Geography Quiz Arcade

Sudan 🇸🇩

Sudan is a country in Africa with a population of 46,874,204. Its capital is Khartoum. The official currency is SDG, and the main languages are Arabic, English.

Quick facts

  • Capital: Khartoum
  • Continent: Africa
  • Population: 46,874,204
  • Area: 1,861,484 km²
  • Density: 25.2 people per km²
  • Currency: SDG
  • Languages: Arabic, English
  • ISO code: SD

Where Sudan sits

Sudan 🇸🇩 is one of 54 countries in Africa, with its capital at Khartoum. It covers 1,861,484 square kilometres — 15th in the world — and is home to about 46,874,204 people, 32nd globally.

The countries it shares a continent with include Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.

How Sudan compares

Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Sudan sits closest to Uganda and Argentina. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Indonesia and Libya.

At 25.2 people per square kilometre it is about 2.4 times below the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by area than by population, so it is more spacious than its population alone suggests.

Arabic is an official language in 25 countries here, among them Algeria, Bahrain, Chad and Comoros, and 20 others. The SDG is used by Sudan and no one else.

To see Sudan next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.

How to remember Sudan

Khartoum is where two rivers meet: the White Nile and the Blue Nile join there to form the Nile. K for Khartoum, K for 'Knot' where the two Niles tie together.

The flag of Sudan: red, white, black and green

🇸🇩 The flag is three horizontal stripes of red, white and black, with a green triangle at the hoist. Red stands for the struggle for freedom, white for peace, light and love, black for the people, and green for Islam, farming and prosperity. The design is based on the flag of the Arab Revolt.

Region and neighbours

Sudan is a large country in northeast Africa on the Red Sea, crossed by the River Nile. It shares land borders with 7 countries: Egypt, Libya, Chad, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Three facts about Sudan

  1. Khartoum stands where the White Nile, from Lake Victoria, meets the Blue Nile, from Lake Tana in Ethiopia.
  2. The pyramids at Meroë were built by the rulers of the ancient Kingdom of Kush.
  3. South Sudan became independent from Sudan on 9 July 2011, and Sudan is still Africa's third-largest country by area.

Sources: Wikipedia: Sudan, Wikipedia: Flag of Sudan, Wikipedia: Khartoum, Wikipedia: Nubian pyramids, CIA World Factbook.

Quiz yourself on Sudan

Quizzes that include Sudan

Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Sudan those are:

Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.

Read more about Sudan

Nearby countries

Frequently asked questions

What are the colours of the Sudan flag?

The flag of Sudan is three horizontal stripes of red, white and black, with a green triangle at the hoist. Red stands for the struggle for freedom, white for peace, light and love, black for the people, and green for Islam, farming and prosperity. The design is based on the flag of the Arab Revolt.

Which countries border Sudan?

Sudan shares land borders with Egypt, Libya, Chad, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea.

How can I remember the capital of Sudan?

Khartoum is where two rivers meet: the White Nile and the Blue Nile join there to form the Nile. K for Khartoum, K for 'Knot' where the two Niles tie together.