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Economy of South Sudan
Economy of South Sudan
Economy of South Sudan
Low-income economy[2]
Statistics
4.9% (2020e) 3.2% (2021e)[4]
GDP per capita $276 (nominal, 2019 est.)[3]
0.245 low IHDI (2021)[9]
Labour force 4,724,150 (2019)[10]
Ease-of-doing-business rank 185th (below average, 2020)
External
Public finances
Public debt 62.7% of GDP (2017 est.)[5]
Budget balance −1.3% (of GDP) (FY2017/18 est.)[5]
South Sudan became the world's newest country and Africa's 55th nation on 9th July ,
2011. The conflict, which started in December 2013, undermined economic
development achieved since independence, making humanitarian work difficult to
conduct within the country. As such, South Sudan is facing economic stagnation and
instability in its 10 years after independence. Moreover, poverty is widespread
throughout the country as a result of inter-communal conflict, displacement, and
external fear.[11]
The economy of South Sudan is $3.681 billion by gross domestic product as of 2019,
being one of the most oil dependent economies in the world, with 98% of government's
annual operating budget and 80% of its gross domestic product (GDP) derived from oil,
[12]
despite being endowed with adequate natural resources. It has a very fertile
agricultural land and vast quantities of livestock. The livestock include over 60 million
cattle, sheep and goats. Instability, unsatisfactory governance, and corruption continue
to hinder development in South Sudan.
South Sudan is mostly underdeveloped; most cities in the country have no electricity or
running water, and overall infrastructure is lacking, with only 10,000 km (6,200 mi) of
paved roads.[13] South Sudan is a least developed country according to the United
Nations.
Contents
1Natural resources
o 1.1Oil
o 1.2Agriculture
2Infrastructure
3Currency
4East African Community membership
5See also
6References
7External links
Natural resources[edit]
South Sudan exports timber to the international market. Some of the states with the
best known teak and natural trees for timber are Western Equatoria and Central
Equatoria and some parts of Eastern Equatoria like magwi. There are teak plantations
located at Kegulu; the other, oldest planted forest reserves are Kawale, Lijo, Loka West,
and Nuni. Western Equatoria timber resources include mvuba trees at Zamoi.
One of the major natural features of South Sudan is the River Nile whose many
tributaries have sources in the country. The region also contains many natural
resources such as petroleum, iron
ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold in Kapoeta area of Eastern
Equatoria, and hydropower.[14] The country's economy, as in many other developing
countries, is heavily dependent on agriculture. Some of the agricultural produce
include cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum
arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, maize,simsim,bananas, sweet
potatoes, and sesame. Solar power could become important with a solar photovoltaic
project on 250,000 m2 of land near Juba expected to be operational by late 2020. The
project consists of a 20 MWP photovoltaic park, a 35 megawatt-hour battery storage
system and an in-house training center.[1].
Oil[edit]
Oil and gas concessions in Sudan – 2004.
South Sudan is rich in agricultural land and has one of the largest populations of
pastoralists in the world.[19] However, since 1999, when Sudan first started exporting oil,
agricultural production in the country had declined. According to the World Bank, the
average annual growth rate of the agricultural sector between 2000 and 2008 was only
3.6 percent, which is considerably lower than the 10.8 percent growth rate of the
previous decade.[20] The UN Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO) carried out an
extensive satellite land cover survey that showed just 4.5 percent of the available land
was under cultivation when South Sudan became independent. [21]
South Sudan relies on food imports from neighboring countries, such
as Uganda, Kenya and Sudan. These come at a high transportation cost which, coupled
with inflation, has caused food prices to rise dramatically in South Sudan.[19] The
declining agricultural production and the reliance on expensive foreign food supplies
have contributed to a severe food shortage in South Sudan. Around 2.7 million South
Sudanese will need food aid in 2012 according to the United Nations' food programme.
[22]
The government has begun to address the issue of agriculture and food security.
According to Elizabeth Manoa Majok, undersecretary in the Ministry of Commerce,
Industry and Investment, the government of South Sudan has made food production a
top priority.[22] The Ministry of Agriculture in South Sudan has announced its goal of
boosting food production in South Sudan to two million metric tons per year by 2013.
[19]
South Sudan hopes to attract agricultural investors from Gulf Arab
states, Israel, China, the Netherlands and fellow African countries in order to increase
production of basic food items such as sugar, rice, cereals and oilseeds, livestock as
well as cotton.[22]
In June 2011, the vice-president of South Sudan, Riek Machar Teny, announced a plan
to mobilize $500 billion of foreign investment in the first five years of independence.
