Juba County, Central Equatoria State

DEMOGRAPHY

2008 Census population: 368,436
2021 NBS PES population estimate*: 690,918
2022 UN OCHA population estimate*: 523,700

Ethnic groups: As host of the country’s capital, Juba County is multi-ethnic. The Bari, Lokoya, Lulubo and Nyangwara** are among the main ethnic groups, with large communities of Pajulu, Kakwa, Kuku, Mundari, Dinka and Nuer and other smaller groups who have settled in the county over the years.

Displacement Figures Q3 2022: 157,593 IDPs (+82,228 Q1 2020) and 42,832 returnees (-8,243 Q1 2020)

IPC Food Security: November 2022 – Crisis (Phase 3); IPC Projections: December to March 2023 Crisis (Phase 3); April to July 2023 – Crisis (Phase 3)

ECONOMY & LIVELIHOODS

Juba County is located in the centre of Central Equatoria State and hosts the capital city of Juba. It borders Terekeka County to the north and Kajo-Keji and Lainya Counties to the south. The counties of Lafon/Lopa, Torit and Magwi in Eastern Equatoria State are to the east, while Mundri East and Mundri West counties in Western Equatoria State are to the west. The River Nile flows northwards through the county and capital city.

According to FEWSNET (2018), Juba County falls within the highland forest and sorghum livelihoods zone. Given the relatively high urbanization in Juba City, residents of the county engage in a diverse range of livelihoods. The presence of national, state, county and municipal government institutions, as well as the humanitarian and development community in Juba provides significant employment opportunities for South Sudanese. Many South Sudanese in Juba either directly work for the government or humanitarian/development sector or provide ancillary support and business services to support these two sectors. Juba also serves as a transit hub for both travelers and imported goods, with the road and riverine infrastructure connecting Juba to other parts of the country and the Ugandan border. Residents of Juba County also engage in a range of other livelihoods including small business, cultivation, cattle-keeping, and technical vocations. While the parameters of the informal economy in South Sudan are unknown, residents of the county engage with this sector on a regular basis, whether as consumers or vendors.

For Juba County, the IPC projected the county as crisis (IPC level 3) in November 2022, with food insecurity conditions projected to persist at the same level until at least mid-2023. An estimated 35% of households in Juba County engaged in farming, with a gross cereal yield of 1.2 tonnes per hectare in 2021 (FAO/WFP 2022), increasing to 1.3 tonnes per hectare in 2022 (FAO/WFP 2023). While Juba County hosts the nation’s capital, it also hosts a significant portion of the country’s IDPs and has been impacted by the financial crisis. Additionally, the country remains reliant on food imports to support its population, which is subjected to various forms of disruption, notably insecurity and checkpoints (Schouten et al. 2021).

INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES

The headquarters for Juba County was relocated from Juba city to Luri in Northern Bari Payam in 2022 (Eye Radio 2022). Juba city hosts a number of key public institutions relating to education, healthcare and governance, including the Juba Teaching Hospital, Juba University, as well as the national government institutions. Following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, major development projects and rapid urbanization as well as private sector initiatives focused on the county spurred rapid economic growth. The Konyo Konyo and Gumbo markets are the main markets in Juba, particularly for fresh produce being imported into the country and act as the feeder locations for smaller markets in Juba County and further afield.

As Juba continues to grow, the expansion of the informal economy is complemented by the web of local authorities, formal and informal though they might be, who often serve as the negotiators of personal disputes and neighborhood management in the absence of effective civil administration (Kindersley 2019). As land values in and around Juba continue to rise and the pressures of urbanization challenge local communities’ rights to land, the role and authority of these arbiters of justice as a complement or replacement to official channels continues to evolve.

Juba’s reputation as South Sudan’s center of learning is bolstered by the range of educational institutions. Juba County is home to two hundred and twenty-two (222) Early Childhood Development centers, three hundred and thirty-one (331) primary schools and one hundred and twelve (112) secondary schools. The secondary schools are located throughout eight (8) of Juba’s payams, include two (2) all-girls schools among their ranks and four (4) institutions boast of enrollment of over one-thousand students. During the conflict with Sudan, Juba University had been re-located to Khartoum, but was moved back to Juba during the CPA period (Kuyok 2017). Following the outbreak of conflict in 2013, higher education institutions such as John Garang Memorial University and Upper Nile University were temporarily relocated to Juba from other parts of the country due to insecurity.

Juba County was reported to have one hundred and eleven (111) health facilities including one hundred and seven (107) functional health facilities, among them fifty-eight (58) PHCUs, thirty-seven (37) PHCCs and twelve (12) hospitals in March 2022. This means that there were an estimated 1.52 PHCUs per 15,000 people and 3.25 PHCCs per 50,000 people according to the WHO. The Juba Teaching Hospital is the only tertiary public healthcare institution in the county, providing specialized healthcare services not available in local clinics.

