South Sudan broke away from Sudan on July 9 2011 and became
Africa's youngest nation. Independence followed a referendum in
January 2011, in which nearly 99 per cent of South Sudanese
voted in favour of secession. The referendum, in turn, was the
result of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended
decades of civil war between the two sides. The new country
comprises 10 of Sudan's 25 states from the regions of Bahr el
Ghazal, Equatoria and Upper Nile. Several "disputed regions" on
the border between north and south Sudan, including Abyei, are
supposed to hold referendums to determine whether they will
remain in Sudan or become part of South Sudan. South Sudan has
faced a number of challenges shortly after independence. Its
economy is dominated almost entirely by the oil sector, poverty
is widespread and most of the country lacks infrastructure. The
political system is dominated by one party, the Sudan People's
Liberation Movement, and much of government revenue is devoted
to paying salaries for an ar