Somalia — map and facts

About Somalia

Somalia is a country in the Horn of Africa, occupying the easternmost tip of the African continent. Mogadishu is the capital and largest city. The population is estimated at approximately 18 million, though precise figures are difficult to obtain given the country's prolonged instability. Somalia is a federal republic in theory, though state authority has been extremely fragmented since the collapse of the central government in 1991. The Federal Government of Somalia, based in Mogadishu, contests authority with the self-declared Republic of Somaliland in the north-west — which has functioned as a de facto independent state since 1991 — and with the autonomous region of Puntland. Al-Shabaab, an Islamist militant group affiliated with al-Qaeda, controls substantial rural areas and conducts regular attacks in cities. Somali is the official language, spoken by virtually the entire population; Arabic is also official. Islam is the religion of nearly all Somalis. Despite devastating instability, Somalia has a remarkably entrepreneurial informal economy, with Somali money transfer networks among the world's most efficient. Livestock, frankincense, and charcoal are principal exports.

Geography and Landscape

Somalia has the longest coastline of any African country, stretching some 3,333 kilometres along the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. The landscape is predominantly flat to rolling semi-arid plains and plateaus, with the most dramatic terrain in the north. The Karkaar Mountains in the north-western Somaliland region rise to Shimbiris at 2,460 metres, the country's highest point. The Jubba and Shabelle rivers, rising in the Ethiopian Highlands, flow southward through the country and are the only permanent rivers; the Jubba empties into the Indian Ocean near Kismayo, while the Shabelle typically loses itself in the dry plains near the coast before reaching the sea. The southern inter-riverine zone between these two rivers is the most agriculturally productive area of the country. The climate is arid to semi-arid, with the capital Mogadishu averaging around 425 millimetres of annual rainfall. The country experiences two monsoon seasons — the Jilaal dry season and the Gu wet season — and two shorter transitional periods. The northern coast along the Gulf of Aden has some of the highest average temperatures on earth.

History

The Somali people have inhabited the Horn of Africa for millennia, and ancient Punt, referenced in Egyptian records as a source of frankincense, myrrh, and gold from around 2500 BCE, is believed by some scholars to have been located in the region. The medieval Ajuran Sultanate and Sultanate of Adal were powerful states that controlled trade routes and resisted Ethiopian and Portuguese expansion. The Adal Sultanate under Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi — known as Ahmad Gurey — nearly conquered Ethiopia in the 16th century. European colonialism divided Somali territory among Britain, Italy, and France in the late 19th century, creating British Somaliland, Italian Somalia, and French Somaliland (present-day Djibouti). The two territories of British Somaliland and Italian Trust Territory of Somalia united to form the Somali Republic on 1 July 1960. Mohamed Siad Barre's military coup in 1969 installed a socialist government that ruled until clan-based opposition brought its collapse in 1991. The resulting civil war created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. The internationally recognised federal government has gradually asserted more control since 2012, but significant challenges remain.