West Darfur: population, prices, banks, health, water, schooling and living standards
West Darfur is a state of Sudan, number 16 of 18 by population. The Central Bureau of Statistics estimates the population of West Darfur State at 1,202,286 for 2024 (591,094 men and boys, 611,192 women and girls), 2.4% of Sudan's 49.47 million; 3rd smallest of the 18 states. The estimate is projected from the 2008 census, the last one held, and does not reflect the millions of people displaced by the war since April 2023.
In depth
- Economy, jobs and prices in West Darfur: Consumer prices in West Darfur State were on average 208.4% higher in 2024 than a year earlier, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics, 6th highest of 17 states with a consistently published average (Sudan: 176.9%); in 2023 the average was 40.9% (Sudan: 66.6%). In December 2024 the annual rate was 276.4% (Sudan: 187.8%).
- Health in West Darfur: For every 1,000 babies born in West Darfur in the five years before the 2014 survey, 71 died before their first birthday and 91 before their fifth; the under-five rate is 3rd highest of the 18 states (Sudan: 52 and 68).
- Education in West Darfur: 60.3% of children of primary-school age in West Darfur were attending school in 2014, and 30.2% were out of school; 3rd lowest of the 18 states for attendance (Sudan: 76.4% and 21.6%).
- Poverty and living standards in West Darfur: 40.5% of people in West Darfur lived in households in Sudan's poorest fifth by household assets and housing in 2014, and 4.8% in the richest fifth; 5th largest share of the 18 states in the poorest fifth (Sudan: 20% in each fifth, by definition).
How many children do women in West Darfur have?
Women in West Darfur had 6.7 children each on average in the 2014 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) by the Central Bureau of Statistics, taken long before the war that began in 2023, joint 3rd highest of the 18 states (Sudan: 5.2); girls aged 15 to 19 had 117 births per 1,000 a year (Sudan: 87).
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, Sudan (with UNICEF Sudan) · saved copyHow states are governed in Sudan
States (18). Governors appointed (under the 2019 Constitutional Charter, by the transitional authorities; since the war by the army-led Sovereignty Council in areas it controls, while the RSF-led authority names its own). Security, administration and services within the state; capacity badly damaged by war.
Every tier of government in Sudan
Other states of Sudan
- Khartoum 9,420,017
- Gezira 6,006,213
- South Darfur 4,393,480
- Kassala 2,968,490
- North Kordofan 2,948,001
- White Nile 2,938,783
- North Darfur 2,716,151
- Gedaref 2,602,356
- Sennar 2,260,981
- East Darfur 1,914,546
- West Kordofan 1,856,898
- River Nile 1,781,075
- Red Sea 1,746,458
- South Kordofan 1,418,975
- Blue Nile 1,306,118
- Northern 1,103,567
- Central Darfur 890,461
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Sources
- Central Bureau of Statistics, Sudan (with UNICEF Sudan): Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2014 of Sudan, Final Report (state tables HH.6, HH.8, CM.2, NU.2, CH.2, WS.7, RH.2, RH.10, RH.11, CD.1, ED.1, ED.4, ED.5, CP.4, CP.7, CP.13, HFS.1), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 9400cecaceed…)
- Central Bank of Sudan (population and prices from the Central Bureau of Statistics): Annual Report 2024 (64th): population by state 2024 (Table 6-12, CBS estimates), average inflation by state (Table 6-8), bank branches by state (Table 5-3, Appendix 8), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3092b0e22b0e…)
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