Ten fun facts about South Sudan

Fact 1
The country went through 50 long years of spasmodic civil wars. It was only in 2005 that North Sudan and South Sudan signed a cease fire and the fighting finally stopped.

Fact 2
It is one of the youngest countries in the world. It was only in 2011 that South Sudan declared itself as an independent nation when it spun-off from the country of Sudan.

Fact 3
Interestingly, the South Sudanese government considered numerous names such as Nile Republic, Azania and Kush Republic. It finally settled for what it thought was the safest choice- the Republic of South Sudan also called Ross.

Fact 4
South Sudan is one of Africa’s most linguistically-diverse countries. It has several hundreds of language groups.

Fact 5
NBA players, the 7’7”-tall Manute Bol and the Chicago Bulls-player, Luol Deng both hailed from Southern Sudan.

Fact 6
Before the country broke-off from Sudan, area-wise it was the largest country in all of Africa. South Sudan has a predominantly Christian and tribal government while the Islamic Sharia law prevails in North Sudan.

Fact 7
Today, though a large number of ecologists head for South Sudan it offers practically zero tourist infrastructure, no paved roads and the communications infrastructure is almost non-existent.

Fact 8
Around 83% of the country’s population lives in circular stick and mud structures called “tukels”. These rustic cottages generally have no windows are tall and have thatched roofs.

Fact 9
The Boma National Park, situated close to the Ethiopian border is a vast expanse of wilderness that is home to wildlife including migratory herds of over a million Mongalla gazelle, white-eared kob, tiang and antelope.

Fact 10
Nimule, the small but breathtaking national park was home to the now-extinct white rhino. Today a large number of hippo, the Ugandan kob, buffalo and elephants live here.

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