South Sudan Geography - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Location

East-Central Africa; south of Sudan, north of Uganda and Kenya, west of Ethiopia

Geographic coordinates

8 00 N, 30 00 E

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 644,329 sq km

land: NA

water: NA

Area - comparative

more than four times the size of Georgia; slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries

total: 6,018 km

border countries (6): Central African Republic 1,055 km; Democratic Republic of the Congo 714 km; Ethiopia 1,299 km; Kenya 317 km; Sudan 2,158 km; Uganda 475 km

note: South Sudan-Sudan boundary represents 1 January 1956 alignment; final alignment pending negotiations and demarcation; final sovereignty status of Abyei Area pending negotiations between South Sudan and Sudan

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Climate

hot with seasonal rainfall influenced by the annual shift of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone; rainfall heaviest in upland areas of the south and diminishes to the north

Terrain

plains in the north and center rise to southern highlands along the border with Uganda and Kenya; the White Nile, flowing north out of the uplands of Central Africa, is the major geographic feature of the country; The Sudd (a name derived from floating vegetation that hinders navigation) is a large swampy area of more than 100,000 sq km fed by the waters of the White Nile that dominates the center of the country

Elevation

highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m

lowest point: White Nile 381 m

Natural resources

hydropower, fertile agricultural land, gold, diamonds, petroleum, hardwoods, limestone, iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver

Land use

agricultural land: 45% (2018)

arable land: 4.4% (2018)

permanent pasture: 40.7% (2018)

forest: 11.3% (2018)

other: 43.5% (2018)

Irrigated land

1,000 sq km (2012)

Major rivers (by length in km)

Nile (shared with Rwanda [s], Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, and Egypt [m]) - 6,650 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Congo (3,730,881 sq km), (Mediterranean Sea) Nile (3,254,853 sq km)

Population distribution

clusters found in urban areas, particularly in the western interior and around the White Nile as shown in this population distribution map

Geography - note

landlocked; The Sudd is a vast swamp in the north central region of South Sudan, formed by the White Nile, its size is variable but can reach some 15% of the country's total area during the rainy season; it is one of the world's largest wetlands

NOTE: The information regarding South Sudan on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of South Sudan 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about South Sudan 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.