The capital city contains offices of the state, governmental and non-governmental organizations, cultural institutions, and the main airport.

The explanation suggested as "most correct" by the state government's website[7] is that it comes from the Arabic for "elephant's trunk", which describes the shape of the site of the city at the confluence of the two Niles, where a stretch of land extends into the water.

Other stories are that it is a corruption of "gurtoum", the name for seeds of the sunflower plant, supposedly used by Roman invaders at the current site of Khartoum to treat soldiers' wounds, or that it was derived from the words "Khor al-Tom".

In the countryside most people are engaged in agriculture and grazing and thus supply the capital, Khartoum, with vegetables, fruits, and dairy products.

Above all stands the strong ambition to become the new Dubai with the financial support coming from the oil and gas supplies of the country.

[7][11] The State of Khartoum is now the largest center in Sudan for the manufacturing sector with more than 7500 different factories and more than ten industrial areas providing all types of goods such as food processing and electronics and household appliances as well as medicines and textiles as well as footwear and tanneries and chemicals.

Khartoum state contains archaeological sites dating back to different periods of civilization, both prehistoric and historical.