The country officially came into being on 9 July 2011, after seceding from Sudan. This was sanctioned by a referendum (9 January 2011) held in fulfilment of the peace agreements signed in 2005 between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), whose military wing had been waging a war of independence for the southern regions of Sudan since 1983. In the wake of independence, territorial disputes were sparked with Sudan over the control of some oil-bearing areas on the border between the two countries, especially Abyei (where UN troops have been based following the agreement made on 30 June, 2011): open dialogue, facilitated by the African Union, improved the situation, albeit without leading to a lasting solution. In December 2013 ethnic conflict broke out among the militia between troops led by the ex-vice president Riek Machar, who belongs to the Nuer ethnicity, and troops faithful to President Kiir, who is of Dinka ethnicity. A power-sharing agreement was signed on 12 September 2018; on 22 February 2020, Machar was named as first vice president. According to the provisional 2011 Constitution, legislative power lies in the hands of a two-chamber Parliament, comprising a Council of States (50 members), and a National Assembly (250 members), each with a mandate of four years. Because of the conflict, legislative elections have been postponed several times and a provisional Assembly of 550 members (400 until 2021) remains in office.

The valley of the White Nile is very fertile. The main crops are cereals (sorghum, maize, rice, millet and wheat), sugar-cane, fruit (mango, papaya and bananas), sesame, cotton, peanuts, cassava, and gum arabic. Livestock farming of sheep and cattle is important. The country has rich reserves of oil, which is extracted in the areas of Melut, Abu Jabra and Heglig and piped to refineries at Khartoum and Port Sudan. Chromite is also mined. Industry is very underdeveloped.