Gezira State Explained

Gezira
Native Name:ولاية الجزيرة
Other Name:Al Jazirah
Settlement Type:State
Mapsize:299px
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Sudan
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Type2:No. of counties
Seat Type:Capital
Seat:Wad Madani
Leader Title:Governor (Wali)
Leader Name:Mohamed Tahir Ayala
Area Total Km2:27549
Population As Of:2018
Population Total:5096920[1]
Population Density Km2:179
Population Rank:2nd in Sudan (16%)
Timezone:CAT
Utc Offset:+2
Coordinates:14.5°N 63°W
Postal Code:SD-GZ
Blank Name Sec2:HDI (2017)
Blank Info Sec2:0.547[2]
Website:http://www.gazirastate.gov.sd/

Gezira, also spelt Al Jazirah, Al Jazeera and Al Jazira, is one of the 18 states of Sudan. The state lies between the Blue Nile and the White Nile in the east-central region of the country. The state has a population of 5,096,920 as of 2018,[3] and an area of 27,549 km2.[4]

The state's capital is Wad Madani. Gezira is known as an irrigated cotton-producing state as it is a well-populated area that is suitable for agriculture. The state's name comes from the Arabic word for island.

History

The area was at the southern end of Nubia and little is known about its ancient history and only limited archaeological work has been conducted in this area. It was part of the kingdom of Alodia for several centuries, and with that state's collapse in the early sixteenth century, it became the centre of the Funj Sultanate.

Katfia in Gezira was the place where the Wad Habuba Revolt took place in April 1908. The Gezira Scheme was a program launched in 1925 to foster cotton farming. At that time the Sennar Dam and numerous irrigation canals were built. Al Jazirah became the Sudan's major agricultural region with more than 2.5e6acre under cultivation.

The administrative state of Gezira was established on 1 July 1943, after the Blue Nile state was divided into three. The initial development project was semi-private, but the government nationalized it in 1950. Cotton production increased in the 1970s but by the 1990s increased wheat production has supplanted a third of the land formerly seeded with cotton.[5]

The ongoing War in Sudan that begun in 2023 has caused a refugee crisis in the state, with an estimated 250,000 fleeing due to clashes on December 15, 2023 by December 18 of the same year.[6]

Districts and populated places

The capital of Gezira is Wad Madani.

The state is divided into seven districts, namely:

Populated places include:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Archived copy . 2019-01-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170312172126/http://cbs.gov.sd/files/Pop._Proj._by_satates137.pdf . 2017-03-12 . dead .
  2. Web site: Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab. hdi.globaldatalab.org. en. 2018-09-13.
  3. Web site: Archived copy . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170312172126/http://cbs.gov.sd/files/Pop._Proj._by_satates137.pdf . 2017-03-12 . 2019-01-02.
  4. Web site: 2003–2013 . Home – Al-Gezira State . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140520044916/http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?mot1903 . May 20, 2014 . March 19, 2013 . Sudan Tribune.
  5. Book: The Sudan Story . Naldrett Press . Hyslop, J . 1952 . The Bounteous River.
  6. Web site: 2023-12-18 . At least 250000 flee fighting in Sudan's El Gezira state -IOM . 2024-01-08 . Reuters.