On 9 July 2011, after more than 50 years of civil war, the Republic of South Sudan declared independence from Sudan. On 14 July 2011, the United Nations General Assembly welcomed the Republic of South Sudan as its 193rd member (UN News Centre, 14 July 2011).
The young country lacks social services and transportation infrastructure. Only 55% of the population has access to potable water, and only 6.4% has access to sanitation facilities; 92% of women in South Sudan cannot read or write (NBS, 8 February 2011; USAID, October 2010).
There is conflict on border state of Abyei and the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in July 2009 was rejected by Sudan despite pressure from the African Union for it to accept the terms of the ruling.