Sudan tax revenue tops $1.3 billion, funding war effort

November 23, 2025 (GEDAREF) – Sudan’s taxation authority has collected 2.8 trillion Sudanese pounds ($1.3 billion) in revenue this year, exceeding targets by 230%, with the entire amount funnelled into the army’s war effort, a senior official said on Saturday.

The announcement highlights the government’s shift to a total war economy as the conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) stretches into its third year.

“The Taxation Chamber achieved revenues amounting to 2.8 trillion pounds… an increase of 230% over the target set up to October 2025,” Badr al-Tamam Mohamed Saad, Secretary-General of the Taxation Chamber, told reporters.

“All tax revenues in this period are directed to the war effort to provide all the needs for the Battle of Dignity,” he added, using the army’s term for the conflict.

Despite the war disrupting state institutions since April 2023, tax collection has recovered in army-controlled areas, though operations remain stalled in the RSF strongholds of Darfur and large parts of Kordofan.

Saad, speaking during a visit to the eastern state of Gedaref, pledged to boost revenues further to replenish the state treasury. Gedaref is a vital agricultural hub, producing the bulk of the country’s crops harvested between November and January.

The official’s comments on funding the war come as the humanitarian situation deteriorates.

While tax revenues have surged, 21.2 million Sudanese face acute food insecurity, the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has declared famine in Kadugli and El Fasher, warning it could spread to 20 other areas.