Year), 'Id al-Fitr, 'Id al-'Adha', and Milad an-Nabi.

TIME: 2 PM = noon GMT.

Location, Size, and Extent

Situated in northeast Africa, Sudan is the largest country on the continent, covering an area of 2,505,810 sq km (967,499 sq mi), with a length of...