Sudan has plenty of arable land, natural resources, a young workforce, and agricultural potential, but the oil-rich south’s separation in 2011 set off a downward economic trend. According to IMF data, GDP halved between 2011 and 2019. The 75% drop in oil revenue resulted in a trade and fiscal deficit, resulting in a significant depreciation of the currency and soaring inflation.
Sudan’s economy has been in a state of decline since 2018, with declines in all components of GDP. Due to the combined impact of COVID-19, natural calamities such as floods, and intermittent shortages of critical commodities like fuel, per capita GDP fell from USD1,125 in 2017 to USD780 in 2019, with real GDP expected to have dropped by 8.2 percent in 2020. As a result of this, poverty has increased, and many agree that it is now pervasive, exacerbated by COVID-19.
The Transitional Government is pursuing significant economic transformation in response to the population’s economic concerns, with a focus on harnessing the country’s natural wealth to fund development, addressing inflation and parallel foreign currency exchange rates, and addressing historic economic distortions, such as fossil fuel subsidies.
In order to achieve these goals, the Transitional Government agreed to an IMF-managed program in September 2020, which includes the elimination of fuel subsidies, the unification and liberalization of the foreign exchange rate, and increased revenue mobilization efforts to reduce the fiscal deficit and create conditions for increased funding to priority sectors, including a joint Transitional Government/World Bank/WFP social protection program.
Gold, sesame seed, livestock, crude oil, and groundnuts are the most important exports from Sudan, accounting for 82 percent of total exports in 2019. Agriculture has historically been Sudan’s principal source of revenue and employment, employing or providing livelihoods for more than 60% of the people.
Traditional smallholder agriculture and nomadic animal husbandry, on the other hand, have seen their percentage of GDP decline in recent years due to neglect. This trend, combined with emigration from conflict- or poverty-affected areas of the country, has resulted in a high incidence of unstructured urbanization in and around the country’s major cities.
Sudan also struggles to satisfy its own staple food needs, despite its vast agricultural potential, and has seen its natural resources severely impacted by climate change, deforestation, soil desiccation, and declining soil fertility and water tables.
Finally, Sudan has a wealth of natural resources, including natural gas, gold, silver, chromite, manganese, gypsum, mica, zinc, iron, lead, uranium, copper, kaolin, cobalt, granite, nickel, tin, and aluminum. These riches, however, have yet to be completely realized.
What will South Sudan’s GDP be in 2020?
South Sudan’s GDP was 4.07 billion dollars in 2020. Though South Sudan’s GDP has fluctuated significantly in recent years, it has tended to decline from 2011 to 2020, ending at $4.07 billion in 2020.
Why is Sudan so impoverished?
Sudan is one of the world’s poorest countries, located in the Sahara Desert. After a referendum on self-determination in January 2011, South Sudan became the world’s newest economy in July 2011. As a result of drought, conflict, and famine, poverty is more common in South Sudan. Sudan is ranked 147th out of 177 countries in the Human Development Index. Why is Sudan so impoverished?
Sudan has a poverty rate of about half of its people. In 2009, 46.5 percent of the population was living in poverty. On a daily basis, nine out of ten people live on less than a dollar. Around 40% of the population does not have access to safe drinking water. Sudan has the world’s highest number of internally displaced persons. Over half a million breastfeeding women and toddlers require additional nutrition.
According to the Human Development Index from 2000, only 26.6 percent of the population will live to be 40. Malnutrition and dehydration cause serious illnesses in children that cannot be treated due to a lack of medical supplies, equipment, and services. As a result, about half of Sudan’s youngsters do not attend school.
Sudan’s poverty is exacerbated by harsh climate conditions and a scarcity of natural resources. Internal strife and political instability have exacerbated the situation. Around 1.5 million people have died as a result of the civil conflict.
Why is Sudan so impoverished? Subsistence agriculture, which includes agricultural farming, herding, and fishing, is the primary source of income. Food, on the other hand, is in short supply, causing Sudanese poverty to rise. Farmers are unable to produce food due to the small size of their landholdings, low productivity rates, and inability to improve their incomes. Crop cultivation is also hampered by poor rainfall and a shortage of domestic water supply. People have left Sudan to the Nile River to escape terrible conditions.
One of the main causes of poverty in Sudan is isolation. People that live off the beaten path have no access to services or marketplaces, leaving them defenseless. Government corruption causes resource distribution disparities; a significant portion of the GDP is spent on military security. Another crucial element in answering the question “why is Sudan poor?” is fiscal policy.
The World Bank has decided to grant $100 million to the Sudanese government to build economic initiatives till 2019. Sudan’s state minister estimated that the country’s economy will develop at a rate of barely 0.2% per year.
What is Sudan’s most important export?
Gold (70 percent of total exports) is Sudan’s most important export, followed by cattle (25 percent). Oil, arabic gum, and cotton are among the others. China is the most important import partner (78 percent), followed by the UAE, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Italy.
Is Sudan oil-rich?
