South Sudan vs Sudan
Sudan is 2.93 times larger than South Sudan. South Sudan would fit into Sudan about 2.9 times.
South SudanSudanSouth Sudan moved onto Sudan · Equal-area projection
0.34×
South Sudan is 0.34× the area of Sudan. Put the other way, Sudan is 2.93× the size of South Sudan.
 South Sudan |  Sudan | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSudan: 2.93× the area | 644,329 km²#41 of 194 | 1,886,068 km²#15 of 194 |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 6 | 7 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSudan: 4.24× the population | 12,188,788#81 of 194 · 2025 | 51,662,147#30 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySudan: 1.45× the density | 19 / km²#170 of 194 | 27 / km²#157 of 194 |
| Urban populationSudan: 1.61× the urban share | 22%#185 of 192 · 2025 | 35%#159 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateSudan: 1.12× the births per woman | 3.79 per woman#32 of 192 · 2024 | 4.26 per woman#16 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSudan: 0.35 points higher | +2.03%#47 of 192 · 2025 | +2.38%#30 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateSudan: 1.13× the birth rate | 29.2 per 1,000#34 of 192 · 2024 | 33.0 per 1,000#18 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSouth Sudan: 1.56× the death rate | 9.8 per 1,000#40 of 192 · 2024 | 6.3 per 1,000#128 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Sudan: 2.2 points higher | 38.0%#33 of 192 · 2025 | 40.2%#24 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Sudan: 0.3 points higher | 3.1%#166 of 192 · 2025 | 3.4%#156 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSudan: 5.1 per 1,000 higher | +0.5 per 1,000#58 of 192 · 2025 | +5.6 per 1,000#17 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadSouth Sudan: 3.59× the refugees for its size | 195.79 per 1,000#1 of 190 · 2025 | 54.60 per 1,000#7 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySudan: 8.8 years longer | 57.7 years#189 of 192 · 2024 | 66.5 years#156 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySouth Sudan: 1.68× the infant mortality | 71.9 per 1,000 births#1 of 191 · 2024 | 42.9 per 1,000 births#23 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | 0.04 per 1,000#177 of 178 · 2022 | — |
| Human Development IndexSudan: 0.123 higher | 0.388#190 of 190 · 2023 | 0.511#173 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | — | $900#173 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDP | — | $60.16B2025 |
| Income group | Low income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | — | $2,192#175 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growth | — | +3.1%#96 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationSudan: 47.4 points higher | +91.4%#4 of 176 · 2024 | +138.8%#2 of 176 · 2022 |
| UnemploymentSouth Sudan: 1.65× the unemployment | 12.4%#22 of 178 · 2023 | 7.5%#53 of 178 · 2022 |
| Extreme poverty | 76.5%#3 of 149 · 2016 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 44.0#19 of 149 · 2016 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureSouth Sudan: 24.0 points higher | 63.8% of jobs#11 of 178 · 2023 | 39.8% of jobs#41 of 178 · 2022 |
| Jobs in industrySudan: 12.3 points higher | 1.7% of jobs#178 of 178 · 2023 | 14.0% of jobs#143 of 178 · 2022 |
| Jobs in servicesSudan: 11.6 points higher | 34.6% of jobs#158 of 178 · 2023 | 46.2% of jobs#134 of 178 · 2022 |
| Foreign investment | — | 0.0% of GDP#162 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 1.1% of GDP#168 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingSouth Sudan: 3.68× the military spending | 3.4% of GDP#19 of 155 · 2025 | 0.9% of GDP#118 of 155 · 2021 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSudan: 1.49× the mobile subscriptions | 47 per 100#185 of 191 · 2023 | 70 per 100#161 of 191 · 2022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaSudan: 1.05× the forest share | 11% of land#151 of 192 · 2024 | 12% of land#147 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per person | — | 0.43 t a year#153 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energySudan: 28.6 points higher | 32.4%#76 of 190 · 2021 | 61.0%#37 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySudan: 60.6 points higher | 5.4%#192 of 192 · 2024 | 66.0%#157 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Sudan: 1.59× the air pollution | 23.7 µg/m³#64 of 191 · 2023 | 37.6 µg/m³#27 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landSouth Sudan: 12.6 points higher | 15.4% of land#114 of 191 · 2025 | 2.8% of land#177 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSudan: 7.4 points higher | 3.8% of land#141 of 190 · 2024 | 11.2% of land#92 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSudan: 28.3× the water stress | 4.2%#127 of 176 · 2022 | 118.7%#14 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationSouth Sudan: 3.6× the rain and snow | 900 mm#97 of 180 · 2022 | 250 mm#158 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySouth Sudan: 0.55 higher | −1.52#173 of 193 · 2025 | −2.07#187 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSudan: 0.53 higher | −2.10#193 of 193 · 2025 | −1.57#188 of 193 · 2025 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Presidential republic |
| Capital | Juba | Khartoum |
| Currency | South Sudanese pound (SSP) | Sudanese pound (SDG) |
| Official languages | English | English, Arabic |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+2 | UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +211 | +249 |
| Region | Eastern Africa, Africa | Northern Africa, Africa |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. South Sudan sits at about 7° N and is stretched to 1.02× its true area; Sudan at 16° N is stretched to 1.08×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is South Sudan bigger than Sudan?
- No. South Sudan is 2.93 times smaller than Sudan. South Sudan covers 644,329 km² and Sudan covers 1,886,068 km².
- How many times does South Sudan fit into Sudan?
- About 2.9 times: Sudan has 2.93× the area of South Sudan.
- Why do South Sudan and Sudan look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. South Sudan is drawn about 1.02× its true area there and Sudan about 1.08×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, South Sudan or Sudan?
- Sudan: 51,662,147 people against 12,188,788. Density: South Sudan 19 per km², Sudan 27 per km².
- Where do people live longer, South Sudan or Sudan?
- In Sudan: life expectancy at birth is 66.5 years, against 57.7 — 8.8 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do South Sudan and Sudan have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: presidential republic (CIA World Factbook).