South Sudan

Economy & income

1 USD = 4836.8 SSP live rate

Currency: South Sudanese Pound (SSP, symbol £/SSP)
~4,700 SSP per USD (official, Jul 2026 — Trading Economics ~4,684 on 3 Jul)
parallel/street rate materially weaker — the SSP collapsed from ~130/USD (2019) through years of hyperinflation
GDP per capita: ~$470 nominal (2025, IMF WEO — among the world's lowest)
~$1,470 PPP (2025, IMF WEO est.)
total GDP ~$6.0bn nominal
economy contracted sharply in FY2024/25 after the Sudan war ruptured its oil-export pipeline
World Bank has published no per-capita figure since 2015 (~$1,080)
Average salary: ~$110 net/mo (Numbeo/livingcost after-tax median, Jun 2025 — very thin ~14-entry, 1-contributor sample)
formal-sector gross ~$120–135/mo (wage.is, 2026)
Civil-service pay is very low and frequently months in arrears
Median salary: ~$110/mo (Numbeo after-tax median, Jun 2025) — flag: extremely thin data (~14 entries, 1 contributor)
no official national median exists
Minimum wage: No enforced statutory national minimum wage
public-sector wages extremely low and frequently unpaid for months (a historical ~SSP 7,000/mo reference is defunct after the currency collapse)
Cost of living: Low (in USD terms) but volatile & import-driven — Numbeo Juba single-person ~$528/mo excl. rent (Jun 2025, very thin data)
imported goods, fuel and electronics are expensive
heavy reliance on imports from Uganda & Kenya

Digital landscape

Population: 12.1 million (Jan 2025, DataReportal; World Bank ~11.9m for 2024)
~21.8% urban, 78.2% rural
Internet users: 15.7% (~1.90 million users, Jan 2025)
84.3% of the population offline
Social media users: 7.2% (~868k identities; ~13.3% of adults 18+; 70.7% male / 29.3% female)
Mobile connections: 4.47 million cellular connections = 37.1% of population (80.6% on broadband 3G/4G/5G)
Devices: mobile ~51% / desktop ~47% / tablet ~1% (StatCounter, Jun 2026) — desktop share unusually high for the region
Ad spend: n/a — DataReportal publishes no digital ad-spend figure for South Sudan (market too small to size)
spend is minimal and concentrated in Meta & Google — flag
Top social platforms: Facebook ~868k ad reach — overwhelmingly dominant; ~75% of social web referrals

TikTok ~444k adults 18+

Messenger ~325k

LinkedIn ~110k

Instagram ~59k

YouTube — major for video/music; ~8% of referrals
Messengers: WhatsApp (dominant chat app)
Facebook Messenger (~325k)
IMO (popular for cheap international/diaspora calls)
Telegram (news & groups)

Ad regulations

Gambling & betting Banned

BANNED — gambling is criminalised under Section 237 of the Penal Code; no licensing regime exists, though offshore/foreign betting sites still reach South Sudanese players cross-border

Crypto Restricted

RESTRICTED — no legal or regulatory framework; unregulated grey area; not legal tender; the Bank of South Sudan has warned of fraud/AML risks; general fraud & money-laundering laws still apply

Adult Banned

BANNED — pornography & obscene material prohibited under the Penal Code; conservative, Christian-majority (with Muslim-minority) society

Dating Allowed

ALLOWED — no sector-specific restriction, but conservative social/religious norms and a heavily male-skewed online base (~71% of Facebook users) limit demand

Finance & loans Restricted

RESTRICTED — nascent, largely cash/USD banking under the Bank of South Sudan; no consumer-credit advertising framework; formal credit scarce; mobile-money micro-lending only just emerging

Nutra & pharma Restricted

RESTRICTED — Drug & Food Control Authority (DFCA, Ministry of Health) must register products and is mandated to monitor medicine/food advertising; enforcement is weak and counterfeit/substandard drugs are widespread

Regulators

South Sudan Media Authority (SSMA — advertising & content codes)
National Communication Authority (NCA — telecom/broadcasting)
Bank of South Sudan (finance)
Drug & Food Control Authority (health products)

Notes

Weak regulatory capacity and enforcement
high informality
media freedom heavily restricted (RSF ranks South Sudan near the bottom) so political/security topics are sensitive
creatives run in English + Juba Arabic

Payments & behaviour

Payment methods: Cash (dominant — economy is heavily US-dollar-ised alongside the SSP)
Mobile money — m-Gurush, MTN MoMo, Digitel DigiCash (declared legal tender Jul 2025)
Cash on delivery (default for e-commerce)
Bank transfer (limited — very low banked population)
Cards — Visa/Mastercard (rare; urban elite / NGO only)
E-wallets: m-Gurush
MTN MoMo
Nilepay
Digitel DigiCash
Zain Cash
Cash on delivery: Very high — cash on delivery is the default for the small online-retail sector
E-commerce: Very low / nascent — a handful of local stores (Shopit, Tuwali, Jubee, Shop Ninja, Dukaanye)
much 'e-commerce' is cross-border ordering from Uganda/Kenya with delivery to Juba
Notes: Cash/USD economy with very low financial inclusion
mobile money adopted as legal tender in Jul 2025 and civil-service salaries mandated digital, but chronic agent cash shortages, network outages and low trust throttle real usage

