Sudan Population
Sudan had an estimated population of 51,662,147 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 30th most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.63% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +2.38% a year.
Sudan at a glance
How Sudan's population is changing
Sudan's population is growing fast: +2.38% a year, which works out to about +1,227,656 people per year, or +3,361 a day. Births (33.0 per 1,000) and deaths (6.3 per 1,000) alone would give +2.67% a year; net migration adds about 291,469 people a year (+0.56%). Roughly one in every 159 people on Earth lives in Sudan.
Population of Sudan since 1960
In 1960, Sudan had 8,364,489 people. By 2025 that was 51,662,147 — 6.2× larger. The fastest growth came between 1972 and 1982, when the population rose by 48%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 8,364,489 | — |
| 1970 | 11,695,771 | +39.8% |
| 1980 | 17,058,905 | +45.9% |
| 1990 | 22,021,481 | +29.1% |
| 2000 | 27,816,745 | +26.3% |
| 2010 | 35,414,399 | +27.3% |
| 2020 | 46,789,231 | +32.1% |
| 2025 | 51,662,147 | +10.4% |
Sudan from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Sudan at about 3,994,154 people in 1800; the UN estimates 51,662,149 in 2025 (13× 1800) and projects 136,890,755 for 2100 in its medium scenario. That is still 165% growth over the rest of this century.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 3,994,154 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 4,687,944 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 5,164,788 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 6,189,915 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 27,816,748 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 51,662,149 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 85,206,382 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 116,288,197 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 136,890,755 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Sudan
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 51,662,147. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khartoum | 6,809,355 | UN urban centre | 13.18% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Omdurman | 1,849,659 | GeoNames settlement | 3.58% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 3 | Khartoum North | 1,012,211 | GeoNames settlement | 1.96% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 4 | Nyala | 950,803 | UN urban centre | 1.84% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 5 | Burām | 537,169 | UN urban centre | 1.04% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 6 | Port Sudan | 517,023 | UN urban centre | 1.00% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 7 | Kosti | 431,504 | UN urban centre | 0.84% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 8 | El Obeid | 393,311 | GeoNames settlement | 0.76% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 9 | Kassala | 390,525 | UN urban centre | 0.76% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 10 | Kas | 381,286 | UN urban centre | 0.74% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
How Sudan compares
Sudan has almost the same population as South Korea (51,684,564).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Sudan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #28 |  Colombia | 53,425,635 | +3% | compare → |
| #29 |  South Korea | 51,684,564 | +0% | compare → |
| #31 |  Uganda | 51,384,894 | −1% | compare → |
| #32 |  Spain | 49,355,143 | −4% | compare → |
Compare Sudan with any country →
Same region (Sub-Saharan Africa): Nigeria, Ethiopia, DR Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya.
Explore around Sudan
Land neighbours (7)
Ethiopia 135,472,051 · 2.6× the population · compare
Egypt 118,365,995 · 2.3× the population · compare
Chad 21,003,705 · 2.5× smaller · compare
South Sudan 12,188,788 · 4.2× smaller · compare
Libya 7,458,555 · 6.9× smaller · compare
Central African Republic 5,513,282 · 9.4× smaller · compare
Eritrea 3,607,003 · 14.3× smaller · compare
Sudan's 7 neighbours together hold 303,609,379 people — 5.9× Sudan's population. The most populous is Ethiopia (135,472,051).
In its region
Sudan is the 7th most populous of the 48 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, holding 3.9% of the region's 1,321,654,217 people.
Rankings featuring Sudan
Cities
Khartoum, Omdurman, Khartoum North, Nyala, Burām, Port Sudan, Kosti, El Obeid — all Sudan's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Sudan when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.