Equatoria is the southernmost region of South Sudan, along the upper reaches of the White Nile and the border between South Sudan and Uganda. Juba, the national capital and the largest city in South Sudan, is located in Equatoria. Originally a province of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, it also contained most of northern parts of present-day Uganda, including Lake Albert and West Nile. It was an idealistic effort to create a model state in the interior of Africa that never consisted of more than a handful of adventurers and soldiers in isolated outposts.
Image: Equatoria Corps
South Sudan, officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in eastern Central Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Kenya, and includes the vast swamp region of the Sudd, formed by the White Nile and known locally as the Bahr al Jabal, meaning "Mountain Sea". The population was 11,088,796 in 2023, and Juba is the capital and largest city. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011, making it the most recent sovereign state or country with widespread recognition as of 2024.
A South Sudanese girl at independence festivities
Salva Kiir Mayardit, the first President of South Sudan. His trademark Stetson hat was a gift from United States President George W. Bush.
South Sudan's presidential guard on Independence Day, 2011
A young South Sudanese girl smiling in traditional attire