South Sudan celebrates Independence Day on 9 July, marking its independence from Sudan in 2011.
The celebration follows a 2005 peace agreement that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War. That agreement provided for a referendum on self-determination in Southern Sudan. In January 2011, voters overwhelmingly chose independence.
South Sudan formally became an independent country on 9 July 2011. The ceremony in Juba was attended by regional and international leaders, and the new state became the United Nations’ 193rd member several days later.
The date is sometimes confused with 30 December, South Sudan’s Republic Day, or with Sudan’s own independence date of 1 January 1956. South Sudan’s Independence Day specifically commemorates its separation from Sudan after the 2011 referendum process.