Population:

40,218,455 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 41.1% (male 8,451,576/female 8,093,609)
15-64 years: 56.4% (male 11,407,233/female 11,275,685)
65 years and over: 2.5% (male 518,822/female 471,530) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 18.9 years
male: 18.7 years
female: 19.1 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.134% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

34.31 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

13.64 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.1 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 86.98 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 87.09 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 86.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 50.28 years
male: 49.38 years
female: 51.23 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

4.58 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

2.3% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

400,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

23,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:

degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness)
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)

Nationality:

noun: Sudanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Sudanese

Ethnic groups:

black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1%

Religions:

Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum), indigenous beliefs 25%

Languages:

Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of "Arabization" in process

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 61.1%
male: 71.8%
female: 50.5% (2003 est.)