Borders Egypt, Libya, Chad, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, and Eritrea; also has some coastline on the Red Sea. It's the largest country in Africa. Contains most of the southern portion of the Nile River and its sources the Blue Nile and the White Nile. Before 1956 it was ruled by Egypt and the United Kingdom. Right now it is in the middle of a civil war between the Islamic government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (who have been fighting for over 15 years, causing famines as people are cut off from food supplies by fighting).
Update 2011: The southern part of the country became independent on Saturday, July 9, 2011 under the name of South Sudan.