Somalia

Location

• Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, east of Ethiopia
• strategic location on Horn of Africa along southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb and route through Red Sea and Suez Canal

Population

Notable Population Centers

City	Population	Note
Mogadishu	2,587,183	Capital
Borama	597,842
Hargeysa	477,876
Berbera	242,344
Kismayo	234,852
Marka	230,100
Ruqi	148,702
Baidoa	129,839
Cabudwaaq	120,000
Burao	99,270

Size

• 246,199 square miles
• 637,657 square kilometers
• almost five times the size of Alabama; slightly smaller than Texas

History

Between A.D. 800 and 1100, immigrant Muslim Arabs and Persians set up coastal trading posts along the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, solidifying present-day Somalia’s close trading relationship with the Arab Peninsula. In the late 19th century, Britain, France, and Italy established colonies in the Somali Peninsula that lasted until 1960, when British Somaliland gained independence and joined with Italian Somaliland to form the Republic of Somalia. The country functioned as a parliamentary democracy until 1969, when General Mohamed SIAD Barre took control in a coup, beginning a 22-year socialist dictatorship. In an effort to centralize power, SIAD called for the eradication of the clan, the key cultural and social organizing principle in Somali society. Resistance to SIAD’s socialist leadership, which was causing a rapid deterioration of the country, prompted allied clan militias to overthrow SIAD in 1991, resulting in state collapse. Subsequent fighting between rival clans for resources and territory overwhelmed the country, causing a manmade famine and prompting international intervention. Beginning in 1993, the UN spearheaded an international humanitarian mission, but the international community largely withdrew by 1995 after an incident that became known as Black Hawk Down, in which two US military helicopters were shot down in Mogadishu. The fighting and subsequent siege and rescue resulted in 21 deaths and 82 wounded among the international forces.International peace conferences in the 2000s resulted in a number of transitional governments that operated outside Somalia. Left largely to themselves, Somalis in the country established alternative governance structures; some areas formed their own administrations, such as Somaliland and Puntland, while others developed localized institutions. Many local populations turned to sharia courts, an Islamic judicial system that implements religious law. Several of these courts came together in 2006 to form the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). The ICU established order in many areas of central and southern Somalia, including Mogadishu, but was forced out when Ethiopia intervened militarily in 2006 on behalf of the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG). As the TFG settled in the capital, the ICU fled to rural areas or left Somalia altogether, but the organization reemerged less than a year later as the Islamic insurgent and terrorist movement al-Shabaab, which is still active today. In 2007, the African Union (AU) established a peacekeeping force, took over security responsibility for the country, and gave the TFG space to develop Somalia’s new government. By 2012, Somali powerbrokers agreed on a provisional constitution with a loose federal structure and established a central government in Mogadishu called the Somali Federal Government (SFG). Since then, the country has seen several interim regional administrations and three presidential elections, but significant governance and security problems remain because al-Shabaab still controls large portions of the country.

Climate

principally desert; northeast monsoon (December to February), moderate temperatures in north and hot in south; southwest monsoon (May to October), torrid in the north and hot in the south, irregular rainfall, hot and humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons

Terrain

mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north

Languages

Somali (official), Arabic (official), Italian, Englishmajor-language sample(s): Buugga Xaqiiqda Aduunka, waa laga maarmaanka macluumaadka assasiga. (Somali)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions

Muslim 99.9% (Sunni Muslim 98.1%, Shia Muslim 1.2%, Islamic schismatic 0.6%), ethnic religionist 0.1% (2020 est.)

Government

federal parliamentary republic

• Constitution: history: previous 1961, 1979; latest drafted 12 June 2012, adopted 1 August 2012 amendment process: proposed by the federal government, by members of the state governments, the Federal Parliament, or by public petition; proposals require review by a joint committee of Parliament with inclusion of public comments and state legislatures’ comments; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote in both houses of Parliament and approval by a majority of votes cast in a referendum; constitutional clauses on Islamic principles, the federal system, human rights and freedoms, powers and authorities of the government branches, and inclusion of women in national institutions cannot be amended
• Political Parties and Leaders: n/a
• Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal suffrage starting with 24 June 2024 local elections
• Legal System: mixed system of civil law, Islamic (sharia) law, and customary law (referred to as Xeer)
• Executive Branch: chief of state: President HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud (since 23 May 2022)head of government: Prime Minister Hamza Abdi BARRE (since 25 June 2022)cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister, approved by the House of the Peopleelection/appointment process: president indirectly elected by the Federal Parliament by two-thirds majority vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a single 4-year term; prime minister appointed by the president, approved by the House of the Peoplemost recent election date: 15 May 2022election results: 2022: HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud elected president in third round - Federal Parliament percent of vote in first round - Said ABDULLAHI DENI (Kaah) 20.2%, Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" (TPP) 18.3%, HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud (PDP) 16.2%, Hassan Ali KHAYRE (independent) 14.6%, other 30.7%; Federal Parliament percent of vote in second round - HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud 34.1%, Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" 25.7%, Said ABDULLAHI DENI 21%, Hassan Ali KHAYRE 19.2%; Federal Parliament percent of vote in third round - HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud  66%, Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" 34%2017: Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" elected president in second round; Federal Parliament number of votes in first round - HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud (PDP) 88, Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" (TPP) 72, Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed (ARS) 49, other 37; Federal Parliament number of votes in second round - Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" 184, HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud 97, Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed 45expected date of next election: 2026
• Judicial Branch: highest court(s): the provisional constitution stipulates the establishment of the Constitutional Court (consists of 5 judges, including the chief judge and deputy chief judge)judge selection and term of office: judges appointed by the president on proposal of the Judicial Service Commission, a 9-member judicial and administrative body; judge tenure NAsubordinate courts: federal courts; federal member state-level courts; military courts; sharia courtsnote: under the terms of the 2004 Transitional National Charter, a Supreme Court based in Mogadishu and the Appeal Court were established, but most regions have reverted to local forms of conflict resolution, whether secular, Somali customary law, or Islamic law
• Legislative Branch: legislature name: Federal Parliamentlegislative structure: bicameralnote: despite the formation of political parties in 2020, the 2021 parliamentary elections maintained a primarily clan-based system of appointments; seats in the legislature were apportioned to Somali member states and not by party representation

Demographic Profile

n/a

Economy

• low-income African Horn economy; 30 years of war and instability crippled economic potential; high remittances for basic survival; new fiscal federalism approach; cleared some unsustainable debt; environmentally fragile; digitally driven urbanization efforts
• Budget: revenues: $740 million (2019 est.)expenditures: $867 million (2019 est.)
• Credit Rating: n/a
• Natural Resources: uranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt, natural gas, likely oil reserves
• Industries: light industries, including sugar refining, textiles, wireless communication
• Agricultural Products: camel milk, milk, goat milk, sheep milk, sugarcane, fruits, sorghum, cassava, vegetables, maize (2023)note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
• Land Use: agricultural land: 70.3% (2022 est.)arable land: 1.8% (2022 est.)permanent crops: 0% (2022 est.)permanent pasture: 68.5% (2022 est.)forest: 9.3% (2022 est.)other: 20.4% (2022 est.)
• Labor Force by Occupation: n/a
• Imports
• Imported Commodities: raw sugar, tobacco, broadcasting equipment, rice, milk (2023)note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
• Import Partners: UAE 29%, China 19%, India 15%, Turkey 8%, Oman 5% (2023)note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
• Exports
• Exported Commodities: sheep and goats, gold, postage stamps/documents, other animals, cattle (2023)note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
• Export Partners: UAE 35%, Saudi Arabia 27%, Oman 18%, Djibouti 8%, India 3% (2023)note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports