* Last census put south&${esc.hash}39;s population at 8 million
* Majority of registered voters are women
* Voting period can be extended if necessary
JUBA, Sudan, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Almost four million southern Sudanese, or roughly half the south&${esc.hash}39;s population, have registered to take part in an independence referendum next week that is likely to split Africa&${esc.hash}39;s largest country in two, officials said on Monday.
The vote, due to begin in six days, is the climax of a 2005 peace deal that ended a civil war in Sudan that killed at least two million people and destablised much of the region.
Southerners are expected to vote to separate from the north and form a new nation.
"The total number of people registered in the south, in the eight countries abroad and in the states of northern Sudan is 3,930,916," said Chan Reek Madut, a member of the referendum&${esc.hash}39;s organising commission.
The vast majority of voters are in the southern region. Only some sixty thousand registered in the diaspora and less than 120,000 in the north, amid accusations of voter intimidation and a fear of reprisals should the south separate.
The south&${esc.hash}39;s population was estimated to be 8 million in the latest census.
Madut said 52 percent of those registered were women. Organisers made a concerted effort to ensure women, often uneducated in rural areas, were able to sign up to vote.
All voting materials are expected to be in place across the region by Tuesday, dispelling fears that the late awarding of a tender to print ballot papers could delay the vote.
Madut said the option to extend the voting period was still available to organisers.
"If it appears there is a good reason we will recommend to the commission that there be an extension," he said.
In order to be valid, the referendum requires that 60 percent of those registered turn out to vote.
(Reporting by Jeremy Clarke; editing by Noah Barkin)
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