122 thE sudan handbookfrom the west to the cities and agricultural areas of the Nile valley. Those
who might once have been short-term migrants became permanently
displaced.
This is a trend that has continued. A combination of natural disasters,
war and inequalities in resource distribution has led to a point where
today, almost half the Sudanese population is estimated to be on the
move every year. In southern Sudan the long civil war destabilized a
large zone of the country and pushed millions northward, more than
two million to Greater Khartoum alone. There have also been major
population shifts within other regions. According to the 2008 census –
though its results have been disputed – more than half of the population
of Darfur now lives in South Darfur State, indicating a radical shift of
population away from North and West Darfur.
According to the 1993 population census, a third of all migrants fell
within the rural-urban category, while another third moved from one city
to another and a quarter from one rural area to another. Only one tenth
moved back from the city to the country. This pattern can be explained
by the fact that internal migration in Sudan is undertaken as a series of
steps. First, migrants may move from the countryside to a town within
the same state or region, and then from there to another town in a
different region or state. Migration to Greater Khartoum is the final step.
According to the 1993 census, half of the migrants in Khartoum came
from other towns; not directly from the countryside.
In the 1980s and 1990s the civil war in the south created a generalized
state of insecurity in some areas and led to the partial abandonment of
traditional production systems. Development projects ceased. The war
produced massive population movements. In the south, where most
towns were garrisons during the civil war, the pattern was complex.
Towns such as Juba, Malakal, Torit and Rumbek became army bases for
the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) or for the Sudan People’s Liberation
Army (SPLA). Some southerners sought refuge – and access to relief
supplies – in towns, others found safety in rural areas. But those who
fled from the south to the north all moved to towns, and most movedThe Sudan Handbook, edited by John Ryle, Justin Willis, Suliman Baldo and Jok Madut Jok. © 2011 Rift Valley Institute and contributors to Khartoum. The Nuba Mountains, southern Blue Nile and Abyei area
(www.riftvalley.net).