# Egypt and Sudan compared

Egypt and Sudan side by side: 41 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 11 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/egy-vs-sdn
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Egypt: c. 3100 BCE — Narmer unites Upper and Lower Egypt
- Sudan: 1 January 1956 — The Republic of the Sudan becomes independent

## Economy

| Metric | Egypt | Observed | Sudan | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $389 B | 2024 | $50 B | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $3,338 | 2024 | $985 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 2.4% | 2024 | -14.0% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 28.3% | 2024 | 138.8% | 2022 |
| Trade openness | 39.6% | 2024 | 2.0% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Egypt | Observed | Sudan | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 117 m | 2024 | 50 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 71.8 yrs | 2024 | 66.5 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 42.8% | 2024 | 34.9% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 2.7 | 2024 | 4.3 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Egypt | Observed | Sudan | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 28.8 | 2024 | 23.9 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 49.2 | 2024 | 31.3 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 49.5 | 2024 | 16.5 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 47.0 | 2024 | 28.6 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 44.0 | 2024 | 26.4 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 31.1 | 2024 | 16.3 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Egypt | Observed | Sudan | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 4.9% | 2023 | 2.9% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 0.67 | 2020 | 0.25 | 2017 |
| Under-5 mortality | 22.4 | 2024 | 61.6 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 97.0% | 2024 | 46.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 78.9% | 2024 | — | — |

## Education

| Metric | Egypt | Observed | Sudan | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 79.5% | 2022 | 53.5% | 2008 |
| Education spending | 3.8% | 2008 | 2.0% | 2009 |
| Primary enrolment | 96.7% | 2024 | 72.4% | 2019 |
| Secondary enrolment | 84.8% | 2024 | 43.5% | 2019 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 38.0% | 2025 | 15.9% | 2015 |

## Technology

| Metric | Egypt | Observed | Sudan | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 1.0% | 2024 | 0.2% | 2005 |
| Researchers (per million) | 1,120 | 2024 | — | — |
| Internet users | 74.6% | 2024 | 18.6% | 2017 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 97 | 2024 | 70 | 2022 |
| High-tech exports | 3.8% | 2024 | 2.2% | 2018 |

## Geography

| Metric | Egypt | Observed | Sudan | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 995,450 km² | 2023 | 1,868,000 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 0.0% | 2023 | 9.6% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 4.1% | 2023 | 60.3% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 2.5 | 2024 | 0.4 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 6.1% | 2021 | 61.0% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Egypt | Observed | Sudan | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 5.1% | 2021 | 12.8% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 3.0% | 2021 | 3.3% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 6.6% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 0.1% | 2021 | 2.8% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 66.0% | 2023 |
| Phosphate rock | 5.5 Mt | 2025 | — | — |

## Military

| Metric | Egypt | Observed | Sudan | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 0.7% | 2024 | 0.9% | 2021 |
| Defense spending | $2.4 B | 2024 | $375 M | 2021 |
| Armed forces | 836,000 | 2020 | 144,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/EGY.md and https://terralore.co/country/SDN.md.

## Entangled histories (11 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- c. 2500–1500 BCE: **The Kerma culture** — The city-state of Kerma dominates the middle Nile, one of the earliest urban civilisations in sub-Saharan Africa and a rival of pharaonic Egypt. (from the Sudan chronicle; sources: Kingdom of Kush; The Kingdom of Kush)
- c. 1070 BCE: **Kush independent at Napata** — As Egypt's New Kingdom collapses, Kush re-emerges as an independent kingdom centred on Napata, near Gebel Barkal. (from the Sudan chronicle; sources: Kingdom of Kush; Sudan — The kingdom of Kush)
- c. 727 BCE: **Piye conquers Egypt — the 25th Dynasty** — The Kushite king Piye (Piankhi) brings Egypt under Nubian rule, founding the 25th Dynasty of "Black Pharaohs"; Taharqa later reigns at its height. (from the Sudan chronicle; sources: Kingdom of Kush; The Kingdom of Kush)
- 671 BCE: **Assyrians expel the Kushites from Egypt** — Esarhaddon and then Ashurbanipal invade Egypt, driving the Kushite pharaohs back to Nubia by the 660s BCE. (from the Sudan chronicle; sources: Kingdom of Kush)
- c. 593–590 BCE: **Capital moves to Meroe** — After Psamtik II of Egypt sacks Napata, the Kushite court shifts south to Meroe, beginning the Meroitic age of iron, script and pyramids. (from the Sudan chronicle; sources: Kingdom of Kush; Sudan — The kingdom of Kush)
- c. 652 CE: **The Baqt treaty** — After repelling an Arab invasion, Makuria and Muslim Egypt agree to the Baqt, a durable pact of non-aggression and regulated trade. (from the Sudan chronicle; sources: Baqt; Christian Nubia and Muslim Egypt Sign Treaty)
- 1820–1821: **Turco-Egyptian conquest; Khartoum founded** — Muhammad Ali's armies conquer the Sudan; Khartoum is founded c. 1821 at the junction of the Blue and White Niles as the seat of Egyptian rule. (from the Sudan chronicle; sources: History of Sudan — Egyptian-Ottoman rule over the Sudan; Khartoum, Sudan (1821– ))
- 1881: **Muhammad Ahmad proclaims himself the Mahdi** — A religious teacher declares himself the awaited redeemer and launches a holy war against Turco-Egyptian rule. (from the Sudan chronicle; sources: Mahdist State; Battle of Omdurman)
- 2 September 1898: **Battle of Omdurman** — Kitchener's Anglo-Egyptian army destroys the Khalifa's forces with overwhelming firepower, ending the Mahdist state. (from the Sudan chronicle; sources: Battle of Omdurman; Mahdist State)
- 1899: **Anglo-Egyptian Condominium established** — Sudan is placed under joint British and Egyptian rule by the Condominium agreements of January and July 1899. (from the Sudan chronicle; sources: Anglo-Egyptian Condominium; Anglo-Egyptian Sudan)
- 1 January 1956: **Independence of the Sudan** — Sudan becomes a sovereign republic, ending Anglo-Egyptian rule; its parliament chooses independence over union with Egypt. (from the Sudan chronicle; sources: Anglo-Egyptian Condominium; Sudan)

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/EGY/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/SDN/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Egypt and Sudan compared", terralore.co/compare/egy-vs-sdn, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.