placestats

Last European coloniser: Never a European colony · Largest religious group: Christians. These are labels that describe the country, not numbers, so they are never compared with other measures. The numbers behind them, such as population shares, are.

South Sudan

Against low income countries, South Sudan ranks 11th of 25 on gender and 25th of 25 on infrastructure. Each ranking counts only the countries that report that score, so the totals differ and the two ranks can’t be compared directly. Both compare South Sudan with countries of similar wealth. That is the only kind of ranking that tells you something a ranking by income does not already show.

How it has changed

Every measure South Sudan reports, over all the years it has been published. Pick one. Hover or use the arrow keys to read a year. Gaps in a line are years with no data. They are left open, not filled in.

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Scores by area

Each score averages the measures in one area, such as health. Each measure is first put on a common scale and turned so that higher is always better. Zero is the average country in an average year. One point is a typical gap between countries (a standard deviation), so +1 means about one typical gap above average. These are summaries, not measurements. See how the country scores are built and how the topic scores compare with each other.

ScoreValueRank, all countriesRank, similar incomeMostly income?
Governance score 2025-1.31171 of 17922 of 25moderate +0.53
Health score 2023-0.61173 of 19323 of 25moderate +0.32
Education score 2015-1.86198 of 19923 of 24proxy +0.81
Equality score 2016-2.06162 of 16519 of 21high +0.64
Infrastructure score 2023-1.06210 of 21025 of 25proxy +0.90
Gender score 2024+0.37101 of 18611 of 25moderate +0.37
Environment score 2023-0.50166 of 21323 of 25moderate -0.33
Labour score 2023-1.15186 of 19523 of 25high +0.79

The last column shows how closely each score just tracks national income. The number is its link with GDP per person (the value of everything a country produces, divided by its people), from −1 to +1. A score marked proxy is mostly a measure of how rich the country is. Its rank among all countries says little that GDP per person does not. That is why the rank among similar-income countries sits beside it.

The measures behind them

Every measure reported for South Sudan, grouped by area. Some measures have no agreed better direction, such as population growth, inflation and military spending. They are listed here but left out of every score, since there is no fair way to say which way is better. Some names use technical terms: PPP means adjusted for what money buys in each country, HDI is a United Nations score combining life expectancy, schooling and income, and a Gini indexmeasures how unequally income is shared. Each measure’s own page explains it.

crime

Conflict deaths4.98per 100,000 people2025higher is worse
Armed conflict present11 if any conflict, else 02025higher is worse
Homicide rate14per 100,000 population2012higher is worse

culture

Religiously unaffiliated0.44%% of population2020no agreed direction
Christian share60.5%% of population2020no agreed direction
Muslim share6.22%% of population2020no agreed direction
Single-parent households14.7%% of households2010no agreed direction
One-person households3.15%% of households2010no agreed direction
Women in a union78.3%% of women aged 15-492010no agreed direction

demography

Median age18years2023no agreed direction
Age at childbearing28.6years2023no agreed direction
Population12,188,788people2025no agreed direction
Population growth2.03%% per year2025no agreed direction
Urbanization21.7%% of population2025no agreed direction
Population 65+3.08%% of population2025no agreed direction
Population 0-1438%% of population2025no agreed direction
Fertility rate3.79births per woman2024no agreed direction
Birth rate29.2per 1,000 people2024no agreed direction
Net migration6,145people2025no agreed direction
Migrant share of population7.7%% of population2024no agreed direction

economy

HDI0.388index, 0 to 12023higher is better
Inequality-adjusted HDI0.226index, 0 to 12023higher is better
GDP per capita (market)$1,080US$2015higher is better
GDP growth-10.8%% per year2015no agreed direction
Inflation91.4%% per year2024no agreed direction
Trade openness65.6%% of GDP2015no agreed direction
FDI inflows0.00125%% of GDP2015no agreed direction
Military spending1.96%% of GDP2024no agreed direction
Employment in agriculture63.8%% of employment2023no agreed direction

education

Primary completion7.94%% of children2025higher is better
Expected schooling5.63years2023higher is better
Mean years of schooling5.73years2023higher is better
Education spending1.57%% of GDP2016no agreed direction
Primary enrollment98.4%% gross2024higher is better
Secondary enrollment122%% gross2024higher is better
Compulsory schooling8years2025no agreed direction
Out of school, primary64.7%% of primary-age children2024higher is worse
Pupil-teacher ratio46.8pupils per teacher2015higher is worse

