Economy of South Sudan

South Sudan is a country in Africa that became independent in 2011, making it the newest nation in the world. However, it has faced many challenges, including a long civil war that made it hard to build a strong economy. Today, South Sudan's economy is still developing and considered low-income, meaning many people live with very little.

The country's economy depends heavily on oil, with about 80% of its wealth coming from this resource. South Sudan also has rich farmland and many animals, including over 60 million cattle, sheep, and goats. Despite these resources, problems like political instability and corruption have made it difficult for the country to grow and improve living conditions.

As of 2026, South Sudan's total economy, known as its gross domestic product (GDP), is about $6.03 billion. Many cities lack basic services like electricity and clean water, and there are not enough paved roads to help people travel easily. Because of these challenges, South Sudan remains one of the least developed countries in the world.

Natural resources

South Sudan sells timber to other countries. The best-known trees for timber are found in Western Equatoria and Central Equatoria, with some in magwi. There are teak plantations at Kegulu, and other old forests at Kawale, Lijo, Loka West, and Nuni. Western Equatoria has mvuba trees at Zamoi.

The country has the River Nile and many tributaries. It also has natural resources like petroleum, iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold in Kapoeta area of Eastern Equatoria, and hydropower. The economy depends a lot on farming. Some crops include cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, maize, simsim, bananas, sweet potatoes, and sesame. Solar power could become important with a project near Juba expected to start by late 2020. The project will have a photovoltaic park, a battery storage system, and a training center.

Oil

Before it became independent, South Sudan made most of Sudan's oil. The oil money was shared equally under an agreement. Since South Sudan needed pipelines, refineries, and ports in Red Sea state in North Sudan, the agreement said that the government in Khartoum would get half of the oil money. Oil money makes up most of the government’s budget, and it has brought in more than $8 billion since the peace agreement.

Recently, more foreign oil drilling has started in South Sudan, making it more important globally. Oil and minerals are found everywhere, but areas like Bentiu are especially rich. During the years of autonomy from 2005 to 2011, Khartoum divided Sudan into blocks, with about 85% of the oil coming from the South. Blocks 1, 2, and 4 are controlled by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC). GNPOC includes China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Petronas, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, and Sudapet.

Because of Sudan’s status and Khartoum’s demands, US oil companies cannot work with South Sudan. US companies have almost no presence in the oil sector.

Other oil blocks in the South are blocks 3 and 7 in eastern Upper Nile state. These are controlled by Petrodar, owned by CNPC, Petronas, Sudapet, Sinopec Corp, and Al Thani.

Another major block, formerly called Block B, is claimed by several groups. Total of France was given the rights in the 1980s but has done little work. Various groups in South Sudan have handed out parts of this block to others. Some of these deals were rejected when Dr. John Garang de Mabior lost power.

The agreement says that all deals made before the peace agreement will stand, but it does not say who can sign them. China has offered to lend money to South Sudan while a new pipeline to the Kenyan coast is built. This is seen as less likely than continuing to depend on Sudan’s infrastructure. If South Sudan starts exporting oil from Kenyan ports, the US could become a trade partner. Meanwhile, South Sudan plans to ask the US to ease restrictions on American companies.

Agriculture

South Sudan has rich farmland and many people who raise animals, but since 1999, when Sudan started selling oil, farming has gone down. The World Bank says the farming sector grew only 3.6 percent each year from 2000 to 2008, much less than the 10.8 percent growth of the previous ten years. The UN Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO) found that only 4.5 percent of the land was being used for farming when South Sudan became independent.

South Sudan depends on food from neighboring countries like Uganda, Kenya, and Sudan. These foods cost a lot to transport, and with inflation, food prices have gone up a lot in South Sudan. The drop in farming and reliance on expensive food from other countries have caused serious food shortages. The United Nations says around 2.7 million South Sudanese will need food help in 2012.

The government has started to focus on farming and food safety. The Ministry of Agriculture wants to increase food production to two million metric tons each year by 2013. South Sudan hopes to attract investors from Gulf Arab states, Israel, China, the Netherlands, and other African countries to grow more food like sugar, rice, grains, oilseeds, animals, and cotton.

In June 2011, the vice-president of South Sudan, Riek Machar Teny, announced a plan to get $500 billion of foreign investment in the first five years after independence. Much of this would be for farming, where the government hopes to create jobs for many people without work. The FAO has a $50 million plan to help farming offices, including starting a seed production sector and helping farming in cities.

Smallholder farming makes up 80 percent of the country’s grain production. These farmers face problems like high transport costs, not enough farming tools, and poor farming advice. Instead of helping these small farmers, the government is focusing on big, private farming projects to increase food production.

Countries helping South Sudan think big farming is the key to better food safety. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is working with Citibank, the IFC, the Corporate Council on Africa, and others to help South Sudan sell its resources and attract private money in farming.

This help is meant to create jobs in the countryside, increase food production, give the government new ways to make money, and change the economy. But there are worries that a few rich people might benefit while poor rural people suffer if land is used to grow food for other countries, pushing communities to worse land. This could lead to more hunger, instability, and conflict.

Nina Pedersen from Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) says that not enough attention was paid to whether the people negotiating land deals really knew the value of the land they were selling. Before independence, private interests got rights to over five million hectares of land for farming, biofuels, forestry, carbon credit, and tourism—more than eight percent of South Sudan’s land.

One big company is Citadel Capital from Egypt, which has leased 259,500 acres for farming. This farm has provided little local jobs, mostly run by Zimbabweans. A Ugandan company called the Madhvani Group has agreed to help revive a government-owned sugar farm and factory in Mangala Payam. This farm would cover 10,000 hectares of land along the Nile, about 70 kilometers north of Juba. The local chief says the community was not part of the talks.

Worries about foreign exploitation have led groups like OI and NPA to ask for a stop on new land deals until better rules are made.

South Sudan’s Land Commission, led by Robert Lado, is pushing for local land management by community members, including women and tribal elders.

Infrastructure

In 2012, The World Bank gave South Sudan money to help build roads in rural areas and between cities. Many people in South Sudan still struggle to get clean water.

The country has some phone services, but fast internet is not available everywhere. In 2022, South Sudan and Djibouti agreed to build a special cable that will bring better internet to the capital city, Juba. The government also planned to build more of these cables across the country to improve internet connections.

Currency

Main article: South Sudanese pound

The South Sudanese pound is the currency of South Sudan. It is divided into 100 smaller parts called piasters. The South Sudanese pound was approved by the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly before South Sudan became its own country on July 9, 2011. It started being used on July 18, 2011, replacing the old Sudanese pound at par. After September 1, 2011, the Sudanese pound was no longer accepted as money in South Sudan.

Inflation

Inflation, which shows how much prices change, was very high in South Sudan. In 2011 and 2012, it was about 45%. It dropped for a short time but then rose sharply, reaching an extremely high point of 380% in 2016. After that, it went down but was still very high, around 190% in 2017 and 85% in 2018 and 2019. From 2020 to 2022, it fell to low or even negative levels, but it rose again in 2024 to about 90%. High inflation made it hard for families to buy even basic food.

East African Community membership

Further information: East African Community

When South Sudan became independent in 2011, leaders from Kenya and Rwanda invited the country to join the East African Community. South Sudan showed interest and began working on joining the group. They wanted to connect better with nearby countries like Kenya and Uganda through things like railways and oil pipelines.

However, joining took time. South Sudan worried its economy wasn't strong enough to compete with other members. There were also some political issues, especially with operators in South Sudan, that caused delays. Finally, in March 2016, South Sudan was approved to join the East African Community and officially became a member in April 2016.