Sudan: Facts and Figures

By Thomas H. Staal, Counsel, U.S. Agency for International Development (retired), Board member of AFRECS

Facts & Figures (revised March 2025):

  • Population of Sudan:  about 50 million
  • In urgent need of food:  25 million
  • More people suffering famine or on brink of famine than all other disasters combined
  • Displaced from their homes: 10+ million (8.3 Internally Displaced Persons, 2.3 Refugees – 10/2024)
  • Deaths so far:  official – 26,262; probably around 600,000 (London School of Hygiene – 10/2024)
  • Famine declaration (Aug. 2024):  755,000 in Zam Zam IDP camp/Darfur, probably more

Current Status:

  • Fighting started in Khartoum, quickly spread to Darfur and country-wide
  • RSF controls 70-80% of the populated areas and expanding
  • RSF in the West, South; SAF in the East and North; Center is mixed
  • Khartoum now mostly controlled by SAF; badly damaged
  • SAF (and what’s left of government) based in Port Sudan, on the Red Sea
  • No U.S. diplomatic presence in country

Political

  • 1989-2019:  Military Dictator Omar al-Bashir (Islamic)
  • 2003:  Bashir establishes paramilitary force – “Janjaweed” – to pacify Darfur
  • 2004-05:  famine conditions in Darfur
  • 2019:   Civilian demonstrations lead to overthrow of Bashir and establishment of joint military/civilian government
  • 2021:  Military coup pushes out the civilians; US, African Union,  European Union do not recognize new government
  • 2023:  Two military leaders start fighting
  • 2025: RSF declares an independent state in areas under their control; no country recognizes it

The Players: 

  • Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), led by Gen. Abdel Fatah al-Burhan
  • Rapid Support Forces (RSF) (Janjaweed’s successor), led by Gen. Mohamed (“Hemedti”) Hamdan Dagalo
  • Sudan Peoples Liberation Front -North, SLM, others
  • Various local/ethnic militias

Who’s supporting whom?

  • SAF: Egypt, Russia, Iran, Islamist groups
  • RSF: United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Mali, Niger

Complications:

  • Active fighting is ongoing, neither side wants to stop
  • Both sides actively inhibiting, blocking humanitarian aid
  • Very limited ability for UN or NGOs to operate
  • Reliable evidence of significant human rights abuses ongoing
  • It’s a very big country with poor infrastructure