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 that managed to impose a degree of stability in the country for a couple of decades. 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 self-declared 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. A two-year peace process led by the Government of Kenya under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) concluded in October 2004 with the election of Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed as President of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia and the formation of an interim government known as the Somalia Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs). The TFIs included a 275-member parliamentary body known as the Transitional Federal Assembly (TFA). 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 Council of Islamic Courts (CIC) withdrew from the country. The TFA was increased to 550 seats with the addition of 275 ARS members of parliament. The expanded parliament elected Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed the former CIC and ARS chairman as president on 31 January 2009 in Djibouti. Subsequently President SHARIF appointed Omar Abdirashid ali SHARMARKE son of a former president of Somalia as prime minister on 13 February 2009. The TFIs are based on the Transitional Federal Charter (TFC) which outlines a five-year mandate leading to the establishment of a new Somali constitution and a transition to a representative government following national elections. However in January 2009 the TFA amended the TFC to extend TFG's mandate until 2011. While its institutions remain weak the TFG continues to reach out to Somali stakeholders and work with international donors to help build the governance capacity of the TFIs and work

Geographic coordinates: 10 00 N 49 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 637,657 km²
Rank: 43
Land: 627,337 km²
Water: 10,320 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries
Total: 2,340 km
Border countries: (3) Djibouti 58 km; Ethiopia 1600 km; Kenya 682 km

Coastline: 3,025 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 200 nm

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 lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
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
Arable land: 1.64%
Permanent crops: 0.04%
Other: 98.32% (2005)

Irrigated land: 2000 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 15.7 km³ (1997)

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

Population: 9,832,017
Rank: 83
Note: this estimate was derived from an official census taken in 1975 by the Somali Government; population counting in Somalia is complicated by the large number of nomads and by refugee movements in response to famine and clan warfare (July 2009 est.)
Growth rate: 2.815% (2009 est.)
Growth rate rank: 16
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Somali
Adjective: Somali

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

Languages: Somali (official) Arabic Italian English

Religions: Sunni Muslim

Age structure
0-14 years: 45%
15-64 years: 52.6% (male 2,588,356/female 2,579,737)
65 years and over: 2.5% (male 101,764/female 142,326) (2009 est.)

Median age
Total: 17.5 years
Male: 17.4 years
Female: 17.6 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.815% (2009 est.)
Rank: 16

Birth rate: 43.7 births/1000 population (2009 est.)
Rank: 7

Death rate: 15.55 deaths/1000 population (July 2009 est.)
Rank: 20

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (2009 est.)
Rank: 82

Urbanization
Urban population: 37% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 4.2% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Environment
Current issues: famine; use of contaminated water contributes to human health problems; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
International agreements party to: Biodiversity Desertification Endangered Species Law of the Sea Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
Total population: 1 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 109.19 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 6
Male: 118.31 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 99.79 deaths/1000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 49.63 years
Rank: 208
Male: 47.78 years
Female: 51.53 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.52 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Rank: 5

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.5% (2007 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 76
People living with hivaids: 24,000 (2007 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 75
Deaths: 1600 (2007 est.)
Deaths rank: 66

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: high
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 (2009)

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 37.8%
Male: 49.7%
Female: 25.8% (2001 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Somalia
Local long form: Jamhuuriyada Demuqraadiga Soomaaliyeed
Local short form: Soomaaliya
Former: Somali Republic Somali Democratic Republic

Government type: no permanent national government; transitional parliamentary federal government

Capital
Name: Mogadishu
Geographic coordinates: 2 04 N 45 22 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 Jubbada Hoose Mudug Nugaal Sanaag Shabeellaha Dhexe Shabeellaha Hoose Sool Togdheer Woqooyi Galbeed

Independence: 1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland which became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960 and Italian Somaliland which 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: 25 August 1979 presidential approval 23 September 1979
Note: the formation of transitional governing institutions known as the Transitional Federal Government is currently ongoing

