Unity State, also known as Western Upper Nile, is a
state in
South Sudan. Unity state is in the
Greater Upper Nile region. Unity is inhabited predominantly by two ethnic groups: the
Nuer majority, and the
Dinka minority.
In 2015, a presidential decree established a new system of 28 states, replacing the previously established 10. Unity state was replaced by the states of
Ruweng
The Ruweng are part of South Sudan's larger Ngok fraternity found in both South Sudan and northern Sudan. The Ngoks consists of Jok, Ruweng and Ngok Lual Yak, Lual Yak. Ngok is one branch of the eight Dinka people, Dinka groups (namely Dinka peopl ...
,
Northern Liech and
Southern Liech. Unity State was re-established by a peace agreement signed on 22 February 2020 with smaller boundaries as the northern part of the former state became the
Ruweng Administrative Area.
Administrative divisions
The capital of Unity state is
Bentiu
Bentiu, also spelled Bantiu, is a city in South Sudan and capital of the state of Unity State.
Location
Bentiu is located in Rubkona County, Unity State, in northern South Sudan, near the international border with the Republic of the Sudan. It li ...
. Before an administrative reorganization in 1994, Unity was part of a much larger province of Upper Nile, and the state was sometimes called Western Upper Nile.
The counties of Unity were:
*
Guit County
*
Koch County
*
Leer County
Leer County is an administrative division of Western Upper Nile in South Sudan. The headquarters are in the town of Leer.
In December 2009 that traffic police had established road blocks along the road between Panyijar County and Leer and were de ...
*
Mayiandit County
Mayiandit County ( Haak County) is a county in Unity State, South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered ...
*
Mayom County
*
Panyijar County
Payinjiar County is a county in Unity State, South Sudan.
Payinjiar County was "once a thriving agricultural area before decades of war forced inhabitants to migrate elsewhere."
"The United Nations says that up to 40,000 people are displaced to ...
*
Rubkona County
The larger towns were
Bentiu
Bentiu, also spelled Bantiu, is a city in South Sudan and capital of the state of Unity State.
Location
Bentiu is located in Rubkona County, Unity State, in northern South Sudan, near the international border with the Republic of the Sudan. It li ...
,
Mayom,
Rubkona and
Leer
Leer may refer to:
* Leer, Lower Saxony, town in Germany
** Leer (district), containing the town in Lower Saxony, Germany
** Leer (Ostfriesland) railway station
* Leer, South Sudan, town in South Sudan
** Leer County, an administrative division of ...
.
Other towns were
Riangnom,
Rub-Koni,
Yoahnyang,
Tam,
Mankien,
Wang-Kay,
Koch
Koch may refer to:
People
* Koch (surname), people with this surname
* Koch dynasty, a dynasty in Assam and Bengal, north east India
* Koch family
* Koch people (or Koche), an ethnic group originally from the ancient Koch kingdom in north east ...
,
Nyal and
Ganyliel.
Economy
Agriculture was the state's primary economic activity. The people of the state were
nomadic agro-pastoralists who engaged in both agriculture and rearing of livestock, especially cattle. Farming was conducted during the rainy season although some cultivation also occurs during summer. Vegetables were not widely cultivated as most farmers were rural rather than urban and therefore lacked access to markets for their produce. Some NGOs introduced farmers to the practice of cultivation for market.
Oil fields
Southern Sudan's first
oil reserves were discovered here during the 1970s. The international oil companies which engaged in oil exploration contributed to massive displacement of the indigenous population.
In the state were some rich oilfields, including
Unity oilfield and most of
Block 5A. The Unity oilfield is within the largest hydrocarbon accumulation in the
Muglad rift basin and contains an estimated of oil.
[NPA Group 2008]
'Sudan - Muglad Basin'
, ''www.npagroup.co.uk'', 27 February. Retrieved 5 March 2008.
The
Greater Nile Oil Pipeline begins in the Unity oilfield.
See also
*
2007 Sudan floods
On 3 July 2007, flash floods during Sudan's rainy season devastated much of the country's central, southern, and western regions. The Sudanese government referred to the floods as the "worst in living memory".
An estimated 200,000 Sudanese were ...
*
Greater Nile Oil Pipeline
References
External links
* USAID 2001
'Sudan: Oil and gas concession holders' (map) University of Texas Library. (Map shows location of oil field. Note that state borders are out of date.)
{{South Sudan political divisions
States of South Sudan
Greater Upper Nile