According to OCHA’s Humanitarian Needs Overview for 2023, an estimated 313,700 people in the county have humanitarian needs. Of these people, nearly 179,000 are non-displaced persons, with the remainder comprising IDPs and returnees. This is equivalent to approximately 60% of the estimated population for Juba County reported in the HNO The former UN Protection of Civilian (Poc) site to the south-west of the city (which transitioned to a conventional displacement camp in 2020) hosts 31,865 IDPs as of July 2022 (IOM DTM 2023), many of whom were displaced at the outset of the national conflict in 2013-14. A 2022 IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix report observed that 91.5% of the households within the former UN PoC site have engaged in coping strategies to mitigate the lack of food at some point during the twelve months prior to data collection in 2021, including skipping meals. The same report found that over 39% of households in the former PoC site accessed humanitarian relief (primary food assistance), with many households requiring assistance but not receiving it, and over of surveyed households indicating they received inadequate information about humanitarian services available to them. Juba county’s WASH needs are highlighted by OCHA as particularly dire in part because of the rapid urbanization and limited public utility services available in the growing capital (OCHA 2021 p. 70). Rapid urbanization has also put a strain on fuel supplies in the capital and there has been a major expansion of the charcoal trade and increased reliance on urban markets for purchasing household fuel in recent years (Leonardi 2020).

CONFLICT DYNAMICS

On 15 December 2013, fighting erupted between members of the Presidential Guard in their Juba barracks which became the catalyst for national-wide conflict. The exact trigger of the initial conflict remains undetermined. Fighting rapidly spread throughout Juba as the SPLA pushed anti-government forces to the outskirts of the city and the opposition group attempted to enter Juba from Bor (HSBA, 2014). Large numbers of civilians were killed, particularly during the first three days of fighting, and there were numerous reports of extra-judicial killings, ethnic targeting, conflict-related sexual violence and looting. The ability of aid agencies to respond to rapidly escalating humanitarian demands was hampered by the ongoing fighting, as well as challenges encountered when trying to bring both goods and personnel into the country. As fighting spread throughout the country in 2014 and 2015, the situation remained tense in Juba. In September 2015, the SPLA clashed with militia groups associated with the opposition in Wonduruba Payam, resulting in the displacement of an estimated 16,000 civilians. In the wake of December 2013 outbreak of conflict, approximately 85,000 civilians sought refuge at UNMISS compounds in South Sudan, including in Juba, resulting in the establishment of Protection of Civilians (PoC) sites. As of February 2020, an estimated 29,948 IDPs were residing in PoC I and III in Juba (UNMISS, 2020).

The Juba PoC site was initially created at the UNMISS base in Tomping, Juba in 2013. However, due to the significant size of the population and the lack of infrastructure in the area, a new PoC site was created at UN House in the Jebel area of Juba. IDPs were shifted to this new location in 2014 (IOM, 2016). Intercommunal violence, possibly tied to the national conflict, has led to tensions within PoC sites. Notably, in May 2015 violence erupted between the Bul Nuer and Adok clans from the Nuer community in the Juba PoC, which resulted in one death and over 70 wounded (UNMISS, 2015). Clashes within the PoC in 2018 ultimately led to a small portion of IDPs (approximately 3,500 IDPs) being shifted to an ad hoc site in Mangateen, to try and quell the tensions within the PoC (UNMISS, 2018).

After the outbreak of conflict in 2016, the security situation in Juba stabilized in terms of the civil war. However, insecurity within the capital continued to be reported, including instances of armed robberies, gender-based violence and killings. The national government and warring factions signed a peace agreement in 2018, and ultimately began the process of forming a new government in February 2020.

ADMINISTRATION & LOGISTICS

Payams: Northern Bari (County Headquarters in Luri), Juba Town (part of Juba City), Kator (part of Juba City), Munuki (part of Juba City), Rejaf, Lirya, Ganji, Rokon, Lobonok, Dolo, Mangala South, Lokiliri, Bungu, Wonduruba, Gondokoro, Tijor

UN OCHA 2020 map of Juba County: https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/south-sudan/infographic/south-sudan-juba-county-reference-map

Roads from Juba city:

  • Seven primary roads and one secondary road connect Juba to surrounding counties.
  • South to Kajo-Keji – Road was designated “passable with difficulties” by the Logistics Cluster during rainy portions of 2022 while the road was considered passable during the 2023 dry season.
  • South to Nimule – Road was designated as being passable during both the rainy and dry seasons 2022 and 2023, respectively.
  • South-west to Lainya and Yei – Road was designated as being passable with difficulties between Juba and Lainya during the rainy season in 2022, though was impassible between Lainya and Yei during the same season. The road was deemed passable in the dry season of 2023.
  • East to Lopa/Lopa County – Secondary road was deemed impassable during both the rainy and dry seasons of 2022 and 2023, respectively.
  • South-east to Torit – the primary road was deemed passable during both the rainy and dry seasons of 2022 and 2023, respectively, though conditions for a secondary bypass along the route are unknown.
  • North-West to Rumbek – Road designated as passable during both the rainy and dry seasons of 2022 and 2023, respectively.
  • North to Bor – Road designated as passable during both the rainy and dry seasons of 2022 and 2023, respectively.
  • North to Terekeka – Secondary road designated as passable during both the rainy and dry seasons of 2022 and 2023, respectively.
  • Road securityAttacks by armed groups and unknown gunmen (sometimes wearing military uniform) have been reported along the Juba-Nimule road and the Juba-Yei road in recent years, with (less frequent) attacks also reported along the road to Bor. The military has at points provided armed escort along the Juba-Nimule road following high-profile attacks. Occasional insecurity has also been reported on the roads to Torit and Lafon/Lopa Counties. Note that Juba is among the counties most heavily contaminated with landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW).

