weighted score 7.7 · nine dimensions
Country Risk Profile
South Sudan
Sourcing risk, regulatory exposure and audit intelligence for South Sudan-origin supply chains.
Forced & child labour
8
Widespread child soldier recruitment. Forced labour endemic. Over 4 million IDPs extremely vulnerable to exploitation. ILAB lists cattle, gold, and bricks.
Worker rights & FOA
8
Labour laws unenforceable. Civil servants face 8-13 months salary arrears. Independent unions non-functional. Freedom of association severely constrained.
OHS & audit transparency
9
No functioning occupational health and safety framework. Independent auditing effectively impossible due to security situation. Access restricted across most of the country.
Food & product safety
7
No functioning food safety regulator. Domestic food insecurity crisis with over 7 million facing acute hunger. Product safety standards non-existent.
Environmental & regulatory
6
Oil production causes documented environmental damage in Greater Upper Nile. No effective environmental enforcement. Limited EUDR exposure due to minimal commodity exports.
Governance & anti-corruption
9
TI CPI 2025: 9/100 — joint lowest globally with Somalia. Systemic kleptocracy documented by UN Panel of Experts. Oil revenues largely unaccounted for.
Tariff & preferential access
5
EBA eligible as LDC. In practice, non-oil exports to the EU are negligible. EAC membership provides regional framework but implementation is limited.
Non-tariff barriers
8
EU and US targeted sanctions on individuals and entities. Arms embargo. Conflict-affected status creates due diligence obligations for any sourcing.
Supply chain traceability
9
Traceability effectively impossible. Informal economy dominates. No customs data infrastructure for non-oil goods. Landlocked with single pipeline export route.
Labour & Social Risk
Labour & Social Risk
- Forced labour risk
- Widespread forced labour including child soldiers. Armed groups recruit children across multiple states. Population displacement exceeds 4 million internally displaced persons, creating extreme vulnerability to labour exploitation.
- Child labour
- Among the highest child labour rates globally. Children engaged in cattle herding, agriculture, domestic work, and armed conflict. ILAB lists cattle, gold, and bricks as produced with child labour.
- Worker rights
- Labour law framework exists on paper but is largely unenforceable. Civil servants face 8-13 months of salary arrears. Independent trade unions effectively non-functional. Freedom of association severely constrained.
- Humanitarian context
- Over 10 million people require humanitarian assistance. 87% of the population lives in extreme poverty. The humanitarian crisis fundamentally undermines any labour standards framework.
EU Regulatory Exposure
EU Regulatory Exposure
- GSP status
- South Sudan is eligible for EU Everything But Arms (EBA) preferences as an LDC. In practice, trade volumes with the EU are minimal and concentrated almost entirely in crude oil.
- EU Forced Labour Regulation
- Regulation (EU) 2024/3015 applies from December 2027. Given documented forced labour including child soldiers, any South Sudan-origin goods face high likelihood of investigation under Article 5.
- EUDR exposure
- Limited direct exposure. South Sudan is not a significant exporter of EUDR-regulated commodities to the EU. Timber from teak plantations has some theoretical exposure.
- Sanctions
- EU has imposed targeted sanctions on South Sudanese individuals and entities under Council Decision 2015/740/CFSP. Arms embargo in force. Financial restrictions on designated persons.
Logistics & Supply Chain
Logistics & Supply Chain
- Primary export corridor
- Crude oil exported via pipeline through Sudan to Port Sudan on the Red Sea. This is effectively the only significant export route.
- Infrastructure
- South Sudan has virtually no paved road network outside Juba. No railway. Juba International Airport handles limited cargo. River transport on the White Nile is seasonal and unreliable.
- Landlocked
- South Sudan is landlocked, entirely dependent on transit through neighbouring countries (Sudan, Kenya, Uganda) for international trade. The Sudan pipeline dependency creates acute chokepoint risk.
- Traceability
- Supply chain traceability is effectively impossible for most goods. Informal economy dominates. No functioning customs data infrastructure for non-oil exports.