Republic of South Sudan
Middle Africa
Young · Wild · Struggling
South Sudan (officially Republic of South Sudan) is a country located in Middle Africa. Its capital city is Juba, with other major cities including Wau and Malakal. With a population of approximately 11.0M, the main language spoken is English. The country covers an area of 619,745 km². The official currency is the South Sudanese pound (£). Traffic drives on the right side.
South Sudan is the world's youngest country, gaining independence on 9 July 2011 after a referendum — it has the world's largest population of the Nile lechwe antelope and one of the largest wildlife migrations on the continent.
Juba serves as the political, cultural and economic heart of South Sudan, positioned in Middle Africa. As the seat of government and often the most populous city, it concentrates the country's main institutions, universities and cultural landmarks. Beyond the capital, major cities include Wau, Malakal — each a hub of regional culture, economy and history. Juba sits on the Nile in the world's newest capital — South Sudan became independent in 2011 as the world's newest nation — a frontier city rapidly expanding from a small town into a metropolitan capital in a country where the 2013-2020 civil war displaced 4 million people and created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with the current city reflecting both the aspiration of statehood and the devastation of conflict.
With a population of approximately 11.0M, South Sudan is a vibrant society with a rich mix of traditions and communities. The official language is English, which reflects the country's cultural heritage and connects it with a wide international community. Internationally, South Sudan is reached via the dialling code +211. South Sudanese people earned independence after a 22-year second Sudanese civil war that killed 2 million people — one of the 20th century's deadliest conflicts — only to experience a renewed civil war from 2013 that fractured the liberation movement along Dinka-Nuer ethnic lines, revealing that independence from Sudan did not resolve the internal political contestation that the liberation struggle had temporarily united.
South Sudan spans 619,745 km², in the Middle Africa subregion of Africa. Geographically centred around 7.0°N, 30.0°E, the country offers a diverse range of landscapes shaped by its location, climate and geology. Road traffic follows the right-hand rule, in line with surrounding Africa convention.
The official currency is the South Sudanese pound (£), used for everyday transactions and commerce throughout the country. South Sudan's economy is shaped by its geography, natural resources and trade relationships. Business and daily life operate under UTC+03:00, aligning the country with its regional neighbours.
Football holds a special place in the heart of South Sudan's national identity. Football is South Sudan's primary sport, with the national team's FIFA membership and international competition representing the normalisation of statehood through sport — but the Dinka and Nuer traditional cattle camp culture produces remarkably tall athletic young men (the tallest average height population in the world by some measures) who have increasingly found pathways to international basketball, including South Sudanese players in the NBA.
The highest point in South Sudan is Kinyeti, rising to 3,187 metres above sea level. The Sudd — a vast swamp on the White Nile covering up to 130,000 square kilometres in South Sudan's interior during wet season — is the world's largest tropical wetland and one of Africa's most important bird habitats, supporting 400 bird species including the shoebill stork and hosting the world's second-largest wildlife migration (after the Serengeti) of white-eared kob, tiang, and Mongalla gazelle, a spectacle barely known outside specialist wildlife circles.