Sudan ranked 23rd in the world in terms of proven oil reserves in 2016, accounting for around 0.3 percent of the world’s total oil reserves of 1,650,585,140,000 barrels. Sudan has proved reserves for 97.8% of its yearly consumption.
Which country is the poorest in the world?
Burundi, a small landlocked country ravaged by Hutu-Tutsi ethnic conflict and civil violence, has the terrible distinction of being the poorest country on the planet. Food scarcity is a serious concern, with almost 90 percent of its approximately 12 million residents reliant on subsistence agriculture (with the overwhelming majority of them surviving on $1.25 a day or less), and food insecurity is about twice as high as the norm for Sub-Saharan African countries. Furthermore, access to water and sanitation is still limited, and only about 5% of the population has access to electricity. Needless to say, the epidemic has worsened all of these issues.
How did things get to this point, despite the fact that the civil war officially ended 15 years ago? Infrastructure deficiencies, widespread corruption, and security concerns are all common causes of extreme poverty. In 2005, Pierre Nkurunziza, a charismatic former Hutu rebel who became president, was able to unite the country behind him and begin the process of reconstructing the economy. However, in 2015, his announcement that he would run for a third termwhich the opposition claimed was illegal under the constitutionreignited old feuds. Hundreds of people were killed in fighting, and tens of thousands were internally or externally displaced as a result of the failed coup attempt.
Nkurunziza died in the summer of 2020, at the age of 55, from cardiac arrest, while it is widely assumed that Covid-19 was the true reason. Days later, Evariste Ndayishimiye, an ex-general handpicked by Nkurunziza to succeed him when his mandate expired, was sworn in. His track record has been mixed so far. While he, like his predecessor, minimized the virus’s severity, and claims of human rights violations continue to emerge from the country, he made an effort to relaunch the economy and mend diplomatic relations with his African neighbors, particularly the West. His efforts were rewarded: the United States and the European Union recently withdrew financial restrictions imposed in the aftermath of the 2015 political turmoil, resuming aid to Burundi. Could this be a watershed moment for the world’s poorest country?
Why is Tajikistan so impoverished?
Tajikistan is located in Central Asia, between Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, and is surrounded by a vast mountain range. Major oil and natural gas deposits have been discovered in Tajikistan in the last decade, rekindling hopes of reviving the country’s ailing economy and returning economic power to the Tajiks. Tajikistan had roughly 27.4 percent of its population living below the national poverty threshold as of 2018. The following are ten statistics about poverty in Tajikistan:
facts about poverty in Tajikistan
- Not all parts of the country are affected by poverty in the same way. In 2018, the poverty rate in Sugd’s northwest region was 17.5 percent. The Districts of Republican Subordination, just below, had a percentage of almost double that, at 33.2 percent.
- Poverty appears to be more acute in rural Tajikistan than in metropolitan areas. Cotton farming, one of Tajikistan’s principal cash crops, has been demonstrated to do little to reduce poverty levels or lift people out of poverty. Those with non-agricultural occupations in metropolitan regions like as Dushanbe, the capital, might move to Russia to find work. This happens frequently. In 2018, the poverty rate in urban Tajikistan was at 21.5 percent, while rural Tajikistan had a rate of 30.2 percent.
- In Tajikistan, the rate of poverty alleviation has slowed. Poverty rates fell from 83 percent to 31 percent between 2000 and 2015. Since 2014, the annual decrease in the national poverty rate has slowed to 1%.
- The lack of job creation and stagnant pay growth are to blame for the declining rate of poverty alleviation. Due to a lack of new and better opportunities to stimulate the economy, a large portion of the workforce seeks work in Russia, which does little to help Tajikistan’s economy.
- According to reports, 75% of households are concerned about covering their family’s basic needs in the coming year. Tajikistan is the poorest and most remote of the former Soviet Union’s sovereign states. More than 95 percent of households failed to meet the minimal level of food consumption to be considered appropriately sustained, according to the first nationally conducted study since the war ended and Tajikistan attained independence.
- Tajikistan has a high rate of stunting and malnutrition among children, which has been linked to insufficient access to clean water and food. Many families spend more money on drinking water than they can afford. For the 64 percent of Tajiks who live below the national poverty line, this means suffering additional costs on top of a daily income of less than $2.
- There are just 163 places to dwell for every 1000 people. With 1.23 million dwelling units, Tajikistan has the smallest housing stock in Europe and Central Asia. This is largely due to the government’s inability to offer public housing, while private owners lack the financial means to invest in or maintain their houses.
- Tajikistan’s population is 35 percent under the age of 15. This percentage is around 17% among the world’s wealthiest countries. A large number of young people in the population means more difficulties for the rising workforce as they try to make ends meet, especially in a place where the economy may not be able to respond. This might exacerbate Tajikistan’s economic stagnation, with disgruntled young workers fleeing to other countries, as many are already doing.
- It’s possible that up to 40% of Tajiks in Russia are working illegally. Tajikistan is reliant on Russian remittances. This is in addition to Russia’s increasingly stringent administrative procedures for foreign workers. Because of these two factors, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs’ estimate of one million Tajiks working in Russia per year is suspect. In Tajikistan, between 30 and 40 percent of households have at least one family member working overseas.
