For decades, Sudan's southerners fought the country's predominately Arab rulers in the north. More than two million people died before the fighting ended in a peace deal in 2005. In a referendum promised by the pact, 99 percent of the southerners chose to secede, and on July 9, 2011, the flag of South Sudan was raised over Juba, the rickety new capital. The world's youngest nation South Sudan has had a rough first year: border wars with the North, internal violence and shutdown of the oil production its economy depends on. With the first anniversary of independence from former civil war foes Sudan on July 9, 2012 euphoria has given way to a harsh reality. While massive steps forward have been made, South Sudan remains one of the poorest countries on earth, where even the most basic infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water distribution networks still has to be built.