Map of Somalia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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Background: Britain withdrew from British Somaliland in 1960 to allow its protectorate to join with Italian Somaliland and form the new nation of Somalia. In 1969 a coup headed by Mohamed SIAD Barre ushered in an authoritarian socialist rule characterized by the persecution jailing and torture of political opponents and dissidents. After the regime's collapse early in 1991 Somalia descended into turmoil factional fighting and anarchy. In May 1991 northern clans declared an independent Republic of Somaliland that now includes the administrative regions of Awdal Woqooyi Galbeed Togdheer Sanaag and Sool. Although not recognized by any government this entity has maintained a stable existence and continues efforts to establish a constitutional democracy including holding municipal parliamentary and presidential elections. The regions of Bari Nugaal and northern Mudug comprise a neighboring semi-autonomous state of Puntland which has been self-governing since 1998 but does not aim at independence; it has also made strides toward reconstructing a legitimate representative government but has suffered some civil strife. Puntland disputes its border with Somaliland as it also claims portions of eastern Sool and Sanaag. Beginning in 1993 a two-year UN humanitarian effort (primarily in the south) was able to alleviate famine conditions but when the UN withdrew in 1995 having suffered significant casualties order still had not been restored. In 2000 the Somalia National Peace Conference (SNPC) held in Djibouti resulted in the formation of an interim government known as the Transitional National Government (TNG). When the TNG failed to establish adequate security or governing institutions the Government of Kenya under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) led a subsequent peace process that concluded in October 2004 with the election of Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed as President of a second interim government known as the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of the Somali Republic. The TFG included a 275-member parliamentary body known as the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP). President YUSUF resigned late in 2008 while United Nations-sponsored talks between the TFG and the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) were underway in Djibouti. In January 2009 following the creation of a TFG-ARS unity government Ethiopian military forces which had entered Somalia in December 2006 to support the TFG in the face of advances by the opposition Islamic Courts Union (ICU) withdrew from the country. The TFP was doubled in size to 550 seats with the addition of 200 ARS and 75 civil society members of parliament. The expanded parliament elected Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed the former ICU and ARS chairman as president in January 2009. The creation of the TFG was based on the Transitional Federal Charter (TFC) which outlined a five-year mandate leading to the establishment of a new Somali constitution and a transition to a representative government following national elections. In 2009 the TFP amended the TFC to extend TFG's mandate until 2011 and in 2011 Somali principals agreed to institute political transition by August 2012. The transition process ended in September 2012 when clan elders appointed 275 members to a new parliament replacing the TFP and the subsequent election by parliament of a new president.


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Location: Eastern Africa bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean east of Ethiopia

Geographic coordinates: 10 00 N 49 00 E

Map reference

Area
Rank: 44
Land: 627,337 km²
Water: 10,320 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries
Border countries: (3) Djibouti 58 km; Ethiopia 1600 km; Kenya 682 km

Coastline: 3,025 km

Maritime claims

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

Elevation
Extremes highest point: Shimbiris 2,416 m

Natural resources: uranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore tin gypsum bauxite copper salt natural gas likely oil reserves

Land use
Permanent crops: 0.05%
Other: 98.23% (2011)

Irrigated land: 2000 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 14.7 km³ (2011)

Natural hazards: recurring droughts; frequent dust storms over eastern plains in summer; floods during rainy season

Geography
Note: strategic location on Horn of Africa along southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb and route through Red Sea and Suez Canal


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Population: 10,251,568 (July 2013 est.)
Rank: 85
Growth rate: 1.67% (2013 est.)
Growth rate rank: 73
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Adjective: Somali

Ethnic groups: Somali 85% Bantu and other non-Somali 15% (including 30,000 Arabs)

Languages: Somali (official) Arabic (official according to the Transitional Federal Charter) Italian English

Religions: Sunni Muslim (Islam) (official according to the Transitional Federal Charter)

Demographic profile

Age structure
15-24 years: 18.9% (male 978,197/female 955,253)
25-54 years: 31% (male 1,643,803/female 1,538,723)
55-64 years: 3.5% (male 165,408/female 188,992)
65 years and over: 2.3% (male 93,434/female 143,970) (2013 est.)

Dependency ratios
Youth dependency ratio: 94.4 %
Elderly dependency ratio: 5.7 %
Potential support ratio: 17.7 (2013)

Median age
Male: 17.8 years
Female: 17.6 years (2013 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.67% (2013 est.)
Rank: 73

Birth rate: 41.45 births/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 6

Death rate: 14.22 deaths/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 9

Net migration rate: -10.55 migrant(s)/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 213

Population distribution

Urbanization
Rate of urbanization: 3.79% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: MOGADISHU (capital) 1.353 million (2009)

Environment
Current issues: famine; use of contaminated water contributes to human health problems; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
0-14 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.84 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 3
Male: 110.74 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 92.82 deaths/1000 live births (2013 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 217
Male: 49.22 years
Female: 53.23 years (2013 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.17 children born/woman (2013 est.)
Rank: 3

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 14.6% (2006)

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 0.04 physicians/1000 population (2006)

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.7% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 61
People living with hivaids: 34,000 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 67
Deaths: 1600 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 58

Major infectious diseases
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea hepatitis A and E and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: dengue fever malaria and Rift Valley fever
Water contact disease: schistosomiasis
Animal contact disease: rabies (2013)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 4.8% (2008)
Rank: 162

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 32.8% (2006)
Rank: 11

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy
Total population: 37.8%
Male: 49.7%
Female: 25.8% (2001 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Male: 3 years
Female: 2 years (2007)

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional short form: Somalia
Local long form: Jamhuuriyadda Federaalkaa Soomaaliya
Local short form: Soomaaliya
Former: Somali Republic Somali Democratic Republic

Government type: in the process of building a federated parliamentary republic

Capital
Geographic coordinates: 2 04 N 45 20 E
Time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 18 regions (plural - NA singular - gobolka); Awdal Bakool Banaadir Bari Bay Galguduud Gedo Hiiraan Jubbada Dhexe (Middle Jubba) Jubbada Hoose (Lower Jubba) Mudug Nugaal Sanaag Shabeellaha Dhexe (Middle Shabeelle) Shabeellaha Hoose (Lower Shabeelle) Sool Togdheer Woqooyi Galbeed

Dependent areas

Independence: 1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland that became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960 and Italian Somaliland that became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on 1 July 1960 to form the Somali Republic)

National holiday: Foundation of the Somali Republic 1 July (1960); note - 26 June (1960) in Somaliland

Constitution: previous 1961 1979; latest drafted 12 June 2012 approved 1 August 2012 (provisional) (2012)

Legal system: mixed legal system of civil law Islamic law and customary law (referred to as Xeer)

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Head of government: Prime Minister Abdi Farrah SHIRDON Said (since 6 October 2012)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president approved by the National Parliament
Elections: president elected by the National Parliament; election last held 10 September 2012
Election results: HASSAN SHEIKH Mahamud elected president; National Parliament vote - HASSAN SHEIKH Mahamud 190 Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed 79; president chooses the prime minister who is then elected by National Parliament

Legislative branch: bicameral National Parliament consisting of the House of the People of the Federal Parliament (275 seats elected by Somali citizens) and the Upper House of the Federal Parliament (54 seats elected by people of the federal member states)

Judicial branch: note - under the terms of the 2004 Transitional National Charter (TNC) a Supreme Court based in Mogadishu and an Appeal Court were established; yet most regions have reverted to local forms of conflict resolution either secular traditional Somali customary law or sharia Islamic law
Judge selection and term of office: judges appointed by the president upon proposal of the Judicial Service Council a 9-member judicial and administrative body; judge tenure NA
Subordinate courts: Transitional Appeal Court; regional and district courts; sharia (Islamic courts)

Political parties and leaders: none

International organization participation: ACP AfDB AFESD AMF AU CAEU (candidate) FAO G-77 IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS IGAD ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM ITSO ITU LAS NAM OIC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UPU WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Somalia does not have an embassy in the US (ceased operations on 8 May 1991); note - the Transitional Federal Government is represented in the US through its Permanent Mission to the UN
From the us: the US does not have an embassy in Somalia; US interests are represented by the US Special Representative for Somalia James P. MCANULTY operating out of the US Embassy in Nairobi Kenya at United Nations Avenue Nairobi; mailing address: Unit 64,100 Nairobi; APO AE 9,831; telephone: [254] (20) 363-6,000; FAX [254] (20) 363-6,157

Flag description: light blue with a large white five-pointed star in the center; the blue field was originally influenced by the flag of the UN but today is said to denote the sky and the neighboring Indian Ocean; the five points of the star represent the five regions in the horn of Africa that are inhabited by Somali people: the former British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland (which together make up Somalia) Djibouti Ogaden (Ethiopia) and the North East Province (Kenya)

National symbols: leopard

National anthem
Lyrics and music: Ali Mire AWALE and Yuusuf Xaaji Aadan Cilmi QABILLE