Road from Rokon town to Tindilo village:

  • A tertiary road in western Juba County runs northward to Tindilo village in Terekeka County. This road does not appear on Logistics Clusters maps, meaning its condition is unknown.

UNHAS-recognised Heli and Fixed-Wing Airplane Airstrips: Juba International Airport

REFERENCES

Deng, D. and CSRF. (2020). Conflict Sensitivity Analysis: Considerations for the Humanitarian Response in Mangalla. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

Eye Radio. (2022). Juba County headquarters relocated to Luri Payam. Retrieved 14 July 2023.

FAO & WFP. (2023). South Sudan 2022 Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) Summary of findings. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

FEWSNET. (2018). Livelihoods Zone Map and Descriptions for the Republic of South Sudan (Updated). Retrieved 10 July 2023.

HSBA. (2014). Timeline of Recent Intra-Southern Conflict. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

HRW (2020). South Sudan: Soldiers Kill Civilians in Land Dispute. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

IOM. (2016). If we leave we are killed: Lessons Learned from South Sudan Protection of Civilian Sites 2013-2016. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

IOM DTM. (2022). IDP Site Multi-Sector Needs and Vulnerabilities Survey (FSNMS+): Juba IDP Camp I & III. Retrieved 9 July 2023.

IPC. (2020). South Sudan: Consolidated Findings from the IPC Technical Working Group and External Reviews. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

Kuyok, K.A. (2017). How South Sudan’s universities have survived civil war and independence. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

OCHA. (2019). Humanitarian Needs Overview: South Sudan 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

OCHA. (2021). Humanitarian Needs Overview: South Sudan 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

Schouten, P., Matthysen, K. & Muller, T. (2021). Checkpoint economy: the political economy of checkpoints in South Sudan, ten years after independence. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

UNDP. (2019). Reconstruction Works Begin on Upper Nile University Campus. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

REPORTS on JUBA

Badiey, N. (2014) The State of Post-conflict Reconstruction: Land, Urban Development and Statebuilding in Juba, Southern Sudan. Woodbridge, Suffolk: James Currey.

Justin, P. H. & De Vries, L. (2019). Governing Unclear Lines: Local Boundaries as a (Re)source of Conflict in South Sudan. Journal of Borderlands Studies, 34(1), 31-46. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

Kindersley, N. (2019). Rule of whose law? The geography of authority in Juba, South SudanThe Journal of Modern African Studies57(1), 61-83. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

Leonardi, C. (2020). Fueling Poverty: The challenges of accessing energy among urban households in Juba, South Sudan. Rift Valley Institute. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

Logo, K. H. (2021). Gender equality and civicness in higher education in South Sudan: debates from University of Juba circles. LSE Conflict Research Programme/ South Sudan Studies Association. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

Martin, E. M. & Mosel, I. (2011). City limits: urbanization and vulnerability: Juba case study, ODI. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

McMichael, G. (2016). Land conflict and informal settlements in Juba, South Sudan. Urban Studies, 53(13), 2721-2737. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

Rift Valley Institute. (2020). Trading Grains in South Sudan Stories of opportunities, shocks and changing tastes. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

Rift Valley Institute. (2021). South Sudan: Youth, violence and livelihoods. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

Verjee, A. (2021). Collapse in the Capital: The Evolution of Security Arrangements in Juba, South Sudan, 2014–16. African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review, 11(1), 104-118. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

Wani Gore, P. (2014). The overlooked role of elites in African grassroots conflicts: A case study of the Dinka-Mundari-Bari conflict in Southern Sudan. Chr. Michelsen institute. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

* Note: The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Population Estimation Survey (PES) was published in April 2023 based on data collected in May-June 2021. This uses a different method to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Population Working Group (PWG) figures produced based on a combination of 2008 census data and population movement data up to 2022. The large discrepancies are primarily attributable to these different methods rather than changes in the actual population numbers over time and have been disputed by some civil society and analysts. Although the later PWG figures were produced more recently for the HNO 2023, at the request of the Government of South Sudan the data and method used by the PES is being used as the basis for the Common Operational Dataset (COD) for the UN system for the HNO 2024 and likely beyond. For further detail on this and other sources used in the county profiles, see the accompanying Methodological Note.

** Note: The Nyangwara listed here should not be confused with the Mundari-Nyangwara listed under Terekeka County. The former are a separate group who have historically settled in the Rokon area of Juba County. The latter are a section of the Mundari that some people regard as tracing their origin to the Nyangwara people.