- As of 2015, Tajikistan had a literacy rate of 99.8%. Primary education is compulsory, and literacy is strong, albeit young people’s skill levels are declining. This is due to economic needs driving young people away from their education in pursuit of a source of income to help them meet their basic necessities.
Since attaining independence in 1991, Tajikistan has been working its way out of poverty. The country’s over-reliance on remittances, on the other hand, has caused its economy to stagnate. As a result, there is a hungry workforce and a scarcity of jobs to feed them. Gurdofarid is a non-profit organization that aims to empower Tajik women by teaching them the skills they need to find work in their own nation.
Which country is the most powerful in the world?
In the 2021 Best Countries Report, Canada wins the top overall rank as the world’s number one country for the first time. After coming in second place in the 2020 report, Canada has now eclipsed Switzerland in the 2021 report, with Japan, Germany, Switzerland, and Australia following closely behind.
What accounts for Sudan’s poor GDP?
Sudan runs over the Red Sea and is geographically placed at the crossroads of Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. Sudan is bordered on the north by Libya and Egypt, on the west by Chad, on the south by the Central African Republic, on the south by South Sudan, on the east by Ethiopia, and on the east by Eritrea.
The White and Blue Niles meet in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, then unite to form the Nile River, which flows through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. Sudan has a Sahelian belt with the desert in the far north, lush soil in the Nile basins, the Gezira, and across the rest of the country for agricultural and animal herding from Darfur to Kassala to the Blue Nile and Kordofan States.
Internal tensions have hampered the country’s capacity to play a leadership role in the region for the majority of its independent history. South Sudan seceded in 2011 under the terms of a comprehensive peace accord signed in 2005, becoming Africa’s 54th independent state.
Multiple economic shocks resulted from South Sudan’s secession. The loss of oil money, which accounted for more than half of Sudan’s government revenue and 95% of its exports, was the most significant. This has slowed economic growth and led to double-digit consumer price inflation, which, when combined with higher fuel prices, sparked violent protests in September 2013.
South Sudan’s civil war wreaked havoc on both economies, depriving Sudan of much-needed pipeline income. Sudan now serves as a source, destination, and transit country for irregular migration, including refugees and asylum-seekers using the East African North-bound migratory route through Libya to Europe, as a result of the war in South Sudan, which has resulted in an increase in Sudan’s already large population of refugees and internally displaced persons. There are 763 thousand South Sudanese refugees in the country, as well as 159 thousand refugees and asylum seekers from Eritrea, Syria, Yemen, and Chad. The recent peace agreement signed by Sudan and Ethiopia between the warring parties appears to be holding, but the battle has damaged oil infrastructure, further reducing Sudan’s revenue available.
Sudan and South Sudan agreed to decrease oil transit prices for South Sudanese oil via Sudan’s pipeline following the worldwide oil price collapse in 2015/2016, as exporting it became inefficient. They extended their 2012 oil agreement for three years on the same conditions in December 2016, with the exception of measures to adjust transit payments in line with world oil prices.
Consistent food price spikes sparked protests in December 2018, culminating in President Omar al-fall Bashir’s from power in April 2019. In September 2019, a Transition Government was formed as a result of this. The power-sharing arrangement, which is set to span 39 months, allows a civilian Prime Minister to run the government under the authority of a Presidential Sovereign Council, which will be chaired by the military for the first 21 months and then by a civilian for the remaining 18 months. It is believed that a temporary legislative assembly would be formed soon. The Prime Minister selected 18 civilian governors on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, marking a crucial milestone in the transition’s Constitutional Document.
Armed hostilities in Sudan’s westernmost region of Darfur have abated, although the region remains unstable due to the proliferation of weaponry and banditry in numerous areas. Efforts to end the war in South Kordofan and the Blue Nile have come to a halt. The Transitional Government has engaged in peace negotiations with relevant armed groups and signed a peace deal with the Sudan Revolution Front (SRF) on October 3, 2020, which is expected to put an end to the long-running conflicts that divert vast sums of money from much-needed social programs and human capital investments to military buildup.
In addition to political and economic turmoil, Sudan, like the rest of the world, has been hit by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, which has had an unparalleled social and economic impact. The COVID-19 shock is likely to be temporary, with a possible recovery in 2021, but Sudan’s overall economic impact will be significant. COVID-19’s economic impact includes higher food prices, greater unemployment, and decreased exports. The economic situation is deteriorating as a result of movement restrictions, with commodities prices skyrocketing across the country. Sudan’s total economy is expected to stagnate in 2020, according to the International Monetary Fund.
What makes Sudan a least developed country?
On December 18, 2012, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution confirming South Sudan’s inclusion on the list of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). This accession, which went into effect immediately, brought the total number of nations with LDC designation to 49. LDC classification is given to economies that are considered the most structurally disadvantaged and the most likely to face challenges in their efforts to escape poverty.