environment

Forest area11.3%% of land area2023higher is better
Agricultural land44.9%% of land area2023no agreed direction
Protected land15.4%% of land area2025higher is better

gender

Women's political empowerment0.476index (0-1)2025higher is better
Women ministers23.5%% of ministers2024higher is better
Women in parliament32.4%% of seats2025higher is better
Married by 1851.5%% of women aged 20-242010higher is worse

governance

Corruption Perceptions Index8index (0-100, higher = cleaner)2024higher is better
Political rights (FH)7rating (1-7, 1 = most free)2025higher is worse
Civil liberties (FH)7rating (1-7, 1 = most free)2025higher is worse
Refugees originating19,179per 100,000 people2024higher is worse
Electoral democracy0.133index (0-1)2025higher is better
Liberal democracy0.064index (0-1)2025higher is better
Participatory democracy0.047index (0-1)2025higher is better
Free and fair elections0index (0-1)2025higher is better
Regime type0regime category (0-3)2025higher is better
Political corruption0.893index (0-1)2025higher is worse
Freedom of expression0.155index (0-1)2025higher is better
Freedom of association0.152index (0-1)2025higher is better
Political civil liberties0.121index (0-1)2025higher is better
Civil society participation0.233index (0-1)2025higher is better
Birth registration35.4%% of children under 52010higher is better
Control of corruption-2.06index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Rule of law-1.97index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Government effectiveness-2.17index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Regulatory quality-1.93index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Voice and accountability-1.89index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Political stability-1.49index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better

health

Life expectancy57.7years2024higher is better
Infant mortality71.9per 1,000 live births2024higher is worse
Under-5 mortality96.7per 1,000 live births2024higher is worse
Health spending11.6%% of GDP2023no agreed direction
Suicide rate7.89per 100,0002021higher is worse
Basic water access39.7%% of population2024higher is better
Basic sanitation14.4%% of population2024higher is better
Child stunting30%% of children under 52024higher is worse
Adolescent fertility96.3births per 1,000 women aged 15-192024higher is worse
Maternal mortality692per 100,000 live births2023higher is worse
Skilled birth attendance39.7%% of births2020higher is better
Road traffic deaths36.7per 100,000 population2019higher is worse
Physicians0.041per 1,000 people2022higher is better
DTP3 immunisation73%% of children aged 12-23 months2024higher is better
HIV prevalence1.5%% of adults aged 15-492024higher is worse
Tuberculosis incidence320per 100,000 people2024higher is worse
Premature NCD mortality22.4%% probability, ages 30-702021higher is worse
Anaemia in women35%% of women aged 15-492023higher is worse
Out-of-pocket health spending27.1%% of health spending2023higher is worse
Undernourishment22.3%% of population2023higher is worse
Food insecurity88.1%% of population2023higher is worse
Adult obesity8.88%% of adults2024higher is worse
Health coverage index41index, 0 to 1002023higher is better

inequality

Gini index44index (0-100)2016higher is worse
Extreme poverty rate76.5%% of population2016higher is worse

infrastructure

Internet users6.67%% of population2019higher is better
Mobile subscriptions46.6per 100 people2023higher is better
Electricity access5.4%% of population2024higher is better
Slum share of urban population94.2%% of urban population2022higher is worse
Fixed broadband0.00174per 100 people2023higher is better

labor

Unemployment12.4%% of labor force2023higher is worse
Female labor participation70.4%% of women 15+2023no agreed direction
Male labor participation76.6%% of men 15+2023no agreed direction
Vulnerable employment80.3%% of employment2023higher is worse

wellbeing

Life satisfaction2.82score (0-10)2019higher is better

Values are the most recent in 2010–2025, and different measures can come from different years. The year is shown beside each. Nothing here ranks countries by merit. An area score averages whatever measures its publishers happen to collect, and the choice of what to collect is itself a judgement made by someone else. All countries · How the country data works

Countries to compare with South Sudan

Also in Sub-Saharan Africa: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Dem. Rep., Congo, Rep., Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, The, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Fed. Rep., South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Also low income, in other regions: Afghanistan, Korea, Dem. People's Rep., Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen, Rep..