Demographics of Sudan

The majority of the population of Sudan is a result of intermarriage between the indigenous Nubian inhabitants of the Nile Valley, and descendants of migrants from the Arabian Peninsula and mostly North Africa. Due to the process of Arabisation common throughout the rest of the Arab world, today Arab culture predominates in Sudan. The majority of ethnic groups of Sudan fall under Arabs, and the minority being African ethnic groups such as Nubians, Beja,[3] Fur, Nuba, and Fallata.[4] When counted as one people Sudanese Arabs are by far the largest ethnic group in Sudan, however African ethnic groups are a large minority if counted as one group. They are almost entirely Muslim; while the majority speak Sudanese Arabic; some other Arab tribes speak different Arabic dialects like Awadia and Fadnia and Bani Arak tribes who speak Najdi Arabic; Bani Hassan, Al-Ashraf, Kinanah and Rashaida who speak Hejazi Arabic. In addition, Arab tribes like the Baggara and other Darfurians, both who speak Chadian Arabic.[5] Sudanese Arabs of northern and eastern parts descend primarily from migrants from the Arabian Peninsula and some of the pre-existing indigenous populations of Sudan, most predominately the Nubian people who also share a common history with Egypt. Additionally, a few pre-Islamic Arabian tribes existed in Sudan from earlier migrations into the region from Western Arabia, although most Arabs in Sudan are dated from migrations after the 12th century.[6] The vast majority of Arab tribes in Sudan migrated into the Sudan in the 12th century, intermarried with the indigenous African populations and introduced Islam.[7]

Achieving good counts of the population is difficult in Sudan, because conducting a census has been difficult due to various conflicts and wars in the southern, eastern and western regions of Sudan over the past few decades. The government of South Sudan (led by the former SPLM resistance movement) has in the past accused Sudan of deliberately manipulating the census in oil-rich regions such as the Abyei district, on the border between Sudan and South Sudan. The population count is a determining factor for the share of wealth and power each part of Sudan receives after the secession of South Sudan (See: Naivasha Agreement). Another complication is the Southern Sudanese refugees present in the north, whose citizenship in Sudan after the secession of South Sudan is now in question.[8] 250,000 refugees from Syria live in Sudan.[9]

The vital statistics below include South Sudan.

Life expectancy at birth (only North Sudan)

Period	Life expectancy in Years[11]
1950–1955	44.54
1955–1960	47.08
1960–1965	49.22
1965–1970	51.24
1970–1975	53.06
1975–1980	54.00
1980–1985	54.46
1985–1990	55.14
1990–1995	56.00
1995–2000	57.58
2000–2005	59.37
2005–2010	61.51
2010–2015	63.59

• Sudanese Arabs (approximately 70%)[12]
• Fur people
• Beja people
• Nuba people
• Nubian people

The most widely spoken languages in Sudan are:

1. Arabic language:
   1. Sudanese Arabic.
   2. Najdi and Hejazi Arabic, (mainly in mid-north and mid-east regions).
   3. Chadian Arabic in western region, (mainly spoken by Baggara and various Arabized African tribes).
2. Nubian language in far north, (mainly spoken by Nubians of Mahas, Dongola and Halfa).
3. Beja language knows as Bedawit in far east alongside Red sea, (mainly spoken by Beja of Hadandawa, Ababda and Bisharin).

Before 2005, only Arabic was the official language.[13] In the 2005 constitution, Sudan's official languages became Arabic and English:[14]

Article 8:

1. All indigenous languages of Sudan are national languages and shall be respected, developed and promoted.
2. Arabic is a widely spoken national language in Sudan.
3. Arabic, as a major language at the national level and English shall be the official working languages of the national government and the languages of instruction for higher education.
4. In addition to Arabic and English, the legislature of any sub-national level of government may adopt any other national language as an additional official working language at its level.
5. There shall be no discrimination against the use of either Arabic or English at any level of government or stage of education.

The working constitution of the post-2019 Revolution transitional period specifies no national language.

Men praying at the Sidah Sanhory Mosque, in Khartoum

97% of the population adheres to Islam, with the overwhelming majority being adherents of the Sunni Sufi branch and the Maliki school of Islamic jurisprudence.[16] The remainder of the population follows either animist and indigenous beliefs or Christianity, especially in Khartoum and in southern regions of the country bordering South Sudan.

Christians in Sudan which are refugees or immigrants from the south belong to various churches including the Roman Catholic Church, small Melkite and Maronite communities in the north, as well as Anglicans followers in the Episcopal Church of Sudan and the recently formed Reformed Episcopal Church. There are significant but long-established groups of Coptic Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Christians in Khartoum and other northern cities.

There are also Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox communities in Khartoum and eastern Sudan, largely made up of refugees and migrants from the past few decades. Other Christian groups with smaller followings in the country include the Africa Inland Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Sudan Church of Christ, the Sudan Interior Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Sudan Pentecostal Church, the Sudan Evangelical Presbyterian Church (in the North).

Religious identity plays a role in the country's political divisions. Northern and western Muslims have dominated the country's political and economic system since independence. The NCP draws much of its support from Islamists, Salafis/Wahhabis and other conservative Arab Muslims in the north. The Umma Party has traditionally attracted Arab followers of the Ansar sect of Sufism as well as non-Arab Muslims from Darfur and Kordofan.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) includes both Arab and non-Arab Muslims in the north and east, especially those in the Khatmia Sufi sect.

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.[17]

• One birth every 23 seconds
• One death every 2 minutes
• One net migrant every 13 minutes
• Net gain of one person every 32 seconds

The following demographic are from the CIA World Factbook[18] unless otherwise indicated.

Age structure

Population pyramid of Sudan in 2017

0-14 years: 43.07% (male 9,434,634 /female 9,136,951)

15-24 years: 20.22% (male 4,459,335 /female 4,259,341)

:25-54 years: 29.8% (male 6,236,954 /female 6,612,593)

55-64 years: 3.93% (male 876,614 /female 819,048)

65 years and over: 2.98% (male 688,391 /female 596,982) (2018 est.)

0–14 years: 40.8% (male 7,356,059/female 7,131,497)

15–24 years: 20.2% (male 3,704,700/female 3,476,847)

25–54 years: 31.8% (male 5,465,816/female 5,800,619)

55–64 years: 3.3% (male 737,831/female 652,428)

65 years and over: 3.3% (male 633,083/female 523,353) (2014 est.)