South Sudan, officially called the Republic of South Sudan, is the world's newest country. South Sudan became an independent nation on July 9th, 2011 after many decades of war and a vote regarding its secession from Sudan. The vote revealed around 99% of voters in favor of the split. South Sudan was inclined to vote in favor of secession from Sudan because of cultural and religious differences and ongoing civil war. During and post war, South Sudan has definitely had an uphill battle as a nation.