South Sudan Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife conservation and loss of biodiversity; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; periodic drought

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

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

Land use

agricultural land: 45% (2018)

arable land: 4.4% (2018)

permanent pasture: 40.7% (2018)

forest: 11.3% (2018)

other: 43.5% (2018)

Urbanization

urban population: 21.2% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 4.12% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Food insecurity

widespread lack of access:due to economic downturn, the lingering effects of floods, and prolonged internal conflict - despite sustained humanitarian assistance, food insecurity still affects large segments of the population, owing to rampant inflation and insufficient food supplies due to stagnant agricultural production, the effects of consecutive years with widespread floods, and the escalation of organized violence at the subnational level since 2020; about 7.76 million people, almost two thirds of the total population, are expected to face severe acute food insecurity in the lean season between April and July 2023 (2023)

Revenue from forest resources

2.65% of GDP (2015 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 20.18 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 1.73 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 7.61 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 2,680,681 tons (2013 est.)

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)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 190 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 230 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 240 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

49.5 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)