Sudan, officially the Republic of Sudan, is a federal republic located in northeastern Africa. The state has a total area of 1, 861, 484 sq. kilometers, making it the 35th largest country in terms of size. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, and Libya to the northwest. On January 1, 1956, Sudan gained independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom In July 2011, South Sudan seceded from Sudan as part of a 2005 peace agreement that ended Africa’s longest civil war.