AFRICA · COUNTRY REFERENCE
South Sudan
Written and compiled by American Business Capital Group Inc.
Selected country or entityMap: Natural Earth ↗
ANNUAL ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT
Population & economic scale
The most recent non-empty observations returned by the World Bank when this snapshot was collected. Read the year on each card: these are annual statistics, not live measurements.
World Bank reporting entity: South Sudan · 3 of 3 indicators available.
Population
12,188,788
people
observation
Definition, value & source
Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.
Received value: 12188788 people. The main card rounds for readability.
- Collected
- Oct 7, 2026
- Dataset update reported by API
- Jul 13, 2026; separate from the observation year
World Bank indicator ↗ · API record ↗
World Bank, World Development Indicators. CC BY 4.0. Underlying sources: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), uri: https://population.un.org/wpp/, publisher: UN Population Division; Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices, National Statistical Offices (NSOs), uri: https://unstats.un.org/home/nso_sites/, publisher: National Statistical Offices; Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, Eurostat (ESTAT), uri: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database?node_code=earn_ses_monthly, publisher: Eurostat; Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), United Nations (UN), uri: https://unstats.un.org, publisher: UN Statistics Division
GDP
$12 billion
current US$
observation · older available record
Definition, value & source
Gross domestic product is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period. It can be measured in three different ways: using either the expenditure approach, the income approach, or the production approach. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.
Received value: 11997800760.2242 current US$. The main card rounds for readability.
- Collected
- Oct 7, 2026
- Dataset update reported by API
- Jul 13, 2026; separate from the observation year
World Bank indicator ↗ · API record ↗
World Bank, World Development Indicators. CC BY 4.0. Underlying sources: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB)
GDP per capita
$1,080
current US$ per person
observation · older available record
Definition, value & source
Gross domestic product is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period. It can be measured in three different ways: using either the expenditure approach, the income approach, or the production approach. The core indicator has been divided by the general population to achieve a per capita estimate.This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.
Received value: 1080.14718624765 current US$ per person. The main card rounds for readability.
- Collected
- Oct 7, 2026
- Dataset update reported by API
- Jul 13, 2026; separate from the observation year
World Bank indicator ↗ · API record ↗
World Bank, World Development Indicators. CC BY 4.0. Underlying sources: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB)
GDP and GDP per capita use current US dollars, without an inflation or purchasing-power-parity adjustment. Source years can differ. Missing data is not zero; earlier archive figures below are retained as a separate historical reference.
THE REFERENCE FILE
South Sudan at a glance
These are historical reference facts from the 2025 World Factbook archive. Each estimate keeps its own period; an archive edition does not make every figure a measurement from that year.
Population
total: 12,703,714 (2024 est.) male: 6,476,341 female: 6,227,373
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$6.752 billion (2023 est.) $6.585 billion (2022 est.) $6.945 billion (2021 est.) note: data in 2015 dollars
GDP (official exchange rate)
$4.629 billion (2023 est.) note: data in current dollars at official exchange rate
Real GDP growth rate
-5.2% (2017 est.) -13.9% (2016 est.) -10.8% (2015 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency
Real GDP per capita
$400 (2023 est.) $400 (2022 est.) $400 (2021 est.) note: data in 2015 dollars
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
91.4% (2024 est.) 2.4% (2023 est.) -6.7% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Unemployment rate
12.5% (2023 est.) 12.6% (2022 est.) 14.1% (2021 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment
Labor force
5.091 million (2023 est.) note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work
Budget
revenues: $2.513 billion (2023 est.) expenditures: $1.984 billion (2023 est.) note: central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated
Current account balance
$577.9 million (2023 est.) -$596.748 million (2022 est.) -$6.55 million (2021 est.) note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars
Exports
$4.499 billion (2023 est.) $5.811 billion (2022 est.) $4.652 billion (2021 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Imports
$4.443 billion (2023 est.) $6.402 billion (2022 est.) $4.037 billion (2021 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$72.881 million (2023 est.) $94.914 million (2022 est.) $341.932 million (2021 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars
Electricity access
electrification - total population: 8.4% (2022 est.) electrification - urban areas: 15% electrification - rural areas: 1.7%
Internet users
percent of population: 9% (2022 est.)
THE HISTORICAL REFERENCE LIBRARY
Explore the country in detail
Browse the economy, population, resources and infrastructure. These archived descriptions keep their original wording and dates; they have not been updated to describe current conditions.
27 of 27 sections
Location
East-Central Africa; south of Sudan, north of Uganda and Kenya, west of Ethiopia
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Capital
name: Juba geographic coordinates: 04 51 N, 31 37 E time difference: UTC+2 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: the name comes from the name of a small Bari village that was located near the present-day city
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Economic overview
low-income, oil-based Sahelian economy; extreme poverty and food insecurity; COVID-19 and ongoing violence threaten socioeconomic potential; environmentally fragile; ongoing land and property rights issues; natural resource rich but lacks infrastructure
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Natural resources
hydropower, fertile agricultural land, gold, diamonds, petroleum, hardwoods, limestone, iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Agricultural products
milk, cassava, sorghum, goat milk, vegetables, fruits, groundnuts, sesame seeds, beef, maize (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Exports - partners
China 51%, Singapore 29%, UAE 10%, Germany 4%, Uganda 3% (2023) note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Exports - commodities
crude petroleum, refined petroleum, forage crops, gold, scrap iron (2023) note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Imports - partners
Uganda 33%, UAE 26%, Kenya 14%, China 10%, USA 3% (2023) note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Imports - commodities
garments, cement, other foods, iron bars, cereal flours (2023) note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
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
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Terrain
plains in the north and center rise to southern highlands along the border with Uganda and Kenya; the White Nile, flowing north out of the uplands of Central Africa, is the major geographic feature of the country; The Sudd (a name derived from floating vegetation that hinders navigation) is a large swampy area of more than 100,000 sq km fed by the waters of the White Nile that dominates the center of the country
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Land use
agricultural land: 44.9% (2023 est.) arable land: 3.9% (2023 est.) permanent crops: 0.1% (2023 est.) permanent pasture: 40.8% (2023 est.) forest: 11.3% (2023 est.) other: 43.8% (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Languages
English (official), Arabic (includes Juba and Sudanese variants), ethnic languages include Dinka, Nuer, Bari, Zande, Shilluk major-language sample(s): The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. (English) كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Religions
Christian 60.5%, folk religion 32.9%, Muslim 6.2%, other 1%, unaffiliated 1% (2020 est.)
