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The Khartoum Stock Exchange is the principal stock exchange of Sudan. It is located in Khartoum and its name is abbreviated to KSE. The principal stock index of the KSE is the Khartoum Index.

The idea of KSE started in 1962 by the Ministry of finance, a bank of Sudan and International Finance Corporation (IFC). On 1964 a department for government bonds was established within the Bank of Sudan for issuing bonds. In 1966 the first government bonds were issued with a par value of 15 million Sudanese pounds and ten years life. The 1982 Act to establish KSE did not succeed. However, a serious step was taken in 1992 to establish KSE which led to the formation of KSE’s board. It was in 1994 that KSE gained its independent legal entity after the endorsement of the KSE Act. In 1994 the primary market activities started and the secondary market started early in 1995. The classifications of listed companies began in 1999. In 2001 Shahama certificates were introduced in KSE. Khartoum index was declared in 2003. In 2007, KSE joined Africa Market Union.

While the KSE has been growing rapidly over the last few years and has 53 listed companies worth around 5 Billion dollars, the stock exchange is open only one hour per day, Sunday through Thursday.

The major cause of the economic crisis is the south's split. South Sudan has most of the discovered oil reserves. Sudan expected to receive a cut of oil profits in exchange for allowing South Sudanese oil to pass through Sudanese oil pipelines that transport the oil to Port Sudan. However, conflict prevented this and the South shut down their oil production. This caused heavy inflation in both countries, an end to fuel subsidies in Sudan, and devaluation of the Sudanese pound. Currently, the black market rate and the official exchange rate for the Sudanese pound to the US dollar aren't the same. Before the South split Sudan was producing slightly less than 100,000 barrels, the government has seriously overestimated its ability to increase production, but never the less there has been an increase. The two Sudans recently signed an agreement on oil transit fees. Sudan is paid 25 dollars per barrel of oil. Oil companies also pay fees to transport the oil from Port Sudan.

Sudan was home to numerous ancient civilizations, such as the Kingdom of Kush, Kerma, Nobatia, Alodia, Makuria, Meroë and others, most of which flourished along the Nile. During the pre-dynastic period Nubia and Nagadan Upper Egypt were identical, simultaneously evolved systems of pharaonic kingship by 3300 BC. By virtue of its proximity to Egypt, the Sudan participated in the wider history of the Near East inasmuch as it was Christianized by the 6th century, and Islamized in the 15th.

As a result of Christianization, the Old Nubian language stands as the oldest recorded Nilo-Saharan language (earliest records dating to the 9th century). Sudan was the largest country in Africa and the Arab world until 2011, when South Sudan separated into an independent country, following an independence referendum. Sudan is now the third largest country in Africa (after Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and also the third largest country in the Arab world (after Algeria and Saudi Arabia).

Sudan is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement, as well as an observer in the World Trade Organization. Its capital is Khartoum, the political, cultural and commercial centre of the nation. It is a presidential representative democratic federal republic. The politics of Sudan is regulated by a parliamentary organization called the National Assembly. The Sudanese legal system is based on Islamic law.

The country's place name Sudan is a name given to a geographical region to the south of the Sahara, stretching from Western Africa to eastern Central Africa. The name derives from the Arabic bil?d as-s?d?n or "the lands of the Blacks", an expression denoting West Africa and northern-Central Africa.

By the eighth millennium BC, people of a Neolithic culture had settled into a sedentary way of life there in fortified mudbrick villages, where they supplemented hunting and fishing on the Nile with grain gathering and cattle herding. During the fifth millennium, BC migrations from the drying Sahara brought neolithic people into the Nile Valley along with agriculture. The population that resulted from this cultural and genetic mixing developed social hierarchy over the next centuries become the Kingdom of Kush (with the capital at Kerma) at 1700 BC.

Anthropological and archaeological research indicate that during the predynastic period Nubia and Nagadan Upper Egypt were ethnically, and culturally nearly identical, and thus, simultaneously evolved systems of pharaonic kingship by 3300 BC.

