Blue Nile (state)
Blue Nile (Arabic: النيل الأزرق an-Nīl al-ʾAzraq) is one of the eighteen states of the Republic of Sudan. It was established by presidential decree nº 3 in 1992 and is named after the Blue Nile River.
Blue Nile
النيل الأزرق An-Nīl al-Azraq | |
---|---|
Seal | |
Location in Sudan. | |
Coordinates: 11°16′N 34°4′E | |
Country | Sudan |
Region | Fazogli Province |
Capital | Ad-Damazin |
Government | |
• Governor | Hussein Yassin Hamad |
Area | |
• Total | 45,844 km2 (17,700 sq mi) |
Population (2006 Census - provisional) | |
• Total | 832,112 |
Time zone | UTC+2 (CAT) |
HDI (2017) | 0.416[1] low |
The region is host to around forty different ethnic groups. Its economic activity is based on agriculture and livestock and increasing mineral exploitation.
In 2011, residents of Blue Nile were scheduled to hold ill-defined "popular consultations" to determine the constitutional future of the state, per the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Instead, a dispute over the rightful government of the state, and the determination of Omar al-Bashir to eradicate the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, have led to a renewed insurgency and a refugee crisis.[2][3] It appears that the consultations have been postponed indefinitely.[4]
Administration
The State is sub-divided into six districts (with 2006 Census populations shown hereafter):
- Ad-Damazin (212,712)
- Al Kormok (110,815)
- Ar Roseires (215,857)
- Tadamon (77,668)
- Bau or Baw (127,251)
- Qeissan (87,809)
State Governors[5]
- Feb 1994 - Dec 1997 Abdalla Abu-Fatma Abdalla
- Dec 1997 - Jan 2000 Abd ar-Rahman Abu Madyan
- Jan 2000 - Feb 2001 Al-Hadi Bashra
- Feb 2001 - 2003 Hassan Hamadayn Suleiman (1st time)
- 2003 - 2004? Abdallah Uthman al-Haj
- 2004 - 2005 Hassan Hamadayn Suleiman (2nd time)
- Sep 2005 - Jul 2007 Abdel Rahman Mohamed Abu Madien
- Jul 2007 - Sep 2011 Malik Agar Eyre
- Sep 2011 - Apr 2013 Yahya Mohamed Khair (1st time)
- 1 Apr 2013 - May 2018 Hussein Yassin Hamad
- 14 May 2018 - Feb 2019 Khalid Hussein Mohamed Omer
- 24 Feb 2019 - Yahya Mohamed Khair (2nd time)
Geography
Blue Nile state has an area of 45,844 km2 and an estimated population of 1,193,293. The Central Bureau of Statistics quoted the population at 832,112 in the 2006 census. Ad-Damazin is the capital of the state. The state of Blue Nile is home to the Roseires Dam, the main source of hydroelectric power in Sudan until the completion of the Merowe Dam in 2010.
Languages
The following languages are spoken in Blue Nile state according to Ethnologue.[6]
References
- "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
- Boswell, Alan (2 September 2011). "Sudan's Conflict Spreads: Is This the Start of a New Civil War?". Time. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
- Maasho, Aaron (14 October 2011). "Sudan's Blue Nile conflict forces painful return to Ethiopia". Reuters Africa. Reuters.
- Kleto, Peter Oyoyo. "Popular consultations must go ahead". Comment and Analysis. Sudan Tribune. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
- "States of the Sudan since 1991". WorldStatesmen.org.
- Languages of Sudan. Ethnologue, 22nd edition.