Audience & culture

Languages: English (official — government & education)
Juba Arabic (creole lingua franca — urban commerce & daily life)
Dinka (largest ethnic group, ~40%)
Nuer (~20%)
Bari, Zande, Shilluk & 60+ other indigenous languages
Religion: Christian ~60.5%, traditional African religions ~32.9%, Muslim ~6.2%, other ~0.4% (Pew Research)
Median age: 18.7 years (DataReportal, Jan 2025) — among the world's youngest populations
Key seasons: Christmas & New Year (Christian majority)
Easter
Independence Day (9 July — strong national pride)
Ramadan & Eid (Muslim minority)
Dry season (Dec–Mar — better travel, connectivity & events)
Cultural notes: Very young, strongly male-skewed online audience concentrated in Juba
Facebook + WhatsApp are the core channels
radio remains the most trusted mass medium
national-pride and diaspora-linked content over-performs
word-of-mouth and community/church networks matter
Where to find creators: Facebook
TikTok
YouTube
Instagram
Diaspora creators (US / Australia / East Africa)

Media landscape

Top media outlets

1 Eye Radio English/Arabic + 7 local languages — leading independent radio network (Juba); 24/7 news
2 Radio Miraya English/Arabic — UN (UNMISS)-run; the station with the widest national reach
3 SSBC English/Juba Arabic — state broadcaster (South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation), national TV + radio
4 The City Review English — independent daily newspaper (Juba), free of government influence
5 Radio Tamazuj English/Arabic — independent online radio & news, cross-border focus
6 Sudans Post English — independent online news site covering South Sudan

Top YouTube channels

1 Dynamq — reggae/dancehall artist (diaspora) ~32.8K
2 Eye Radio South Sudan — news/current affairs ~24K
3 SSBC Official — state broadcaster ~10.4K
4 Longonyo — music/film (South Sudan Film Ltd) ~10K
5 Yaba Angelosi — Afro-fusion music ~9.1K

Creators & public figures

Top creators

Lual Mayen n/a — award-winning developer & speaker

Game dev / socialFounder/CEO of Junub Games; peace game 'Salaam'; tech/gaming & social-impact brand relevance

D

Dynamq ~32.8K YouTube

YouTubeReggae/dancehall artist & DJ (diaspora); music/entertainment brands

N

Nyaruach ~1.2M monthly Spotify listeners

Spotify/YouTubeSinger (Emmanuel Jal's sister); Afrobeat/dance; music brands

Y

Yaba Angelosi ~9.1K YouTube

YouTubeAfro-fusion singer/producer (Assida Records); music brands

M

Manasseh Mathiang n/a — local radio host/creator

Facebook/TikTokRadio host & digital content creator; entertainment/lifestyle

N

Nelly the Big Boy n/a — top local TikTok comedian

TikTokComedy/skits; youth-entertainment brand relevance

Celebrities

Adut Akech ~2M Instagram

Supermodel (South Sudanese-Australian); Vogue covers & top runway shows

Nyakim Gatwech ~900K Instagram

Model 'Queen of the Dark'; skin/body-positivity advocate

Alek Wek ~167K Instagram

Pioneering supermodel & UNHCR goodwill ambassador

Khaman Maluach ~130K Instagram

NBA player (Phoenix Suns, 2025 draft); South Sudan 'Bright Stars'

Emmanuel Jal ~75K Instagram

Rapper, actor & peace activist; former child soldier

Luol Deng widely followed ex-NBA star

Two-time NBA All-Star; president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation (Bright Stars)

Affiliate & traffic

Hot verticals: Mobile VAS / content subscriptions & app installs
Sports betting (offshore/grey — high demand despite the ban)
Airtime & data top-ups, mobile-money offers
Remittances / fintech (large diaspora)
E-commerce — phones & electronics (COD)
Active networks: No local networks — served remotely via global CPA/mobile networks (e.g. Adsterra, PropellerAds/Monetag, Mobidea, Golden Goose)
Meta & Google as primary buying channels
Regional East-Africa programs (airtime, betting, e-commerce) reaching SS cross-border
Payouts: Tier-3: low payouts — CPI/CPA typically ~$0.10–2, CPL low
SOI, mobile-content and smartlink models dominate
monetise on volume, not value
Competition: Low — small, underdeveloped digital market with few local advertisers
language, electricity and connectivity barriers keep both competition and CPMs cheap
Seasonality: Lifts around Christmas/New Year, Ramadan/Eid and Independence Day (9 Jul)
irregular civil-service salary cycles dampen steady spend
connectivity is better in the Dec–Mar dry season
Traffic sources: Facebook/Meta ads (primary)
Google & YouTube
TikTok
Push / in-app / pop (cheap CPMs)
SMS / direct carrier billing

Good to know

Capital: Juba
Major cities: Juba
Wau
Malakal
Yei
Aweil
Bor
Bentiu
Rumbek
Time zones: Single zone — CAT (UTC+2, Africa/Juba)
no DST
switched from EAT (UTC+3) on 1 Feb 2021
Android vs iOS: 69% 31%

Android 69% iOS 31%
Phone brands: Apple (~31%)
Samsung (~19%)
Xiaomi (~9%)
Oppo (~6%)
Vivo (~6%)
Realme (~4%)
Top e-commerce: Shopit (shopit.com.ss)
Tuwali
Jubee Online
Shop Ninja (Kampala→Juba)
Dukaanye
Peak activity: Evenings ~19:00–22:00 CAT and weekends; usage constrained by limited grid electricity and high data costs
Creative taboos: Ethnic/tribal identity (Dinka–Nuer tensions), civil-war & displacement trauma, government/security criticism (press restricted), religion — keep creatives neutral, aspirational and community-oriented
Also worth knowing: Heavily dollar-ised cash economy with severe SSP inflation — price and pay in USD.
Unusually high desktop (~47%) and iOS (~31%) shares vs typical Tier-3 Africa: the online base is a narrow Juba elite of NGO/government/business staff, plus diaspora-linked users and internet cafés — quality over quantity.
Facebook + WhatsApp are effectively the whole market; national-pride and diaspora content over-performs; offshore betting demand persists despite the legal ban