In 2010, Sudan was considered the 17th-fastest-growing economy. in the world and the rapid development of the country largely from oil profits even when facing international sanctions was noted by The New York Times in a 2006 article. Because of the secession of South Sudan, which contained over 80 percent of Sudan's oilfields, Sudan entered a phase of Stagflation, GDP growth slowed to 3.4 percent in 2014, 3.1 percent in 2015 and is projected to recover slowly to 3.7 percent in 2016 while inflation remained as high as 21.8% as of 2015.

Even with the oil profits before the secession of South Sudan, Sudan still faced formidable economic problems, and its growth still rose from a very low level of per capita output. The economy of Sudan has been steadily growing over the 2000s, and according to a World Bank report, the overall growth in GDP in 2010 was 5.2 percent compared to the 2009 growth of 4.2 percent. This growth was sustained even during the war in Darfur and period of southern autonomy preceding South Sudan's independence.

Oil was Sudan's main export, with production increased dramatically during the late 2000s, in the years before South Sudan gained independence in July 2011. With rising oil revenues, the Sudanese economy was booming, with a growth rate of about nine percent in 2007. The independence of oil-rich South Sudan, however, placed most major oilfields out of the Sudanese government's direct control and oil production in Sudan fell from around 450,000 barrels per day (72,000 m3/d) to under 60,000 barrels per day (9,500 m3/d). Production has since recovered to hover around 250,000 barrels per day (40,000 m3/d)) for 2014-15.

In order to export oil, South Sudan relies on a pipeline to Port Sudan on Sudan's Red Sea coast, as South Sudan is a landlocked country, as well as the oil refining facilities in Sudan. In August 2012, Sudan and South Sudan agreed on a deal to transport South Sudanese oil through Sudanese pipelines to Port Sudan.

The People's Republic of China is one of Sudan's major trading partners, China owns a 40 percent share in the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company. The country also sells Sudan small arms, which have been used in military operations such as the conflicts in Darfur and South Kordofan.

While historically agriculture remains the main source of income and employment hiring of over 80 percent of Sudanese, and makes up a third of the economic sector, oil production drove most of Sudan's post-2000 growth. Currently, the International Monetary Fund IMF is working hand in hand with the Khartoum government to implement sound macroeconomic policies. This follows a turbulent period in the 1980s when debt-ridden Sudan's relations with the IMF and World Bank soured, culminating in its eventual suspension from the IMF. The program has been in place since the early 1990s, and also work-out exchange rate and reserve of foreign exchange. Since 1997, Sudan has been implementing the macroeconomic reforms recommended by the International Monetary Fund.

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The Sudanese pound is the currency of Sudan. It was also used as currency in South Sudan until finalization of the introduction of the South Sudanese pound. Both Arabic and English names for the denominations appear on the country's banknotes and coins.

The first pound to circulate in Sudan was the Egyptian pound. The late 19th century rebels Muhammad ibn Abdalla (the Mahdi) and Abdallahi ibn Muhammad (the Khalifa) both issued coins which circulated alongside the Egyptian currency. When Anglo-Egyptian rule in Sudan ceased on January 1, 1956 and Sudan became an independent country, a distinct Sudanese currency (the Sudanese pound) was created, replacing the Egyptian pound at par.

The Egyptian pound was subdivided into 100 qirsh. The qirsh used to be subdivided into 40 paras, but decimalization following the 1886 Egyptian currency reform established a 1/10 qirsh, which came to be known as a millim. Due to this legacy, the post-1956 Sudanese pound was divided into 100 qirush, subdivided into 10 millims. During 1958-1978 the pound was pegged to the U.S. dollar at a rate of $2.87156 per Sudanese pound. Thereafter, the pound underwent successive devaluations.

