Juba is the capital of the state of Bahr al Jabal in southern Sudan. Its 1993 population was 114,980. It is a river port and the southern terminus of traffic along the River Nile. It is also a transportation hub, with highways spoking to Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The city is the location of the University of Juba .

British hopes to join the southern part of Sudan with Uganda were dashed in 1947 by an agreement in Juba to unify northern and southern Sudan. In 1955, a mutiny of southern soldiers in the city sparked the First Sudanese Civil War, which did not end until 1969. During the Second Sudanese Civil War, Juba was a strategic location that was the focus of much fighting.

In 2005, Juba was handed over to the Sudanese People's Liberation Army. The city is to serve as the regional capital of Southern Sudan.