Legal system: no national system; a mixture of English common law Italian law Islamic Sharia and Somali customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Transitional Federal President Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed ; note - a transitional governing entity with a five-year mandate known as the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) was established in October 2004; the TFIs relocated to Somalia in June 2004
Head of government: Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali SHARMARKE (since 13 February 2009)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by the Transitional Federal Assembly
Election results: Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed was elected president by the expanded Transitional Federal Assembly in Djibouti

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly
Note: unicameral Transitional Federal Assembly (TFA) (550 seats; 475 members appointed according to the 4.5 clan formula with the remaining 75 seats reserved for civil society and business persons)

Judicial branch: following the breakdown of the central government most regions have reverted to local forms of conflict resolution either secular traditional Somali customary law or Sharia (Islamic) law with a provision for appeal of all sentences

Political parties and leaders: none

International organization participation: ACP AfDB AFESD AMF AU CAEU FAO G-77 IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS IGAD ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ITSO ITU LAS NAM OIC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UPU WFTU 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 United States through its Permanent Mission to the United Nations
From the us: the US does not have an embassy in Somalia; US interests are represented by 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; blue field influenced by the flag of the UN

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 about 65% 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 sold as scrap metal. Somalia's service sector also 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 roughly $2 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 continued to grow in 2008. Statistics on Somalia's GDP growth per capita income and inflation should be viewed skeptically.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 156
Note: data are in 2008 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 139

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 225
Note: data are in 2008 US dollars

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 65%
Industry: 10%
Services: 25% (2005 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 (few skilled laborers) (2007)
Rank: 96
By occupation agriculture: 71%
By occupation industry and services: 29% (1975)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Budget
Revenues: $NA
Expenditures: $NA

Inflation rate consumer prices: NA%
Note: businesses print their own money so inflation rates cannot be easily determined

Exports: $300 million (2006)
Rank: 174
Commodities: livestock bananas hides fish charcoal scrap metal
Partners: UAE 56.2% Yemen 21% Saudi Arabia 3.6% (2008)

Imports: $798 million (2006)
Rank: 177
Commodities: manufactures petroleum products foodstuffs construction materials qat
Partners: Djibouti 29.2% India 11.9% Kenya 7.6% US 6% Oman 5.6% UAE 5.5% Yemen 4.7% (2008)

Debt external: $3 billion (2001 est.)
Rank: 127

Exchange rates: Somali shillings (SOS) per US dollar - NA (2007-08) 1438.3 (2006) official rate; the unofficial black market rate was about 23,000 shillings per dollar as of February 2007
Note: the Republic of Somaliland a self-declared independent country not recognized by any foreign government issues its own currency the Somaliland shilling

Electricity
Production: 280 million kWh (2007 est.)
Production rank: 169
Consumption: 260.4 million kWh (2007 est.)
Consumption rank: 171
Exports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Production rank: 130
Consumption: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 135
Exports: 0 m³ (2008)
Exports rank: 114
Imports: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Imports rank: 132
Proven reserves: 5.663 billion m³ (1 January 2009 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 89

Telephones
Main lines in use: 100,000 (2008)
Main lines in use rank: 144
Mobile cellular: 627,000 (2008)
Mobile cellular rank: 150

Telephone system
General assessment: the public telecommunications system was almost completely destroyed or dismantled during the civil war; private companies offer limited local fixed-line service and private wireless companies offer service in most major cities while charging the lowest international rates on the continent
Domestic: local cellular telephone systems have been established in Mogadishu and in several other population centers
International: country code - 252; international connections are available from Mogadishu by satellite (2001)

Internet
Country code: .so
Hosts: 0 (2009)
Hosts rank: 232
Users: 102,000 (2008)
Users rank: 154

Military expenditures: 0.9% of GDP (2005 est.)
Rank: 143

Airports: 59 (2009)
Rank: 80
With paved runways total: 7
With paved runways over 3047 m: 4
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2009)
With unpaved runways total: 52
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 4
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 19
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 23
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 6 (2009)

Roadways
Total: 22,100 km
Rank: 106
Paved: 2,608 km
Unpaved: 19,492 km (2000)

Merchant marine
Total: 1
Rank: 157
By type: cargo 1
Foreign owned: 1 (UAE 1) (2008)

Ports and terminals: Berbera Kismaayo

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
Idps: 1.1 million (2007)