This Country Economic Memorandum is thefirst economic report in a decade. It gives priority toupdating knowledge about the evolution of social andeconomic developments during the 1990s. It reviewareas ofprogress in macroeconomic reforms and the lack of success ingovernance and institutional reforms. Substantial reformswere undertaken in this period , but the civil war continuedto have a serious negative impact on Sudan's people andits economic prospects. While the results of the reformshave been promising, particularly in the area ofmacroeconomic stabilization and liberalization, thedistribution of economic wealth needs to improve. Althoughthere has not been any national household survey since 1978,social indicators point to low levels of welfare throughoutSudan, with some indicators well below those in Sub-SaharanAfrica. among the many issues facing the Sudanese economyare these: There has been high growth but skeweddistribution. Stabilization has been costly in social terms:expenditures were cut by more than 50 percent relative togross domestic product (GDP), causing considerablereductions in social services and infrastructuredevelopment. Key services were decentralized, delegated tostates and local communities, which had neither the revenuesnor the administrative capacity for these tasks. Highpoverty rates persist. Social inequalities threaten toundermine macroeconomic stability. Moreover, the civil warwas costly in terms of human suffering. Millions areinternally displaced, there are almost a million refugees incamps in neighboring countries, the death toll is estimatedat 2 million, and warring armies continue to claimsubstantial resources. However, peace negotiations lookencouraging. For peace to be sustained, it must beaccompanied by economic and governance reforms, and aformula for equitable sharing of resources and power must befound for resolving the major root causes of decades ofcivil war. Reconstruction and development needs are enormousand will require external financing. Even after debtrescheduling, additional resources will be needed and theSudan will urgently be expected to put measures in place toimprove public resources management. As for the majorsectors, infrastructure needs major rehabilitation anddevelopment, agricultural reforms need to be pursued,improved social services are a high priority, andwar-affected areas face special difficulties like foodinsecurity. The needs of women require special attention,particularly in those parts of the country where womensuffer severely from the violence and lawlessness thatemerged as a result of the prolonged civil war. Many arewidows and many have suffered also from rape, insecurity,and other traumas. the average ratio iof adult women toadult men is two to one in war-affected areas in southernSudan, and only one out of ten women is literate,
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