The States of

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...

were created out of the three historic former provinces (and contemporary regions) of

Bahr el Ghazal Bahr el-Ghazal (Arabic بحر الغزال , also transliterated ''Bahr al-Ghazal'', ''Baḩr al-Ghazāl'', ''Bahr el-Gazel'', or versions of these without the hyphen) may refer to two distinct places, both named after ephemeral or dry rivers. Chad ...

(northwest), Equatoria (southern), and

Greater Upper Nile The Greater Upper Nile is a region of northeastern South Sudan. It is named for the White Nile, a tributary of the Nile River in North and East Africa. History The Greater Upper Nile region seceded from the Republic of Sudan on 9 July 2011 alon ...

(northeast). The states are further divided into 79 counties. In October 2015, South Sudan's President

Salva Kiir Mayardit Salva Kiir Mayardit (born 13 September 1951), also known as Salva Kiir, is a South Sudanese politician who has been the President of South Sudan since its independence on 9 July 2011. Prior to independence, he was the President of the Governmen ...

issued a decree establishing 28 states in place of the 10 that was previously established . The decree established the new states largely along ethnic lines. A number of opposition parties challenged the constitutionality of this decree and the decree was referred to parliament for approval as a constitutional amendment. In November, the South Sudanese parliament approved the creation of the new states. In January 2017, President Salva Kiir stated a decreed of further subdivision of the country from 28 into 32 states. In February 2020, as a result of a peace agreement that ended the

South Sudanese Civil War The South Sudanese Civil War was a multi-sided civil war in South Sudan between forces of the government and opposition forces. In December 2013, President Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar and ten others of attempting a coup d'état. ...

, the country returned to the original 10 states plus two administrative areas,

Pibor Pibor, also called Pibor Post, is a town in South Sudan. Location Pibor located in Pibor County, in Pibor Administrative Area, in eastern South Sudan, near the border with Ethiopia. It lies approximately , by road, northeast of Juba, the capital ...

and Ruweng, and the special administrative status area of

Abyei The Abyei Area ( ar, منطقة أبيي) is an area of on the border between South Sudan and the Sudan that has been accorded "special administrative status" by the 2004 Protocol on the Resolution of the Abyei Conflict (Abyei Protocol) in ...

. As a result of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005, the Abyei Area is considered to be simultaneously part of the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan, effectively a condominium. The

Kafia Kingi The Kafia Kingi () area is a mineral-rich region on the border between Sudan, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. It is disputed between South Sudan and Sudan. The area was due to be given to South Sudan under the terms of the 2005 Com ...

area is disputed between South Sudan and Sudan and the

Ilemi Triangle The Ilemi Triangle, sometimes called only Ilemi, is an area of disputed land in East Africa. Arbitrarily defined, it measures about . Named after Anuak chief Ilemi Akwon, the territory is claimed by South Sudan and Kenya. The territory also b ...

is disputed between South Sudan and Kenya.

Ten states and three areas (2020–present)

Under the terms of a peace agreement signed on 22 February 2020, South Sudan is divided into ten states, two administrative areas and one area with special administrative status. The states and administrative areas are grouped into the three former historical provinces of the Sudan:

, Equatoria,

. Each state is headed by a

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and administrative areas are led by Chief Administrators.

32 states (2017–2020)

On 14 January 2017, President Kiir issued a presidential decree that increased the number of federal states from 28 to 32. * The now defunct ''Eastern Nile State'' was split into 2 individual states,

Central Upper Nile State Central Upper Nile was a state in South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Centr ...

with

Malakal Malakal is a city in South Sudan. It is the capital of Upper Nile State, South Sudan, along the White Nile River. It also serves as the headquarter of Malakal county and it used to be the headquarter of Upper Nile Region from 1970s to late 1990s. ...

as its capital city and Northern Upper Nile State with

Renk The RENK Group (stylised as RENK Group) is a German company and ranked among the top ten companies in the German defense industry in terms of sales in 2010. Its main production sites are located in Augsburg, Rheine, Hanover and Winterthur (Swit ...

as its capital city. *

Akobo State Akobo was a state in South Sudan that existed between 14 January 2017 and 22 February 2020. History Akobo County was separated from Bieh State and made a separate state with the increase in the number of states from 28 to 32 on January 14, 201 ...

was formed and split from

Bieh State Bieh State (previously named Eastern Bieh State) was a state in South Sudan that existed between 2 October 2015 and 22 February 2020. It was located in the Greater Upper Nile region and it bordered Fangak to the west, Central Upper Nile to the n ...

