| Location | East-Central Africa; south of Sudan, north of Uganda and Kenya, west of Ethiopia |
| Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 30 00 E |
| Map references | Africa |
| Area | total: 644,329 sq km land: NA water: NA |
| Area - comparative | more than four times the size of Georgia; slightly smaller than Texas |
| Land boundaries | total: 6,018 km border countries (6): Central African Republic 1055 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 714 km, Ethiopia 1299 km, Kenya 317 km, Sudan 2158 km, Uganda 475 km note: South Sudan-Sudan boundary represents 1 January 1956 alignment; final alignment pending negotiations and demarcation; final sovereignty status of Abyei Area pending negotiations between South Sudan and Sudan |
| 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 |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m lowest point: White Nile 381 m |
| Natural resources | hydropower, fertile agricultural land, gold, diamonds, petroleum, hardwoods, limestone, iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver |
| Land use | agricultural land: 45% (2018) arable land: 4.4% (2018) permanent pasture: 40.7% (2018) forest: 11.3% (2018) other: 43.5% (2018) |
| Irrigated land | 1,000 sq km (2012) |
| Total renewable water resources | 49.5 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Geography - note | landlocked; The Sudd is a vast swamp in the north central region of South Sudan, formed by the White Nile, its size is variable but can reach some 15% of the country's total area during the rainy season; it is one of the world's largest wetlands |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
