Country name
Conventional long form
Republic of South Sudan

Conventional short form
South Sudan

Government type
Republic

Capital name
Juba

Geographic coordinates
04 51 N 31 37 E

Time difference
UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions
10 states; Central Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria, Jonglei, Lakes, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Unity, Upper Nile, Warrap, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Western Equatoria

Independence
9 July 2011 (from Sudan)

National holiday
Independence Day, (9 July 2011)

Constitution
Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan 2011, effective 9 July 2011

Executive branch
Chief of state

President
Salva KIIR Mayardit (since 9 July 2011); Vice President Riek MACHAR (since 10 July 2011); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

Head of government
President Salva KIIR Mayardit (since 9 July 2011); Vice President Riek MACHAR (since 10 July 2011)
cabinet

National Council of Ministers;
Appointed by the president and approved by a resolution from the Legislative Assembly
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elections
president elected by popular vote for a four year term; election last held on 11-15 April 2010 (next to be held in 2015)
election results
Salva KIIR Mayardit elected president; percent of vote - Salva KIIR Mayardit 93%, Lam AKOL 7%

Legislative branch
Bicameral National Legislature consists of the National Legislative Assembly (332 seats) and the Council of States (50 seats); members serve four-year terms elections

National Legislative
Assembly - last held 11-15 April 2010 (next to be held in 2015); Council of States - established and members appointed 1 August 2011
election results

National Legislative
Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - SPLM 251, SPLM-DC 6, NCP 3, independent 6, unknown 66; Council of States - seats by party - SPLM 20, unknown 30
note
A presidential decree of 1 August 2011 reconstituted the National Legislative Assembly, as permitted under Article 94 of the Transitional Constitution, to include the 170 members elected 11-15 April 2010, 96 former members of the National Assembly of the Republic of Sudan, and 66 newly appointed members for a total of 332; a presidential decree also established a Council of States, initially with 50 members - the 20 former members of the Council of States of the Republic of Sudan plus an additional 30 appointed representatives

Judicial branch
Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal, High Courts, County Courts

Political parties and leaders
Sudan People's Liberation Movement or SPLM [Salva KIIR Mayardit]; National Congress Party or NCP; Sudan People's Liberation Movement for Democratic Change or SPLM-DC [Sisto OLUR Erista]

International organization participation
AU, IFRCS, Interpol, ITU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU

Flag description
Three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green; the red band is edged in white; a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side contains a gold, five-pointed star; black represents the people of South Sudan, red the blood shed in the struggle for freedom, green the verdant land, and blue the waters of the Nile; the gold star represents the unity of the states making up South Sudan.
note
resembles the flag of Kenya; one of only two national flags to display six colors as part of its primary design, the other is South Africa's

National symbol(s)
African fish eagle

National anthem name
South Sudan Oyee! (Hooray!)
lyrics/music
collective of 49 poets/Juba University students and teachers
note
adopted 2011; the anthem was selected in a national contest