Quick answerKhartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan, with 1,974,647 people inside the city limits in 2025. The wider metropolitan area had about 7.2 million people in 2025. It is best known for the Meeting of the Blue and White Nile. Its official languages are Arabic and English, and its currency is the Sudanese pound.
Khartoum is the capital of Sudan, with about 2 million people in the city proper (2025 estimate). It stands where the Blue Nile and the White Nile meet, and Greater Khartoum, the three cities together, had about 7.2 million people before the war.
Key facts
| Country | Sudan |
|---|---|
| Population (city) | 1,974,647 (2025) |
| Population (metro) | 7,155,000 (2025) · Greater Khartoum urban area, 2023 estimate |
| Elevation | 381 m above sea level |
| Time zone | Africa/Khartoum |
| Language | Arabic, English |
| Currency | Sudanese pound (SDG, ج.س.) |
| Coordinates | 15.6° N, 32.5° E |
Overview
Khartoum is the capital and most populous city of Sudan, in the centre of the country where the Blue Nile and the White Nile meet to form the Nile. The city proper had an estimated 1,974,647 residents in 2025, while Greater Khartoum, the three cities of Khartoum, Omdurman and Khartoum North together, was estimated at 7,155,000 people in 2023, before the war. The city sits 381 metres above sea level.
Khartoum was founded in 1821 as an Egyptian military camp at the meeting of the two Niles, and it grew into the capital of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. It is famous as the city where General Gordon was killed in 1885, when Mahdist forces took the city, and where the British retook it in 1898. Its landmarks include the National Museum of Sudan, the Republican Palace, the confluence of the two Niles at Tuti Island, and the Souq Arabi, the great market.
Today Khartoum is a city remade by war. Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces began in the capital in April 2023, and millions of people fled the city in the months that followed. The armed forces retook Khartoum in March 2025, but much of the city was damaged, and its population is far below the pre-war figure. Any visit is impossible for now: Sudan is under a do-not-travel warning, and the numbers here describe the city before and during the war, not a city at peace.
What Khartoum is known for
- Meeting of the Blue and White Nile
- National Museum of Sudan
- Souq Arabi
- Tuti Island
- Republican Palace
- Capital of Sudan
Landmarks
- Confluence of the Blue and White Nile
- Tuti Island
- National Museum of Sudan
- Republican Palace
- Souq Arabi
- Al-Nilin Mosque
- All Saints Cathedral
Frequently asked questions
What is the population of Khartoum?
About 2 million people live in the city of Khartoum itself (1,974,647 in a 2025 estimate). Greater Khartoum, the three cities of Khartoum, Omdurman and Khartoum North together, was estimated at about 7.2 million people in 2023, before the war. The war that began in April 2023 drove millions of people out of the capital, so the city's population has fallen sharply since that estimate.
What is Khartoum famous for?
Khartoum is famous as the city where the Blue Nile and the White Nile meet to form the Nile, and as the capital of Sudan. It is known for the National Museum of Sudan, the Souq Arabi market, Tuti Island at the meeting of the rivers, and its history as the city where General Gordon was killed in 1885 and the British returned in 1898.
Where is Khartoum located?
Khartoum is in central Sudan, at the confluence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile, where the two rivers join to form the Nile. It is the capital of Sudan and of Khartoum State, and it sits 381 metres above sea level. Its coordinates are 15.60° N, 32.50° E, and its time zone is Central Africa Time.
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Keep exploring
- Sudan — the country Khartoum is in
- Omdurman — another city in Sudan
- Nyala — another city in Sudan
- Port Sudan — another city in Sudan
- All cities in Sudan
- All countries — the full list
Sources & last updated
Last updated: . Figures are shown with their year; where sources disagree, the value is left out rather than estimated.