Much of this investment would be focused in the agricultural sector, where the
government hopes to diversify the economy and provide jobs to the large numbers of
unemployed.[19] The FAO has also drawn up a $50 million Interim Assistance Plan (IAP)
for the agricultural sector that will build capacity in ministerial and state agricultural
extension offices. This includes the establishment of a seed production sector and an
urban and peri-urban agriculture component. [21]
Smallholder farming accounts for 80 percent of the country's cereal production.
Unfortunately, these farmers face a number of constraints, due to high transport costs,
unavailability of agricultural inputs, and underdeveloped agricultural extension services.
Instead of investing resources into developing the kind of agricultural extension services
that could help smallholder production, however, the government has chosen to focus
on large-scale, private sector-led industrial agricultural schemes as a way to boost food
production.[19]
Donor countries promote the idea that industrial farming is the key to improved food
security in South Sudan. The United States Agency for International
Development (USAID), for example, is working with Citibank, the IFC, the Corporate
Council on Africa, and others to help the country market its resources and attract private
capital in key sectors, including agriculture. [19]
This investment is intended to stimulate rural development and generate employment
opportunities, increase food productivity, provide government institutions with new and
sustainable sources of revenue, and help to diversify the economy. There is some
concern, however, that a small transnational elite will benefit at the expense of the rural
poor if the country's arable land is used to grow food for foreign populations, while
simultaneously pushing communities onto increasingly marginal lands. This could
create the potential for more food insecurity, instability, social unrest and conflict.[20]
Nina Pedersen, manager of Norwegian People's Aid (NPA)'s Civil Society Development
Project is concerned that in the rush to attract foreign investment for South Sudan not
enough attention was paid as to whether the people negotiating the terms really knew
the value of the land they were selling. [23] According to the NPA, prior to South Sudan's
declaration of Independence, beginning in 2007, private interests sought or secured
5.15 million hectares of land in the agriculture, biofuels, forestry, carbon credit, and
ecotourism sectors—equivalent to more than eight percent of South Sudan's total land
area.[20]
One of the largest firms involved is the Egyptian private equity firm Citadel Capital,
which has leased 259,500 acres for farming. This plantation has provided little local
employment, being mostly run by Zimbabweans.[24] A Ugandan conglomerate called
the Madhvani Group has also entered into a preliminary agreement with the government
of South Soudan to revitalize a government-owned sugar plantation and processing
facility in Mangala Payam. This plantation would cover 10,000 ha of prime riverfront
property along the Nile, about 70 kilometers north of Juba. According to the paramount
chief in Mangala, the community has not been involved in any of the investment
negotiations.[19]
Concerns about foreign exploitation has led organizations such as OI and NPA to urge
a moratorium on new land deals until a better framework is established. [23]
Banana plantation
For its part, the South Sudan's Land Commission, a task force headed by Robert
Lado in charge of advising the government and drawing up the new policy, is pushing
for land administrations at county and sub-county level that are run by community
members, including women and tribal elders.[23]
Infrastructure[edit]
In 2012, The World Bank approved a four-year, US$38 million investment loan to South
Sudan's Ministry of Roads and Bridges to build rural and inter-urban roads and
highways.[25] Access to clean water in South Sudan is a major challenge for many
people.
The nation has some telecommunications service through operators like MTN
Group (formerly known as Investcom), but currently lacks the infrastructure to offer high
speed Internet connections. In September 2022 South Sudan and Djibouti signed an
agreement to lay fibre optic cable from Djibouti to South Sudan’s capital, Juba, via
Ethiopia.[26] In March 2015, South Sudan's minister for telecommunications and postal
services revealed plans for the government to lay 1,600 kilometers of fiber-optic cable
across the country within two years.[27] The government plans to connect this network
with undersea cables via existing infrastructure in Uganda and Tanzania.
Currency[edit]
Further information: South Sudanese pound
In 1992, the Sudanese Pound replaced the dinar as Sudan's currency. Until a
referendum, South Sudan will become to first to use the new currency and will be
nicknamed 'the Sudani'.[28] Inaugural Finance Minister David Deng Athorbie announced
the creation of the South Sudanese pound to go into effect a week after independence.
[29]
See also[edit]
Transport in South Sudan
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa