The eastern border was the White Nile with Jonglei State on the opposite bank.

In July 2011, Ramciel in Lakes state was under consideration by the federal government as a site for a new national capital, which would replace Juba.

[5] Cattle raids were persistent in the Lakes State, between the Republic of Sudan and the former rebel group SPLA/M, since the CPA was signed in 2005.

Human rights journalist Manyang Mayom reported heavily on government oppression in the Lakes State; his work won him the Human Rights Watch Award on August 4, 2010.

Mayom was expelled from the Warrap State in November 2021 for his work in that region with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).