South Sudan Country Profile – Geography

Last updated: 12 November 2020

From Cia Factbook (Page last updated on October 09, 2020)

Location: East-Central Africa; south of Sudan, north of Uganda and Kenya, west of Ethiopia

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

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

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

Population distribution: clusters found in urban areas, particularly in the western interior and around the White Nile as shown in this population distribution map

Environment – current issues: water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife conservation and loss of biodiversity; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; periodic drought

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