South Sudan is the world's newest country, it achieved independence on July 9, 2011. But to many people's dismay, it fell into a 'civil war' almost immediately after in 2013. There was a power dispute between the president of South Sudan and his former deputy. Government troops and rebel factions fought, causing around 800 thousand people to flee from their homes (again).
This greatly affected the young country's economy because their oil prices dropped, and its wealth depends almost entirely on its oil production. An estimation of 75% of Sudan's former oil regions are found in South Sudan and it is still disputed on how much each neighboring country should get. There was an agreement in May 2013 that allowed Sudan to keep pumping South Sudanese oil, but it was reached rather grudgingly. | Despites its potential oil wealth, South Sudan is still one of the world's most undeveloped countries. It is a highly diverse place in terms of ethnicity and language, while the religion is majority traditional and minority Christian. Already, there have been conflicts between different ethnic groups (cattle-feuds) that have left hundreds of people dead and thousands of people displaced. |