Location of Somalia. Source: Vardion/Wikipedia

Map of Somalia. Source: CIA World Factbook

Somalia is a nation in eastern-Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, to the east of Ethiopia. The country is mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north. It is strategically located on the "Horn of Africa" along southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb and the route through the Red Sea and Suez Canal.

Somalia's major environmental issues include: famine; use of contaminated water contributes to human health problems; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; and, desertification. It is susceptible to recurring droughts; frequent dust storms over eastern plains in summer; and floods during rainy season.

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. Although not recognized by any government, this entity has maintained a stable existence and continues efforts to establish a constitutional democracy. East of Somaliland, is the 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. 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, concluded in October 2004 with the election of Abdullahi Yusef Ahmed as President of an interim (TFG) government. 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 in the face of advances by the opposition Council of Islamic Courts (CIC), withdrew from the country. 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. 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 and work towards national elections in 2011.

Geography

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

Geographic Coordinates: 10 00 N, 49 00 E

Area: 637,657 km² (627,337 km² land and 10,320 km² water)

arable land: 1.64%
permanent crops: 0.04%
other: 98.32% (2005) 

Land Boundaries: 2,340 km. Border countries: Djibouti 58 km, Ethiopia 1,600 km, Kenya 682 km

Coastline: 3,025 km

Maritime Claims: territorial sea: 200 nm

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

Terrain: Mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north. Its lowest point: is the Indian Ocean (0 metres) and its highest point: is Shimbiris (2,416 metres).

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

Government

Government Type: no permanent national government; transitional, parliamentary federal government

Capital: Mogadishu

Independence Date: 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)

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

International Environmental Agreements

Somalia is party to international agreements on: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, and Ozone Layer Protection.

People and Society

Population:  9,558,666

Age Structure:

0-14 years: 44.7% (male 2,143,758/female 2,132,869)
15-64 years: 52.8% (male 2,525,562/female 2,516,879)
65 years and over: 2.5% (male 100,655/female 138,943) (2008 est.)

Population Growth Rate: 2.824% (2008 est.)

Birth Rate: 44.12 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death Rate: 15.89 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net Migration Rate: 5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth:  49.25 years  (2008 est.)

Total Fertility Rate: 6.6 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Languages: Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English

Literacy:  37.8% (2001 est.)

Water

Total Renewable Water Resources: 15.7 cu km (1997)

Freshwater Withdrawal: Total: 3.29 cu km/yr (0% domestic, 0% industrial, 100%agricultural). Per capita: 400 cu m/yr (2000)

Agricutlure

Agricultural Products: bananas, sorghum, corn, coconuts, rice, sugarcane, mangoes, sesame seeds, beans; cattle, sheep, goats; fish

Irrigated Land: 2,000 sq km (2003)

Resources

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

Energy

Health

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 (2008)

Conflict

International Disputes: 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 (civil war since 1988, clan-based competition for resources) (2007)

Economy

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 exchange services have sprouted throughout the country, handling between $500 million and $1 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 2006-07. Statistics on Somalia's GDP, growth, per capita income, and inflation should be viewed skeptically. In late December 2004, a major tsunami caused an estimated 150 deaths and resulted in destruction of property in coastal areas.

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $5.575 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (Official Exchange Rate): $2.483 billion (2007 est.)

GDP- real growth rate: 2.6% (2007 est.)

GDP- per capita (PPP): $600 (2007 est.)

GDP- composition by sector:

agriculture: 65%
industry: 10%
services: 25% (2000 est.)

Population Below Poverty Line: NA%

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

Exports: livestock, bananas, hides, fish, charcoal, scrap metal

Export Partners: UAE 50.7%, Yemen 21%, Oman 6.1% (2006)

Imports: manufactures, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials, qat

Import Partners: Djibouti 31.1%, Brazil 8.6%, India 8.2%, Kenya 8.1%, Oman 5.4%, UAE 5.1%, Yemen 5% (2006)

Economic Aid Recipient: $236.4 million (2005 est.)

Currency: Somali shilling (SOS)

Ports and Terminals: Berbera, Kismaayo

Further Reading

1. CIA World Factbook