Darfur is a region in western Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

. An independent sultanate

Sultanate of Darfur

The Sultanate of Darfur was a pre-colonial East African state in what is today Sudan. It functioned independently from 1603 to October 24, 1874.-Origins:...

 for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan referred to the manner by which Sudan was administered between 1899 and 1956, when it was a condominium of Egypt and the United Kingdom.-Union with Egypt:...

 in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states

States of Sudan

Below is a list of the 15 states of Sudan, organized by their original provinces during the period of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Arabic language versions are, as appropriate, in parentheses. States that were not provinces before 1994 are marked with . Transliterations from Arabic to English may vary;...

: West Darfur

West Darfur

West Darfur is one of the 15 states of Sudan, and one of three comprising the Darfur region. It has an area of 79,460 km² and an estimated population of approximately 1,007,000 . It borders North and South Darfur to the east. The Chadian prefectures of Biltine and Ouaddaï lie to the west,...

, South Darfur

South Darfur

South Darfur is one of the 15 wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the three states that compose the region of Darfur in western Sudan. It has an area of and an estimated population of approximately 2,890,000 . Nyala is the capital of the state. The State was affected by the 2010 Sahel...

, and North Darfur

North Darfur

North Darfur is one of the 15 wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the three states composing the Darfur region. It has an area of 296,420 km² and an estimated population of approximately 1,583,000 . Al-Fashir is the capital of the state...

. Because of the war in Darfur

War in Darfur

The Darfur Conflict was a guerrilla conflict or civil war centered on the Darfur region of Sudan. It began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and Justice and Equality Movement groups in Darfur took up arms, accusing the Sudanese government of oppressing non-Arab Sudanese in...

 waged by the Sudanese government against the non-Arab indigenous population, the region has been in a state of humanitarian emergency since 2003.
Darfur covers an area of some 493180 square kilometres (190,417.9 sq mi)—approximately the size of Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.