Eastern Nile was a state in

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

that existed between 2 October 2015 and 14 January 2017 when it was divided into

Central Upper Nile State Central Upper Nile was a state in South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Rep ...

and Northern Upper Nile State. It was located in the

Greater Upper Nile The Greater Upper Nile () is a region of northeastern South Sudan. It is named for the White Nile (it is its lowest portion in South Sudan), a tributary of the Nile River in North Africa, North and East Africa, East Africa. History The Greater ...

region and it was part of the former states of Upper Nile and

Jonglei Jonglei State is a state of South Sudan with Bor as its centre of government and the biggest city. Jonglei state comprises nine counties: Bor, Akobo, Ayod, Uror, Duk, Nyirol, Pigi, Twic East, and Fangak. Jonglei State is the largest s ...

. The state bordered the states of

Eastern Bieh Bieh State (previously named Eastern Bieh State) was a state in South Sudan that existed between 2 October 2015 and 22 February 2020. It was located in the Greater Upper Nile region and it bordered Fangak to the west, Central Upper Nile to the ...

, Latjoor, Western Bieh,

Fashoda State Fashoda State (previously named Western Nile State) was a state in South Sudan that existed between 2 October 2015 and 22 February 2020. It was located in the Greater Upper Nile region of South Sudan, and it bordered the country of Sudan to the n ...

, and the country of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

to the east.

History

Before Eastern Nile State was formed, its territory was in the former states of Upper Nile and

. On 2 October 2015, President

Salva Kiir Salva Kiir Mayardit (born 13 September 1951), commonly known as Salva Kiir, is a South Sudanese politician who is the President of South Sudan since its independence on 9 July 2011. Prior to independence, he was the President of the Government ...

issued a decree establishing 28 states in place of the 10 constitutionally established states. The decree established the new states largely along ethnic lines. A number of opposition parties and civil society groups challenged the constitutionality of the decree. Kiir later resolved to take it to parliament for approval as a constitutional amendment. In November the South Sudanese parliament empowered President Kiir to create new states. Chol Thon Balook was appointed Governor on 24 December 2015. On 14 January 2017 Eastern Nile State was divided into

and Northern Upper Nile State.

Geography

Eastern Nile State was located in the

region and the state borders the states of Latjoor and

to the south, Western Bieh and Western Nile to the west, and the country of

to the east.

Administrative divisions

When Eastern Nile State was formed, the state split even further into a total of 11 counties. These counties are Malakal County, Renk County, Melut County, Sobat West County, Sobat East County, Akoka County, Koma County, Atar County, Khor Fulus County, Northeast Maban County, and Southeast Maban County. Each county was also given a county commissioner.

Towns and cities

The capital of the state was

Malakal Malakal is a city in South Sudan, serving as the capital of Upper Nile (state), Upper Nile State in the Greater Upper Nile region of South Sudan, along the White Nile, White Nile River. It also serves as the headquarter of Malakal County and it us ...

. Malakal's population in 2015 was 160,765. Malakal is the 2nd largest in the country. Other towns and villages in the state of Eastern Nile include Daga Post,

Doleib Hill Doleib Hill was a mission station established by the American Inland Mission in South Sudan, southern Sudan, located approximately south of the city of Malakal, on the northern bank of the Sobat River, then in the former Upper Nile, Sudan, Upper N ...

, Melut ''(located in Melut County)'', and

Renk The Renk Group AG is a German global manufacturer of transmissions, engines, hybrid drive systems, vehicle suspension systems, plain bearings, couplings, and testing systems. The company builds special gearboxes for tanks, frigates, icebreakers, ...

''(located in Renk County)''.

References

{{coord missing, South Sudan Greater Upper Nile States of South Sudan