The pound was replaced in 1992 by the dinar (SDD) at a rate of 1 dinar = 10 pounds. While the dinar circulated in northern Sudan, in Southern Sudan, prices were still negotiated in pounds, whilst in Rumbek and Yei, the Kenyan shilling was used and accepted more within the transport sectors as well as for hotels/accommodation. According to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government of the Republic of the Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, the Central Bank of Sudan (CBOS) shall adopt a program to issue a new currency as soon as is practical during the Interim Period. The design of the new currency shall reflect the cultural diversity of Sudan. Until a new currency has been issued with the approval of the Parties on the recommendations of the CBOS, the circulating currencies in Southern Sudan shall be recognized. The second pound began introduction on 9 or 10 January 2007 and became the only legal tender as of July 1, 2007, It replaced the dinar at a rate of 1 pound = 100 dinars or 1 pound (SDG) = 1000 pounds (SDP).

The third edition of the Sudanese pound was established on 24 July 2011 following the secession of South Sudan from the Republic of Sudan. For a wider history surrounding currency in the region, see The History of British Currency in the Middle East. In 1885, the Mahdi issued silver coins for 10 and 20 qirush and gold 100 qirush. These were followed by issues of the Khalifa in denominations of 10 para, 1, 2, 2½, 4, 5, 10 and 20 qirush. These coins were initially minted in silver in 1885. Over the following eleven years, severe debasement occurred, leading to billon, then silver-washed copper and finally copper coins being issued. The coinage ceased in 1897.

During 1908-1914, a local coinage was issued in Darfur in western Sudan. These were issued under the authority of Ali Dinar and resembled contemporary Egyptian coins. In 1956, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 2, 5 and 10 millim, 2, 5 and 10 qirush. The millim denominations were struck in bronze, whilst the qirush denominations were in cupro-nickel. The 2, 5 and 10 millim were scallop-shaped, although a round 5 millim was introduced in 1971. The 1 and 2 millim were last struck in 1969, the last 5 millim in 1978. In 1983, brass 1, 2 and 5 qirush, a reduced size 10 qirush and a cupro-nickel 20 qirush were introduced. In 1987, aluminium-bronze 1, 5, 10, 20, 25 and 50 qirush and 1 pound were introduced, with the 25 and 50 qirush square and octagonal in shape, respectively. In 1989, stainless-steel 25 and 50 qirush and 1 pound were issued. This is the general pattern, in addition to these coins, there are collector-oriented issues and various oddities. See popular coin catalogs for details.

Coins in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 qirush were introduced alongside the circulating dinar coins. The Central Bank of Sudan states that the 5 qirush coins are yellow colored (perhaps aluminium-bronze) and the 10 qirush is silver colored (made of stainless steel). The 20 and 50 qirush coins are bi-metallic, with the 20 qirush yellow ringed with a silver colored center and the 50 qirush the opposite. In April 1957, the Sudan Currency Board introduced notes for 25 and 50 piastres, 1, 5 and 10 pounds.[8] Note production was taken over by the Bank of Sudan in 1961. 20-pound notes were introduced in 1981, followed by 50 pounds in 1984 and 100 pounds in 1988.

When introduced on 8 June 1992, the Sudanese dinar replaced the first Sudanese pound at a rate of 1:10. In 2005, the National Public Radio of the United States reported that forces in Southern Sudan were printing pound notes bearing the name "Bank of New Sudan", but there is no such bank. In addition, numbers of the banknotes had duplicate serial numbers. Their legitimacy is questionable.

When introduced on 10 January 2007, the second Sudanese pound replaced the Sudanese dinar at a rate of 1:100. This new currency was mandated by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement to end the country’s 21- year civil war. Deputy Governor Badr-Eddin Mahmoud said the cost to print the new currency was US$156 million.[8] Banknotes of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 pounds were issued.[3] The 1-pound note was replaced by a coin at the end of November 2011.

Banknotes of the third pound are similar in style to those of the second round but with changes in colour scheme, the removal of certain symbols associated with the south and a redrawn map of the country after the secession of the south.