2020 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Age structure
0-14 years: 42.1% (male 2,725,520/female 2,619,035) 15-64 years: 55.3% (male 3,568,064/female 3,458,804) 65 years and over: 2.6% (2024 est.) (male 182,757/female 149,534)
2024 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Urbanization
urban population: 21.2% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 4.12% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
2023, 2020 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 60.3 years (2024 est.) male: 58.4 years female: 62.2 years
2024 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Electricity
installed generating capacity: 136,000 kW (2023 est.) consumption: 566.034 million kWh (2023 est.) transmission/distribution losses: 23.966 million kWh (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Electricity generation sources
fossil fuels: 93.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) solar: 6.8% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Petroleum
total petroleum production: 146,000 bbl/day (2023 est.) refined petroleum consumption: 11,000 bbl/day (2023 est.) crude oil estimated reserves: 3.75 billion barrels (2021 est.)
2023, 2021 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Carbon dioxide emissions
1.725 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.) from petroleum and other liquids: 1.725 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Telephones - mobile cellular
total subscriptions: 6.17 million (2023 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 30 (2022 est.)
2023, 2022 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Broadband - fixed subscriptions
total: 0 (2023 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: (2023 est.) less than 1
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Airports
89 (2025)
2025 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Railways
total: 248 km (2018) note: a narrow gauge, single-track railroad between Babonosa (Sudan) and Wau, the only existing rail system, was repaired in 2010 with $250 million in UN funds, but is not currently operational
2018, 2010 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
GDP - composition, by sector of origin
agriculture: 10.4% (2015 est.) industry: 33.1% (2015 est.) services: 56.6% (2015 est.) note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data
2015 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Remittances
9.5% of GDP (2015 est.) 0% of GDP (2014 est.) 0% of GDP (2013 est.) note: personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities
2015, 2014, 2013 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
CURRENCY OBSERVATIONS
Money & exchange rates
The latest verified daily references are separate from the historical country profile. Values are currency units per US$1.
South Sudanese Pound
SSP per US$1
Published reference snapshot; its original observation date is preserved.
1 SSP = US$0.0001737318
5,618–5,768 SSP per US$1 across the displayed observations. The vertical scale follows this range.
View dated observations
| Observation date | SSP per US$1 |
|---|---|
| Oct 6, 2026 | 5,756 |
| Oct 5, 2026 | 5,765 |
| Oct 2, 2026 | 5,762 |
| Oct 1, 2026 | 5,753 |
| Sep 30, 2026 | 5,730 |
| Sep 29, 2026 | 5,723 |
| Sep 28, 2026 | 5,768 |
| Sep 25, 2026 | 5,760 |
| Sep 24, 2026 | 5,745 |
| Sep 23, 2026 | 5,714 |
| Sep 22, 2026 | 5,712 |
| Sep 21, 2026 | 5,711 |
| Sep 18, 2026 | 5,714 |
| Sep 17, 2026 | 5,692 |
| Sep 16, 2026 | 5,660 |
| Sep 15, 2026 | 5,674 |
| Sep 14, 2026 | 5,672 |
| Sep 11, 2026 | 5,665 |
| Sep 10, 2026 | 5,640 |
| Sep 9, 2026 | 5,660 |
| Sep 8, 2026 | 5,631 |
| Sep 7, 2026 | 5,618 |
Daily references are not live execution prices. A check time does not change a source observation date.
CAPITAL MARKETS
Stock exchanges
No venue from our curated stock exchange directory is listed for this entity.
Browse the worldwide directory →Exchange directory coverage is curated and does not establish that an entity has no other trading venues.
CONTINUE YOUR RESEARCH
Official data & country reports
Research directories have their own coverage. A link is not a claim that every entity has an IMF report or a separate national statistical office.
SOURCES & DATES
Where the facts come from.
Editorial presentation by American Business Capital Group Inc. The organizations and archive links below are the underlying sources.
- Country reference
- CIA World Factbook · 2025 archive
- Archive retrieved
- Oct 6, 2026 · retrieval date, not an observation period
- Currency associations
- SIX / ISO 4217 currency registry ↗
- Rate observations
- Frankfurter / official reference providers ↗ · each observation is dated separately
- State classification
- UN member states ↗ · UN observer states ↗
- UN membership is shown separately from territory and currency coverage; inclusion is not a position on sovereignty or boundaries.
- CIA World Factbook text preserved by World Factbook Archive. Archive edition 2025; individual estimates retain their own dates. These are historical reference facts, not current observations.
About the editions. The CIA announced the end of its online World Factbook on February 4, 2026. Our historical profiles retain the archive editions shown above.
Skyhorse lists The CIA World Factbook 2026–2027, published April 7, 2026 (ISBN 9781510786042). That book’s full text has not been incorporated here; its edition title does not redate the imported archive. Archive distribution license.
Geography is a simplified reference. Displayed boundaries and entity inclusion do not express a position on sovereignty or disputed borders.