The Country of South Sudan
South Sudan is currently the youngest country to become independent and dealt with a lot of wars. But yet out of all of that, the country is still strong.
This country is a hot tropical place. It has tropical forests, swamps, and grasslands. South Sudan is an estimated 239,285 mi² (about the same area as France). The country borders Sudan, Kanya, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lake Ambadi is the largest lake and the White Nile is South Sudan’s longest river. The capital and largest city is Java. The other big cities in South Sudan are Winejok and Malakal.
The country also has a hot temperature. South Sudan have two main seasons the wet season (from about April to November) and the dry season (from about December to March). The temperature in South Sudan can be in the high 60s to more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
South Sudan does have good tourist attractions like the Boma, Nimule, and Bandingilo National Parks. That is where you can see Lions, elephants, cheetahs, African wild dogs, and many more animals. Other cool places in South Sudan are All Saints Cathedral and the White Nile.
South Sudan is currently the youngest country to become independent and dealt with a lot of wars. Evidence shows that the first people in South Sudan was the Nilotic people (mostly the Dinka, Luo, and Shilluk tribes) and the northern part of South Sudan was mostly Neuer tribe. In 1820, the Egyptian and Ottoman forces invaded Sudan and South Sudan became part of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty. They took natural resources and slaves to Egypt and the Ottoman Empire. The also Egyptians set up a a pre-colonial state called the Sultanate of Darfur until it ended on 1916. In the Mahdist War (1881–1899), the allies (UK and Italy) conquered Sudan. Sudan became part of the Condominium of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan which was created from the British Empire. The British and Egypt made them pay heavy taxes and took a lot of their resources (they might have been even slaves going to Egypt to do labor) and most of it was from South Sudan. There was a lot of nationalism and on January 1st 1956, they gained independence from Egypt and the UK and called their country the Republic of the Sudan. From there, things turned downhill.
Sudan had two Civil Wars between 1956–2011. Ibrahim Abboud became the first president of Sudan in 1956. The northern part of Sudan was Sunni Islam (a type of Islam) while the South was mainly Christianity and tribal religions. Adding insult to injury, northern Sudan speak Arabic well Sudan speak mostly English and traditional languages. Southern Sudan also wanted a federal system but northern Sudan didn’t. The First Sudanese Civil War lasted from 1955 to 1972. Between 500,000 to 1 million people die from the war, starvation, diseases, and many more disturbingthings. Most of the deaths came from South Sudan. The outcome of the first Civil War was a southern Sudan autonomous region and the creation of the Democratic Republic of Sudan, and Jafra Nimeiry became the president from 1969 to 1985 ( he was a socialist and got exiled to Egypt in 1985). President Jafra Nimeiry declared that all of Sudan will be a Islamic State which made people in South Sudan very upset which led the Second Sudanese Civil War which sadly lasted from 1983 to 2005. An estimated between 1 to 2.5 million people died from starvation, war, droughts,mass killings, and many more bad things. There was also a lot of young boys fighting in the war in both sides and even sadly slavery. The outcome of the war was a comprehensive peace agreement which set a timeline for South Sudan Independence. The Referendum of Independence was on January 9th 2011 and 99% of people voted for independence. On July 9th 2011, the country officially became an independent country and South Sudan became the Republic of South Sudan.
Ever since South Sudan became an independent country, tribal conflicts and oil started hurting the country. Salva Kiir Mayardit ( famous for his black hat from George W. Bush and a Dinka) became the first president of South Sudan and Riek Machar became the first vice president of South Sudan ( who is a Nuer). President Salva Kiir Mayardit accuse vice president Riek Machar of trying to overthrow him as president and the vice president accused him of acting like a dictator. The vice president got removed from office then he started a revolt. The South Sudanese Civil War was from December 2013 to February 2020. an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people died and a additional 1 million to 2 million people fled the country. The outcome of the Civil War was a unified government and more independence from the many tribes. Currently the country is still recovering from the Civil War and has been growing recently.
South Sudan GDP is around $3.7 billion and is ranked 156 in 2019. Most of their money comes from crude oil and agriculture( rice, corn, millet, and other crops). They use the South Sudanese pound as the currency. About 66% of people in South Sudan live below the poverty line, about 43% of people live less than $1.90 a day, and only about 8% have internet. Most people work as farmers but recently people has been working as miners and other jobs in the oil production. Their main trade partners are China, The Netherlands, Germany, Pakistan, and Thailand.
South Sudan is a federal presidential constitutional republic. South Sudan branches the executive , judicial, and legislative. Salva Kiir Mayardit have been the president of South Sudan for 9 years. South Sudan has a very bad healthcare System. Diseases like HIV/ AIDS, malaria, cholera, and many more are common which is a major reason why the average life expectancy in South Sudan is 58 years. Only about only 27% of adults can read and write in South Sudan. The country’s government have stole about 4 billion dollars do to corruption. Other problems in South Sudan are housing, roads, internet, electricity, security, water, and many more.
South Sudan has amazing people. The country has a very diverse group of people. Around 11 to 12 million people live in South Sudan. South Sudan have a very young population because most people are either 0 to 9 years old. About 60% of people are Christian ( mostly Roman Catholic and Protestants), 32% are traditional religion, and about 5% are Islam. South Sudan has more than 50 ethnic groups. About 33% of the ethnic group is Dinka (known for their farming) and they live mostly at the Northwest side of South Sudan. it has the most people in a tribe. About 16% of the ethnic group is Nuer ( known for their cattle) and they mostly live in the Northeast side of South Sudan. The Dinka and the Nuer do not like each other that much. Most people in South Sudan do not have a lavish lifestyle because they don’t have enough money to buy a lot of things. Famous people born in South Sudan are Alek Wek (a fashion model in The United Kingdom), Salva Dut ( founder of water for South Sudan and is one of the Lost Boys), and Manute Bol ( he is the tallest player in NBA history at 7 ft 7 in). The most common sports are wrestling, basketball, and soccer.
So even though the country have been a lot of wars, the country is still strong and in the future will continue to be strong.
