South Sudan officially declared its independence on 9 July to become the United Nations 193rd member country.
South Sudan has a total area of 644,329 sq. km or roughly the size of France or Afghanistan. More than half of its 9.1 million population is below the age of 18 and about two thirds are under the age of 30.
Approximately 80 percent of the people of South Sudan live in rural areas, and are largely dependent on farming and livestock. Livelihood constraints are enormous, only four percent of arable land is cultivated; labour and trade opportunities are often limited. South Sudan is endowed with natural resources which if well managed could offer the new country immense opportunities to enhance its overall economic and social well-being.
An assessment by WFP and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that nearly 5 million out of a population of some 9 million South Sudanese will struggle to provide food for themselves this year – of these, more than a million are estimated to be severely food insecure. The joint assessment warned that an escalation in conflict, rising food prices due to reduced trade flows and increased food demands from resettling returnees could threaten the fragile food security situation in the new country.
WFP is planning to provide food assistance to some 2.7 million people in 2012 and is preparing to scale up operations should the situation require. WFP remains committed to working closely with the Government of South Sudan in finding sustainable solutions to achieve food security and enhance its ability to feeds its people.
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