The Sudanese Economy

Most people are surprised to learn that Sudan has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. It just goes to show what having large reserves of oil can do. For decades civil war has really hurt the economy in Sudan and it has only been recently that they have started to export oil. Despite the strong growth most of the people in Sudan remain very poor. Even strong growth will take a long time to help the average citizen when you are starting out as one of the poorest countries in the world. However the prospects for Sudan are promising since they have large reserves of other minerals besides oil.

Despite the recent growth as the result of oil production the vast majority of Sudanese citizens still rely on subsistence farming. The area is prone to droughts so this is an unreliable way to earn a living. The natural resources that the country has may allow it to change this and create a higher standard of living for most of the citizens. If it was just oil that Sudan was producing the prospects would be less promising. However with a number of other minerals being discovered in large deposits there is an opportunity to really diversify the economy.

Not surprisingly given all of the natural resources that they have there are a number of foreign investors who are interested in putting money into Sudan. However this has not proved to be easy. Between unstable governments and excessive regulation it has been difficult for foreign companies to get established. The government is going to have to liberalize the economy if they are going to see the economy grow. It is the only way they are going to attract the foreign investment that they need to take advantage of their resources.

The other big problem that Sudan is going to face in trying to use their resources to grow their economy is the almost total lack of any infrastructure. Most of the infrastructure that did exist was destroyed during the civil war. This is going to have to be built up at great expense in order for the economy to grow. Things like communications and electricity are critical for a growing economy and they really don’t exist right now in Sudan. This is going to require a major investment on the part of the government.

Another issue that is going to slow the growth of the Sudanese economy and limit its ability to exploit their resources is the almost total lack of a skilled workforce. Most people in Sudan receive no education at all. This means that workers will need to be imported from other countries, not an easy thing to do in an area that has some real security concerns. Importing foreign workers will also prevent the local citizens from benefitting from the economic growth. An effort to improve the skills of the citizens is going to be necessary for long term growth.