Q 01/05

In which year did South Sudan become an independent state?

A) 2011

B) 2015

C) 2013

D) 2017

Answer · why

A) 2011

Independence Day is 9 July. It became the 193rd member of the United Nations five days later.

Q 02/05

Roughly what share of voters backed independence in the January 2011 referendum?

A) 70%

B) 85%

C) 99%

D) 55%

Answer · why

C) 99%

The exact figure was 98.83%. The vote had been promised by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended Africa's longest civil war.

Q 03/05

What is the capital and largest city of South Sudan?

A) Bor

B) Juba

C) Wau

D) Malakal

Answer · why

B) Juba

It grew from a Bari village where a mission school opened in 1920 and is the most recently declared national capital in the world.

Q 04/05

The capital city stands on the banks of which river?

A) The White Nile

B) The Blue Nile

C) The Zambezi

D) The Congo

Answer · why

A) The White Nile

In South Sudan the river is known locally as the Bahr al Jabal, the 'Mountain Sea', and it forms the vast Sudd swamp downstream.

Q 05/05

What is the Sudd?

A) A dry salt lake

B) A desert plateau

C) A mountain range

D) A vast swamp

Answer · why

D) A vast swamp

Its Arabic name means 'barrier', because floating vegetation blocked Nile navigation for centuries. It is one of the largest wetlands on Earth.