Sudan - Economic sectors

Sudan belongs to a group of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. Its economy is very sluggish and underdeveloped. Sudan's civil war and political instability have caused havoc on the country's

economic sectors. There are labor shortages for almost all the categories of skilled employment. The most recent labor force estimation is from 1996 and measured the workforce at 11 million. Of that 11 million, 4 percent (or 440,000) were officially registered as unemployed. Some estimate that the real unemployment rate is nearly 30 percent, however. Most of the population survives on subsistence agriculture . Industry is limited to some textile and foodstuffs manufacturing facilities, which operate at very low standards.

Since the late 1990s, the government has been trying to improve the economic prospects of the country. If

it succeeds in breaking international isolation, mitigating the inner conflict, and attracting more investment, the country could experience significant growth. There were plans for developing the petrochemical and chemical industry, improving textile manufacturing, and attracting tourism. But by 2001, little progress had been made.