Countries and regions of the world › Africa › Eastern Africa
South Sudan
The capital is Juba, with 391,311 inhabitants in the city. It has 12.4 million inhabitants (79th in the world) on 646,883 km² (41st in the world), with a density of 20 people per km². Life expectancy at birth is 58.0 years, women have 3.63 children on average and half the population is older than 20. GDP per capita is $1,080 (176th in the world, 2015 figure).
See on the map Population pyramid In the bubble chart
Key data, 2026
| Indicator | Value | Rank | World | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Territory | ||||
| Total area (km²) | 646,883 (2024) | 41st / 195 | 137 million | |
| Land area (km²) | 631,930 (2024) | 41st / 194 | 130 million | |
| Density (people per km²) | 19.7 | 168th / 194 | 63.8 | |
| Population | ||||
| Population | 12,436,039 | 79th / 194 | 8.30 billion | |
| Population growth (% a year) | +2.03 | 41st / 194 | +0.84 | |
| Median age (years) | 20.0 | 167th / 194 | 32.1 | |
| Under 15 (%) | 37.1 | 38th / 194 | 24.1 | |
| 65 and over (%) | 3.2 | 170th / 194 | 10.6 | |
| Urban population (%) | 21.7 (2025) | 187th / 194 | 57.7 | |
| Births and health | ||||
| Children per woman | 3.63 | 33rd / 194 | 2.23 | |
| Life expectancy (years) | 58.0 | 192nd / 194 | 73.8 | |
| Life expectancy, men (years) | 55.0 | 192nd / 194 | 71.2 | |
| Life expectancy, women (years) | 61.0 | 191st / 194 | 76.4 | |
| Infant mortality (‰ births) | 63.2 | 6th / 194 | 26.1 | |
| Migration | ||||
| Net migration (‰ people) | +0.6 | 61st / 194 | 0.0 | |
| Economy and environment | ||||
| GDP (dollars) | $12.0B (2015) | 149th / 193 | $117.32T | |
| GDP per capita (dollars) | $1,080 (2015) | 176th / 193 | $14,306 | |
| GDP growth (%) | -10.8 (2015) | 193rd / 193 | +4.3 | |
| GNI per capita PPP (international dollars) | $1,010 (2015) | 190th / 190 | $25,266 | |
| Unemployment (%) | 12.4 (2023) | 23rd / 179 | 5.1 | |
| Greenhouse gases per capita (t CO₂e) | – | – | 6.3 | |
Sources: United Nations, World Population Prospects 2024 (after 2023 projections, dashed), and World Bank (the latest published figure, with the year in brackets if older). Rank among the 195 states. For regions the World Bank values are computed from the member countries.