Background:
Egypt attempted to colonize the region of southern Sudan by establishing the province of Equatoria in the 1870s. Islamic Mahdist revolutionaries overran the region in 1885, but in 1898 a British force was able to overthrow the Mahdist regime. An Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was established the following year with Equatoria being the southernmost of its eight provinces. The isolated region was largely left to itself over the following decades, but Christian missionaries converted much of the population and facilitated the spread of English. When Sudan gained its independence in 1956, it was with the understanding that the southerners would be able to participate fully in the political system. When the Arab Khartoum government reneged on its promises, a mutiny began that led to two prolonged periods of conflict (1955-1972 and 1983-2005) in which perhaps 2.5 million people died - mostly civilians - due to starvation and drought. Ongoing peace talks finally resulted in a Comprehensive Peace Agreement, signed in January 2005. As part of this agreement the south was granted a six-year period of autonomy to be followed by a referendum on final status. The result of this referendum, held in January 2011, was a vote of 98% in favor of secession. Independence was attained on 9 July 2011. Since then it has made giant leaps forward in economical growth with an average growth of 9.45% of the annual GDP. The country has bright future ahead of it.

General information about South Sudan
Capital: Juba It is also the largest city
The official language of South Sudan is English.

Government: Federal presidential democratic republic.
- President: Salva Kiir Mayardit
- Vice President: Riek Machar

Legislature: National Legislature
- Upper house : Council of States
- Lower house : National Legislative Assembly

Independence from Sudan
- Comprehensive Peace Agreement - 6 January 2005
- Autonomy - 9 July 2005
- Independence - 9 July 2011

Area and Population
Area : 644,329 sq km
- Approximately 10,765,614 people.
- Growth rate: 3.90%

Economics
Currency: South Sudanese pound (SSP)
Real GDP Growth Rate (%): 8.20%
Present Year Real GDP ($): $22,432,900,224.12
GDP Per Capita ($): $2,083.75

Other general information:
Time zone: East Africa Time (UTC+3)
Drives on the right
Internet TLD: .ss (registered but not yet operational)
Calling code: +211