, with Akobo as its capital. It comprises Akobo county in the ''Greater Upper Nile Region''. *

Maiwut State Maiwut State was a state in South Sudan that existed between 14 January 2017 and 22 February 2020. It is located in the Greater Upper Nile region and it borders Eastern Nile to the north, Eastern Bieh Bieh State (previously named Eastern Bieh Sta ...

was formed and split from

Latjoor State Latjoor was a state in South Sudan that existed between 2 October 2015 and 22 February 2020. It was located in the Greater Upper Nile region and it bordered Eastern Nile to the north, Eastern Bieh to the south, and Ethiopia to the east. On 2 Octo ...

in the ''Greater Upper Nile Region'' retaining Koma, Longuchuk, and Maiwut counties. * Tambura State was formed and split from

Gbudwe State Gbudwe State was a state of South Sudan that existed between 2 October 2015 and 22 February 2020. It was created from Western Equatoria state. Tambura State was split from Gbudwe State on January 14, 2017. Gbudwe State was located in the Equat ...

, with Tambura as its capital. It comprises Tambura and Nagero counties in the ''Equatoria Region''.

List

The 32 states were as follows: Note: ^* - includes Bari, Lokoya and Nyangwara communities

28 states (2015–2017)

Bahr el Ghazal

# Aweil #

Aweil East Aweil East also known as Abiem, was a state in South Sudan that existed between 2 October 2015 and 22 February 2020.It had an estimated population of 571,728 people and an area of 6,172.23 KM square. It was located in northern-western South Sudan. ...

# Eastern Lakes # Gogrial # Gok #

Lol LOL, or lol, is an initialism for laughing out loud and a popular element of Internet slang. It was first used almost exclusively on Usenet, but has since become widespread in other forms of computer-mediated communication and even face-to ...

# Tonj #

Twic Twic State was a state in South Sudan that existed between 2 October 2015 and 22 February 2020. It was located in the Bahr el Ghazal region and it bordered Aweil East to the west, the disputed Abyei region to the north, Gogrial to the south, No ...

# Wau # Western Lakes

Equatoria

Amadi Amedi or Amadiya ( ku, ئامێدی, Amêdî, ; Syriac: , Amədya), is a town in the Duhok Governorate of Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It is built on a mesa in the broader Great Zab river valley. Etymology According to Ali ibn al-Athir, the name ...

# Gbudwe # Imatong # Jubek¹ # Maridi # Namorunyang #

Terekeka Terekeka is a community in Central Equatoria, South Sudan. It is the headquarters of Terekeka County.Yei River

Greater Upper Nile

# Boma # Bieh² #

Eastern Nile Eastern Nile was a state in South Sudan that existed between 2 October 2015 and 14 January 2017 when it was divided into Central Upper Nile State and Northern Upper Nile State. It was located in the Greater Upper Nile region and it was part of t ...

Jonglei Jonglei State is a state of South Sudan with Bor as its centre of government and the biggest city. Jonglei state comprises nine counties: Bor, Akobo, Ayod, Uror, Duk, Nyirol, Pigi, Twic East, and Fangak. Jonglei State is the largest st ...

# Latjoor #

Northern Liech Northern Liech was a state in South Sudan that existed between 2 October 2015 and 22 February 2020. It was located in the Greater Upper Nile region and it bordered Ruweng to the north, Western Bieh to the east, Southern Liech to the south, Tonj ...

# Ruweng #

Southern Liech Southern Liech State was a state in South Sudan that existed between 2 October 2015 and 22 February 2020. It was located in the Greater Upper Nile region and it bordered Northern Liech to the north, Western Bieh to the east, Jonglei to the southea ...

Fangak Fangak is a community in South Sudan. It lies in Fangak County in Jonglei state. The capital is Old Fanguk. It was once a British garrison town. The administration buildings were destroyed during the civil war. During the Second Sudanese Civil War ...

³ #

Fashoda Kodok or Kothok ( ar, كودوك), formerly known as Fashoda, is a town in the north-eastern South Sudanese state of Upper Nile State. Kodok is the capital of Shilluk country, formally known as the Shilluk Kingdom. Shilluk had been an independ ...

⁴ # – containing the national capital city of

Juba Juba () is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria State. It is the world's newest capital city to be elevated as such, and had a population ...

# – earlier called Eastern Bieh # – earlier called Western Bieh # – earlier called Western Nile

10 states (2011–2015)

SPLM-IO declaration

On 22 December 2014, opposition leader and former vice president Riek Machar declared the 10 states of South Sudan dissolved and the formation of 21 new states in a federal system. The declaration was not recognised by the South Sudanese government. The '' Sudan Tribune'' reported on 1 January 2015 that Machar appointed "military governors" for several of his declared states. These states became defunct when the

SPLM-IO The Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (abbreviated SPLM-IO), also known as the anti-governmental forces (AGF), is a mainly South Sudanese political party and rebel group that split from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement in 20 ...

joined the unity government formed by the R-ARCSS in February 2020.

References

External links

*
South Sudan States Map
{{Articles on first-level administrative divisions of African countries States South Sudan, States South Sudan 1 States, South Sudan South Sudan geography-related lists