National heritage


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Economy overview: Despite the lack of effective national governance Somalia has maintained a healthy informal economy largely based on livestock remittance/money transfer companies and telecommunications. Agriculture is the most important sector with livestock normally accounting for about 40% of GDP and more than 50% of export earnings. Nomads and semi-pastoralists who are dependent upon livestock for their livelihood make up a large portion of the population. Livestock hides fish charcoal and bananas are Somalia's principal exports while sugar sorghum corn qat and machined goods are the principal imports. Somalia's small industrial sector based on the processing of agricultural products has largely been looted and the machinery sold as scrap metal. Somalia''s service sector has grown. Telecommunication firms provide wireless services in most major cities and offer the lowest international call rates on the continent. In the absence of a formal banking sector money transfer/remittance services have sprouted throughout the country handling up to $1.6 billion in remittances annually. Mogadishu''s main market offers a variety of goods from food to the newest electronic gadgets. Hotels continue to operate and are supported with private-security militias. Somalia''s arrears to the IMF have continued to grow. Somalia''s capital city - Mogadishu - has enjoyed a rebirth following the departure of al-Shabaab in August 2011. Mogadishu has witnessed the development of the city''s first gas stations supermarkets and flights between Europe (Istanbul-Mogadishu) since the collapse of central authority in 1991. This economic growth has yet to expand outside of Mogadishu.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 165

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 122

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 224

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Industry: 7.2%
Services: 33.5% (2012 est.)

Agriculture products: bananas sorghum corn coconuts rice sugarcane mangoes sesame seeds beans; cattle sheep goats; fish

Industries: a few light industries including sugar refining textiles wireless communication

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 3.447 million (2007)
Rank: 98
By occupation industry and services: 29% (1975)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Highest 10: NA%

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Expenditures: $N/A

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: NA

Inflation rate consumer prices: NA%

Central bank discount rate: NA%

Commercial bank prime lending rate: NA%

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $594.3 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 171
Commodities: livestock bananas hides fish charcoal scrap metal
Partners: UAE 51.7% Yemen 18.1% Oman 13% (2012)

Imports: $798 million (2006 est.)
Rank: 176
Commodities: manufactures petroleum products foodstuffs construction materials qat
Partners: Djibouti 27.3% India 13.2% Kenya 7.1% China 6.7% Pakistan 6.4% Oman 5.1% UAE 5% Yemen 4.4% (2012)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $2.942 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
Rank: 135

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 310 million kWh (2010 est.)
Production rank: 170
Consumption: 288.3 million kWh (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 176
Exports: 0 kWh (2012 est.)
Exports rank: 131
Imports: 0 kWh (2012 est.)
Imports rank: 134
Installed generating capacity: 80,000 kW (2010 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 176
Generation sources fossil fuels: 100% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 34
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 178
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 199
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 123

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 210
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 184
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 121
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2013 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 186

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 130
Products consumption: 5,659 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 164
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 130
Products imports: 5,399 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 148

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Production rank: 191
Consumption: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 194
Exports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Exports rank: 182
Imports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 130
Proven reserves: 5.663 billion m³ (1 January 2013 es)
Proven reserves rank: 94

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 753,400 Mt (2011 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 172

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 100,000 (2012)
Main lines in use rank: 146
Mobile cellular: 658,000 (2012)
Mobile cellular rank: 162

Telephone system
Domestic: local cellular telephone systems have been established in Mogadishu and in several other population centers with one company beginning to provide 3G services in late 2012
International: country code - 252; Mogadishu is a landing point for the EASSy fiber-optic submarine cable system linking East Africa with Europe and North America (2010)

Broadcast media: 2 private TV stations rebroadcast Al-Jazeera and CNN; Somaliland has 1 government-operated TV station and Puntland has 1 private TV station; the transitional government operates Radio Mogadishu; 1 SW and roughly 10 private FM radio stations broadcast in Mogadishu; several radio stations operate in central and southern regions; Somaliland has 1 government-operated radio station; Puntland has roughly a half dozen private radio stations; transmissions of at least 2 international broadcasters are available (2007)

Internet
Country code: .so
Hosts: 186 (2012)
Hosts rank: 202
Users: 106,000 (2009)
Users rank: 159

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 0.9% of GDP (2005 est.)
Rank: 133

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 is the legal minimum age for compulsory and voluntary military service (2012)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 61 (2013)
Rank: 80
With paved runways over 3047 m: 4
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2013)
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 5
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 20
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 23
With unpaved runways: 6 (2013)

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways
Rank: 105
Paved: 2,608 km
Unpaved: 19,492 km (2000)

Waterways

Merchant marine
Rank: 148
By type: cargo 1 (2008)

Ports and terminals: Berbera Kismaayo


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Disputes international: Ethiopian forces invaded southern Somalia and routed Islamist Courts from Mogadishu in January 2007; 'Somaliland' secessionists provide port facilities in Berbera to landlocked Ethiopia and have established commercial ties with other regional states; 'Puntland' and 'Somaliland' 'governments' seek international support in their secessionist aspirations and overlapping border claims; the undemarcated former British administrative line has little meaning as a political separation to rival clans within Ethiopia's Ogaden and southern Somalia's Oromo region; Kenya works hard to prevent the clan and militia fighting in Somalia from spreading south across the border which has long been open to nomadic pastoralists

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs