View source for Somalia

{{Short description|Country in the Horn of Africa}}
{{Pp-move}}
{{Protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2021}}<!--Do NOT add citations to the lead, except for material likely to be challenged, per [[MOS:LEADCITE]] ([[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section#Citations)]]. Move unneeded citations to the body.-->

{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Federal Republic of Somalia
| common_name            = Somalia
| native_name            = {{native name|so|Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya}}<br />{{native name|ar|جمهورية الصومال الفيدرالية|italics=off}}<br />{{small|{{transliteration|ar|Jumhūriyah aṣ-Ṣūmāl al-Fīdirāliyah}}}}
| image_flag             = Flag of Somalia.svg
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of Somalia.svg
| coa_size               = 100
| recognized_languages   = [[Arabic]]
| national_anthem        = {{lang|so|[[Qolobaa Calankeed]]}}<br />"Every Nation Has Its Own Flag"<br /><div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">[[File:Somalian national anthem, performed by the United States Navy Band.oga]]</div>
| image_map              = {{Switcher|[[File:Somalia_svg_map.svg|frameless]]<br />{{Legend|#336830|Territory controlled}}{{Legend|#61E760|[[Somaliland|Territory claimed but not controlled]]}}|Show globe|[[File:Somalia - Location Map (2011) - SOM - UNOCHA.svg|frameless]]|Show map of Somalia|default=1}}
| capital                = [[Mogadishu]]
| coordinates            = {{Coord|2|2|N|45|21|E|type:city}}
| largest_city           = capital
| official_languages     = [[Somali language|Somali]]
| religion               = [[Sunni Islam]] ([[State Religion|official]])<ref name="factbook">{{cite web |title=Somalia |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/somalia |website=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en |date=10 November 2021 |access-date=24 January 2021 |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125103534/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/somalia/ |url-status=live }}</ref> <!-- check factbook references before changing! -->
| demonym                = [[Somalis|Somali]]<ref name="factbook"/>
| government_type        = Federal [[parliamentary republic]]
| leader_title1          = [[President of Somalia|President]]
| leader_name1           = [[Hassan Sheikh Mohamud]]
| leader_title2          = [[List of prime ministers of Somalia|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name2           = [[Hamza Abdi Barre]]
| legislature            = [[Federal Parliament of Somalia|Federal Parliament]]
| upper_house            = [[Senate of Somalia|Senate]]
| lower_house            = [[House of the People (Somalia)|House of the People]]
| sovereignty_type       = 
| established_event1     = [[Land of Punt]]
| established_date1      = 2350 BC
| established_event2     = [[Macrobians|Macrobia]]
| established_date2      = 980 BC
| established_event3     = [[Barbaria (region)|Barbaria]]
| established_date3      = 100 BC
| established_event4     = [[Adal Sultanate]]
| established_date4      = 9th century<ref name="Encyamer"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=I. M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cd0mAQAAMAAJ |title=Peoples of the Horn of Africa: Somali, Afar and Saho |date=1969 |publisher=International African Institute |pages=140 |language=en}}</ref>
| established_event5     = [[Sultanate of Mogadishu|Mogadishu Sultanate]]
| established_date5      = 10th century
| established_event6     = [[Sultanate of Ifat]]
| established_date6      = 13th century
| established_event7     = [[Ajuran Sultanate]]
| established_date7      = 13th century
| established_event8     = [[Hiraab Imamate]]
| established_date8      = 16th century
| established_event9     = [[Sultanate of the Geledi|Geledi Sultanate]]
| established_date9      = 1695–1911
| established_event10    = [[Majeerteen Sultanate]]
| established_date10     = 1648–1927
| established_event11    = [[Sultanate of Hobyo]]
| established_date11     = 1878–1927
| established_event12    = [[Isaaq Sultanate]]
| established_date12     = 1749–1884
| established_event13    = [[British Somaliland]]
| established_date13     = 1884–1960
| established_event14    = [[Italian Somaliland]]
| established_date14     = 1889–1941
| established_event15    = [[Independence Day (State of Somaliland)|Independence]] of the [[State of Somaliland]] from the [[United Kingdom]]
| established_date15     = 26 June 1960
| established_event16    = [[Independence Day (Somalia)|Independence]] of the [[Trust Territory of Somaliland]] from [[Italy]] and union with the [[State of Somaliland]] to form the [[Somali Republic]]
| established_date16     = 1 July 1960
| established_event17    = [[Constitution of Somalia|Current constitution]]
| established_date17     = 1 August 2012
| area_km2               = 637,657<ref name="factbook"/>
| area_rank              = 43rd <!--should be same as listed on [[List of countries and dependencies by area]]-->
| area_sq_mi             = 246,200 <!--Do not remove per [[WP:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers]]-->
| percent_water          = 
| population_estimate    = 19,280,850<ref name="data.humdata.org">{{Cite web |title=OCHA Somalia - Subnational Population Statistics |url=https://data.humdata.org/dataset/cod-ps-som}}</ref>
| population_estimate_year = 2025
| population_estimate_rank = 66th
| population_density_km2 = 27.2<ref name="WPP_2022">{{cite web|url=https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Standard/MostUsed/|title=United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2022). World Population Prospects |edition=online |publisher=United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division|website=population.un.org|access-date=16 July 2022|archive-date=11 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711213112/https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Standard/MostUsed/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| population_density_sq_mi = 41.73 <!--Do not remove per [[WP:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers]]-->
| population_density_rank = 
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} $32.500 billion<ref name="auto">{{cite web |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2025 |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2025/april |language=en}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2025
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 151st
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{increase}} $1,920<ref name="auto"/>
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 179th
| GDP_nominal            = {{increase}} $12.990 billion<ref name="auto"/>
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2025
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 147th
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $766<ref name="auto"/>
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 177th
| Gini                   = 35.2
| Gini_year              = 2022 (last available data)
| Gini_change            = 
| Gini_ref               = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://nbs.gov.so/somalia-national-bureau-of-statistics-snbs-launches-poverty-inequality-report/ |title= Somalia National Bureau of Statistics (SNBS) Launches Poverty & Inequality Report |publisher=Hay’adda Istaatistikada Qaranka Soomaaliya Somalia National Bureau of Statistics |access-date=6 December 2025}}</ref>
| Gini_rank              = 
| HDI                    = <!--number only-->0.404
| HDI_year               = 2023<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
| HDI_change             = increase <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI_ref                = <ref name="UNHDR">{{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Human Development Report 2025 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506051232/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2025 |access-date=6 May 2025 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]}}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 192nd
| currency               = [[Somali shilling]]
| currency_code          = SOS
| time_zone              = [[East Africa Time|EAT]]
| utc_offset             = +3
| utc_offset_DST         = 
| time_zone_DST          = 
| drives_on              = right
| calling_code           = [[Telephone numbers in Somalia|+252]]
| cctld                  = [[.so]]
| ethnic_groups          = {{plainlist|
* [[Somali people|Somali]]: 85%
* [[Demographics of Somalia|Other]]: 15%
}}
| ethnic_groups_ref      = <ref name="factbook"/><ref>{{Cite book|last=Lewis|first=I. M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k3QwAQAAIAAJ|title=Peoples of the Horn of Africa: Somali, Afar, and Saho|date=1998|publisher=Red Sea Press|isbn=978-1-56902-104-0|language=en}}</ref>
| ethnic_groups_year     = 2021
}}

'''Somalia''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|audio=Somalia pronunciation (English).wav|s|ə|ˈ|m|ɑː|l|i|ə|,_|s|oʊ|-}} {{respell|sə|MAH|lee|ə|,_|soh}};<ref>{{Citation |last=Jones |first=Daniel |author-link=Daniel Jones (phonetician) |title=English Pronouncing Dictionary |editor=Peter Roach |editor2=James Hartmann |editor3=Jane Setter |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |orig-year=1917 |year=2003 |isbn=3-12-539683-2 }}</ref><ref>{{MerriamWebsterDictionary|Somalia}}</ref><ref>{{Dictionary.com|Somalia}}</ref> {{langx|so|Soomaaliya}} {{IPA|so|soːmaːlija|}}, [[Osmanya script]]: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; {{langx|ar|الصومال|aṣ-Ṣūmāl|engvar=gb}}}} officially the '''Federal Republic of Somalia''',{{efn|<ref name="Frspc"/> {{Langx|so|Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya}}; {{Langx|ar|جمهورية الصومال الفيدرالية|engvar=gb}}}} is the easternmost country in continental [[Africa]]. Stretching across the [[Horn of Africa]], it borders [[Ethiopia]] to the west, [[Djibouti]]{{Efn|The Djiboutian–Somali border is ''de jure'' controlled by the internationally recognized Federal Republic of Somalia, but is ''[[List of states with limited recognition|de facto]]'' under the control of the partially recognized [[Republic of Somaliland]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mylonas |first=Harris |title=De Facto States Unbound – PONARS Eurasia |url=https://www.ponarseurasia.org/de-facto-states-unbound/ |access-date=2022-04-08 |website=PONARS Eurasia |language=en-US |archive-date=14 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014163003/https://www.ponarseurasia.org/de-facto-states-unbound/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199698394.001.0001 |title=The Foreign Policy of Counter Secession |date=2012 |last1=Ker-Lindsay |first1=James |isbn=978-0-19-969839-4 |pages=58–59 |oclc=811620848 }}</ref>}} to the northwest, [[Kenya]] to the southwest, the [[Gulf of Aden]] to the north, and the [[Indian Ocean]] to the east. Somalia has the longest coastline on Africa's mainland. Somalia has an estimated population of more than 18 million, of which 2.7 million live in the capital and largest city, [[Mogadishu]]. As one of Africa's most ethnically homogenous countries, around 85% of its residents are ethnic [[Somali people|Somalis]]. The official and national language of the country is [[Somali language|Somali]] while [[Arabic]] is recognized as a second language.  The overwhelming majority of the population are [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslims]].

In antiquity, Somalia was an important commercial centre.<ref>John Kenrick (1855) ''Phoenicia'', B. Fellowes, p. 199.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Casson|first1=Lionel|title=Ancient Trade and Society|date=1984|publisher=Mich.|isbn=0-8143-1740-5|page=235|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9iu6AAAAIAAJ|access-date=25 May 2015|archive-date=5 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805112006/https://books.google.com/books?id=9iu6AAAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> During the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade, including the [[Ajuran Sultanate]], [[Adal Sultanate]], and the [[Sultanate of the Geledi]]. In the late 19th century, the Somali [[sultan]]ates were colonised by the [[Italian Empire|Italian]] and [[British Empire|British]] empires,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Suárez|first1=Jorge Alejandro|title=Geopolítica de lo Desconocido: Una visión diferente de la Política Internacional|isbn=979-8393720292|page=227}}</ref><ref>Encyclopædia Britannica, inc, Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol. 1, (Encyclopædia Britannica: 2005), p. 163</ref> who merged all of these tribal territories into two [[Colonisation of Africa|colonies]]: [[Italian Somaliland]] and [[British Somaliland]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Laitin|1977|p=8}}</ref><ref name="Issa-Salwe2">{{cite book|author=Abdisalam M. Issa-Salwe|title=The Collapse of the Somali State: The Impact of the Colonial Legacy|publisher=Haan Associates|year=1996|isbn=1-874209-91-X|location=London|pages=34–35}}</ref> In 1960, the two territories united to form the independent [[Somali Republic]] under a civilian government. [[Siad Barre]] of the [[Supreme Revolutionary Council (Somalia)|Supreme Revolutionary Council]] (SRC) seized power in 1969 and established the [[Somali Democratic Republic]], brutally attempting to quash the [[Somaliland War of Independence]] in the north of the country.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kapteijns|first=Lidwien|title=Clan Cleansing in Somalia: The Ruinous Legacy of 1991|year= 2012|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-0758-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PBvfTmzsZ-0C&q=declared+economic+warfare+on+somalis+from+the+northwestern&pg=PA84|access-date=13 July 2021|archive-date=7 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207231426/https://books.google.com/books?id=PBvfTmzsZ-0C&q=declared+economic+warfare+on+somalis+from+the+northwestern&pg=PA84|url-status=live}}</ref> The SRC collapsed in 1991 with the onset of the [[Somali Civil War]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/Somaliland_Parade |title=Council on Foreign Relations |access-date=26 February 2022 |archive-date=9 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509080323/https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/Somaliland_Parade |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Transitional National Government of Somalia]] (TNG) was established in 2000, followed by the formation of the [[Transitional Federal Government of Somalia]] (TFG) in 2004, which reestablished the [[Somali Armed Forces]].<ref name="Nytsnnpm">{{cite news|author=Jeffrey Gettleman|author-link1=Jeffrey Gettleman|date=23 June 2011|title=Harvard-Educated Technocrat Chosen as Somalia Premier|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/world/africa/24somalia.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss|access-date=23 June 2011|archive-date=28 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128005934/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/world/africa/24somalia.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the end of 2006, a [[War in Somalia (2006–2009)|US-backed Ethiopian invasion]] overthrew the [[Islamic Courts Union]] (ICU), leading to the installation of the [[Transitional Federal Government of Somalia|TFG]] in [[Mogadishu]] under an Ethiopian [[military occupation]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Samatar |first=Abdi Ismail |date=2007 |title=Ethiopian Invasion of Somalia, US Warlordism & AU Shame |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20406369 |journal=Review of African Political Economy |volume=34 |issue=111 |pages=155–165 |jstor=20406369 |issn=0305-6244 }}</ref> The subsequent [[insurgency]] which emerged saw the ICU fragment into various rebel factions, including the militant group [[Al-Shabaab (militant group)|al-Shabaab]], which waged a protracted conflict against Ethiopian forces.<ref name="Mueller-2018">{{Cite journal |last=Mueller |first=Jason C. |date=2018-01-02 |title=The Evolution of Political Violence: The Case of Somalia's Al-Shabaab |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09546553.2016.1165213 |journal=Terrorism and Political Violence |language=en |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=116–141 |doi=10.1080/09546553.2016.1165213 |issn=0954-6553 |s2cid=148494845 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Al-Shabaab soon began asserting territorial control for the first time,<ref name="Cook-2023">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D97AEAAAQBAJ |title=The Rule Is For None But Allah |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2023 |isbn=9780197690390 |editor-last=Cook |editor-first=Joana |page=111 |editor-last2=Maher |editor-first2=Shiraz}}</ref> and by late 2008 the insurgency had driven the Ethiopian army out of much of Somalia.<ref name="Samatar-2013">{{Citation |last=Samatar |first=Abdi Ismail |title=The Production of Somali Conflict and the Role of Internal and External Actors |date=2013 |work=The Horn of Africa |pages=156–177 |editor-last=Bereketeab |editor-first=Redie |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt183p650.14 |access-date=2024-01-11 |series=Intra-State and Inter-State Conflicts and Security |publisher=Pluto Press |doi=10.2307/j.ctt183p650.14 |isbn=978-0-7453-3311-3 |jstor=j.ctt183p650.14|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In 2009, a new TFG government was established.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rice |first=Xan |date=2008-12-29 |title=Somali president resigns amid power struggle |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/dec/29/somali-president-resigns |access-date=2024-09-23 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name=":35">{{cite news |date=January 31, 2009 |title=Moderate Islamist picked as Somali president |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/01/31/somalia.election.president/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202115625/http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/01/31/somalia.election.president/ |archive-date=February 2, 2009 |access-date=2011-07-09 |work=CNN|df=mdy-all}}</ref> By mid-2012, al-Shabaab lost most of its territories during fighting against the TFG and [[African Union Mission to Somalia|African Union troops]]. That same year, al-Shabaab pledged allegiance to [[al-Qaeda]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-02-10 |title=Somalia's al-Shabab join al-Qaeda |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-16979440 |access-date=2024-11-16 |work=[[BBC News]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> The insurgents still control much of central and southern Somalia, and wield influence in government-controlled areas,<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=2020-10-26 |title=Somalia conflict: Al-Shabab 'collects more revenue than government' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54690561 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928121250/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54690561 |archive-date=28 September 2022 |access-date=2022-02-13 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> with the city of [[Jilib]] acting as the ''de facto'' capital for Al-Shabaab-controlled [[Islamic Emirate of Somalia]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Al-Shabab |url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/al-shabab |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202020617/https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/al-shabab |archive-date=2 February 2021 |access-date=2022-02-13 |website=Council on Foreign Relations |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Kenyan troops seize al-Shabaab base in Somalia|website=www.aa.com.tr|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/kenyan-troops-seize-al-shabaab-base-in-somalia/455875|access-date=2022-02-13|archive-date=30 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930234435/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/kenyan-troops-seize-al-shabaab-base-in-somalia/455875|url-status=live}}</ref> A new provisional [[Constitution of Somalia|constitution]] was passed in August 2012, reforming Somalia as a [[federation]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Somalia's newly-endorsed constitution widely hailed|agency=Xinhua News Agency |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2012-08/02/c_131757152.htm|access-date=2 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007224547/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2012-08/02/c_131757152.htm|archive-date=7 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> The same month, the [[Federal Government of Somalia]] was formed and a period of reconstruction began in Mogadishu.<ref>{{cite web|author=Dinfin Mulupi|date=21 June 2012|title=Mogadishu: East Africa's newest business destination?|url=http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/mogadishu-east-africas-newest-business-destination/17661/|access-date=26 June 2012|archive-date=27 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120627101741/http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/mogadishu-east-africas-newest-business-destination/17661/|url-status=live}}</ref> 

Somalia is among the [[least developed countries]] in the world, as evidenced by its ranking in metrics such as [[List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita|GDP per capita]] and its position near the bottom of the [[Human Development Index]], above only [[South Sudan]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=LDCs at a Glance {{!}} Department of Economic and Social Affairs |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category/ldcs-at-a-glance.html |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=www.un.org |archive-date=29 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329160054/https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category/ldcs-at-a-glance.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="UNHDR"/> It has maintained an [[informal economy]] mainly based on livestock, remittances from [[Somali diaspora|Somalis working abroad]], and telecommunications. It is a member of the [[United Nations]], the [[Arab League]], [[African Union]], [[Non-Aligned Movement]], [[East African Community]], and the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]].

== Etymology ==
[[Samaale]], the oldest common ancestor of several [[Somali clans]], is generally regarded as the source of the [[ethnonym]] ''Somali''. One other theory is that the name is held to be derived from the words ''soo'' and ''maal'', which together mean "go" and "milk". This interpretation differs depending on region with northern Somalis imply it refers to go and milk in regards to the camel's milk, southern Somalis use the transliteration "sa''' ''maal" which refers to cow's milk.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ahmed|first=Ali Jimale|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XpdAzRYruCwC&q=northern+southern+soo+maal+invention&pg=PA85|title=The Invention of Somalia|date=1995|publisher=The Red Sea Press|isbn=978-0-932415-99-8|language=en}}</ref> This is a reference to the ubiquitous [[pastoralism]] of the Somali people.<ref>I. M. Lewis, ''A pastoral democracy: a study of pastoralism and politics among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa'', (Oxford University Press : 1963), p.12.</ref> Another plausible [[etymology]] proposes that the term ''Somali'' is derived from the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] word for "wealthy" (''zāwamāl''), again referring to Somali riches in livestock.<ref name="Lewis">{{cite book|last=Lewis|first=I. M.|author2=Said Samatar|title=A Pastoral Democracy: A Study of Pastoralism and Politics Among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa|publisher=LIT Verlag Berlin-Hamburg-Münster|year=1999|pages=11–13|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L2vXPfRsf04C| isbn = 978-3-8258-3084-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Suleiman|first=Anita|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kREOAQAAMAAJ&q=Somali+studies+zu+maal|title=Somali studies: early history|date=1991|publisher=HAAN Associates|isbn=9781874209157|language=en}}</ref>

Alternatively, the ethnonym ''Somali'' is believed to have been derived from the Automoli (Asmach), a group of warriors from [[ancient Egypt]] described by [[Herodotus]]. ''Asmach'' is thought to have been their Egyptian name, with ''Automoli'' being a Greek derivative of the Hebrew word ''S’mali'' (meaning "on the left hand side").<ref>{{cite book|title=Journal of the East Africa and Uganda Natural History Society, Issues 24–30|date=1926|publisher=The Society|page=103|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vwccAAAAMAAJ|access-date=17 April 2018}}</ref>

A [[Tang dynasty|Tang Chinese]] document from the 9th century AD referred to the northern Somalia coast — which was then part of a broader region in [[Northeast Africa]] known as [[Barbara (region)|Barbaria]], in reference to the area's [[Barbara (region)|Barbars]] ([[Cushitic-speaking peoples|Cushitic]]) inhabitants<ref name="Laitin">David D. Laitin, Said S. Samatar, ''Somalia: Nation in Search of a State'', (Westview Press: 1987), p. 5.</ref> — as ''Po-pa-li''.<ref>Lee V. Cassanelli, ''The shaping of Somali society: reconstructing the history of a pastoral people, 1600–1900'', (University of Pennsylvania Press: 1982), p.9.</ref><ref name="Singh">Nagendra Kr Singh, ''International encyclopaedia of Islamic dynasties'', (Anmol Publications PVT. LTD., 2002), p. 524.</ref>

The first clear written reference of the sobriquet ''Somali'' dates back to the early 15th century AD during the reign of Ethiopian Emperor [[Yeshaq I]] who had one of his court officials compose a [[hymn]] celebrating a military victory over the [[Sultanate of Ifat]].<ref>I.M. Lewis, ''A modern history of the Somali: nation and state in the Horn of Africa'', 4, illustrated edition, (James Currey: 2002), p.25.</ref> ''Simur'' was also an ancient [[Harari people|Harari]] alias for the Somali people.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fage|first1=J.D|title=The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3|date=1975|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=154|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GWjxR61xAe0C&q=simur+harari&pg=PA154|access-date=10 March 2017|isbn=9780521209816}}</ref>

Somalis overwhelmingly prefer the demonym ''Somali'' over the incorrect ''Somalian'' since the former is an endonym, while the latter is an exonym with double suffixes.<ref>Michel, A. D. A. M. "Panorama of Socio-Religious Communities1." Indian Africa: Minorities of Indian-Pakistani Origin in Eastern Africa (2015): 69.</ref> The [[hypernym]] of the term ''Somali'' from a geopolitical sense is ''[[Horner (demography)|Horner]]'' and from an ethnic sense, it is ''[[Cushitic peoples|Cushite]]''.<ref>Woldu, Demelash. Exploring language uses and policy processes in Karat Town of Konso Woreda, Ethiopia. Diss. University of East Anglia, 2018.</ref>

== History ==
{{Main|History of Somalia}}

=== Prehistory ===
<!-- Paleolithic & Neolithic are prehistoric -->
[[File:Laas Geel single cow.jpg|thumb|Neolithic rock art at the [[Laas Geel]] complex depicting a long-horned cow]]
Somalia was likely one of the first lands to be settled by early humans due to its location. [[Hunter-gatherer]]s who would later migrate out of Africa likely settled here before their migrations.<ref name=":0" /> During the Stone Age, the Doian and Hargeisan cultures flourished here.<ref>{{cite book|author=Peter Robertshaw|title=A History of African Archaeology|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofafrican0000unse_j3c5/page/105|year=1990|publisher=J. Currey|isbn=978-0-435-08041-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofafrican0000unse_j3c5/page/105 105]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gutherz |first1=Xavier |last2=Diaz |first2=Amélie |last3=Ménard |first3=Clément |last4=Bon |first4=François |last5=Douze |first5=Katja |last6=Léa |first6=Vanessa |last7=Lesur |first7=Joséphine |last8=Sordoillet |first8=Dominiqu e|date=Sep 2014 |title=The Hargeisan revisited: Lithic industries from shelter 7 of Laas Geel, Somaliland and the transition between the Middle and Late Stone Age in the Horn of Africa |journal=Quaternary International |volume=343 |pages=69–84 |doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2014.04.038 |bibcode=2014QuInt.343...69G| issn = 1040-6182 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Clark|first=J. D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hCb6xzeydigC&q=somalia+stillbay+culture&pg=PA201|title=The Prehistoric Cultures of the Horn of Africa: An Analysis of the Stone Age Cultural and Climatic Succession in the Somalilands and Eastern Parts of Abyssinia|year=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-63536-4|language=en|access-date=19 October 2020|archive-date=18 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518174751/https://books.google.com/books?id=hCb6xzeydigC&q=somalia+stillbay+culture&pg=PA201#v=snippet&q=somalia%20stillbay%20culture&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Phillipson|first=D. W.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lRDYAW4wXOYC&q=Eburran+industry&pg=PA125|title=African Archaeology|date=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-54002-5|language=en|access-date=19 October 2020|archive-date=18 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518175619/https://books.google.com/books?id=lRDYAW4wXOYC&q=Eburran+industry&pg=PA125|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Delson|first1=Eric|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6GFGsswTIO8C|title=Encyclopedia of Human Evolution and Prehistory|edition=2nd|last2=Tattersall|first2=Ian|last3=Couvering|first3=John Van|last4=Brooks|first4=Alison S.|year=2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-58228-9|language=en|access-date=23 August 2020|archive-date=18 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518175621/https://books.google.com/books?id=6GFGsswTIO8C|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Petraglia|first1=Michael D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x6o4XLIKN0UC&q=hargesian+culture&pg=PA199|title=The Evolution of Human Populations in Arabia: Paleoenvironments, Prehistory and Genetics|last2=Rose|first2=Jeffrey I.|year=2009|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-90-481-2719-1|language=en|access-date=19 October 2020|archive-date=18 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518175621/https://books.google.com/books?id=x6o4XLIKN0UC&q=hargesian+culture&pg=PA199#v=snippet&q=hargesian%20culture&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The oldest evidence of burial customs in the Horn of Africa comes from cemeteries in Somalia dating back to the 4th millennium BC.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Early Holocene Mortuary Practices and Hunter-Gatherer Adaptations in Southern Somalia|jstor=124524|pmid=16470993|pages=40–56|last=Brandt |first=S. A. |volume=20|issue=1|journal=World Archaeology|year=1988|doi=10.1080/00438243.1988.9980055}}</ref> The stone implements from the Jalelo site in the north were also characterised in 1909 as important artifacts demonstrating the archaeological universality during the Paleolithic between the East and the West.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://archive.org/stream/mananth9a10royauoft/mananth9a10royauoft_djvu.txt|title=Prehistoric Implements From Somaliland|author=H. W. Seton-Karr|journal=[[Man (journal)|Man]]|access-date=30 January 2011|volume=9|issue=106|pages=182–183|year=1909|author-link=Henry Seton-Karr|doi=10.2307/2840281|jstor=2840281}}</ref>

According to linguists, the first [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic]]-speaking populations arrived in the region during the ensuing [[Neolithic]] period from the family's proposed [[Afroasiatic Urheimat|urheimat]] ("original homeland") in the [[Nile Valley]],<ref>Zarins, Juris (1990), "Early Pastoral Nomadism and the Settlement of Lower Mesopotamia", (Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research)</ref> or the [[Near East]].<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Diamond | first1 = J | last2 = Bellwood | first2 = P | year = 2003 | title = Farmers and Their Languages: The First Expansions | journal = Science | volume =  300| issue = 5619| pages =  597–603| doi = 10.1126/science.1078208 | pmid = 12714734 | bibcode = 2003Sci...300..597D | s2cid = 13350469 | citeseerx = 10.1.1.218.8905 }}</ref>

The [[Laas Geel]] complex on the outskirts of [[Hargeisa]] in northwestern Somalia dates back approximately 5,000 years, and has [[rock art]] depicting both wild animals and decorated cows.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bakano|first=Otto|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jMNd90UAafsRNEDPyelL7Hee1ydw?docId=CNG.82196a5b15ef45a2d4e744675740cd6a.6e1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921061703/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jMNd90UAafsRNEDPyelL7Hee1ydw?docId=CNG.82196a5b15ef45a2d4e744675740cd6a.6e1|archive-date=21 September 2013 |title=Grotto galleries show early Somali life |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=24 April 2011|access-date=11 May 2013}}</ref> Other [[cave painting]]s are found in the northern [[Dhambalin]] region, which feature one of the earliest known depictions of a hunter on horseback. The rock art is dated to 1,000 to 3,000 BC.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Mire|first=Sada|title=The Discovery of Dhambalin Rock Art Site, Somaliland|journal=African Archaeological Review|year=2008|volume=25|issue=3–4|pages=153–168|url=http://www.mbali.info/doc494.htm|access-date=22 June 2013|doi=10.1007/s10437-008-9032-2|s2cid=162960112|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627100400/http://www.mbali.info/doc494.htm|archive-date=27 June 2013|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Alberge|first=Dalya|title=UK archaeologist finds cave paintings at 100 new African sites|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/17/cave-paintings-found-in-somaliland|access-date=25 June 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=17 September 2010|archive-date=17 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917000155/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/17/cave-paintings-found-in-somaliland|url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, between the towns of [[Las Khorey]] and [[El Ayo]] in northern Somalia lies [[Karinhegane]], the site of numerous cave paintings, which collectively have been estimated to be around 2,500 years old.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hodd|first=Michael|title=East African Handbook|year=1994|publisher=Trade & Travel Publications|isbn=0-8442-8983-3|page=640|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bL8tAQAAIAAJ|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=1 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701074114/https://books.google.com/books?id=bL8tAQAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Ali|first=Ismail Mohamed|title=Somalia Today: General Information|year=1970|publisher=Ministry of Information and National Guidance, Somali Democratic Republic|page=295|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tMVAAAAAYAAJ|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=18 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518175721/https://books.google.com/books?id=tMVAAAAAYAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[camel]] is believed to have been domesticated in the Horn region sometime between the 2nd and 3rd millennium BC. From there, it spread to [[Egypt]] and the [[Maghreb]].<ref>Suzanne Richard (2003) [https://books.google.com/books?id=khR0apPid8gC&pg=PA120 Near Eastern archaeology: a reader] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123104928/https://books.google.com/books?id=khR0apPid8gC&pg=PA120 |date=23 January 2023 }}, Eisenbrauns, p. 120 {{ISBN|1-57506-083-3}}.</ref>

=== Antiquity and classical era ===
{{Main|Somali architecture}}

[[File:Men from Punt Carrying Gifts, Tomb of Rekhmire MET 30.4.152 EGDP013029.jpg|thumb|Men from [[Land of Punt|Punt]] carrying Gifts, Tomb of [[Rekhmire]].]]
Ancient [[pyramid]]ical structures, [[mausoleum]]s, ruined cities and stone walls, such as the [[Wargaade Wall]], are evidence of an old civilisation that once thrived in the Somali peninsula.<ref name="Nthos">{{cite book|last=Njoku|first=Raphael Chijioke|title=The History of Somalia|year=2013|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-37857-7|pages=29–31|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FlL2vE_qRQ8C|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=18 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518175752/https://books.google.com/books?id=FlL2vE_qRQ8C|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Dalal|first=Roshen|title=The Illustrated Timeline of the History of the World|year=2011|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-4488-4797-6|page=131|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RO4kS1IR71sC|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=23 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123104928/https://books.google.com/books?id=RO4kS1IR71sC|url-status=live}}</ref> This civilisation enjoyed a trading relationship with [[ancient Egypt]] and [[Mycenaean Greece]] since the second millennium BC, supporting the hypothesis that Somalia or adjacent regions were the location of the ancient [[Land of Punt]].<ref name="Nthos" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Abdel Monem A. H. Sayed|editor=Zahi A. Hawass|title=Egyptology at the Dawn of the Twenty-first Century: Archaeology|year=2003|publisher=American Univ in Cairo Press|isbn=977-424-674-8|pages=432–433|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1E13DorsFMEC|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=18 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518175753/https://books.google.com/books?id=1E13DorsFMEC|url-status=live}}</ref> The Puntites native to the region traded [[myrrh]], spices, gold, ebony, short-horned cattle, ivory and [[frankincense]] with the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Babylonians, Indians, Chinese and Romans through their commercial ports. An Egyptian expedition sent to Punt by the [[Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt|18th dynasty]] Queen [[Hatshepsut]] is recorded on the temple reliefs at [[Deir el-Bahari]], during the reign of the Puntite King Parahu and Queen Ati.<ref name="Nthos" />

In the [[Classical antiquity|classical era]], the [[Macrobians]], who may have been ancestral to Somalis, established a powerful  kingdom that ruled large parts of modern Somalia. They were reputed for their longevity and wealth, and were said to be the "tallest and handsomest of all men".<ref name="Wheeler pg 526">[https://archive.org/stream/geographyofherod00whee/geographyofherod00whee_djvu.txt The Geography of Herodotus: Illustrated from Modern Researches and Discoveries] by James Talboys Wheeler, pg 1xvi, 315, 526</ref> The Macrobians were warrior herders and seafarers. According to Herodotus' account, the [[Persian Emperor]] [[Cambyses II]], upon his [[History of Achaemenid Egypt|conquest of Egypt]] in 525 BC, sent ambassadors to Macrobia, bringing luxury gifts for the Macrobian king to entice his submission. The Macrobian ruler, who was elected based on his stature and beauty, replied instead with a challenge for his Persian counterpart in the form of an unstrung bow: if the Persians could manage to draw it, they would have the right to invade his country; but until then, they should thank the gods that the Macrobians never decided to invade their empire.<ref name="Wheeler pg 526" /><ref name="Kitto2">John Kitto, James Taylor, ''The popular cyclopædia of Biblical literature: condensed from the larger work'', (Gould and Lincoln: 1856), p. 302.</ref> The Macrobians were a regional power reputed for their advanced architecture and [[gold]] wealth, which was so plentiful that they shackled their prisoners in golden chains.<ref name="Kitto2" />

During the classical period, the [[Barbaria (region)|Barbara]] city-states of [[Mosylon]], [[Opone]], [[Heis (town)|Mundus]], [[Bulhar|Isis]], [[Malao]], [[Zeila|Avalites]], [[Essina]], [[Nikon (Somalia)|Nikon]] and [[Sarapion]] developed a lucrative trade network, connecting with merchants from [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic Egypt]], [[Ancient Greece]], [[Phoenicia]], [[Parthian Empire|Parthian Persia]], [[Sabaeans|Saba]], the [[Nabataean Kingdom]], and the [[Roman Empire]]. They used the ancient Somali maritime vessel known as the ''[[beden]]'' to transport their cargo.
[[File:Beden.jpg|thumbnail|The [[Beden]] is a fast, ancient Somali single or double-masted maritime ship.]]
After the [[Nabatea#Roman annexation|Roman conquest of the Nabataean Empire]] and the Roman naval presence at [[Aden]] to curb piracy, Arab and Somali merchants agreed with the Romans to bar Indian ships from trading in the free port cities of the [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabian peninsula]]<ref>{{Harvnb|Warmington|1995|p=54}}.</ref> to protect the interests of Somali and Arab merchants in the lucrative commerce between the Red and Mediterranean Seas.<ref name="EHW">{{Harvnb|Warmington|1995|p=229}}.</ref> However, Indian merchants continued to trade in the port cities of the Somali peninsula, which was free from Roman interference.<ref>{{Harvnb|Warmington|1995|p=187}}.</ref> For centuries, Indian merchants brought large quantities of cinnamon to Somalia and Arabia from [[Ceylon]] and the [[Maluku Islands|Spice Islands]]. The source of the cinnamon and other spices is said to have been the best-kept secret of Arab and Somali merchants in their trade with the Roman and Greek world; the Romans and Greeks believed the source to have been the Somali peninsula.<ref>{{Harvnb|Warmington|1995|pp=185–186}}.</ref> The collusive agreement among Somali and Arab traders inflated the price of Indian and Chinese cinnamon in North Africa, the Near East, and Europe, and made the cinnamon trade a very profitable revenue generator, especially for the Somali merchants.<ref name="EHW" />

=== Birth of Islam and the Middle Ages ===

{{Main|Somali aristocratic and court titles|Ifat Sultanate|Walashma dynasty|Sultanate of Mogadishu|Adal Sultanate|Ajuran Sultanate|}}

[[File:Silk route.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|The [[Silk Road]] extending from China to southern Europe, Arabia, Somalia, Egypt, Persia, India, and Java]]
[[Islam]] was introduced to the area early on by the first Muslims of Mecca fleeing prosecution during the first [[Hegira|Hejira]] with [[Masjid al-Qiblatayn (Somalia)|Masjid al-Qiblatayn]] in [[Zeila]] being built before the [[Qibla]]h towards [[Mecca]]. It is one of the oldest [[mosque]]s in Africa.<ref>{{cite book |last=Briggs|first=Phillip|title=Somaliland|year=2012|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|isbn=978-1-84162-371-9|page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M6NI2FejIuwC}}</ref> In the late 9th century, [[Al-Yaqubi]] wrote that Muslims were living along the northern Somali seaboard.<ref name="Encyamer">{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia Americana|volume =25 |year=1965|publisher=Americana Corporation|page=255|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OP5LAAAAMAAJ|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=23 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123104929/https://books.google.com/books?id=OP5LAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> He also mentioned that the [[Adal Sultanate|Adal Kingdom]] had its capital in the city.<ref name="Encyamer"/><ref name="Lewispohoa">{{cite book |author=I. M. Lewis|title=Peoples of the Horn of Africa: Somali, Afar and Saho|year=1955|publisher=International African Institute|page=140 |url=https://archive.org/details/peoplesofthehorn007763mbp}}</ref> According to [[Leo Africanus]], the [[Adal Sultanate]] was governed by local [[Somali people|Somali]] dynasties and its realm encompassed the geographical area between the Bab el Mandeb and Cape Guardafui. It was thus flanked to the south by the [[Ajuran Empire]] and to the west by the [[Abyssinian Empire]].<ref name="Leo">{{cite book|last1=Africanus|first1=Leo|title=The History and Description of Africa|date=1526|publisher=Hakluyt Society|pages=51–54|url=https://archive.org/stream/historyanddescr03porygoog#page/n180/mode/2up|access-date=2 January 2017}}</ref>

Throughout the Middle Ages, Arab immigrants arrived in Somaliland, a historical experience which would later lead to the legendary stories about Muslim [[sheikh]]s such as [[Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti|Daarood]] and [[Ishaaq bin Ahmed]] (the purported ancestors of the [[Darod]] and [[Isaaq]] clans, respectively) travelling from [[Arabia]] to Somalia and marrying into the local [[Dir (clan)|Dir]] clan.<ref name="Lewis1994">{{cite book |last1=Lewis|first1=Ioan M.|author-link1=Ioan Lewis|date=1994|title=Blood and Bone: The Call of Kinship in Somali Society|location=Lawrencewill, NJ|publisher=The Red Sea Press|isbn=0-932415-93-8|pages=102–106 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9fAjtruUXjEC}}</ref>

In 1332, the Zeila-based King of Adal was slain in a military campaign aimed at halting Abyssinian emperor [[Amda Seyon I]]'s march toward the city.<ref>{{cite book|author=M. Th. Houtsma|title=E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936|year=1987|publisher=Brill|isbn=90-04-08265-4|pages=125–126|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA125|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=23 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123104929/https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA125|url-status=live}}</ref> When the last Sultan of Ifat, [[Sa'ad ad-Din II]], was also killed by Emperor [[Dawit I of Ethiopia|Dawit I]] in Zeila in 1410, his children escaped to Yemen, before returning in 1415.<ref>{{cite journal | volume =28 | issue = 2| pages =217–229 | year =2010 | doi = 10.1017/S0020743800063145 | title =A Sufi Response to Political Islamism: Al-Abāsh of Lebanon |last1=Nizar Hamzeh |first1=A. |last2=Hrair Dekmejian |first2=R. | journal =International Journal of Middle East Studies| s2cid = 154765577}}</ref> In the early 15th century, Adal's capital was moved further inland to the town of [[Dakkar]], where [[Sabr ad-Din II]], the eldest son of Sa'ad ad-Din II, established a new base after his return from Yemen.<ref>{{cite book|last=Briggs|first=Philip|title=Bradt Somaliland: With Addis Ababa & Eastern Ethiopia|year=2012|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|isbn=978-1-84162-371-9|page=10|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M6NI2FejIuwC&pg=PA10|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=23 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123104930/https://books.google.com/books?id=M6NI2FejIuwC&pg=PA10|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Lewispd">{{cite book|last=Lewis|first=I. M.|title=A Pastoral Democracy: A Study of Pastoralism and Politics Among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa|year=1999|publisher=James Currey Publishers|isbn=0-85255-280-7|page=17|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eK6SBJIckIsC&pg=PA17|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=23 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123104930/https://books.google.com/books?id=eK6SBJIckIsC&pg=PA17|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Imaam Ahmed Gurey.jpg|thumb|Statue of [[Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi|Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi]], [[Imam]] of the [[Adal Sultanate|Adal Empire]]]]
Adal's headquarters were again relocated the following century, this time southward to [[Harar]]. From this new capital, Adal organised an effective army led by Imam [[Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi]], (Ahmad "Gurey" or "Gran"; both meaning "the left-handed") and his closest top general and brother in law [[Matan ibn Uthman Al Somali|Garad Matan]]. Imam Ahmed clan is documented to be from the [[Geri Koombe]], a sub clan of Darod.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cerulli |first=Enrico |title=Somalia: Storia della Somalia. L'Islām in Somalia. Il Libro degli Zengi |date=1957 |publisher=Istituto poligrafico dello Stato P.V. |language=Italian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Enciclopedia italiana di scienze, lettere ed arti |date=1950 |publisher=Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana fondata da Biovanni Freccani |volume=32}}</ref> This 16th-century campaign is historically known as the [[Abyssinian–Adal war|Conquest of Abyssinia]] (''Futuh al-Habash''). During the war, Imam Ahmad pioneered the use of cannons supplied by the Ottoman Empire, which he imported through Zeila and deployed against Abyssinian forces and their Portuguese allies led by [[Cristóvão da Gama]].<ref>Lewis, I.M. (1999) ''A Pastoral Democracy: A Study of Pastoralism and Politics Among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa'', LIT Verlag Münster, p. 17, {{ISBN|3-8258-3084-5}}.</ref>

During the [[Ajuran Sultanate]] period, the city-states and republics of [[Merca]], [[Mogadishu]], [[Barawa]], [[Hobyo]] and their respective ports flourished and had a lucrative foreign commerce with ships sailing to and from Arabia, India, [[Venetia (region)|Venetia]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fage |first1=John Donnelly |last2=Oliver |first2=Roland Anthony |title=Papers in African Prehistory|url=https://archive.org/details/papersinafricanp0000fage |url-access=registration |year=1970|isbn=978-0-521-09566-2|publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref> Persia, Egypt, Portugal, and as far away as China. [[Vasco da Gama]], who passed by Mogadishu in the 15th century, noted that it was a large city with houses several storeys high and large palaces in its centre, in addition to many mosques with cylindrical minarets.<ref>{{cite book|author=E. G. Ravenstein|title=A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco Da Gama, 1497–1499|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AwcPInJC__gC&pg=PA88|year=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-108-01296-6|page=88|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=23 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123104930/https://books.google.com/books?id=AwcPInJC__gC&pg=PA88|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Harla people|Harla]], an early [[Hamitic]] group of tall stature who inhabited parts of Somalia, Tchertcher and other areas in the Horn, also erected various [[tumulus|tumuli]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Joussaume|first1=Roger|title=Fouille d'un tumulus à Ganda Hassan Abdi dans les monts du Harar|journal=Annales d'Ethiopie|date=1976|volume=10|pages=25–39|doi=10.3406/ethio.1976.1157|url=http://www.persee.fr/docAsPDF/ethio_0066-2127_1976_num_10_1_1157.pdf}}{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> These masons are believed to have been ancestral to ethnic Somalis.<ref>{{cite book|last=Braukämper|first=Ulrich|title=Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia: Collected Essays|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HGnyk8Pg9NgC&pg=PA18|page=18|year=2002|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|isbn=978-3-8258-5671-7}}</ref>[[File:ShenDuGiraffePainting.jpg|thumb|The [[Ajuran Sultanate]] maintained commercial ties with the [[Ming dynasty]] and other kingdoms.|left|268x268px]]

In the 16th century, [[Duarte Barbosa]] noted that many ships from the [[Khambhat|Kingdom of Cambaya]] in modern-day India sailed to Mogadishu with cloth and spices, for which they in return received gold, wax and ivory. Barbosa also highlighted the abundance of meat, wheat, barley, horses, and fruit on the coastal markets, which generated enormous wealth for the merchants.<ref>Sir Reginald Coupland (1965) ''East Africa and its invaders: from the earliest times to the death of Seyyid Said in 1856'', Russell & Russell, p. 38.</ref> Mogadishu, the centre of a thriving textile industry known as ''toob benadir'' (specialised for the markets in Egypt, among other places<ref>{{cite book|author=Edward A. Alpers|title=East Africa and the Indian Ocean|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DNHvb6nSN-AC&pg=PA79|year=2009|publisher=Markus Wiener Publishers|isbn=978-1-55876-453-8|page=79|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=23 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123104930/https://books.google.com/books?id=DNHvb6nSN-AC&pg=PA79|url-status=live}}</ref>), together with Merca and Barawa, also served as a transit stop for [[Swahili people|Swahili]] merchants from [[Mombasa]] and [[Malindi]] and for the gold trade from [[Kilwa Sultanate|Kilwa]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Nigel Harris|title=The Return of Cosmopolitan Capital: Globalization, the State and War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S3oyoVIIlMQC&pg=PA22|year=2003|publisher=I.B. Tauris|isbn=978-1-86064-786-4|pages=22–|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=23 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123104931/https://books.google.com/books?id=S3oyoVIIlMQC&pg=PA22|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Jewish]] merchants from the [[Strait of Hormuz|Hormuz]] brought their Indian textile and fruit to the Somali coast in exchange for [[grain]] and wood.<ref>{{cite book |author=R. J. Barendse|title=The Arabian Seas: The Indian Ocean world of the Seventeenth Century /c R.J. Barendse|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_qvq9dN8j5MC&pg=PA343|year=2002|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=978-0-7656-0729-4|pages=343–}}</ref>

Trading relations were established with [[Malacca]] in the 15th century,<ref>{{Harvnb|Alpers|1976}}.</ref> with cloth, ambergris and porcelain being the main commodities of the trade.<ref>Caroline Sassoon (1978) ''Chinese Porcelain Marks from Coastal Sites in Kenya: Aspects of Trade in the Indian Ocean, XIV–XIX Centuries'', Vol. 43–47, British Archaeological Reports, p. 2, {{ISBN|0-86054-018-9}}.</ref> Giraffes, zebras and incense were exported to the [[Ming Empire]] of China, which established Somali merchants as leaders in the commerce between East Asia and the Horn.<ref>Sir Reginald Coupland (1965) ''East Africa and Its Invaders: From the Earliest Times to the Death of Seyyid Said in 1856'', Russell & Russell, p. 37.</ref> Hindu merchants from [[Surat]] and Southeast African merchants from [[Pate Island|Pate]], seeking to bypass both the [[Portuguese India]] blockade (and later the Omani interference), used the Somali ports of Merca and Barawa (which were out of the two powers' direct jurisdiction) to conduct their trade in safety and without interference.<ref>{{cite book|author=Edward A. Alpers|title=East Africa and the Indian Ocean|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DNHvb6nSN-AC&pg=PA79|year=2009|publisher=Markus Wiener Publishers|isbn=978-1-55876-453-8|page=21|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=23 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123104930/https://books.google.com/books?id=DNHvb6nSN-AC&pg=PA79|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{clear}}

=== Early modern era and the scramble for Africa ===
{{Main|Geledi sultanate|Majeerteen Sultanate|Sultanate of Hobyo|l2 = Isaaq Sultanate|Dervish movement (Somali)}}

{{see also|Italian Somaliland|British Somaliland}}
[[File:Mogadishu1936.jpg|thumb|[[Mogadishu under Italian rule|Mogadishu]], capital of [[Italian Somaliland]], with the [[Mogadiscio Cathedral|Catholic Cathedral]] at the center and the Arch monument in honour of [[Umberto I of Italy|King Umberto I of Italy]]]]
[[File:Reception of Olal Dinle in Italy.jpg|thumb|Sultan [[Olol Dinle]] (third from right) and his delegation, in [[Benito Mussolini]]'s Italy, during the festivities of [[Adolf Hitler]]'s visit to [[Rome]], 1938|261x261px]]
In the [[early modern]] period, successor states to the Adal Sultanate and [[Ajuran Sultanate]] began to flourish in Somalia. These included the [[Hiraab Imamate]], the [[Isaaq Sultanate]] led by the [[Guled Dynasty|Guled dynasty]],<ref name=":13">{{cite book |last1=Ylönen |first1=Aleksi Ylönen |title=The Horn Engaging the Gulf Economic Diplomacy and Statecraft in Regional Relations |year= 2023 |isbn=9780755635191 |page=113|publisher=Bloomsbury }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Arafat |first=S. M. Yasir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YUoNEQAAQBAJ&dq=isaaq+sultanate&pg=PA274 |title=Suicidal Behavior in Muslim Majority Countries: Epidemiology, Risk Factors, and Prevention |date=2024 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-981-97-2519-9 |pages=273–274 |language=en}}</ref> the [[Habr Yunis Sultanate]] led by the [[Rer Ainanshe|Ainanshe dynasty]],<ref name="Truhart, P. 1984 pp.72">Truhart, P. (1984). Regents of nations: systematic chronology of states and their political representatives in past and present : a biographical reference book. p. 72</ref> the [[Sultanate of the Geledi]] (Gobroon dynasty), the [[Majeerteen Sultanate]] (Migiurtinia), and the [[Sultanate of Hobyo]] (Obbia). They continued the tradition of castle-building and seaborne trade established by previous Somali empires.

Sultan [[Yusuf Mahamud Ibrahim]], the third Sultan of the House of Gobroon, started the golden age of the Gobroon Dynasty. His army came out victorious during the Bardheere Jihad, which restored stability in the region and revitalised the East African [[ivory trade]]. He also had cordial relations and received gifts from the rulers of neighbouring and distant kingdoms such as the Omani, [[Wituland|Witu]] and Yemeni Sultans.

Sultan Ibrahim's son [[Ahmed Yusuf (Gobroon)|Ahmed Yusuf]] succeeded him as one of the most important figures in 19th-century East Africa, receiving tribute from Omani governors and creating alliances with important Muslim families on the East African coast.

In [[Somaliland]], the Isaaq Sultanate was established in 1750. The Isaaq Sultanate was a Somali kingdom that ruled parts of the [[Horn of Africa]] during the 18th and 19th centuries.<ref name=":13" /> It spanned the territories of the [[Isaaq]] clan, descendants of the [[Banu Hashim]] clan,<ref name="Lewisapd">I. M. Lewis, ''A pastoral democracy: a study of pastoralism and politics among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa'', (LIT Verlag Münster: 1999), p. 157.</ref> in modern-day Somaliland and Ethiopia. The sultanate was governed by the Rer Guled branch established by the first sultan, Sultan [[Guled Abdi (Sultan)|Guled Abdi]], of the [[Eidagale]] clan.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Taariikhda Beerta Suldaan Cabdilaahi ee Hargeysa {{!}} Somalidiasporanews.com|language=so|url=http://www.qurbejoog.com/taariikhda-beerta-suldaan-cabdilaahi-ee-hargeysa/|access-date=2021-01-09|archive-date=19 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219181303/http://www.qurbejoog.com/taariikhda-beerta-suldaan-cabdilaahi-ee-hargeysa/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Genealogies of the Somal|date=1896|publisher=Eyre and Spottiswoode (London)|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Taariikhda Saldanada Reer Guuleed Ee Somaliland.Abwaan:Ibraahim-rashiid Cismaan Guure (aboor). {{!}} Togdheer News Network|url=http://togdheernews.com/articles/31/05/2016/taariikhda-saldanada-reer-guuleed-ee-somaliland-abwaanibraahim-rashiid-cismaan-guure-aboor/|access-date=2021-08-09|language=en-US|archive-date=11 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111020220/http://togdheernews.com/articles/31/05/2016/taariikhda-saldanada-reer-guuleed-ee-somaliland-abwaanibraahim-rashiid-cismaan-guure-aboor/|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to oral tradition, prior to the Guled dynasty the [[Isaaq]] clan-family were ruled by a dynasty of the Tolje'lo branch starting from, descendants of Ahmed nicknamed Tol Je'lo, the eldest son of [[Ishaaq bin Ahmed|Sheikh Ishaaq]]'s [[Harari people|Harari]] wife. There were eight Tolje'lo rulers in total, starting with Boqor Harun ({{Langx|so|Boqor Haaruun}}) who ruled the Isaaq Sultanate for centuries starting from the 13th century.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-10-07|title=Degmada Cusub Ee Dacarta Oo Loogu Wanqalay Munaasibad Kulmisay Madaxda Iyo Haldoorka Somaliland |url=https://www.hubaalmedia.net/degmada-cusub-ee-dacarta-oo-loogu-wanqalay-munaasibad-kulmisay-madaxda-iyo-haldoorka-somaliland/|access-date=2021-08-11|website=Hubaal Media|archive-date=11 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811205734/https://www.hubaalmedia.net/degmada-cusub-ee-dacarta-oo-loogu-wanqalay-munaasibad-kulmisay-madaxda-iyo-haldoorka-somaliland/|url-status=dead|language=so}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Taariikhda Toljecle|url=https://www.tashiwanaag.com/toljecle-taariikh-ahaan.html|access-date=2021-08-09|website=www.tashiwanaag.com|archive-date=9 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809022129/https://www.tashiwanaag.com/toljecle-taariikh-ahaan.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The last Tolje'lo ruler [[Garad]] Dhuh Barar ({{langx|so|Dhuux Baraar}}) was overthrown by a coalition of Isaaq clans. The once strong Tolje'lo clan were scattered and took refuge amongst the [[Habr Awal]] with whom they still mostly live.<ref>{{Citation|title=Taariikhda Boqortooyadii Axmed Sheikh Isaxaaq ee Toljecle 1787 | date=23 February 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MfB4XvREbI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/6MfB4XvREbI| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=2021-08-15}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>New Issues in Refugee Research  Working Paper No. 65 Pastoral society and transnational refugees: population movements in Somaliland and eastern Ethiopia 1988–2000 Guido Ambroso, Table 1, p. 5</ref>

In the late 19th century, after the [[Berlin Conference]] of 1884, European powers began the [[Scramble for Africa]]. In that year, a British protectorate was declared over part of Somalia, on the African coast opposite South Yemen.<ref name="ReferenceA2">Langers Encyclopedia of World History, 594.</ref> Initially, this region was under the control of the Indian Office, and so administered as part of the Indian Empire; in 1898 it was transferred to control by London.<ref name="ReferenceA2" /> In 1889, the protectorate and later colony of [[Italian Somalia]] was officially established by [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]] through various treaties signed with a number of chiefs and sultans;<ref>Mariam Arif Gassem, ''Somalia: clan vs. nation'' (s.n.: 2002), p. 4</ref> Sultan [[Yusuf Ali Kenadid]] first sent a request to Italy in late December 1888 to make his [[Sultanate of Hobyo]] an Italian protectorate before later signing a treaty in 1889.<ref name="Oliver">{{cite book |last=Oliver |first=Roland Anthony |title=History of East Africa|volume = 2 |year=1976 |publisher=Clarendon Press |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pGkMAQAAIAAJ}}</ref>
[[File:Hobyo Sultanate Cavalry And Fort.jpg|left|thumb|[[Sultanate of Hobyo|Hobyo Sultanate]] cavalry and fort]]
The Dervish movement successfully repulsed the British Empire four times and forced it to retreat to the coastal region.<ref>Kevin Shillington, ''Encyclopedia of African History'' (CRC Press, 2005), p. 1406.</ref> The [[Dervish movement (Somali)|Darawiish]] defeated the Italian, British, Abyssinian colonial powers on numerous occasions, most notably, the 1903 victory at Cagaarweyne commanded by [[Suleiman Aden Galaydh]],<ref name="kenna2">{{cite news|date=2 January 1904|title=The fight in Somaliland|newspaper=Rhyl Record and Advertiser|url=https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3640121/3640124/41/|via=newspapers.library.wales|access-date=6 June 2021|archive-date=5 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605003300/https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3640121/3640124/41/|url-status=live}}</ref> forcing the [[British Empire]] to retreat to the coastal region in the early 1900s.<ref>Kevin Shillington, ''Encyclopedia of African history'', (CRC Press: 2005), p. 1406.</ref> The Dervishes were finally defeated in 1920 by British airpower.{{sfn|Samatar|1982|pages=[https://archive.org/details/oralpoetrysomali00sama/page/n144 131], 135}}

The dawn of [[fascism]] in the early 1920s heralded a change of strategy for Italy, as the north-eastern sultanates were soon to be forced within the boundaries of ''La Grande Somalia'' ("''[[Greater Somalia]]''") according to the plan of Fascist Italy. With the arrival of Governor [[Cesare Maria De Vecchi]] on 15 December 1923, things began to change for that part of Somaliland known as [[Italian Somaliland]]. De Vecchi was responsible for an aggressive expansion campaign and large construction projects, including the [[Mogadishu Cathedral|cathedral of Mogadishu]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dillon |first=Claire |date=2025 |title=Transforming Cefalù in Mogadishu: The Arabo-Normanna Cathedral of Italian Somalia and the Façade of “Peaceful Conquest” |url=https://www.academia.edu/144572290/Transforming_Cefal%C3%B9_in_Mogadishu_The_Arabo_Normanna_Cathedral_of_Italian_Somalia_and_the_Fa%C3%A7ade_of_Peaceful_Conquest_ |journal=Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians |volume=84 |issue=3 |pages=368–385 |doi=10.1525/JSAH.2025.84.3.368}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-19 |title=Claire Dillon: "Italians promoted their occupation as a benefit to the colonized" |url=https://www.geeska.com/en/claire-dillon-italians-promoted-their-occupation-benefit-colonized |website=Geeska}}</ref> The last piece of land acquired by Italy in Somalia was [[Oltre Giuba]], present-day [[Jubaland]] region, in 1925.<ref name="Oliver" />[[File:Sayyid Mohammed Abdullah Hassan.jpeg|thumb|upright|Statue of [[Mohammed Abdullah Hassan|Muhammed Abdullah Hassan]], Leader of the [[Dervish movement (Somali)|Dervishes]]]]The Italians began local infrastructure projects, including the construction of hospitals, farms and schools.<ref name="cdtydiydc">{{cite book |author=Roland Anthony |title=Somalia in Pictures |year=2007 |publisher=Twenty-First Century Books |page=28 |isbn=9780822565864 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iMRf1RZ9zkAC}}</ref> [[Kingdom of Italy#Fascist regime (1922–1943)|Fascist Italy]], under [[Benito Mussolini]], attacked Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935, with an aim to colonise it. The invasion was condemned by the [[League of Nations]], but little was done to stop it or to liberate occupied Ethiopia. In 1936, Italian Somalia was integrated into [[Italian East Africa]], alongside Eritrea and Ethiopia, as the [[Somalia Governorate]]. On 3 August 1940, Italian troops, including Somali colonial units, crossed from Ethiopia to [[Italian conquest of British Somaliland|invade British Somaliland]], and by 14 August, succeeded in taking [[Berbera]] from the British.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}

A British force, including troops from several African countries, launched the [[East African Campaign (World War II)|campaign in January 1941]] from Kenya to liberate British Somaliland and Italian-occupied Ethiopia and conquer Italian Somaliland. By February most of Italian Somaliland was captured and, in March, British Somaliland was retaken from the sea. The forces of the British Empire operating in Somaliland comprised the three divisions of South African, West African, and East African troops. They were assisted by Somali forces led by Abdulahi Hassan with Somalis of the [[Isaaq]], [[Dhulbahante]], and [[Warsangali]] clans prominently participating. The number of [[Italian Somalis]] began to decline after World War II, with fewer than 10,000 remaining in 1960.<ref name="Tripodi1999" />

=== Independence (1960–1969) ===
{{Main|Trust Territory of Somaliland|State of Somaliland|Somali Republic|Greater Somalia|Somali Youth League}}

Following World War II, Britain retained control of both [[British Somaliland]] and Italian Somaliland as protectorates. In 1945, during the [[Potsdam Conference]], the United Nations granted Italy trusteeship of Italian Somaliland as the [[Trust Territory of Somaliland]], on the condition first proposed by the Somali Youth League (SYL) and other nascent Somali political organisations, such as Hizbia Digil Mirifle Somali (HDMS) and the Somali National League (SNL)—that Somalia achieve independence within ten years.<ref name="Zolberg">{{Harvnb|Zolberg|Suhrke|Aguayo|1989|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=B9_yS_ynvzgC&pg=PA106 106]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Kwame Anthony Appiah|author2=Henry Louis Gates|title=Africana: the encyclopedia of the African and African American experience: the concise desk reference|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cereWkyNJckC|date= 2003|publisher=Running Press|isbn=978-0-7624-1642-4|page=1749|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=23 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123105443/https://books.google.com/books?id=cereWkyNJckC|url-status=live}}</ref> British Somaliland remained a protectorate of Britain until 1960.<ref name="Tripodi1999">{{cite book|author=Paolo Tripodi|title=The Colonial Legacy in Somalia: Rome and Mogadishu: From Colonial Administration to Operation Restore Hope|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eJR3RAAACAAJ|year=1999|publisher=Macmillan Press|isbn=978-0-312-22393-9|page=68|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=23 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123105442/https://books.google.com/books?id=eJR3RAAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Isaaq Chiefs Hargeisa.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Leaders of the [[Isaaq]] clan photographed in [[Hargeisa]] in 1958 during the Duke & Duchess of Gloucester's visit to Somaliland]]

To the extent that [[Italy]] held the territory by UN mandate, the trusteeship provisions gave the Somalis the opportunity to gain experience in Western political education and self-government. These were advantages that British Somaliland, which was to be incorporated into the new Somali state, did not have. Although in the 1950s British colonial officials attempted, through various administrative development efforts, to make up for past neglect, the protectorate stagnated in political administrative development. The disparity between the two territories in economic development and political experience would later cause serious difficulties integrating the two parts.<ref>[[Helen Chapin Metz]], ed. (1992) [http://countrystudies.us/somalia ''Somalia: A Country Study''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805012513/http://countrystudies.us/somalia/ |date=5 August 2011 }}. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress.</ref>[[File:Mogadishu city centre - 1960s.jpg|thumb|upright|An avenue in downtown [[Mogadishu]] in 1963]]Meanwhile, in 1948, under pressure from their World War II allies and to the dismay of the Somalis,<ref>Federal Research Division (2004) ''Somalia: A Country Study'', Kessinger Publishing, LLC, p. 38, {{ISBN|1-4191-4799-4}}.</ref> the British returned the [[Haud]] (an important Somali grazing area that was presumably protected by British treaties with the Somalis in 1884 and 1886) and the [[Somali Region]] to Ethiopia, based on a treaty they signed in 1897 in which the British ceded Somali territory to the Ethiopian Emperor [[Menelek II of Ethiopia|Menelik]] in exchange for his help against possible advances by the French.<ref>{{Harvnb|Laitin|1977|p=73}}.</ref>

Britain included the conditional provision that the Somali residents would retain their autonomy, but Ethiopia immediately claimed sovereignty over the area. This prompted an unsuccessful bid by Britain in 1956 to buy back the Somali lands it had turned over.<ref name="Zolberg"/> Britain also granted administration of the almost exclusively Somali-inhabited [[Northern Frontier District]] (NFD) to Kenyan nationalists.<ref>Francis Vallat (1974) ''First report on succession of states in respect of treaties: International Law Commission twenty-sixth session 6 May – 26 July 1974'', United Nations, p. 20</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Laitin|1977|p=75}}.</ref> This was despite a [[plebiscite]] in which, according to a British colonial commission, almost all of the territory's ethnic Somalis favoured joining the newly formed Somali Republic.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rousseau|first1=David Laurent|title=Domestic political institutions and the evolution of international conflict|date=1996|publisher=University of Michigan|page=231|isbn=9780591309287|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=isYeAQAAMAAJ|access-date=24 September 2016|archive-date=1 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171101175701/https://books.google.com/books?id=isYeAQAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

A [[French Somaliland overseas territory referendum, 1958|referendum]] was held in neighbouring [[Djibouti]] (then known as [[French Somaliland]]) in 1958, on the eve of Somalia's independence in 1960, to decide whether or not to join the Somali Republic or to remain with France. The referendum turned out in favour of a continued association with France, largely due to a combined yes vote by the sizeable [[Afar people|Afar]] ethnic group and resident Europeans.<ref name="Barrington2006" /> There was also widespread vote rigging, with the French expelling thousands of Somalis before the referendum reached the polls.<ref>Kevin Shillington (2005) ''Encyclopedia of African history'', CRC Press, p. 360, {{ISBN|1-57958-245-1}}.</ref>

The majority of those who voted 'no' were Somalis who were strongly in favour of joining a united Somalia, as had been proposed by [[Mahmoud Harbi]], Vice President of the Government Council. Harbi was killed in a plane crash two years later.<ref name="Barrington2006">{{Harvnb|Schraeder|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=pyWpKKlukLcC&pg=PA115 115]}}</ref> Djibouti finally gained independence from [[France]] in 1977, and [[Hassan Gouled Aptidon]], a Somali who had campaigned for a 'yes' vote in the referendum of 1976, eventually became Djibouti's first president (1977–1999).<ref name="Barrington2006" />
[[File:President Aden Adde alongside Prime minister Sharmarke.jpg|thumb|[[Aden Adde|President Aden Adde]] alongside [[Abdirashid Shermarke|Prime Minister Abdirashiid Ali Sharmarke]] praying [[Eid prayers|Eid]] in 1964 at [[Arba'a Rukun Mosque]]]]
The British Somaliland protectorate obtained independence as the [[State of Somaliland]] on 26 June 1960. On 1 July 1960 the Trust Territory of Somaliland gained independence and the two united to form the [[Somali Republic]],<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica 2002 p.835">Encyclopædia Britannica, ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica'', (Encyclopædia Britannica: 2002), p. 835</ref> albeit within boundaries drawn up by Italy and Britain.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buluugleey.com/warkiidanbe/Governance.htm |title=The dawn of the Somali nation-state in 1960 |publisher=Buluugleey.com |access-date=25 February 2009 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=16 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116055005/http://www.buluugleey.com/warkiidanbe/Governance.htm}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htwin/articles/20060809.aspx |title=The making of a Somalia state |publisher=Strategypage.com |date=9 August 2006 |access-date=25 February 2009 |archive-date=2 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702033453/http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htwin/articles/20060809.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> A government was formed by [[Abdullahi Issa]] and [[Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal]] with other members of the trusteeship and protectorate governments, with [[Abdulcadir Muhammed Aden]] as President of the [[Parliament of Somalia|Somali National Assembly]], [[Aden Abdullah Osman Daar]] as [[List of Presidents of Somalia|President]] of the Somali Republic, and [[Abdirashid Ali Shermarke]] as [[Prime Minister of Somalia|Prime Minister]] (later to become president from 1967 to 1969). On 20 July 1961 and through a [[Somali constitutional referendum, 1961|popular referendum]], was ratified popularly by the people of Somalia under Italian trusteeship, Most of the people from the former Somaliland Protectorate did not participate in the referendum, although only a small number of Somalilanders who participated the referendum voted against the [[Constitution of Somalia|new constitution]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=The 1961 Referendum|url=http://www.somalilandlaw.com/The_1961_Referendum_Table1_Note.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151011003402/http://www.somalilandlaw.com/The_1961_Referendum_Table1_Note.pdf|archive-date=11 October 2015}}</ref> which was first drafted in 1960.<ref name="Illustrated Library 1967 338.2">''The Illustrated Library of The World and Its Peoples: Africa, North and East'', Greystone Press: 1967, p. 338.</ref> In 1967, Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal became Prime Minister, a position to which he was appointed by Shermarke. Egal would later become the President of the autonomous [[Somaliland]] region in northwestern Somalia.

=== Somali Democratic Republic (1969–1991) ===
{{Main|Somali Democratic Republic|1969 Somali coup d'état}}

==== Coup d'État ====
On 15 October, while president Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke was touring drought-stricken Las Anood, his personal bodyguard shot and killed him. Former US Secretary of State [[Henry Kissinger]] concluded that the bodyguard was acting of his own accord.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/LOC-HAK-510-5-8-1.pdf |title=Political Implication of Assassination of Somali President |date=20 October 1969 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |access-date=13 January 2025}}</ref> Six days later, on 21 October, General [[Siad Barre]] led a military coup and successfully overthrew the parliamentary government. Modern political analysts assert that the coup was motivated by corruption in the parliamentary government.<ref>{{Cite book |last=L. Daniels |first=Christopher |title=Somali Piracy and Terrorism in the Horn of Africa |date=2012 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=9780810883109 |page=12 |language=English}}</ref>  The bodyguard was tried, tortured and executed by the [[Supreme Revolutionary Council (Somalia)|Supreme Revolutionary Council]] (SRC). He came from the same clan background as the president who he killed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Adan Sheikh |first=Mohamed |title=Arrivederci a Mogadiscio |date=1991 |publisher=Edizioni associate |isbn=9788826700700 |page=76 |language=italian}}</ref>
[[File:Mohamed_Ainanshe_and_Kim_Il_Sung_-1970.jpg|right|thumb|[[Mohamed Ainanshe Guled]] in [[North Korea]] meeting President [[Kim Il Sung]] 1970]]

Alongside Barre, the SRC that assumed power after President Sharmarke's assassination was led by Brigadier General [[Mohamed Ainanshe Guled]], Lieutenant Colonel [[Salaad Gabeyre Kediye]] and Chief of Police [[Jama Ali Korshel|Jama Korshel]]. Kediye officially held the title "Father of the Revolution", and Barre shortly afterwards became the head of the SRC.<ref>{{cite book | author = Hussein Mohamed Adam | author2 = Richard Ford | title = Mending rips in the sky: options for Somali communities in the 21st century | publisher = Red Sea Press | year = 1997 | page = 226 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0m9yAAAAMAAJ | isbn = 1-56902-073-6 | access-date = 20 June 2015 | archive-date = 23 January 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230123105443/https://books.google.com/books?id=0m9yAAAAMAAJ | url-status = live }}</ref> The SRC subsequently renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic,<ref>J. D. Fage, Roland Anthony Oliver (1985) ''The Cambridge history of Africa'', Vol. 8, Cambridge University Press, p. 478, {{ISBN|0-521-22409-8}}.</ref><ref name="Grolierenc">''The Encyclopedia Americana: complete in thirty volumes. Skin to Sumac'', Vol. 25, Grolier: 1995, p. 214, {{ISBN|0-7172-0126-0}}.</ref> dissolved the parliament and the Supreme Court, and suspended the constitution.<ref name="Pjdlfw">de la Fosse Wiles, Peter John (1982) [https://books.google.com/books?id=lgMOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA279 ''The New Communist Third World: an essay in political economy''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123105443/https://books.google.com/books?id=lgMOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA279 |date=23 January 2023 }}, Taylor & Francis, p. 279 {{ISBN|0-7099-2709-6}}.</ref>

The revolutionary government established large-scale public works programs and successfully implemented an urban and rural [[literacy]] campaign, which helped dramatically increase the literacy rate. The Somali Democratic Republic achieved a literacy rate of 70%, one of the highest in Africa at the time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Irving |first=Kaplan |title=Area Handbook for Somalia |volume= 550 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |year=1977 |page=116 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Chijioke Njoku |first=Raphael |title=The History of Somalia |date=20 February 2013 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9780313378584 |page=111 |language=English}}</ref>

In addition to a nationalisation program of industry and land, the new regime's foreign policy placed an emphasis on Somalia's traditional and religious links with the [[Arab world]], eventually joining the [[Arab League]] in February 1974.<ref>Benjamin Frankel (1992) ''The Cold War, 1945–1991: Leaders and other important figures in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, China, and the Third World'', Gale Research, p. 306 {{ISBN|0-8103-8928-2}}.</ref> That same year, Barre also served as chairman of the [[Organisation of African Unity]] (OAU), the predecessor of the [[African Union]] (AU).<ref>Oihe Yang (2000) ''Africa South of the Sahara 2001'', 30th ed., Taylor and Francis, p. 1025 {{ISBN|1-85743-078-6}}.</ref>

In July 1976, Barre's SRC disbanded itself and established in its place the [[Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party]] (SRSP), a one-party government based on [[scientific socialism]] and Islamic tenets. The SRSP was an attempt to reconcile the official state ideology with the official state religion by [[Revisionism (Marxism)|adapting Marxist precepts]] to local circumstances. Emphasis was placed on the Muslim principles of social progress, equality and justice, which the government argued formed the core of scientific socialism and its own accent on self-sufficiency, public participation and popular control, as well as direct ownership of the means of production. While the SRSP encouraged private investment on a limited scale, the administration's overall direction was essentially [[Communism|communist]].<ref name="Pjdlfw" />

In July 1977, the [[Ogaden War]] broke out after Barre's government used a plea for national unity to justify an [[War of aggression|aggressive]] incorporation of the predominantly Somali-inhabited [[Ogaden]] region of Ethiopia into a Pan-Somali [[Greater Somalia]], along with the rich agricultural lands of south-eastern Ethiopia, infrastructure, and strategically important areas as far north as Djibouti.<ref>{{Harvnb|Gebru Tareke|2009|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dRIfYPTZxJsC&pg=PA182 182–186]}}. The areas concerned amount to about a third of Ethiopia.</ref> In the first week of the conflict, Somali armed forces took southern and central Ogaden and for most of the war, the Somali army scored continuous victories on the Ethiopian army and followed them as far as [[Sidamo Province|Sidamo]]. By September 1977, Somalia controlled 90% of the Ogaden and captured strategic cities such as [[Jijiga]] and put heavy pressure on [[Dire Dawa]], threatening the train route from the latter city to Djibouti. After the siege of Harar, a massive unprecedented Soviet intervention consisting of 20,000 [[Cuba]]n forces and several thousand Soviet experts came to the aid of Ethiopia's communist [[Derg]] regime. By 1978, the Somali troops were ultimately pushed out of the Ogaden. This shift in support by the Soviet Union motivated the Barre government to seek allies elsewhere. It eventually settled on the Soviets' [[Cold War]] arch-rival, the [[United States]], which had been courting the Somali government for some time. Somalia's initial friendship with the Soviet Union and later partnership with the United States enabled it to build the largest army in Africa.<ref name="Ramsbotham 222">{{cite book |author=Oliver Ramsbotham |author2=Tom Woodhouse |year=1999 |title=Encyclopedia of international peacekeeping operations |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofin0000rams |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofin0000rams/page/222 222] |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=0-87436-892-8}}</ref>[[File:Muhammad Siad Barre - 40866X9X9.jpg|thumb|Major General [[Mohamed Siad Barre]], Chairman of the [[Supreme Revolutionary Council (Somalia)|Supreme Revolutionary Council]], meeting with President of Romania [[Nicolae Ceauşescu]]]]A new constitution was promulgated in 1979 under which elections for a People's Assembly were held. However, Barre's Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party [[politburo]] continued to rule.<ref name="Grolierenc"/> In October 1980, the SRSP was disbanded, and the Supreme Revolutionary Council was reestablished in its place.<ref name="Pjdlfw"/> By that time, Barre's government had become increasingly unpopular. Many Somalis had become disillusioned with life under military dictatorship.

The regime was weakened further in the 1980s as the Cold War drew to a close and Somalia's strategic importance was diminished. The government became increasingly [[Authoritarianism|authoritarian]], and [[resistance movement]]s, encouraged by Ethiopia, sprang up across the country, eventually leading to the [[Somali Civil War]]. Among the militia groups were the [[Somali Salvation Democratic Front]] (SSDF), [[United Somali Congress]] (USC), [[Somali National Movement]] (SNM) and the [[Somali Patriotic Movement]] (SPM), together with the non-violent political oppositions of the [[Somali Democratic Movement]] (SDM), the [[Factions in the Somali Civil War#Somali Democratic Alliance (SDA)|Somali Democratic Alliance]] (SDA) and the Somali Manifesto Group (SMG).

==== Somali Civil War ====
{{Main|Somali Civil War|History of Somalia (1991–2006)|War in Somalia (2006–2009)|Somali Civil War (2009–present)|Isaaq genocide|Somaliland War of Independence}}

[[File:Somali Civil War (Google Live Map).svg|thumb|250px|
Approximate<!--Despite the accusations of breaking rules, this map was selected via an RfC on [[Talk:Somali Civil War]]. However, the RfC also concludes that if {{File:Somali Civil War Critical Threats.png}} ever gets an SVG variant, that should be used instead, So if you have the opportunity, please do that accordingly.--> map of the current phase of the [[Somali Civil War]] (Updated July 2025)
----'''{{flag|Somalia}}:'''
{{leftlegend|#ebc0b3|Under control of the [[Federal Government of Somalia]], the [[African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia]], and the [[United States]]}}
{{leftlegend|#f0bbf0|Under control of the [[Government of Puntland]]}}
{{leftlegend|#7bd67b|Under control of the [[Jubaland Dervish Force]] and the [[Raskamboni Movement]]}}
---- {{flagicon image|AQMI_Flag_asymmetric.svg}} '''[[Jihadist]] insurgent groups:'''
{{leftlegend|#b4b2ae|Under presence/control of [[al-Qaeda]]-backed [[Al-Shabaab (militant group)|al-Shabaab]] and [[Iran|allies]]}}
{{leftlegend|#808080|Under control of [[Islamic State]]-backed [[Somalia Wilayah]]}}
---- '''{{flag|Somaliland}}:'''
{{leftlegend|#e3d975|Under control of [[List of states with limited recognition|the self-declared state]] of [[Somaliland]]}}
----
(For a more detailed map of the current military situation, see [[Template:Somali Civil War detailed map|here]].)]]

As the [[moral authority]] of Barre's government was gradually eroded, many Somalis became disillusioned with life under military rule. By the mid-1980s, resistance movements supported by Ethiopia's communist [[Derg]] administration had sprung up across the country. Barre responded by ordering punitive measures against those he perceived as locally supporting the guerrillas, especially in the northern regions. The clampdown included bombing of cities, with the northwestern administrative centre of [[Hargeisa]], a [[Somali National Movement]] (SNM) stronghold, among the targeted areas in 1988.<ref name="Locsg">{{cite web|title=Somalia&nbsp;— Government|url=http://countrystudies.us/somalia/65.htm|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=15 February 2014|archive-date=4 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704043353/http://countrystudies.us/somalia/65.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/2013/10/22/state-sponsored-violence-and-conflict-under-mahamed-siyad-barre-the-emergence-of-path-dependent-patterns-of-violence/ |title=State-sponsored violence and conflict under Mahamed Siyad Barre: the emergence of path dependent patterns of violence |last1=Compagnon |first1=Daniel |date=22 October 2013 |publisher=[[World Peace Foundation]], [[The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy]] |access-date=7 October 2014 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002022805/https://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/2013/10/22/state-sponsored-violence-and-conflict-under-mahamed-siyad-barre-the-emergence-of-path-dependent-patterns-of-violence/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The clampdown initiated by [[Siad Barre|Barre]]'s government extended its reach beyond the initial bombings in the north to encompass various regions across the country. This reproduction of aggressive strategies aimed at stifling descent and retaining authority over the populace was a hallmark of the government's repressive actions in the South. One of the most notable instances occurred in 1991, when Barre's regime initiated a ruthless aerial assault that led to the deaths of numerous innocent individuals in the town of [[Beledweyne|Beledwene]], situated in southern Somalia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 November 1992 |title=Somalia: Information on the capture of the town of Belet Uen by the United Somali Congress (USC) at the end of 1990 or early 1991 and on persecution of Darod in Belet Uen by USC soldiers |url=https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20230604082615/https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acb654.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240424094459/https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20230604082615/https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acb654.html |website=webarchive.archive.unhcr.org |publisher=Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |access-date=11 April 2024 |archive-date=24 April 2024 }}</ref> The cruelty and magnitude of this atrocity highlighted the degree to which the government was prepared to go to quash any sort of opposition or resistance, displaying a blatant disregard for human rights and the worth of human life.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 January 1990 |title=Human Rights Watch World Report 1989 – Somalia |url=https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/hrw/1990/en/35330#:~:text=We%20urge%20the,from%20international%20largesse. |website=Refwolrd |publisher=Human Rights Watch |place=Somalia |publication-date=1 January 1990 |access-date=11 April 2024 |archive-date=24 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240424095942/https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/hrw/1990/en/35330#:~:text=We%20urge%20the,from%20international%20largesse. |url-status=live }}</ref>

Another notable instance of [[Siad Barre|Barre]]'s repressive policies occurred in the city of [[Baidoa]], which earned the nickname 'the city of death' due to the tragic events that unfolded there during the famine and [[Somali Civil War|civil war]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 Aug 2023 |title=One in four people in Somalia have now fled their homes |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/one-four-people-somalia-have-now-fled-their-homes#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20city%20of%20Baidoa%20earned,war%20in%20the%20early%201990s. |website=reliefweb |publisher=Islamic Relief |access-date=11 April 2024 |archive-date=11 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211093948/https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/one-four-people-somalia-have-now-fled-their-homes#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20city%20of%20Baidoa%20earned,war%20in%20the%20early%201990s. |url-status=live }}</ref> Hundreds of thousands of individuals lost their lives as a consequence of governmental strategies specifically aimed at the [[Rahanweyn]] community residing in these areas.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Yuusuf |first=Muuse |title=The Genesis of the Civil War in Somalia: The Impact of Foreign Military Intervention on the Conflict |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |year=2022 |isbn=9780755642410 |page=121}}</ref>

During 1990, in the capital city of Mogadishu, the residents were prohibited from gathering publicly in groups greater than three or four. Fuel shortages, inflation, and currency devaluation impacted the economy. A thriving black market existed in the centre of the city as banks experienced shortages of local currency for exchange. Harsh [[exchange control]] regulations were introduced to prevent export of foreign currency. Although no travel restrictions were placed on foreigners, photographing many locations was banned. During daytime in Mogadishu, the appearance of any government military force was extremely rare. Alleged late-night operations by government authorities, however, included "disappearances" of individuals from their homes.<ref>{{cite book |title=Focus on the Horn, Issues 7–9|year=1989|publisher=Horn of Africa Information Committee|page=37}}</ref>

In 1991, the Barre administration was ousted by a coalition of clan-based opposition groups, backed by Ethiopia's then-ruling [[Derg]] regime and [[Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya|Libya]].<ref>Columbia University, School of International Affairs, ''Journal of international affairs'', Vol. 40 (1986), p. 165.</ref> Following a meeting of the [[Somali National Movement]] and northern clans' elders, the northern former British portion of the country [[Somaliland Declaration of Independence|declared its independence]] as the [[Somaliland|Republic of Somaliland]] in May 1991. Although {{Lang|la|de facto}} independent and relatively stable compared to the tumultuous south, it was not recognised by any foreign government,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1367554.stm |title=Somaliland citizens ask to be recognized as a state |work=[[BBC News]] |date=4 June 2001 |access-date=25 February 2009 |archive-date=1 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201232830/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1367554.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1361394.stm |title=Somaliland votes for independence |work=[[BBC News]] |date=31 May 2001 |access-date=25 February 2009 |archive-date=9 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209234117/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1361394.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> until [[Israel–Somaliland relations|Israel recognised it]] in 2025.<ref name=":422">{{Cite news |last=Eichner |first=Itamar |date=26 December 2025 |title=Before addressing attack: Netanyahu announces official recognition of Republic of Somaliland |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/article/dxt2vjv0o |access-date=26 December 2025 |work=Ynetglobal |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Mogadishu.jpg|thumb|Prior to the civil war, Mogadishu was known as the "White pearl of the Indian Ocean".<ref>Al J. Venter (1975) ''Africa Today'', p. 152, {{ISBN|0-86954-023-8}}</ref>]]

Many of the opposition groups subsequently began competing for influence in the power vacuum that followed the ouster of Barre's regime. In the south, armed factions led by USC commanders General [[Mohamed Farah Aidid]] and [[Ali Mahdi Mohamed]], in particular, clashed as each sought to exert authority over the capital.<ref>Library Information and Research Service, ''The Middle East: Abstracts and index'', Vol. 2, (Library Information and Research Service: 1999), p. 327.</ref> In 1991, a multi-phased international conference on Somalia was held in neighbouring Djibouti.<ref name="Paul Fricska">{{cite web|last=Paul Fricska|first=Szilard|title=Harbinger of a New World Order? Humanitarian Intervention in Somalia|url=https://circle.ubc.ca/bitstream/handle/2429/5267/ubc_1994-0415.pdf?sequence=1|publisher=University of British Columbia|access-date=6 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316145832/https://circle.ubc.ca/bitstream/handle/2429/5267/ubc_1994-0415.pdf?sequence=1|archive-date=16 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Owing to the legitimacy bestowed on Muhammad by the Djibouti conference, he was subsequently recognised by the international community as the new President of Somalia.<ref name="Paul Fricska"/> He was not able to exert his authority beyond parts of the capital. Power was instead vied with other faction leaders in the southern half of Somalia and with autonomous sub-national entities in the north.<ref>{{cite news|title=Somalia: Some key actors in the transitional process|url=http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/0/cd80e675a2fba86a49256ff90029df0f?OpenDocument|date=6 May 2005|agency=[[The New Humanitarian|IRIN]]|access-date=7 February 2007|archive-date=27 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927193104/http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/0/cd80e675a2fba86a49256ff90029df0f?OpenDocument|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Djibouti conference was followed by two abortive agreements for national reconciliation and disarmament, which were signed by 15 political stakeholders: an agreement to hold an Informal Preparatory Meeting on National Reconciliation, and the 1993 Addis Ababa Agreement made at the Conference on National Reconciliation.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}

In the early 1990s, due to the protracted lack of a permanent central authority, Somalia began to be characterised as a "[[failed state]]."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/12/14/the-most-failed-state|title=The Most Failed State|magazine=The New Yorker|first=Jon Lee|last=Anderson|date=14 December 2009|access-date=19 May 2015|archive-date=27 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227203612/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/12/14/the-most-failed-state|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/somalia-a-failed-state-is-back-from-the-dead-8449310.html?printService=print|title=Somalia: A failed state is back from the dead|work=The Independent|first=James|last=Fergusson|date=13 January 2013|access-date=2 May 2015|archive-date=12 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171112131834/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/somalia-a-failed-state-is-back-from-the-dead-8449310.html?printService=print|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/10/opinion/yes-there-is-a-reason-to-be-in-somalia.html |title=Yes, There Is a Reason to Be in Somalia |first=Madeleine K. |last=Albright |work=The New York Times |date=10 August 1993 |access-date=22 May 2015 |archive-date=23 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523121239/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/10/opinion/yes-there-is-a-reason-to-be-in-somalia.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Transitional institutions ===
{{Main|Transitional National Government|Transitional Federal Institutions|Transitional Federal Government|Transitional Federal Parliament}}

[[File:Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed (28-03-2006).jpg|thumb|[[Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed]], president of the transitional government of Somalia]]

The Transitional National Government (TNG) was established in April–May 2000 at the Somalia National Peace Conference (SNPC) held in Arta, Djibouti. [[Abdiqasim Salad Hassan]] was selected as the President of the nation's new Transitional National Government (TNG), an interim administration formed to guide Somalia to its third permanent republican government.<ref name="Cfbsom">{{cite web|title=Somalia|work=The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|location=Langley, Virginia|year=2014|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/somalia/|access-date=8 April 2014|archive-date=1 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701070127/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/so.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
The TNG's internal problems led to the replacement of the Prime Minister four times in three years, and the administrative body's reported bankruptcy in December 2003. Its mandate ended at the same time.<ref name="TNG-PRIME-MINISTER-CONCLUDES-FORMATION-OF-CABINET">{{cite web|title=TNG Prime Minister Concludes Formation of Cabinet |url=http://www.banadir.com/cabinet.shtml |date=2003-12-31 |access-date=2014-04-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040921233018/http://www.banadir.com/cabinet.shtml |archive-date=21 September 2004 }}</ref>

On 10 October 2004, legislators elected [[Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed]] as the first President of the [[Transitional Federal Government]] (TFG), the Transitional National Government's successor.<ref name="Spmoarc">{{Cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/13/content_2213479.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041121085231/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/13/content_2213479.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 November 2004|title=:: Xinhuanet – English}}</ref> The TFG was the second interim administration aiming to restore national institutions to Somalia after the 1991 collapse of the Siad Barre regime and the ensuing civil war.<ref name="fctbk">{{cite web|title=Somalia|work=The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|location=Langley, Virginia|year=2014|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/somalia/|access-date=5 October 2011|archive-date=1 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701070127/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/so.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was the internationally recognised government of Somalia until 20 August 2012, when its tenure officially ended.<ref name="Fcacsunesinpshm2">{{cite news |date=21 August 2012 |title=Somalia: UN Envoy Says Inauguration of New Parliament in Somalia 'Historic Moment' |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201208220474.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014234626/http://allafrica.com/stories/201208220474.html |archive-date=14 October 2012 |access-date=24 August 2012 |newspaper=Forum on China-Africa Cooperation}}</ref> It was established as one of the [[Transitional Federal Institutions]] (TFIs) of government as defined in the [[Transitional Federal Charter]] (TFC) adopted in November 2004 by the [[Transitional Federal Parliament]] (TFP). The Transitional Federal Government officially comprised the [[Executive (government)|executive]] branch of government, with the TFP serving as the [[Legislature|legislative]] branch. The government was headed by the [[President of Somalia]], to whom the [[Cabinet (government)|cabinet]] reported through the [[Prime Minister of Somalia|Prime Minister]]. However, it was also used as a general term to refer to all three branches collectively.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}

=== Islamic Courts Union ===
{{See also|Islamic Courts Union}}

[[File:Icu somalia map.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Map showing the ICU at the peak of its influence]]

In 2006, the [[Islamic Courts Union]] (ICU) assumed control of much of the southern part of the country for 6 months and imposed [[Shari'a]] law. Top UN officials have referred to this brief period as a 'Golden era' in the history of Somali politics.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Somalia Mourns a 'Golden Era' as Crisis Worsens {{!}} Africa Faith and Justice Network|url=https://afjn.org/somalia-mourns-a-golden-era-as-crisis-worsens/|access-date=2021-09-04|website=afjn.org|date=11 December 2007|archive-date=4 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904122208/https://afjn.org/somalia-mourns-a-golden-era-as-crisis-worsens/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Gettleman|first=Jeffrey|date=2007-11-20|title=As Somali Crisis Swells, Experts See a Void in Aid|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/20/world/africa/20somalia.html|access-date=2021-09-04|archive-date=4 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904113438/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/20/world/africa/20somalia.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Transitional Federal Government ===
{{See also|Somalia War (2006–2009)|Battle of Mogadishu (2006)}}

The Transitional Federal Government sought to reestablish its authority, and, with the assistance of [[Ethiopian National Defense Force|Ethiopian troops]], [[African Union]] peacekeepers and air support by the United States, drove out the ICU and solidified its rule.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/153/26334.html |title=Ethiopian Invasion of Somalia |publisher=Globalpolicy.org |date=14 August 2007 |access-date=27 June 2010 |archive-date=10 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090910145231/http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/153/26334.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On 8 January 2007, TFG President [[Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed]] entered Mogadishu with the Ethiopian military support for the first time since being elected to office. The government then relocated to [[Villa Somalia]] in the capital from its interim location in [[Baidoa]]. This marked the first time since the fall of the Siad Barre regime in 1991 that the federal government controlled most of the country.<ref name="Gosppsdott">{{cite web|url=http://www.garoweonline.com/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=558:somalia-president-parliament-speaker-dispute-over-tfg-term&catid=55:somalia&Itemid=79|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514131640/http://www.garoweonline.com/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=558%3Asomalia-president-parliament-speaker-dispute-over-tfg-term&catid=55%3Asomalia&Itemid=79|archive-date=14 May 2011|title=Somalia President, Parliament Speaker dispute over TFG term|publisher=Garoweonline.com|date=12 January 2011|access-date=12 June 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Al-Shabaab insurgency ===
{{See also|Al-Shabaab (militant group)|Islamic Emirate of Somalia}}
[[Al-Shabaab (Somalia)|Al-Shabaab]] opposed the Ethiopian military's presence in Somalia and continued an insurgency against the TFG. Throughout 2007 and 2008, Al-Shabaab scored military victories, seizing control of key towns and ports in both central and southern Somalia. By January 2009, Al-Shabaab and other militias had forced the Ethiopian troops to retreat, leaving behind an under-equipped African Union peacekeeping force to assist the Transitional Federal Government's troops.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,USCIRF,,,4a4f272bc,0.html |title=USCIRF Annual Report 2009 – The Commission's Watch List: Somalia |date=1 May 2009 |access-date=27 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510005900/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher%2CUSCIRF%2C%2C%2C4a4f272bc%2C0.html |archive-date=10 May 2011}}</ref>

Owing to a lack of funding and human resources, an [[arms embargo]] that made it difficult to reestablish a national security force, and general indifference on the part of the international community, Yusuf found himself obliged to deploy thousands of troops from Puntland to Mogadishu to sustain the battle against insurgent elements in the southern part of the country. Financial support for this effort was provided by the autonomous region's government. This left little revenue for Puntland's own security forces and civil service employees, leaving the territory vulnerable to piracy and terrorist attacks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Somalia_27/Somalia_Guide_to_Puntland_Election_2009_printer.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928150305/http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Somalia_27/Somalia_Guide_to_Puntland_Election_2009_printer.shtml|archive-date=28 September 2013 |title=Somalia: Guide to Puntland Election 2009 |publisher=Garoweonline.com |date=25 December 2008 |access-date=12 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2005/ga10386.html |title=Opening Annual General Assembly Debate, Secretary-General Urges Member States to Press in Tackling Poverty, Terrorism, Human Rights Abuses, Conflicts |publisher=Unis.unvienna.org |access-date=12 June 2011 |archive-date=27 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727220517/http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2005/ga10386.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 29 December 2008, Yusuf announced before a united parliament in Baidoa his resignation as President of Somalia. In his speech, which was broadcast on national radio, Yusuf expressed regret at failing to end the country's seventeen-year conflict as his government had been mandated to do.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7802622.stm "Somalia's president quits office"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113170135/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7802622.stm |date=13 November 2017 }}, [[BBC News]], 29 December 2008.</ref> He also blamed the international community for their failure to support the government, and said that the speaker of parliament would succeed him in office per the [[Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic|Charter of the Transitional Federal Government]].<ref>[https://www.ft.com/content/a790e984-d590-11dd-a9cc-000077b07658 "Somali President Yusuf resigns"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081231092213/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a790e984-d590-11dd-a9cc-000077b07658.html |date=31 December 2008 }}, Reuters (FT.com), 29 December 2008.</ref>

=== End of transitional period ===
{{See also|Hizbul Islam|Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a|Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia|Somali Civil War (2009–present)|2009 timeline of the Somali Civil War}}

Between 31 May and 9 June 2008, representatives of Somalia's federal government and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) participated in peace talks in Djibouti brokered by the former United Nations Special Envoy to Somalia, [[Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah]]. The conference ended with a signed agreement calling for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops in exchange for the cessation of armed confrontation. Parliament was subsequently expanded to 550 seats to accommodate ARS members, which then elected [[Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed]], as president.<ref name="factbook"/>
With the help of a small team of African Union troops, the TFG began a [[Somali Civil War (2009–present)|counteroffensive]] in February 2009 to assume full control of the southern half of the country. To solidify its rule, the TFG formed an alliance with the Islamic Courts Union, other members of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia, and [[Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a]], a moderate [[Sufism|Sufi]] militia.<ref>{{cite web |author=Kamaal |url=http://horseedmedia.net/2010/05/22/un-boss-urges-support-for-somalia-ahead-of-istanbul-summit/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928234017/http://horseedmedia.net/2010/05/22/un-boss-urges-support-for-somalia-ahead-of-istanbul-summit/ |archive-date=28 September 2013 |title=UN boss urges support for Somalia ahead of Istanbul summit |work=Horseed Media |publisher=Horseedmedia.net |date=22 May 2010 |access-date=27 June 2010}}</ref> Furthermore, Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam, the two main Islamist groups in opposition, began to fight amongst themselves in mid-2009.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8318798.stm |title=Islamists break Somali port truce |work=[[BBC News]] |date=21 October 2009 |access-date=27 June 2010 |archive-date=26 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026052416/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8318798.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> As a truce, in March 2009, the TFG announced that it would reimplement Shari'a as the nation's official judicial system.<ref>[http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=119757&d=1&m=3&y=2009 Shariah in Somalia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727054245/http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=119757&d=1&m=3&y=2009 |date=27 July 2020 }} – ''[[Arab News]]''</ref> However, conflict continued in the southern and central parts of the country. Within months, the TFG had gone from holding about 70% of south-central Somalia's conflict zones, to losing control of over 80% of the disputed territory to the Islamist insurgents.<ref name="Gosppsdott" />

In October 2011, a coordinated operation, [[Operation Linda Nchi]] between the Somali and Kenyan militaries and multinational forces began against the Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia.<ref>{{cite web|title=Joint Communique&nbsp;– Operation Linda Nchi |url=http://kenyahighcomtz.org/?action=event-read-more.html&id=1 |archive-date=16 August 2012 |publisher=Kenya High Commission, Tanzania |access-date=25 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816100759/http://www.kenyahighcomtz.org/?action=event-read-more.html&id=1 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/africa/horn-of-africa/kenya/184%20-%20The%20Kenyan%20Military%20Intervention%20in%20Somalia.pdf|title=The Kenyan Military Intervention in Somalia|publisher=International Crisis Group|date=15 February 2012|access-date=10 June 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923225142/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/africa/horn-of-africa/kenya/184%20-%20The%20Kenyan%20Military%20Intervention%20in%20Somalia.pdf|archive-date=23 September 2015}}</ref> By September 2012, Somali, Kenyan, and [[Raskamboni movement|Raskamboni]] forces had managed to capture Al-Shabaab's last major stronghold, the southern port of Kismayo.<ref>{{cite news|author=Clar Ni Chonghaile|title=Kenyan troops launch beach assault on Somali city of Kismayo|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/28/kenyan-soldiers-capture-kismayo-somalia|access-date=28 September 2012|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=28 September 2012|archive-date=29 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929045744/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/28/kenyan-soldiers-capture-kismayo-somalia|url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2012, three European Union operations were launched to engage with Somalia: [[European Union Training Mission Somalia|EUTM Somalia]], EU Naval Force Somalia [[Operation Atalanta]] off the Horn of Africa, and EUCAP Nestor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalgovernance.eu/index.php/p-s-publications/246-new-analysis-the-somali-crisis-and-the-eu-3.html |title=Analysis of EUCAP Nestor by the Global Governance Institute |publisher=Global Governance Institute |date=26 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402205646/http://www.globalgovernance.eu/index.php/p-s-publications/246-new-analysis-the-somali-crisis-and-the-eu-3.html |archive-date=2 April 2013}}</ref>
[[File:Parlament of Somalia 2012-2016.svg|thumb|left|Structure of the [[Federal Parliament of Somalia]]]]
As part of the official "Roadmap for the End of Transition", a political process that provided clear benchmarks leading toward the formation of permanent democratic institutions in Somalia, the Transitional Federal Government's interim mandate ended on 20 August 2012.<ref name="Aasratdocwau2">{{cite news |author=Muddassar Ahmed |date=8 August 2012 |title=Somalia rising after two decades of civil war and unrest |url=http://english.alarabiya.net/views/2012/08/08/231008.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20120810180135/http://english.alarabiya.net/views/2012/08/08/231008.html |archive-date=10 August 2012 |access-date=9 August 2012 |publisher=Al Arabiya}}</ref> The [[Federal Parliament of Somalia]] was concurrently inaugurated.<ref name="Fcacsunesinpshm2"/>

=== Federal government ===
The [[Federal Government of Somalia]], the first permanent central government in the country since the start of the civil war, was established in August 2012. In August 2014, the Somali government-led [[Operation Indian Ocean]] was launched against insurgent-held pockets in the countryside.<ref>{{cite news|title=SOMALIA: President says Godane is dead, now is the chance for the members of al-Shabaab to embrace peace|url=http://www.raxanreeb.com/2014/09/somalia-president-says-godane-is-dead-now-is-the-chance-for-the-members-of-al-shabaab-to-embrace-peace/|access-date=6 September 2014|agency=Raxanreeb|date=5 September 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906202740/http://www.raxanreeb.com/2014/09/somalia-president-says-godane-is-dead-now-is-the-chance-for-the-members-of-al-shabaab-to-embrace-peace/|archive-date=6 September 2014}}</ref>

=== 2021–2023 drought ===
The [[2021–2023 Somali drought]] was Somalia's most severe drought in 40 years, and affected 7.8 million people.<ref>{{cite web |title=Partnerships and Data Sharing Enhance Delivery of Somalia Drought Relief |url=https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/africacan/partnerships-and-data-sharing-enhance-delivery-of-somalia-drought-relief-afe-0624 |publisher=World Bank |date=2024-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250207000848/https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/africacan/partnerships-and-data-sharing-enhance-delivery-of-somalia-drought-relief-afe-0624 |archive-date=February 7, 2025}}</ref>

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of Somalia}}

Somalia borders [[Djibouti]] to the northwest, [[Ethiopia]] to the west, the [[Gulf of Aden]] to the north, the Somali Sea and [[Guardafui Channel]] to the east, and [[Kenya]] to the southwest. With a land area of 637,657 square kilometers, Somalia's terrain consists mainly of [[plateau]]s, [[plain]]s and [[highland]]s.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/so.html |title=Somalia |access-date=2009-05-31 |date=2009-05-14 |work=[[World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |archive-date=1 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701194614/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/so.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Coastline of Somalia|Its coastline]] is more than 3,333 kilometers in length, the longest of mainland Africa.<ref name="FactbookCoastline2">{{cite web |title=Coastline |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2060.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716042040/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2060.html |archive-date=16 July 2017 |access-date=3 August 2013 |work=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]}}</ref> It has been described as being roughly shaped "like a tilted number seven".<ref>Ganzglass, Martin R. "The Somali Refugees-Africa's Open Wound Refuses to Heal." ''Hum. Rts.'' 8 (1979): 28.</ref>

In the far north, the rugged east–west ranges of the [[Ogo Mountains]] lie at varying distances from the Gulf of Aden coast. Hot conditions prevail year-round, along with periodic [[monsoon]] winds and irregular rainfall.<ref name="ClimateSom">{{cite news |url=http://countrystudies.us/somalia/34.htm |publisher=countrystudies.us |title=Somalia – Climate |date=14 May 2009 |access-date=14 May 2009 |archive-date=5 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805023147/http://countrystudies.us/somalia/34.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Geology suggests the presence of valuable mineral deposits. Somalia is separated from [[Seychelles]] by the Somali Sea and is separated from [[Socotra]] by the [[Guardafui Channel]].

=== Location ===
[[File:Somalia (orthographic projection)2.png|thumb|Orthographic projection of Somalia]]
Somalia is bordered by Kenya to the southwest, the [[Gulf of Aden]] to the north, the [[Guardafui Channel]] and Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west. The country borders [[Djibouti]]. It lies between latitudes [[2nd parallel south|2°S]] and [[12th parallel north|12°N]], and longitudes [[41st meridian east|41°]] and [[52nd meridian east|52°E]]. Strategically located at the mouth of the [[Bab el Mandeb]] gateway to the [[Red Sea]] and the [[Suez Canal]], the country occupies the tip of a region that, due to its resemblance on the map to a [[rhinoceros]]' horn, is commonly referred to as the Horn of Africa.<ref name="factbook"/><ref name="Hadden">Hadden, Robert Lee. 2007. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090327102547/http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA464006 "The Geology of Somalia: A Selected Bibliography of Somalian Geology, Geography and Earth Science"]. Engineer Research and Development Laboratories, Topographic Engineering Center</ref>

=== Waters ===
{{Main|Islands of Somalia}}

Somalia has the longest coastline on the mainland of Africa,<ref>International Traffic Network, ''The world trade in sharks: a compendium of Traffic's regional studies'', (Traffic International: 1996), p. 25.</ref> with a seaboard that stretches {{convert|3,333|km|mi}}. Its terrain consists mainly of [[plateau]]s, [[plain]]s and [[highland]]s. The nation has a total area of {{convert|637,657|km2|sqmi}} of which constitutes land, with {{convert|10,320|km2|sqmi}} of water. Somalia's land boundaries extend to about {{convert|2340|km|mi}}; {{convert|58|km|mi}} of that is shared with Djibouti, {{convert|682|km|mi}} with Kenya, and {{convert|1626|km|mi}} with Ethiopia. Its maritime claims include [[territorial waters]] of {{convert|200|nmi|km mi}}.<ref name="factbook"/>

Somalia has several islands and archipelagos on its coast, including the [[Bajuni Islands]] and the [[Saad ad-Din Islands|Saad ad-Din Archipelago]]: see [[islands of Somalia]].
[[File:Juba river downstream Jamaame.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Jubba River]]]]

=== Habitat ===
Somalia contains seven terrestrial ecoregions: [[Ethiopian montane forests]], [[Northern Zanzibar–Inhambane coastal forest mosaic]], [[Somali Acacia–Commiphora bushlands and thickets]], [[Ethiopian xeric grasslands and shrublands]], [[Hobyo grasslands and shrublands]], [[Somali montane xeric woodlands]], and [[East African mangroves]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant |last10=Noss |first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C. |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen |last20=Sechrest |first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E. M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=David |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya |last30=Potapov|first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=de Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar |first39=Shahina A. |last40=Timberlake |first40=Jonathan |last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz |last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad |display-authors=1 |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |year=2017 |pages=534–545 |issn=0006-3568 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |pmid=28608869 |pmc=5451287 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In the north, a scrub-covered, semi-desert plain referred as the ''[[Guban]]'' lies parallel to the Gulf of Aden [[littoral zone|littoral]]. With a width of twelve kilometres in the west to as little as two kilometres in the east, the plain is bisected by watercourses that are essentially beds of dry sand except during the rainy seasons. When the rains arrive, the Guban's low bushes and grass clumps transform into lush vegetation.<ref name="Hadden"/> This coastal strip is part of the [[Ethiopian xeric grasslands and shrublands]] [[ecoregion]].

[[Cal Madow]] is a [[mountain range]] in the northeastern part of the country. Extending from several kilometres west of the city of [[Bosaso]] to the northwest of [[Erigavo]], it features Somalia's highest [[Summit (topography)|peak]], [[Shimbiris]], which sits at an elevation of about {{convert|2,416|m|ft}}.<ref name="factbook"/> The rugged east–west ranges of the Karkaar Mountains also lie to the interior of the Gulf of Aden littoral.<ref name="Hadden"/> In the central regions, the country's northern mountain ranges give way to shallow plateaus and typically dry watercourses that are referred to locally as the ''Ogo''. The Ogo's western plateau, in turn, gradually merges into the [[Haud]], an important grazing area for livestock.<ref name="Hadden"/>

Somalia has only two permanent rivers, the [[Jubba River|Jubba]] and [[Shebelle River|Shabele]], both of which begin in the [[Ethiopian Highlands]]. These rivers mainly flow southwards, with the Jubba River entering the Indian Ocean at [[Kismayo]]. The Shabele River at one time apparently used to enter the sea near [[Merca]], but now reaches a point just southwest of Mogadishu. After that, it consists of swamps and dry reaches before finally disappearing in the desert terrain east of [[Jilib]], near the Jubba River.<ref name="Hadden"/>

=== Environment ===
[[File:Somcoralreef.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Somalia's [[coral reef]]s, ecological parks and protected areas]]
Somalia is a [[Semi-arid climate|semi-arid]] country with about 1.6% [[arable land]].<ref name="factbook"/> The first local environmental organisations were Ecoterra Somalia and the Somali Ecological Society, both of which helped promote awareness about ecological concerns and mobilised environmental programs in all governmental sectors as well as in civil society. From 1971 onward, a massive tree-planting campaign on a nationwide scale was introduced by the Siad Barre government to halt the advance of thousands of acres of wind-driven [[sand dune]]s that threatened to engulf towns, roads and farm land.<ref>''National Geographic'', Vol. 159, National Geographic Society, 1981, p. 765.</ref> By 1988, 265 hectares of a projected 336 hectares had been treated, with 39 range reserve sites and 36 forestry plantation sites established.<ref name="Hadden"/> In 1986, the Wildlife Rescue, Research and Monitoring Centre was established by Ecoterra International, with the goal of sensitising the public to ecological issues. This educational effort led in 1989 to the so-called "Somalia proposal" and a decision by the Somali government to adhere to the [[CITES|Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora]] (CITES), which established for the first time a worldwide ban on the trade of elephant [[ivory]].

[[File:Aerial views of Kismayo 06 (8071381265).jpg|thumb|left|The coast south of Mogadishu]]<!-- one beach file -->
Later, [[Fatima Jibrell]], a prominent Somali environmental activist, mounted a successful campaign to conserve old-growth forests of [[acacia]] trees in the northeastern part of Somalia.<ref name="Gilbert"/> These trees, which can live for 500 years, were being cut down to make charcoal which was highly in demand in the Arabian Peninsula, where the region's [[Bedouin]] tribes believe the acacia to be sacred.<ref name="Gilbert">Geoffrey Gilbert (2004) ''World poverty'', ABC-CLIO, p. 111, {{ISBN|1-85109-552-7}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hornrelief.org/goldman-prize-2002.htm |title=Goldman Prize |publisher=Horn Relief |date=22 April 2002 |access-date=27 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712071037/http://www.hornrelief.org/goldman-prize-2002.htm |archive-date=12 July 2010}}</ref><ref name="IWD">{{cite web |url=http://www.unep.org/women_env/w_details.asp?w_id=397 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214204154/http://www.unep.org/women_env/w_details.asp?w_id=397 |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 February 2007 |title=International Women's Day – 8 March 2006 – Fatima Jibrell |publisher=Unep.org |date=8 March 2006 |access-date=27 June 2010 }}</ref> Being a relatively inexpensive fuel, the production of charcoal often leads to [[deforestation]] and [[desertification]].<ref name="IWD"/> As a way of addressing this problem, Jibrell and the Horn of Africa Relief and Development Organization (Horn Relief; now [[Adeso]]), an organisation of which she was the founder and executive director, trained a group of teens to educate the public on the permanent damage that producing charcoal can create. In 1999, Horn Relief coordinated a peace march in the northeastern Puntland region of Somalia to put an end to the so-called "charcoal wars". As a result of Jibrell's lobbying and education efforts, the Puntland government in 2000 prohibited the exportation of charcoal. The government has also since enforced the ban, which has reportedly led to an 80% drop in exports of the product.<ref name="Goldman">{{cite web |title=Fatima Jibrell |publisher=Goldman Environmental Prize |url=http://www.goldmanprize.org/node/113 |access-date=27 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511161616/http://www.goldmanprize.org/node/113 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Jibrell was awarded the [[Goldman Environmental Prize]] in 2002 for her efforts against environmental degradation and desertification.<ref name="Goldman" /> In 2008, she also won the [[National Geographic Society]]/[[Buffett Foundation]] Award for Leadership in Conservation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Conservation Heroes Honored by National Geographic, Buffett Foundation |work=National Geographic |date=11 December 2008 |url=http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2008/12/conservation-heroes.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912034421/http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2008/12/conservation-heroes.html |archive-date=12 September 2009 |access-date=27 June 2010}}</ref>

Following the massive [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake|tsunami of December 2004]], there have also emerged allegations that after the outbreak of the [[Somali Civil War]] in the late 1980s, Somalia's long, remote shoreline was used as a dump site for the disposal of toxic waste. The huge waves that battered northern Somalia after the tsunami are believed to have stirred up tons of nuclear and toxic waste that might have been dumped illegally in the country by foreign firms.<ref name="Toxic">{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article418665.ece |title=Somalia's secret dumps of toxic waste washed ashore by tsunami |work=The Times |date=4 March 2005 |access-date=25 February 2009 |location=London |author=Jonathan Clayton |archive-date=10 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810033244/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article418665.ece |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[European Green Party]] followed up these revelations by presenting before the press and the [[European Parliament]] in [[Strasbourg]] copies of contracts signed by two European companies — the Italian Swiss firm, Achair Partners, and an Italian [[waste broker]], Progresso — and representatives of the then President of Somalia, the faction leader Ali Mahdi Mohamed, to accept 10 million tonnes of toxic waste in exchange for $80 million (then about £60 million).<ref name="Toxic"/>

According to reports by the [[United Nations Environment Programme]] (UNEP), the waste has resulted in far higher than normal cases of respiratory infections, mouth ulcers and bleeding, abdominal haemorrhages and unusual skin infections among many inhabitants of the areas around the northeastern towns of [[Hobyo]] and [[Benadir]] on the Indian Ocean coast — diseases consistent with radiation sickness. UNEP adds that the situation along the Somali coastline poses a very serious environmental hazard not only in Somalia, but also in the eastern Africa sub-region.<ref name="Toxic"/>

This dumping of toxic waste was one factor in the emergence of [[Piracy off the coast of Somalia]].

=== Climate ===
{{See also|Climate change in Somalia}}
[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map v2 SOM 1991–2020.svg|thumb|300x300px|Köppen–Geiger climate classification map at 1-km resolution for Somalia 1991–2020]]
Owing to Somalia's proximity to the [[equator]], there is not much seasonal variation in its climate. Hot conditions prevail year-round along with periodic [[monsoon]] winds and irregular rainfall. Mean daily maximum temperatures range from {{convert|30|to|40|C|F}}, except at higher elevations along the eastern seaboard, where the effects of a cold offshore current can be felt. In Mogadishu, for instance, average afternoon highs range from {{convert|28|to|32|°C|°F|abbr=on}} in April. Some of the highest mean annual temperatures in the world have been recorded in the country; [[Berbera]] on the northwestern coast has an afternoon high that averages more than {{convert|38|°C|°F|abbr=on}} from June through September. Nationally, mean daily minimums usually vary from about {{convert|15|to|30|C|F}}.<ref name="Hadden"/> The greatest range in climate occurs in northern Somalia, where temperatures sometimes surpass {{convert|45|°C|°F|abbr=on}} in July on the littoral plains and drop below the freezing point during December in the highlands.<ref name="ClimateSom"/><ref name="Hadden"/> In this region, relative humidity ranges from about 40% in the mid-afternoon to 85% at night, changing somewhat according to the season.<ref name="Hadden"/> Unlike the climates of most other countries at this latitude, conditions in Somalia range from arid in the northeastern and central regions to [[Semi-arid climate|semiarid]] in the northwest and south. In the northeast, annual rainfall is less than {{convert|4|in|mm|order=flip|abbr=on}}; in the central plateaus, it is about {{convert|8|to|12|in|mm|order=flip|abbr=on}}. The northwestern and southwestern parts of the nation, however, receive considerably more rain, with an average of {{convert|20|to|24|in|mm|order=flip|abbr=on}} falling per year. Although the coastal regions are hot and humid throughout the year, the hinterland is typically dry and hot.<ref name="Hadden"/>

{{anchor| seasons}}
There are four main seasons around which pastoral and agricultural life revolve, and these are dictated by shifts in the wind patterns. From December to March is the ''Jilal'', the harshest dry season of the year. The main rainy season, referred to as the ''Gu'', lasts from April to June. This period is characterised by the southwest monsoons, which rejuvenate the pasture land, especially the central plateau, and briefly transform the desert into lush vegetation. From July to September is the second dry season, the ''Xagaa'' (pronounced "Hagaa"). The ''Dayr'', which is the shortest rainy season, lasts from October to December.<ref name="Hadden"/> The ''tangambili'' periods that intervene between the two monsoons (October–November and March–May) are hot and humid.<ref name="Hadden"/>

=== Wildlife ===
{{Main|Wildlife of Somalia}}

[[File:Sambalaxx.jpg|thumb|left|A camel in the northern mountains]]
Somalia contains a variety of mammals due to its geographical and climatic diversity. Wildlife still occurring includes [[cheetah]], [[lion]], [[reticulated giraffe]], [[baboon]], [[serval]], [[African bush elephant|elephant]], [[bushpig]], [[gazelle]], [[ibex]], [[kudu]], [[dik-dik]], [[oribi]], [[Somali wild ass]], [[reedbuck]] and [[Grévy's zebra]], [[elephant shrew]], [[rock hyrax]], [[golden mole]] and [[antelope]]. It also has a large population of the [[dromedary camel]].<ref name=mukasa81>{{cite book | publisher = International Livestock Centre for Africa | volume = 5 | last = Mukasa-Mugerwa | first = E. | title = The Camel (Camelus Dromedarius): A Bibliographical Review | location = Ethiopia | series = International Livestock Centre for Africa Monograph | year = 1981 |pages=1, 3, 20–21, 65, 67–68}}</ref>

Somalia is home to around 727 species of birds. Of these, eight are endemic, one has been introduced by humans, and one is rare or accidental. Fourteen species are globally threatened. Birds species found exclusively in the country include the [[Somali pigeon]]; ''[[Alaemon hamertoni]]'' (Alaudidae), Lesser Hoopoe-Lark; ''[[Heteromirafra archeri]]'' (Alaudidae), Archer's Lark; ''[[Mirafra ashi]]'', Ash's Bushlark; ''[[Mirafra somalica]]'' (Alaudidae), Somali Bushlark; ''[[Spizocorys obbiensis]]'' (Alaudidae), Obbia Lark; ''[[Carduelis johannis]]'' (Fringillidae); and Warsangli Linnet.<ref>Dickinson, E.C. (Ed.)(2003) ''The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World''. Revised and enlarged 3rd ed., Princeton University Press, Princeton.</ref><!-- exclusive avian species -->

Somalia's territorial waters are prime fishing grounds for highly migratory marine species, such as tuna. A narrow but productive continental shelf contains several [[demersal]] fish and [[crustacean]] species.<ref>FishBase 2004: a global information system on fishes. DVD. WorldFish Center – Philippine Office, Los Banos, Philippines. Published in May 2004</ref> Fish species found exclusively in the nation include ''Cirrhitichthys randalli'' ([[Cirrhitidae]]), ''Symphurus fuscus'' ([[Cynoglossidae]]), ''Parapercis simulata'' OC ([[Pinguipedidae]]), ''Cociella somaliensis'' OC ([[Platycephalidae]]), and ''Pseudochromis melanotus'' ([[Pseudochromidae]]).

There are roughly 235 species of reptiles. Of these, almost half live in the northern areas. Reptiles endemic to Somalia include the Hughes' [[saw-scaled viper]], the Southern Somali garter snake, a racer (''Platyceps messanai''), a diadem snake (''Spalerosophis josephscorteccii''), the Somali [[sand boa]], the [[angled worm lizard]], a spiny-tailed lizard (''Uromastyx macfadyeni''), Lanza's agama, a gecko (''Hemidactylus granchii''), the Somali semaphore [[gecko]], and a sand lizard ([[Mesalina]] or [[Eremias]]). A colubrid snake (''Aprosdoketophis andreonei'') and Haacke-Greer's skink (''Haackgreerius miopus'') are endemic species.<ref>{{cite web |editor-last1=Uetz |editor-first1=P. |editor-first2=Jirí |editor-last2=Hošek |website=The Reptile Database |title=Quick Search |url=http://www.reptile-database.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102083427/http://reptile-database.org/ |archive-date=2 November 2015 |access-date=8 December 2013}}</ref>

== Politics and government ==
{{Main|Politics of Somalia}}
<!-- legislative leadership - executive leadership below -->{{Multiple image
| direction         = horizontal
| total_width       = 350
| image1            = Hassan Sheikh Mohamud-ldn2.jpg
| caption1          = [[Hassan Sheikh Mohamud]]<br /><small>[[President of Somalia|President]] since 2022</small>
| image2            = AU delegation meets Somalia Prime Minister to discuss support and collaboration (cropped).jpg
| caption2          = [[Hamza Abdi Barre]]<br /><small>[[Prime Minister of Somalia|Prime Minister]] since 2022</small>
}}
Somalia is a [[parliamentary]] [[representative democracy|representative democratic]] [[republic]]. The [[president of Somalia]] is the [[head of state]] and [[commander-in-chief]] of the [[Somali Armed Forces]] and selects the [[Prime Minister of Somalia|prime minister]] to lead as [[head of government]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Somalia|work=The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|location=Langley, Virginia|year=2014|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/somalia/|access-date=8 April 2015|archive-date=1 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701070127/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/so.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Federal Parliament of Somalia]] is the national parliament of Somalia. The bicameral National Legislature consists of the House of the People (lower house) and the [[Somalian Senate|Senate]] (upper house), whose members are elected to serve four-year terms. The parliament elects the President, Speaker of Parliament and Deputy Speakers. It also has the authority to pass and veto laws.<ref name="Ajssihnp">{{cite news|title=Somalia swears in historic new parliament|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/08/2012818183718864689.html|access-date=21 August 2012|newspaper=Al Jazeera|date=20 August 2012|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801112655/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/08/2012818183718864689.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Adan Mohamed Nuur.jpg|thumb|165px|[[Aden Madobe]],                                                      [[Speaker of the House of the People of Somalia| Speaker of Parliament]]
]]
The [[Judiciary of Somalia]] is defined by the [[Constitution of Somalia|Provisional Constitution]] of the Federal Republic of Somalia. Adopted on 1 August 2012 by a National Constitutional Assembly in Mogadishu,<ref>{{cite news |author=Mary Harper |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19075685 |title=Somali leaders back new constitution |work=[[BBC News]] |date=1 August 2012 |access-date=18 September 2012 |archive-date=11 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011154026/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19075685/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=President's inauguration marks 'new era' for Somalia, says UN envoy|date=16 September 2012|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42900&Cr=Somali&Cr1=|publisher=UN News Centre|access-date=17 September 2012|archive-date=11 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011154030/https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42900&Cr=Somali&Cr1=%2F|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Somalia: Somali Leaders Adopt Draft Constitution |url=http://gulfnews.com/news/region/somalia/somali-leaders-adopt-draft-constitution-1.1039429 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120624013903/http://gulfnews.com/news/region/somalia/somali-leaders-adopt-draft-constitution-1.1039429 |archive-date=24 June 2012 |access-date=23 June 2012 |publisher=ANP/AFP}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=1 August 2012 |title=Somali leaders back new constitution |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19075685 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011154026/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19075685/ |archive-date=11 October 2020 |access-date=2 August 2012 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>  the document was formulated by a committee of specialists chaired by attorney and Speaker of the Federal Parliament, [[Mohamed Osman Jawari]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Mahmoud Mohamed|title=Somalia successfully concludes first elections in over 20 years|url=http://sabahionline.com/en_GB/articles/hoa/articles/features/2012/08/29/feature-02|access-date=30 August 2012|newspaper=Sabahi|date=29 August 2012|archive-date=24 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224060638/http://sabahionline.com/en_GB/articles/hoa/articles/features/2012/08/29/feature-02|url-status=live}}</ref> It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the Federal Republic and source of legal authority.<ref name="Frspc">{{cite web |title=The Federal Republic of Somalia – Provisional Constitution|url=http://www.somaliweyn.com/pages/news/Aug_12/Somalia_Constitution_English_FOR_WEB.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003021031/http://somaliweyn.com/pages/news/Aug_12/Somalia_Constitution_English_FOR_WEB.pdf|archive-date=3 October 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=13 March 2013}}</ref>

The national court structure is organised into three tiers: the Constitutional Court, Federal Government level courts and [[States and regions of Somalia|State]] level courts. A nine-member Judicial Service Commission appoints any Federal tier member of the judiciary. It also selects and presents potential Constitutional Court judges to the House of the People of the Federal Parliament for approval. If endorsed, the President appoints the candidate as a judge of the Constitutional Court. The five-member Constitutional Court adjudicates issues pertaining to the constitution, in addition to various Federal and sub-national matters.<ref name="Frspc"/>

Somali law draws from a mixture of three different systems: [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]], [[Sharia|Islamic law]] and [[Xeer|customary law]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/somalia/|title=Somalia – The World Factbook|website=www.cia.gov|date=27 September 2021|access-date=24 January 2021|archive-date=1 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701070127/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/so.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to 2023 [[V-Dem Democracy indices]] Somalia is the 5th least [[democracy in Africa|democratic country in Africa]].<ref name="vdem_dataset">{{cite web |last=V-Dem Institute |date=2023 |title=The V-Dem Dataset |url=https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |access-date=14 October 2023 |archive-date=8 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208183458/https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

After the [[Somali Civil War|collapse of Somalia in 1991]], there were no relations or any contact between the [[government of Somaliland|Somaliland government]], which declared itself a country, and the [[government of Somalia]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-06|title=Somalia-Somaliland: A Halting Embrace of Dialogue|url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/somalia/somalia-somaliland-halting-embrace-dialogue|access-date=2021-06-02|website=Crisis Group|language=en|archive-date=4 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304225836/https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/somalia/somalia-somaliland-halting-embrace-dialogue|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-12-04|title=Russia Digs into Somaliland-Somalia Feud as Envoy Calls for Resumption of Talks – East African Business Week|language=en-GB|work=East African Business Week|url=https://www.busiweek.com/russia-digs-into-somaliland-somalia-feud-as-envoy-calls-for-resumption-of-talks/|access-date=2021-06-02|archive-date=31 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531055428/https://www.busiweek.com/russia-digs-into-somaliland-somalia-feud-as-envoy-calls-for-resumption-of-talks/|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

===Administrative divisions===
{{Main|Administrative divisions of Somalia|States and regions of Somalia}}

Somalia is officially divided into  seven [[States and regions of Somalia|states]] and eighteen [[Administrative divisions of Somalia|regions]] (''gobollada'', singular ''gobol''),<ref name="factbook"/> which in turn are subdivided into districts. The regions are:

{|
|rowspan="2"|[[File:Somalia States and Regions.svg|thumb|center|upright=1.3|Regions of Somalia with coloured states]]
|style="padding-right:1em; padding-left:2em; vertical-align:top;"|
<div class="center">{{flag icon|Somaliland}}{{color box|#72FE6E}}'''[[Somaliland]]'''</div>
----
&nbsp;[[Awdal]]{{pb}}
&nbsp;[[Maroodi Jeex|Woqooyi Galbeed]]**{{pb}}
&nbsp;[[Togdheer]]*{{pb}}
&nbsp;[[Sanaag]]*{{pb}}
&nbsp;[[Sool]]*{{pb}}
|style="padding-right:1em; vertical-align:top;"|
<div class="center">{{flag icon|Khatumo}}'''{{color box|#6CCAFE}} [[Khatumo State|North East]]'''</div>
----
&nbsp;[[Togdheer]]*{{pb}}
&nbsp;[[Sanaag]]*{{pb}}
&nbsp;[[Sool]]*{{pb}}
|style="padding-right:1em; vertical-align:top;"|
<div class="center">{{flag icon|Puntland}}'''{{color box|#AEA9FE}} [[Puntland]]'''</div>
----
&nbsp;[[Bari, Somalia|Bari]]{{pb}}
&nbsp;[[Nugal, Somalia|Nugaal]]{{pb}}
&nbsp;[[Mudug]]***{{pb}}
|style="padding-right:1em; vertical-align:top;"|
<div class="center">{{flag icon|Galmudug}}'''{{color box|#DFA9FE}} [[Galmudug]]'''</div>
----
&nbsp;[[Galguduud]]{{pb}}
&nbsp;[[Mudug]]***{{pb}}

|-
|style="padding-right:1em; padding-left:2em; vertical-align:top;"|
<div class="center">'''{{flag icon|Hirshabelle}}{{color box|#FE3A46}} [[Hirshabelle]]'''</div>
----
&nbsp;[[Hiran, Somalia|Hiran]]{{pb}}
&nbsp;[[Middle Shabelle]]{{pb}}

|style="padding-right:1em; vertical-align:top;"|
<div class="center">{{flag icon|South West State of Somalia}}'''{{color box|#FE9C5A}} [[South West State of Somalia|South West]]'''</div>
----
&nbsp;[[Bakool]]{{pb}}
&nbsp;[[Bay, Somalia|Bay]]{{pb}}
&nbsp;[[Lower Shabelle]]{{pb}}
|style="padding-right:1em; vertical-align:top;"|
<div class="center">{{flag icon|Jubaland}}'''{{color box|#FEBB5A}} [[Jubaland]]'''</div>
----
&nbsp;[[Gedo]]{{pb}}
&nbsp;[[Middle Juba]]{{pb}}
&nbsp;[[Lower Juba]]{{pb}}
|style="padding-right:1em; vertical-align:top;"|
<div class="center">{{flagicon image|Flag of Mogadishu, Somalia.svg}}'''{{color box|#F5F601}} [[Banaadir]]'''</div>
----
&nbsp;[[Mogadishu]]{{pb}}

|}

<small> * Disputed</small>

<small> ** Separated to [[Maroodi Jeex]] and [[Sahil, Somaliland|Sahil]] by Somaliland</small>

<small> *** Shared by Puntland and Galmudug</small>

Northern Somalia is now{{when|date=August 2025}} ''de facto'' divided up among the [[States and regions of Somalia|autonomous regions]] of [[Puntland]] (which considers itself an [[autonomous state]]), [[Somaliland]] (a self-declared, [[List of states with limited recognition|partially-recognised state]]) and newly established [[Khatumo State|Khatumo State of Somalia]]. In central Somalia, [[Galmudug]] is another regional entity that emerged just south of Puntland. [[Jubaland]] in the far south is a fourth autonomous region within the federation.<ref name="factbook"/> In 2014, a new [[South West State of Somalia|South West State]] was likewise established.<ref>{{cite news|title=International community welcomes newly-elected President of Somalia's Interim South West Administration|url=http://goobjoog.com/english/?p=6410|access-date=5 January 2015|newspaper=Goobjoog|date=19 November 2014|archive-date=9 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109002414/http://goobjoog.com/english/?p=6410|url-status=dead}}</ref> In April 2015, a formation conference was also launched for a new [[Hirshabelle State]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Adado conference kicks off in central Somalia|url=http://www.garoweonline.com/page/show/post/2322/adado-conference-kicks-off-in-central-somalia|access-date=15 May 2015|agency=Garowe Online|date=16 April 2015|archive-date=11 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150811104021/http://www.garoweonline.com/page/show/post/2322/adado-conference-kicks-off-in-central-somalia|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Federal Parliament of Somalia|Federal Parliament]] was tasked in 2012 with selecting the ultimate number and boundaries of the autonomous regional states (officially ''[[States and regions of Somalia|Federal Member States]]'') within the Federal Republic of Somalia.<ref name="Frspc"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Guidebook to the Somali Draft Provisional Constitution|url=http://unpos.unmissions.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=v067edqd7a8%3D&tabid=9705&language=en-US|access-date=2 August 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120021547/http://unpos.unmissions.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=v067edqd7a8%3D&tabid=9705&language=en-US|archive-date=20 January 2013}}</ref>

=== Foreign relations ===
{{Main|Foreign relations of Somalia}}

[[File:2015 01 25 Turkish President Visit to Somalia-1 (16176887607).jpg|alt=|thumb|President of Somalia [[Hassan Sheikh Mohamud]] with Turkish President [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Recep Tayyip Erdogan]] opening the new terminal of Aden Abdulle International Airport in Mogadishu, Somalia. (25 January 2015)]]
Somalia's [[Foreign relations of Somalia|foreign relations]] are handled by the President as the head of state, the Prime Minister as the head of government, and the federal [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Somalia)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]].<ref name="Frspc"/>

According to Article 54 of the national constitution, the allocation of powers and resources between the Federal Government and the Federal Republic of Somalia's constituent Federal Member States shall be negotiated and agreed upon by the Federal Government and the Federal Member States, except in matters pertaining to foreign affairs, national defence, citizenship and immigration, and monetary policy. Article 53 also stipulates that the Federal Government shall consult the Federal Member States on major issues related to international agreements, including negotiations vis-a-vis foreign trade, finance and treaties.<ref name="Frspc"/>
The Federal Government maintains [[Bilateralism|bilateral relations]] with a number of other central governments in the international community. Among these are [[Djibouti–Somalia relations|Djibouti]], [[Ethiopia–Somalia relations|Ethiopia]], [[Egypt–Somalia relations|Egypt]], the [[Somalia–United Arab Emirates relations|United Arab Emirates]], [[Somalia–Yemen relations|Yemen]], [[Somalia–Turkey relations|Turkey]], [[Italy–Somalia relations|Italy]], the [[Somalia–United Kingdom relations|United Kingdom]], [[Denmark–Somalia relations|Denmark]], [[France–Somalia relations|France]], the [[Somalia–United States relations|United States]], the [[China–Somalia relations|People's Republic of China]], [[Japan–Somalia relations|Japan]], [[Russia–Somalia relations|Russian Federation]] and [[Somalia–South Korea relations|South Korea]].

Additionally, Somalia has several [[List of diplomatic missions of Somalia|diplomatic missions]] abroad. There are likewise various [[List of diplomatic missions in Somalia|foreign embassies and consulates]] based in the capital Mogadishu and elsewhere in the country.

Somalia is also a member of many international organisations, such as the [[United Nations]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Member States |url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/member-states |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913235534/https://www.un.org/en/about-us/member-states |archive-date=13 September 2022 |access-date=27 August 2021 |website=United Nations}}</ref> African Union<ref>{{cite web |title=Member State Profiles |url=https://au.int/en/memberstates |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107025239/https://au.int/en/memberstates |archive-date=7 November 2017 |access-date=27 August 2021 |website=African Union}}</ref> and [[Arab League]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Member States |url=http://www.lasportal.org/ar/aboutlas/Pages/CountryData.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008070830/http://www.lasportal.org/ar/aboutlas/Pages/CountryData.aspx |archive-date=8 October 2023 |access-date=27 August 2021 |website=League of Arab States |language=ar}}</ref> It was a founding member of the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]] in 1969.<ref>{{cite web|title=Member states|url=http://www.oic-oci.org/oicv2/states/|publisher=Organisation of Islamic Cooperation|access-date=6 January 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209072808/http://www.oic-oci.org/oicv2/states/|archive-date=9 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Member States |url=https://www.oic-oci.org/states/?lan=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120203028/http://www.oic-oci.org/states/?lan=en |archive-date=20 November 2022 |access-date=27 August 2021 |website=Organisation of Islamic Cooperation}}</ref> Other memberships include the [[African Development Bank]], [[East African Community]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-11-24 |title=Somalia joins East African Community |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67522844 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126051518/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67522844 |archive-date=26 November 2023 |access-date=2023-11-25 |language=en-GB}}</ref> [[Group of 77]], [[Intergovernmental Authority on Development]], [[International Bank for Reconstruction and Development]], [[International Civil Aviation Organization]], [[International Development Association]], [[International Finance Corporation]], [[Non-Aligned Movement]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) &#124; What is the Non-Aligned Movement? |url=https://www.nti.org/learn/treaties-and-regimes/non-aligned-movement-nam/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818080939/https://www.nti.org/learn/treaties-and-regimes/non-aligned-movement-nam/ |archive-date=18 August 2021 |access-date=27 August 2021 |website=Nuclear Threat Initiative}}</ref> [[World Federation of Trade Unions]] and [[World Meteorological Organization]].

=== Military ===
{{Main|Somali Armed Forces}}

[[File:Colonel Abdullahi Ahmed Irro - 1977.jpg|thumb|225x225px|[[Colonel]] [[Abdullahi Ahmed Irro]], the commander of the [[Somali Armed Forces]], pictured in 1977.]]
The [[Somali Armed Forces]] (SAF) are the military forces of the Federal Republic of Somalia.<ref>{{cite press release |date=29 October 2012 |title=AMISOM offers IHL training to senior officials of the Somali National Forces |url=http://amisom-au.org/2012/10/amisom-offers-ihl-training-to-senior-officials-of-the-somali-national-forces/ |publisher=AMISOM |access-date=20 March 2013 |archive-date=1 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101132612/http://amisom-au.org/2012/10/amisom-offers-ihl-training-to-senior-officials-of-the-somali-national-forces/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Headed by the President as Commander in Chief, they are constitutionally mandated to ensure the nation's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.<ref name="Frspc"/>

The SAF was initially made up of the [[Somali National Army|Army]], [[Somali Navy|Navy]], [[Somali Air Force|Air Force]], [[Somali Police Force|Police Force]] and the [[National Security Service (Somalia)|National Security Service]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.marines.mil/news/publications/Documents/Somalia%20Study_3.pdf |archive-date=4 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004045134/http://www.marines.mil/news/publications/Documents/Somalia%20Study_3.pdf|title=Somalia: A Country Study – Army Ranks and Insignia |url-status=dead |access-date=1 June 2016}}. marines.mil.</ref> In the post-independence period, it grew to become among the larger militaries on the continent.<ref name="Ramsbotham 222" /> The subsequent outbreak of the [[Somali Civil War|civil war]] in 1991 led to the disbandment of the Somali National Army.<ref>Library of Congress Country Study, Somalia, [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+so0116) The Warrior Tradition and Development of a Modern Army] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407053203/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+so0116) |date=7 April 2023 }}, research complete May 1992.</ref>

In 2004, the gradual process of reconstituting the military was put in motion with the establishment of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The Somali Armed Forces are now overseen by the [[Ministry of Defence (Somalia)|Ministry of Defence]] of the Federal Government of Somalia, formed in mid-2012. In January 2013, the Somali federal government also reopened the national intelligence service in Mogadishu, renaming the agency the [[National Intelligence and Security Agency (Somalia)|National Intelligence and Security Agency]] (NISA).<ref>{{cite news|title=Somalia Re-Opens its National Intelligence & Security Agency|url=http://www.waltainfo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6968:somalia-re-opens-its-national-intelligence-a-security-agency&catid=70:international-news&Itemid=309|access-date=1 September 2013|newspaper=Walta Info|date=10 January 2013|archive-date=9 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409112959/https://www.waltainfo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6968:somalia-re-opens-its-national-intelligence-a-security-agency&catid=70:international-news&Itemid=309|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Somaliland Armed Forces|Somaliland]] and [[Puntland Security Force|Puntland]] regional governments maintain their own security and police forces.

=== Human rights ===
{{Main|Human rights in Somalia}}

Human rights are guaranteed in the [[Constitution of Somalia|Federal Constitution]]. They fall under the Ministry of Human Rights established in August 2013.<ref name="Usthrs">{{cite news|title=Somalia takes human rights steps|url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2013/09/03/Somalia-takes-human-rights-steps/UPI-34071378218185/|access-date=20 February 2014|newspaper=UPI|date=3 September 2013}}</ref> The central authorities concurrently inaugurated a National Human Rights Day, endorsed an official Human Rights Roadmap,<ref name=Suehhrebubcp>{{cite news|title=Somalia: UN expert hails human rights effort but urges broader consultation process |url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp/www.wmo.int/html/story.asp?NewsID=45759&Cr=somalia&Cr1=#.UwVrE5gju1E |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140220063126/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp/www.wmo.int/html/story.asp?NewsID=45759&Cr=somalia&Cr1=%23.UwVrE5gju1E |url-status=dead|access-date=20 February 2014 |newspaper=UN News Centre |date=3 September 2013 |archive-date = 2014-02-20}}</ref> and completed Somalia's first National Gender Policy.<ref name="Sasrracptrwvms">{{cite web|title=SOMALIA: AU Special Representative reiterates AMISOM's commitment in protecting the rights of women and vulnerable members of Society|url=http://horseedmedia.net/2013/08/14/somalia-au-special-representative-reiterates-amisoms-commitment-in-protecting-the-rights-of-women-and-vulnerable-members-of-society/|publisher=AMISOM|access-date=19 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302122017/http://horseedmedia.net/2013/08/14/somalia-au-special-representative-reiterates-amisoms-commitment-in-protecting-the-rights-of-women-and-vulnerable-members-of-society/|archive-date=2 March 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

However, both male and female [[LGBT rights in Somalia|same-sex sexual activity]] are [[Capital punishment for homosexuality|punishable by death]] within Somalia.<ref>{{cite news |title=The countries where homosexuality is still illegal |url=https://www.theweek.co.uk/96298/the-countries-where-homosexuality-is-still-illegal |work=The Week |date=12 June 2019 |access-date=22 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128203653/https://www.theweek.co.uk/96298/the-countries-where-homosexuality-is-still-illegal |archive-date=28 November 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On October 3, 2020, a [[UN]] human rights investigator raised concerns over Somali government's backtracking of human rights commitments.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.voanews.com/a/africa_un-expert-somalia-backtracking-human-rights-commitments/6196704.html |title= UN Expert: Somalia Backtracking on Human Rights Commitments |access-date= 3 October 2020 |website= Voice of America – English |date= 3 October 2020 |archive-date= 5 October 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201005182348/https://www.voanews.com/africa/un-expert-somalia-backtracking-human-rights-commitments |url-status= live }}</ref>

== Economy ==
{{Main|Economy of Somalia}}

[[File:Air Somalia Tupolev Tu-154.jpg|thumb|[[Air Somalia]] Tupolev [[Tupolev Tu-154|Tu-154]] in [[Sharjah (city)|Sharjah]], United Arab Emirates. Somalia today has several private airlines.]]
According to the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] and the [[Central Bank of Somalia]], with ongoing civil unrest, the Somali [[economy]] is primarily limited to [[livestock]] and [[remittance]]/[[Wire transfer|money transfer]]s from Somalis living in more economically advanced countries, and local [[Communications in Somalia|telecommunication]]s.<ref name="factbook"/><ref name="Cbsef2">{{cite web |title=Central Bank of Somalia – Economy and Finance |url=http://www.somalbanca.org/economy-and-finance.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124192809/http://somalbanca.org/economy-and-finance.html |archive-date=24 January 2009 |access-date=30 December 2010 |publisher=Somalbanca.org}}</ref> Owing to a dearth of formal government statistics and ongoing decades-long [[Somali Civil War|iterations of civil war]], it is difficult to gauge the size or growth of the economy. For 1994, the CIA estimated the [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] at $3.3 billion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps35389/1995/wf950219.htm |title=CIA World Factbook: Somalia (1995) |publisher=Permanent.access.gpo.gov |access-date=27 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511085616/http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps35389/1995/wf950219.htm |archive-date=11 May 2011}}</ref> In 2001, it was estimated to be $4.1 billion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bartleby.com/151/so.html#Economy |title=CIA World Factbook: Somalia (2003) |publisher=Bartleby.com |access-date=27 June 2010 |archive-date=16 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130416075904/http://www.bartleby.com/151/so.html#Economy |url-status=live }}</ref> By 2009, the CIA estimated that the GDP had grown to $5.731 billion, with a projected real growth rate of 2.6%.<ref name="factbook"/> According to a 2007 [[British Chambers of Commerce]] report, during a period of relatively less internal warfare, the private sector had also grown, particularly in the service sector. Unlike the pre-civil war period, when most services and the industrial sector were [[Government-owned corporation|government-run]], the 2007 report noted substantial, albeit unmeasured, private investment in commercial activities; this has been largely financed by the [[Somali diaspora]], and included trade and marketing, money transfer services, transportation, communications, fishery equipment, airlines, telecommunications, education, health, construction and hotels.<ref name="Brcc">{{cite book |author=British Chambers of Commerce|title=The British Chambers of Commerce Guide to African Markets|year=2007|publisher=Ten Alps Publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SvB0OwAACAAJ}}</ref> In 2007, [[Libertarianism|Libertarian]] economist [[Peter Leeson]] attributed this increased economic activity to the Somali [[customary law]] (referred to as ''[[Xeer]]''), which he suggests provides a stable environment to conduct business in.<ref name="Petletbet"/>

According to the Central Bank of Somalia, the country's GDP per capita {{As of|2012|lc=y}} was $226, a slight reduction in real terms from 1990. About 43% of the population lives on less than 1 US dollar a day, with around 24% of those found in urban areas and 54% living in rural areas.<ref name="Cbsef2"/>

Somalia's economy consists of both traditional and modern production, with a gradual shift toward modern industrial techniques. Somalia has the largest population of camels in the world.{{sfn|Rosati|Tewolde|Mosconi|2007}} According to the Central Bank of Somalia, about 80% of the population are nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists, who keep goats, sheep, camels and cattle. The nomads also gather resins and gums to supplement their income.<ref name="Cbsef2"/>

=== Agriculture ===
{{See also|Agriculture in Somalia}}
Agriculture is the most important economic sector of Somalia. It accounts for about 65% of the GDP and employs 65% of the workforce.<ref name="Brcc" /> Livestock contributes about 40% to GDP and more than 50% of export earnings.<ref name="factbook" /> Other principal exports include [[fish]], [[charcoal]] and [[banana]]s; [[sugar]], [[sorghum]] and [[Maize|corn]] are products for the domestic market.<ref name="factbook" /> According to the Central Bank of Somalia, imports of goods total about $460 million per year, surpassing aggregate imports prior to the start of the civil war in 1991. Exports, which total about $270 million annually, have also surpassed pre-war aggregate export levels. Somalia has a trade deficit of about $190 million per year, but this is exceeded by remittances sent by Somalis in the diaspora, estimated to be about $1 billion.<ref name="Cbsef2"/>
[[File:Mogadishu Sea Port.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of the [[Port of Mogadishu]]]]
With the advantage of being located near the Arabian Peninsula, Somali traders have increasingly begun to challenge [[Australia]]'s traditional dominance over the Gulf Arab livestock and meat market, offering quality animals at very low prices. In response, Gulf Arab states have started to make strategic investments in the country, with [[Saudi Arabia]] building livestock export infrastructure and the [[United Arab Emirates]] purchasing large farmlands.<ref>[http://www.meattradenewsdaily.co.uk/news/230810/australia___the_gulf_demand_for_australian_sheep_and_lamb.aspx The Arab countries demand Australian sheep and lamb] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515090635/http://www.meattradenewsdaily.co.uk/news/230810/australia___the_gulf_demand_for_australian_sheep_and_lamb.aspx |date=15 May 2011 }} – ''Farmonline''</ref> Somalia is also a major world supplier of [[frankincense]] and [[myrrh]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elmt-relpa.org/FCKeditor/UserFiles/File/elmt/201004/Final%20Report%20Annex%203%20-%20sector%20profiles%20-%20logos.pdf |title=Expanding Investment Finance in Northern Kenya and Other Arid Lands |access-date=30 December 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513155643/http://www.elmt-relpa.org/FCKeditor/UserFiles/File/elmt/201004/Final%20Report%20Annex%203%20-%20sector%20profiles%20-%20logos.pdf |archive-date=13 May 2011}}</ref>
The modest [[Secondary sector of the economy|industrial sector]], based on the processing of agricultural products, accounts for 10% of Somalia's GDP.<ref name="factbook"/> According to the [[Somali Chamber of Commerce and Industry]], over six private [[airline]] firms also offer commercial flights to both domestic and international locations, including [[Daallo Airlines]], [[Jubba Airways]], [[African Express Airways]], East Africa 540, Central Air and Hajara.<ref name="Scca">{{cite web|title=Aviation|url=http://www.somalichamber.so/?page_id=62|publisher=Somali Chamber of Commerce and Industry|access-date=15 May 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517133126/http://www.somalichamber.so/?page_id=62|archive-date=17 May 2014}}</ref> In 2008, the Puntland government signed a multimillion-dollar deal with [[Dubai]]'s Lootah Group, a regional industrial group operating in the Middle East and Africa. According to the agreement, the first phase of the investment is worth [[United Arab Emirates dirham|Dhs]] 170&nbsp;m and will see a set of new companies established to operate, manage and build [[Bosaso]]'s free trade zone and sea and airport facilities. The Bosaso Airport Company is slated to develop the airport complex to meet international standards, including a new {{convert|3400|m|abbr=on}} runway, main and auxiliary buildings, taxi and apron areas, and security perimeters.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ameinfo.com/176786.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006071502/http://www.ameinfo.com/176786.html|archive-date=6 October 2013|title=Government of Punt Land State of Somalia, Lootah Investment sign strategic agreements worth Dhs170m |publisher=Ameinfo.com |access-date=30 December 2010}}</ref>

Prior to the outbreak of the civil war in 1991, the roughly 53 state-owned small, medium and large manufacturing firms were foundering, with the ensuing conflict destroying many of the remaining industries. However, primarily as a result of substantial local investment by the Somali diaspora, many of these small-scale plants have reopened and newer ones have been created. The latter include fish-canning and meat-processing plants in the northern regions, as well as about 25 factories in the Mogadishu area, which manufacture [[pasta]], [[mineral water]], [[Confectionery|confections]], [[plastic bag]]s, [[Textile|fabric]], hides and skins, [[detergent]] and [[soap]], [[aluminium]], foam [[mattress]]es and [[pillow]]s, fishing [[boat]]s, carry out packaging, and [[Stonemasonry|stone processing]].<ref name="Somtroap">{{cite web |publisher=The African Executive |url=http://www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/article_print.php?article=4693 |title=Somalia: The Resilience of a People |access-date=30 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626112218/http://www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/article_print.php?article=4693 |archive-date=26 June 2015}}</ref> In 2004, an $8.3 million [[Coca-Cola]] bottling plant also opened in the city, with investors hailing from various constituencies in Somalia.<ref>{{cite news |author=Marc Lacey |date=10 July 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/10/world/africa/10iht-journal.2166680.html |title=Amid Somalia's troubles, Coca-Cola hangs on |newspaper=[[International Herald Tribune]] |access-date=18 February 2017 |archive-date=16 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116093531/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/10/world/africa/10iht-journal.2166680.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Foreign direct investment|Foreign investment]] also included multinationals including [[General Motors]] and [[Dole Food Company|Dole Fruit]].<ref>Little, Peter D. (2003) ''Somalia: Economy without State''. Indiana University Press, p. 4, {{ISBN|0-85255-865-1}}.</ref>

=== Monetary and payment system ===
{{Main|Central Bank of Somalia|Somali shilling}}

[[File:Obverse 2022 Somalia 1 oz Silver coin Leopard.jpg|thumb|2022 Somalia 1 oz silver coin Leopard (100 shillings)]]

The Central Bank of Somalia is the official [[Central bank|monetary authority]] of Somalia.<ref name="Cbsef2"/> In terms of financial management, it is in the process of assuming the task of both formulating and implementing [[monetary policy]].<ref name="Monpol">{{cite web|url=http://www.somalbanca.org/monetary-policy.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125062011/http://somalbanca.org/monetary-policy.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 January 2009|title=Central Bank of Somalia – Monetary policy|publisher=Somalbanca.org|access-date=30 December 2010}}</ref>

Owing to a lack of confidence in the local currency, the [[United States dollar|US dollar]] is widely accepted as a medium of exchange alongside the Somali shilling. [[Dollarization|Dollarisation]] notwithstanding, the large issuance of the Somali shilling has increasingly fuelled price hikes, especially for low value transactions. According to the Central Bank, this inflationary environment is expected to come to an end as soon as the bank assumes full control of monetary policy and replaces the presently circulating currency introduced by the private sector.<ref name="Monpol"/>

Although Somalia has had no central monetary authority for more than 15 years between the outbreak of the civil war in 1991 and the subsequent reestablishment of the Central Bank of Somalia in 2009, the nation's payment system is fairly advanced primarily due to the widespread existence of private [[Economy of Somalia#Finance|money transfer operators]] (MTO) that have acted as informal banking networks.<ref name="Paysys">{{cite web|url=http://somalbanca.org/payment-system.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122232449/http://somalbanca.org/payment-system.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 January 2009|title=Central Bank of Somalia – Payment system|publisher=Somalbanca.org|access-date=30 December 2010}}</ref>

These remittance firms (''[[hawala]]s'') have become a large industry in Somalia, with an estimated US$1.6 billion annually remitted to the region by [[Somali people|Somalis]] in the diaspora via money transfer companies.<ref name="factbook"/> Most are members of the Somali Money Transfer Association (SOMTA), an umbrella organisation that regulates the community's money transfer sector, or its predecessor, the Somali Financial Services Association (SFSA).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.diaspora-centre.org/DOCS/UK_Somali_Remittan.pdf |title=UK Somali Remittances Survey |access-date=30 December 2010 |archive-date=9 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109191722/http://www.diaspora-centre.org/DOCS/UK_Somali_Remittan.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Towhamrec">{{cite news|url=http://www.threcorder.co.uk/content/towerhamlets/recorder/news/story.aspx?brand=REConline&category=newsTowerHam&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newstower&itemid=WeED13%20Apr%202010%2010%3A02%3A08%3A730 |title=Decades of community service recognised with award |newspaper=Tower Hamlets Recorder |date=13 April 2007 |access-date=3 June 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511205333/http://www.threcorder.co.uk/content/towerhamlets/recorder/news/story.aspx?brand=REConline&category=newsTowerHam&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newstower&itemid=WeED13%20Apr%202010%2010%3A02%3A08%3A730 |archive-date=11 May 2011 }}</ref> The largest of the Somali MTOs is [[Dahabshiil]], a Somali-owned firm employing more than 2,000 people across 144 countries with branches in [[London]] and [[Dubai]].<ref name="Towhamrec"/>
[[File:Somshil5r.jpg|thumb|left|500 [[Somali shilling]] banknote]]

With a significant improvement in local security, Somali expatriates began returning to the country for investment opportunities. Coupled with modest foreign investment, the inflow of funds have helped the Somali shilling increase considerably in value. By March 2014, the currency had appreciated by almost 60% against the U.S. dollar over the previous 12 months. The Somali shilling was the strongest among the 175 global currencies traded by [[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]], rising close to 50 percentage points higher than the next most robust global currency over the same period.<ref>{{cite news|last=Derby|first=Ron|title=The curious tale of the world-beating Somali shilling|url=http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2014/03/20/the-curious-tale-of-the-world-beating-somali-shilling/|access-date=27 March 2014|newspaper=Financial Times|date=26 March 2014|archive-date=15 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170815142257/http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2014/03/20/the-curious-tale-of-the-world-beating-somali-shilling/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Somalia Stock Exchange]] (SSE) is the national [[Stock exchange|bourse]] of Somalia. It was founded in 2012 to attract investment from both Somali-owned firms and global companies in order to accelerate the ongoing post-conflict reconstruction process in Somalia.<ref>{{cite news|title=Diplomat to start Somalia's first stock market|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/kenya-somalia-investment-idUSL6E8J8D1J20120808|access-date=5 December 2013|work=Reuters|date=8 August 2012|archive-date=30 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930100728/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/08/kenya-somalia-investment-idUSL6E8J8D1J20120808|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Energy and natural resources ===
{{Main|Mineral industry of Somalia|Oil exploration in Puntland}}

The World Bank reports that, in 2007, [[electricity]] was largely supplied by local businesses.<ref name="Brcc"/> Among these domestic firms is the [[Somali Energy Company]], which performs generation, transmission and distribution of electric power.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mission & Vision|url=http://www.somenergy.com/Mission-Vision.php|publisher=Somali Energy Company|access-date=17 April 2014|archive-date=22 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522182434/http://www.somenergy.com/Mission-Vision.php|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2010, the nation produced 310 million kWh and consumed 288.3 million kWh of electricity, ranked 170th and 177th, respectively, according to the CIA.<ref name="factbook"/>{{Update inline|date=October 2021}}
[[File:Puntland oil.png|thumb|upright=1.35|[[Oil exploration in Puntland|Oil blocks]] in Puntland]]
Somalia has reserves of several natural resources, including [[uranium]], [[iron ore]], [[tin]], [[gypsum]], [[bauxite]], [[copper]], [[salt]] and [[natural gas]]. The CIA reported{{when|date=August 2025}} that there are 5.663 billion cubic metres of proven natural gas reserves.<ref name="factbook"/>

The presence or extent of proven oil reserves in Somalia is uncertain. The CIA asserts that {{As of|2011|lc=y}} there are no proven reserves of oil in the country,<ref name="factbook"/> while [[UNCTAD]] suggests that most proven oil reserves in Somalia lie off its northwestern coast, in the Somaliland region.<ref>{{cite web|title=Somalia|url=http://unctad.org/sections/dite_fdistat/docs/wid_cp_so_en.pdf|publisher=UNCTAD|access-date=26 May 2014|archive-date=6 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306075656/http://unctad.org/sections/dite_fdistat/docs/wid_cp_so_en.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> An oil group listed in [[Sydney]], [[Range Resources]], estimates that the Puntland region in the northeast has the potential to produce {{convert|5|Goilbbl}} to {{convert|10|Goilbbl}} of oil,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oilmarketer.co.uk/2007/07/18/exploration-rights-in-somalia-for-chinese-oil-giant-cnooc/|title=Exploration rights in Somalia for Chinese oil giant CNOOC|publisher=Oilmarketer.co.uk|access-date=25 February 2009|archive-date=17 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070917005212/http://www.oilmarketer.co.uk/2007/07/18/exploration-rights-in-somalia-for-chinese-oil-giant-cnooc/|url-status=dead}}</ref> compared to the 6.7 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in Sudan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opec.org/library/Annual%20Statistical%20Bulletin/interactive/current/FileZ/XL/T31.HTM|title=OPEC: World proven crude oil reserves by country, 1960–2011|publisher=OPEC|access-date=3 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905210305/http://www.opec.org/library/Annual%20Statistical%20Bulletin/interactive/current/FileZ/XL/T31.HTM|archive-date=5 September 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> As a result of these developments, the [[Somalia Petroleum Corporation]] was established by the federal government.<ref>{{cite news |last=Doya|first=David Malingha|title=Soma Oil & Gas May Invest $20 Million to Survey War-Torn Somalia|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-08-08/soma-oil-and-gas-may-invest-20-million-to-survey-war-torn-somalia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825065126/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-08-08/soma-oil-and-gas-may-invest-20-million-to-survey-war-torn-somalia|archive-date=25 August 2013|access-date=28 May 2014|newspaper=Bloomberg BusinessWeek|date=8 August 2013}}</ref>

In the late 1960s, UN geologists discovered major uranium deposits and other rare mineral reserves in Somalia. The find was the largest of its kind, with industry experts estimating that the amount of the deposits could amount to over 25% of the world's then known uranium reserves of 800,000 tons.<ref>{{cite news|title=Big Uranium Find Announced in Somalia|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hbVWAAAAIBAJ&pg=7276%2C235261|access-date=16 May 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=16 March 1968|archive-date=9 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709212617/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hbVWAAAAIBAJ&pg=7276,235261|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1984, the IUREP Orientation Phase Mission to Somalia reported that the country had 5,000 tons of uranium reasonably assured resources (RAR), 11,000 tons of uranium estimated additional resources (EAR) in [[calcrete]] deposits, as well as 0–150,000 tons of uranium speculative resources (SR) in [[sandstone]] and calcrete deposits.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/40/087/40087878.pdf |title=International Uranium Resources Evaluation Project (IUREP) Orientation Phase Mission Report, Somalia |journal=[[IAEA]] |year=1983 |access-date=16 May 2014 |last1=Levich |first1=Robert A. |last2=Müller-Kahle |first2=Eberhard |archive-date=19 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200119113709/https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/40/087/40087878.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Somalia evolved into a major world supplier of uranium, with American, UAE, Italian and Brazilian mineral companies vying for extraction rights. Link Natural Resources has a stake in the central region, and Kilimanjaro Capital has a stake in the {{convert|1,161,400|acres|0|abbr=on}} Amsas-Coriole-Afgoi (ACA) Block, which includes uranium exploration.<ref>{{cite news|author=Kilimanjaro Capital Ltd.|title=Long Forgotten Uranium Bonanza Rediscovered, Kilimanjaro Unleashes Somalia Uranium Exploration Initiative|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/long-forgotten-uranium-bonanza-rediscovered-kilimanjaro-unleashes-somalia-uranium-exploration-initiative-2014-04-15-71733149|access-date=17 May 2014|newspaper=MarketWatch|date=15 April 2014|archive-date=17 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517211900/http://www.marketwatch.com/story/long-forgotten-uranium-bonanza-rediscovered-kilimanjaro-unleashes-somalia-uranium-exploration-initiative-2014-04-15-71733149|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Trans-National Industrial Electricity and Gas Company]] is an [[energy]] [[conglomerate (company)|conglomerate]] based in Mogadishu. It unites five major Somali companies from the [[Commerce|trade]], [[finance]], [[security]] and [[telecommunications]] sectors, following a 2010 joint agreement signed in [[Istanbul]] to provide electricity and gas infrastructure in Somalia. With an initial investment budget of $1 billion, the company launched a labour-intensive energy program aimed at facilitating local industrialisation initiatives.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hassan |first=Abdiaziz |date=2010-05-23 |title=Somalia business keen to join forces for peace |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world/somalia-business-keen-to-join-forces-for-peace-idUSTRE64M158/ |url-access=limited |access-date=2025-11-08 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref>

According to the Central Bank of Somalia, as the nation embarks on the path of reconstruction, the economy is expected not only to match its pre-civil war levels, but also to accelerate in growth and development due to Somalia's untapped natural resources.<ref name="Cbsef2"/>

=== Telecommunications and media ===
{{Main|Communications in Somalia|Media of Somalia}}

[[File:Hormuud.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Hormuud Telecom]] building in Mogadishu]]
After the start of the civil war, various new telecommunications companies began to spring up and compete to provide missing infrastructure. Funded by Somali entrepreneurs and backed by expertise from [[China]], [[South Korea]] and Europe, these nascent telecommunications firms offer affordable [[mobile phone]] and Internet services that are not available in many other parts of the continent. Customers can conduct [[Electronic funds transfer|money transfers]] (such as through the popular [[Dahabshiil]]) and other [[bank]]ing activities via mobile phones, as well as easily gain wireless Internet access.<ref name="Telfirm">{{cite news |author=Abdinasir Mohamed |author2=Sarah Childress |date=11 May 2010 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704608104575220570113266984 |title=Telecom Firms Thrive in Somalia Despite War, Shattered Economy |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |access-date=8 August 2017 |archive-date=18 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170718221707/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704608104575220570113266984 |url-status=live }}</ref>

After forming partnerships with multinational corporations such as [[Sprint Nextel|Sprint]], [[ITT Corporation|ITT]] and [[Telenor]], these firms now offer the cheapest and clearest phone calls in Africa.<ref>Christopher J. Coyne (2008) ''After war: the political economy of exporting democracy'', Stanford University Press, p. 154, {{ISBN|0-8047-5440-3}}.</ref> These Somali telecommunication companies also provide services to every city and town in Somalia. There are presently around 25 mainlines per 1,000 persons, and the local availability of telephone lines (''tele-density'') is higher than in neighbouring countries; three times greater than in adjacent Ethiopia.<ref name="Somtroap"/> Prominent Somali telecommunications companies include [[Golis Telecom Somalia|Golis Telecom Group]], [[Hormuud Telecom]], [[Somafone]], [[NationLink Telecom|Nationlink]], [[Netco (Somalia)|Netco]], [[Telcom (Somalia)|Telcom]] and [[Somali Telecom Group]]. Hormuud Telecom alone grosses about $40 million a year. Despite their rivalry, several of these companies signed an inter-connectivity deal in 2005 that allows them to set prices, maintain and expand their networks, and ensure that competition does not get out of control.<ref name="Telfirm"/>

The state-run [[Somali National Television]] is the principal national public service TV channel. After a twenty-year hiatus, the station was officially relaunched on 4 April 2011.<ref>Abdi Hajji Hussein (4 April 2011) [https://web.archive.org/liveweb/http://gantdaily.com/2011/04/04/after-20-years-somali-president-inaugurates-national-tv-station/ After 20 years, Somali president inaugurates national TV station]. gantdaily.com</ref> Its radio counterpart [[Radio Mogadishu]] also broadcasts from the capital. [[Somaliland National TV]] and [[Puntland TV and Radio]] air from the northern regions.

Additionally, Somalia has several private television and radio networks. Among these are [[Horn Cable Television]] and [[Universal Television (Somalia)|Universal TV]].<ref name="factbook"/> The political Xog Doon and Xog Ogaal and Horyaal Sports broadsheets publish out of the capital. There are also a number of online media outlets covering local news,<ref>{{cite news|author=Majid Ahmed|title=Radio and electronic media edge out newspapers in Somalia|url=http://sabahionline.com/en_GB/articles/hoa/articles/features/2012/12/11/feature-01|access-date=21 December 2012|newspaper=Sabahi|date=11 December 2012|archive-date=13 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121213045204/http://sabahionline.com/en_GB/articles/hoa/articles/features/2012/12/11/feature-01|url-status=live}}</ref> including [[Garowe Online]], Wardheernews, and [[Puntland Post]].

The internet [[country code top-level domain]] (ccTLD) for Somalia is [[.so]]. It was officially relaunched on 1 November 2010 by .SO Registry, which is regulated by the nation's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.<ref>[http://www.soregistry.so/ SO Registry] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031021901/http://www.soregistry.so/ |date=31 October 2014 }}. Soregistry.so. Retrieved 16 August 2013.</ref>

In November 2013, following a Memorandum of Understanding signed with [[Emirates Post]] in April of the year, the federal Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications officially reconstituted the [[Somali Postal Service]] (Somali Post).<ref>{{cite news|title=International mail services officially resume in Somalia|url=http://news.upu.int/no_cache/nd/international-mail-services-officially-resume-in-somalia/|access-date=7 November 2013|newspaper=Universal Postal Union|date=1 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109172506/http://news.upu.int/no_cache/nd/international-mail-services-officially-resume-in-somalia/|archive-date=9 November 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> In October 2014, the ministry also relaunched postal delivery from abroad.<ref>{{cite news|title=Somalia's government launches postal service|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29606447?print=true|access-date=14 October 2014|work=[[BBC News]]|date=13 October 2014|archive-date=3 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220103224919/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29606447?print=true|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Tourism ===
{{Main|Tourism in Somalia}}

[[File:Laas Geel.jpg|thumb|Ancient cave paintings at the [[Laas Geel]], Hargeisa]]
Somalia has a number of local attractions, consisting of historical sites, beaches, waterfalls, mountain ranges and national parks. The tourist industry is regulated by the national Ministry of Tourism. The autonomous Puntland and Somaliland regions maintain their own tourism offices.<ref name="Ntmucig">{{cite news|title=New tourism ministry under construction in Garowe|url=http://sabahionline.com/en_GB/articles/hoa/articles/newsbriefs/2012/11/01/newsbrief-06|access-date=14 June 2013|newspaper=Sabahi|date=1 November 2012|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042703/http://sabahionline.com/en_GB/articles/hoa/articles/newsbriefs/2012/11/01/newsbrief-06|url-status=live}}</ref> The Somali Tourism Association (SOMTA) also provides consulting services from within the country on the national tourist industry.<ref name="SOMTA">{{cite web|title=Somali Tourism Association (SOMTA)|url=http://somta.so/|publisher=Somali Tourism Association|access-date=14 June 2013|archive-date=23 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123131425/http://somta.so/|url-status=dead}}</ref> As of March 2015, the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife of the [[Southwestern Somalia|South West State]] announced that it is slated to establish additional game reserves and wildlife ranges.<ref name="Gswstrghtat">{{cite news|title=South West State to renovate Government Hotels to Attract Tourism|url=http://goobjoog.com/english/?p=12161|access-date=25 March 2015|agency=Goobjoog|date=25 March 2015|archive-date=11 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230411145528/https://goobjoog.com/english/?p=12161|url-status=dead}}</ref> The United States Government recommends travelers to not travel to Somalia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://travelmaps.state.gov/TSGMap/?extent=32.829980986,-1.783760626,59.54518237,12.077308381|title=Travel.State.Gov CSI|website=travelmaps.state.gov|access-date=2019-10-03|archive-date=11 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311235850/https://travelmaps.state.gov/TSGMap/?extent=32.829980986%2C-1.783760626%2C59.54518237%2C12.077308381|url-status=live}}</ref>

Notable sights include the [[Laas Geel]] caves containing Neolithic [[rock art]]; the [[Cal Madow]], [[Golis Mountains]] and [[Ogo Mountains]]; the [[Iskushuban]] and [[Lamadaya]] waterfalls; and the [[Hargeisa National Park]], [[Jilib National Park]], [[Kismayo National Park]] and [[Lag Badana National Park]].

=== Transport ===
{{Main|Transport in Somalia|List of airports in Somalia}}

[[File:Aden Abdullah Airport.jpg|thumb|The [[Aden Adde International Airport]]]]
Somalia's network of roads is {{convert|22,100|km|abbr=on}} long. {{as of|2000}}, {{convert|2,608|km|abbr=on}} streets are [[Road surface|paved]] and {{convert|19,492|km|abbr=on}} are unpaved.<ref name="factbook" /> A {{convert|750|km|abbr=on}} highway connects major cities in the northern part of the country, such as [[Bosaso]], [[Galkayo]] and [[Garowe]], with towns in the south.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20130223041615/http://www.waayaha.net/view.php?articleid=7880 The First 100 Days in Office]}}. Waayaha.net. 26 April 2009.</ref>

Sixty-two airports across Somalia accommodate aerial transportation; seven of these have paved runways. Among the latter, four airports have runways of over {{Convert|3,047|m|ft}}; two are between {{cvt|2,438|and|3,047|m|ft}} and one is {{cvt|1,524|to|2,437|m|ft}} long.<ref name="factbook" /> There are fifty-five airports with unpaved landing areas. One has a runway of over 3,047&nbsp;m; four are between 2,438&nbsp;m and 3,047&nbsp;m in length; twenty are 1,524&nbsp;m to 2,437&nbsp;m; twenty-four are 914&nbsp;m to 1,523&nbsp;m; and six are under {{Convert|914|m|ft}}.<ref name="factbook"/> Major airports in the nation include the [[Aden Adde International Airport]] in Mogadishu, the [[Hargeisa International Airport]] in Hargeisa, the [[Kismayo Airport]] in [[Kismayo]], the [[Baidoa Airport]] in Baidoa, and the [[Bender Qassim International Airport]] in Bosaso.

Established in 1964, [[Somali Airlines]] was the [[flag carrier]] of Somalia. It suspended operations during the civil war.<ref>''Africa Review 2003: The Economic and Business Report'', Walden Publishing, 2003, p. 299, {{ISBN|1-86217-037-1}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= World Airline Directory – Somali Airlines|publisher= [[Flight International]]|date= 5–11 April 1995|format= PDF|url= http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1995/1995%20-%201010.html|access-date= 19 October 2011|archive-date= 8 April 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230408194710/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1995/1995%20-%201010.html|url-status= live}}</ref> However, a reconstituted Somali government later began preparations in 2012 for an expected relaunch of the airline,<ref>{{cite news|title= Somalia to revive national airline after 21 years|publisher= Laanta|date= 24 July 2012|url= http://laanta.net/2012/07/24/somalia-to-revive-national-airline-after-21-years/|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141102150005/http://laanta.net/2012/07/24/somalia-to-revive-national-airline-after-21-years/|archive-date= 2 November 2014|url-status=dead|access-date= 3 November 2012}}</ref> with the first new Somali Airlines aircraft scheduled for delivery by the end of December 2013.<ref>{{cite news|title=The long awaited Somali Airlines is Coming Back!|url=http://www.keydmedia.net/en/news/article/the_long_awaited_somali_airlines_is_coming_back/|access-date=20 November 2013|newspaper=Keydmedia Online|date=20 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202231315/http://www.keydmedia.net/en/news/article/the_long_awaited_somali_airlines_is_coming_back/|archive-date=2 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to the [[Somali Chamber of Commerce and Industry]], the void created by the closure of Somali Airlines has since been filled by various Somali-owned private carriers. Over six of these private airline firms offer commercial flights to both domestic and international locations, including [[Daallo Airlines]], [[Jubba Airways]], [[African Express Airways]], East Africa 540, Central Air and Hajara.<ref name="Scca" />

Possessing the longest coastline on the continent,<ref name="FactbookCoastline2"/> Somalia has several major [[seaport]]s. Maritime transport facilities are found in the port cities of Mogadishu, Bosaso, [[Berbera]], [[Kismayo]] and [[Merca]]. There is also one [[merchant marine]]. Established in 2008, it is cargo-based.<ref name="factbook"/>

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Demographics of Somalia}}

{{see also|List of cities in Somalia by population}}
{|class="wikitable" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px"
! colspan="4"  style="text-align:center; background:#cfb;"|Population{{UN_Population|ref}}
|-
! style="background:#cfb;"|Year
! style="background:#cfb;"|Million
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|1950 ||style="text-align:right;"|2.3
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|2000 ||style="text-align:right;"|9.0
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|{{UN_Population|Year}} ||style="text-align:right;"|{{#expr:{{formatnum:{{UN_Population|Somalia}}|R}}/1e6 round 1}}
|}
Somalia lacks reliable population data.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Linard|first1=Catherine|last2=Alegana|first2=Victor A.|last3=Noor|first3=Abdisalan M.|last4=Snow|first4=Robert W.|last5=Tatem|first5=Andrew J.|title=A high resolution spatial population database of Somalia for disease risk mapping|journal=International Journal of Health Geographics|volume=9|issue=1|year=2010|page=45|doi=10.1186/1476-072X-9-45|pmid=20840751|pmc=2949749 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2010IJHGg...9...45L }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Zeid|first1=Alaa Abou|last2=Cochran|first2=James J.|title=Understanding the crisis in Somalia|journal=Significance|volume=11|issue=1|year=2014|pages=4–9|doi=10.1111/j.1740-9713.2014.00717.x|s2cid=153333081 }}</ref> The country had an estimated population of around {{#expr:{{formatnum:{{UN_Population|Somalia}}|R}}/1e6 round 1}} million inhabitants in {{UN_Population|Year}};{{UN_Population|ref}}{{UN_Population|ref}}<ref>{{cite web |title=World Bank Open Data |url=https://data.worldbank.org/country/SO |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130043543/https://data.worldbank.org/country/SO |archive-date=30 November 2023 |access-date=4 April 2024}}</ref> the total population according to the 1975 census was 3.3 million.<ref>"[http://countrystudies.us/somalia/36.htm Somalia – population] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511100023/http://countrystudies.us/somalia/36.htm |date=11 May 2011 }}". [[Library of Congress Country Studies]].</ref> A [[United Nations Population Fund]] survey conducted in 2013 and 2014 estimated the total population to be 12,316,895.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://somalia.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Population-Estimation-Survey-of-Somalia-PESS-2013-2014.pdf|title=Population Estimation Survey 2014 for the 18 pre-war regions of Somalia|publisher=United Nations Population Fund|page=22|date=October 2014|access-date=20 October 2020|archive-date=4 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804014649/http://somalia.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Population-Estimation-Survey-of-Somalia-PESS-2013-2014.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

About 85% of local residents are [[Somali people|ethnic Somalis]],<ref name="factbook"/> who have historically inhabited the northern part of the country.<ref name="Abdullahi 2001 8_11">{{Harvnb|Diriye Abdullahi|2001|pp=8–11}}.</ref> They have traditionally been organised into nomadic pastoral clans, loose empires, sultanates and city-states.<ref name="Abdullahi 2001 138">{{Harvnb|Diriye Abdullahi|2001|p=138}}.</ref> [[Somali Civil War|Civil strife]] in the early 1990s greatly increased the size of the [[Somali diaspora]], as many of the best educated Somalis left the country.<ref>[http://www.innercitypress.com/UNPOSstrategy.doc Somali Diaspora] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511121402/http://www.innercitypress.com/UNPOSstrategy.doc |date=11 May 2011 }} – ''[[Inner City Press]]''</ref>

Non-Somali ethnic minority groups make up the remainder of Somalia's population, and are largely concentrated in the southern regions.<ref name="Abdullahi 2001 8_11"/> They include [[Bravanese people|Bravanese]], [[Somali Bantu|Bantus]], [[Bajuni people|Bajuni]], [[People of Ethiopia|Ethiopians]] (especially [[Oromo people|Oromos]]), [[Demographics of Yemen|Yemenis]], [[Indians in Somalia|Indians]], [[Persian people|Persians]], [[Italian Somalis|Italians]] and [[British people|Britons]]. The Bantus, the largest ethnic minority group in Somalia, are the descendants of [[Slavery in Somalia|slaves]] who were brought in from southeastern Africa by Arab and Somali traders.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://webdev.cal.org/development/co/bantu/sbpeop.html |title=The Somali Bantu: Their History and Culture – People |publisher=Cal.org |access-date=21 February 2013 |archive-date=16 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416191857/http://webdev.cal.org/development/co/bantu/sbpeop.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1940, there were about 50,000 [[Italian Somalis|Italians]] living in Italian Somaliland.<ref>Tripodi, Paolo. ''The Colonial Legacy in Somalia''. p. 66</ref> Most Europeans left after independence, while a small number of Westerners are still present in Somalia mainly working for [[international organization|international organisations]] operating in Somalia.
[[File:Population pyramid of Somalia 2015.png|thumb|left|upright=1.35|Population per age group]]

A sizeable Somali diaspora exists in various [[Western world|Western countries]], such as the [[United States]] (particularly in the state of [[Minnesota]]) and in the [[United Kingdom]] (particularly in [[London]]), [[Sweden]], [[Canada]], [[Norway]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Germany]], [[Denmark]], [[Finland]], [[Australia]], [[Switzerland]], [[Austria]], and [[Italy]], as well on the Arabian peninsula, and several African nations, such as [[Uganda]] and [[South Africa]]. The Somali diaspora is deeply involved in the politics and development of Somalia. The former president of Somalia, [[Farmaajo|Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed]], was a former diaspora Somali and held [[Citizenship of the United States|US citizenship]] which he voluntarily renounced in 2019.<ref>{{cite tweet |author=Villa Somalia |user=TheVillaSomalia |number=1156849940313903104 |date=1 August 2019 |title=Warsaxaafadeed ku saabsan celinta jinsiyaddii labaad ee Madaxweynaha Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya Mudane @M_Farmaajo.pic.twitter.com/AtMOPKyN3E |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802071052/https://twitter.com/TheVillaSomalia/status/1156849940313903104 |url-status=live |archive-date=2019-08-02 |language=et |access-date=2019-08-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/somalias-president-renounces-us-citizenship|title=Somalia's president renounces US citizenship|date=2019-08-01|website=The Washington Examiner|language=en|access-date=2019-08-01|archive-date=1 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801202242/https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/somalias-president-renounces-us-citizenship|url-status=live}}</ref>

Somalia's population is expanding at a growth rate of 1.75% per annum and a birth rate of 40.87 births per 1,000 people.<ref name="factbook"/> The [[total fertility rate]] of Somalia is 6.08 children born per woman (2014 estimates), the fourth highest in the world, according to the [[CIA World Factbook]].<ref name="factbook"/> Most local residents are young, with a median age of 17.7 years; about 44% of the population is between the ages of 0–14 years, 52% is between the ages of 15–64 years, and only 2% is 65 years of age or older.<ref name="factbook"/> The [[Sex ratio|gender ratio]] is roughly balanced, with proportionally about as many men as women.<ref name="factbook"/>

There is little reliable statistical information on [[urbanization|urbanisation]] in Somalia. Rough estimates have been made indicating a rate of urbanisation of 4.8% per annum (2005–2010 est.), with many towns quickly growing into cities.<ref name="factbook"/> Many ethnic minorities have also moved from rural areas to urban centres since the onset of the civil war, particularly to [[Mogadishu]] and [[Kismayo]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131024155331/http://www.persee.fr/articleAsPDF/ethio_0066-2127_2003_num_19_1_1051/article_ethio_0066-2127_2003_num_19_1_1051.pdf Bantu ethnic identities in Somalia]. (PDF). Retrieved 15 December 2011.</ref> {{As of|2008}}, 37.7% of the nation's population live in towns and cities, with the percentage rapidly increasing.<ref name="factbook"/>

=== Languages ===
{{Main|Languages of Somalia}}

[[Somali language|Somali]] is the official language of Somalia while [[Arabic language|Arabic]] is recognized as the second language per the constitution.<ref name="Frspc"/><ref name=MFA>{{cite web|url=https://web.mfa.gov.so/the-government/|title=The Government|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation|access-date=27 February 2025}}</ref><ref name=Ali>{{cite book|last=Ali|first=Maryan|title=The Palgrave Handbook of Language Policies in Africa|editor1-first=Esther Mukewa|editor1-last=Lisanza|editor2-first=Leonard|editor2-last=Muaka|chapter=Language Policy in Somaliland and Somalia|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|location=Cham|year=2024|isbn=9783031573071|doi=10.1007/978-3-031-57308-8_24|pages=511–524}}</ref><ref name="MFA2">{{cite web |title=The Government |url=https://web.mfa.gov.so/the-government/ |access-date=27 February 2025 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation}}</ref><ref name="Ali2">{{cite book |last=Ali |first=Maryan |title=The Palgrave Handbook of Language Policies in Africa |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2024 |isbn=9783031573071 |editor1-last=Lisanza |editor1-first=Esther Mukewa |location=Cham |pages=511–524 |chapter=Language Policy in Somaliland and Somalia |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-57308-8_24 |editor2-last=Muaka |editor2-first=Leonard}}</ref><ref name="factbook2">{{cite web |date=10 November 2021 |title=Somalia |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/somalia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125103534/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/somalia/ |archive-date=25 January 2021 |access-date=24 January 2021 |website=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref> The Somali language is the mother tongue of the [[Somali people]], the nation's most populous ethnic group.<ref name="factbook" /> It is a member of the [[Cushitic languages|Cushitic]] branch of the [[Afro-Asiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]] language family, and its nearest relatives are the [[Oromo language|Oromo]], [[Afar language|Afar]] and [[Saho language|Saho]] languages.<ref>I. M. Lewis (1998) ''Peoples of the Horn of Africa: Somali, Afar and Saho'', Red Sea Press, p. 11, {{ISBN|1-56902-104-X}}.</ref> Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages,<ref>{{Harvnb|Lecarme|Maury|1987|p=22}}.</ref> with academic studies of it dating from before 1900.

[[File:Somali Stone.jpg|thumb|[[Stone tablet]] from the 14th century in the [[Wadaad's writing|Wadaad]] orthography]]

Somali [[dialect]]s are divided into three main groups: [[Northern Somali|Northern]], [[Benadiri Somali|Benadir]] and [[Maay language|Maay]]. Northern Somali (or Northern-Central Somali) forms the basis for Standard Somali. Benadir (also known as Coastal Somali) is spoken on the [[Benadir]] coast, from [[Adale]] to south of [[Merca]] including Mogadishu, as well as in the immediate hinterland. The coastal dialects have additional [[phoneme]]s that do not exist in Standard Somali. Maay is principally spoken by the Digil and Mirifle ([[Rahanweyn]]) clans in the southern areas of Somalia.<ref>Andrew Dalby (1998) ''Dictionary of languages: the definitive reference to more than 400 languages'', Columbia University Press, p. 571, {{ISBN|0-7136-7841-0}}.</ref> Benadiri is the main dialect spoken in the country, in contrast to Northern Somali which is the main dialect spoken in Somaliland.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Blench|first1=Roger|author-link=Roger Blench|year=2006|title=The Afro-Asiatic Languages: Classification and Reference List|url=http://rogerblench.info/Language/Afroasiatic/General/AALIST.pdf|page=3|access-date=25 April 2021|archive-date=7 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007050740/http://rogerblench.info/Language/Afroasiatic/General/AALIST.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

A number of [[writing system]]s have been used over the years for transcribing the Somali language. Of these, the [[Somali alphabet]] is the most widely used, and has been the official writing script in Somalia since the Supreme Revolutionary Council formally introduced it in October 1972.<ref>Economist Intelligence Unit (Great Britain) ''Middle East annual review'' (1975) p. 229</ref> Other orthographies that have been used for centuries for writing Somali include the long-established [[Arabic alphabet|Arabic script]] and [[Wadaad's writing]]. Indigenous writing systems developed in the 20th century include the [[Osmanya alphabet|Osmanya]], [[Borama alphabet|Borama]] and [[Kaddare alphabet|Kaddare]] scripts.<ref>{{Harvnb|Laitin|1977|pp=86–87}}.</ref>

[[Arabic language|Arabic]], the second language in Somalia,<ref name="Frspc"/> is spoken by around a million Somalis<ref name="ethnologue.com">{{Cite web |title=Somalia |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/so/languages |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308060654/https://www.ethnologue.com/country/so/languages |archive-date=8 March 2021 |access-date=2 February 2020 |website=Ethnologue}}</ref> due to centuries-old ties with the [[Arab world]], the far-reaching influence of the Arabic media, and religious education.<ref name="Dubnov">Helena Dubnov (2003) ''A grammatical sketch of Somali'', Kِppe, pp. 70–71.</ref><ref>Diana Briton Putman, Mohamood Cabdi Noor (1993) ''The Somalis: their history and culture'', Center for Applied Linguistics, p. 15.: "Somalis speak Somali. Many people also speak Arabic, and educated Somalis usually speak either English or Italian as well. Swahili may also be spoken in coastal areas near Kenya."</ref><ref>Fiona MacDonald et al. (2000) ''Peoples of Africa'', Vol. 10, Marshall Cavendish, p. 178.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Studies |first=American University (Washington, D.C. ) Foreign Area |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0pyAAAAMAAJ&dq=Somali+arab+ties&pg=PA235 |title=Area Handbook for Somalia: Co-authors: Irving Kaplan [et al.] Research and Writing Were Completed on June 15, 1969 |date=1969 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=235 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=1 December 2005 |title=Middle East Policy Council – Muslim Populations Worldwide |url=http://www.mepc.org/workshops/popstat.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214023655/http://www.mepc.org/workshops/popstat.asp |archive-date=14 December 2006 |access-date=27 June 2010 |publisher=Mepc.org}}</ref><ref name="Abdullahi 2001 12">{{Harvnb|Diriye Abdullahi|2001|p=1}}.</ref> 

[[English language|English]] is widely spoken and taught. It used to be an administrative language in the British Somaliland protectorate and due to [[globalization|globalisation]] is now also prominent across Somalia. English is the [[medium of instruction]] at many universities across Somalia,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mu.edu.so/|title=Mogadishu University – Towards A Better Future|website=Mogadishu University|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-02|archive-date=2 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802053349/https://mu.edu.so/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://psu.edu.so/|title=Puntland State University {{!}} PSU is an Agent of Change|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-02|archive-date=2 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802100739/https://psu.edu.so/|url-status=live}}</ref> and is one of the primary working languages of major [[Non-governmental organization|NGO]]s operating in Somalia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://somalia.savethechildren.net/|title=Somalia {{!}} Save the Children|website=somalia.savethechildren.net|access-date=2019-08-02|archive-date=2 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802100747/https://somalia.savethechildren.net/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ri.org/reach/africa/somalia|title=Somalia|website=Relief International|language=en|access-date=2019-08-02|archive-date=2 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802100748/https://www.ri.org/reach/africa/somalia|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.care-international.org/where-we-work/somalia|title=Where We Work {{!}} Care International|website=www.care-international.org|access-date=2019-08-02|archive-date=2 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802100739/https://www.care-international.org/where-we-work/somalia|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://drc.ngo/where-we-work/east-africa/somalia|title=Somalia {{!}} DRC|website=drc.ngo|language=da-DK|access-date=2019-08-02|archive-date=2 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802100739/https://drc.ngo/where-we-work/east-africa/somalia|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Italian language|Italian]] was an official language in Italian Somaliland and during the trusteeship period, but its use significantly diminished following independence. It is now most frequently heard among older generations, government officials, and in educated circles.<ref name="Dubnov"/><ref name="ethnologue.com"/>

Other minority languages include [[Bravanese dialect|Bravanese]], a variant of the [[Bantu languages|Bantu]] [[Swahili language]] that is spoken along the coast by the [[Bravanese people]], as well as [[Bajuni dialect|Kibajuni]], a Swahili dialect that is the mother tongue of the [[Bajuni people|Bajuni]] minority ethnic group.

=== Urban areas ===
{{Largest cities of Somalia}}

=== Religion ===
{{bar box|float=right
|title=[[Religion in Somalia]] 2010<ref name="Pew">{{cite web |title=The Global Religious Landscape|url=http://www.pewforum.org/files/2012/12/globalReligion-full.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806002044/http://www.pewforum.org/files/2012/12/globalReligion-full.pdf|archive-date=6 August 2013|publisher=Pew Research Center|access-date=27 December 2013|page=49}}</ref>|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Religion|right1=Percent
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Islam in Somalia|Islam]]|green|99.8}}
{{bar percent|Other|red|0.2}}
}}
{{Main|Religion in Somalia}}

[[File:Mosislsol2.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Mosque of Islamic Solidarity]] in Mogadishu is the largest mosque in the Horn region.]]
According to the [[Pew Research Center]], 99.8% of Somalia's population is [[Muslim]].<ref name="Pew"/> The majority belong to the [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] branch of [[Islam]] and the [[Shafi'i]] school of [[Islamic jurisprudence]].<ref name="Abdullahi 2001 12"/> [[Sufism]], the [[mysticism|mystical]] sect of Islam, is also well established, with many local ''jama'a'' (''[[Zaouia|zawiya]]'') or congregations of the various ''[[Tariqah|tariiqa]]'' or Sufi orders.<ref>I. M. Lewis (1998) ''Saints and Somalis: Popular Islam in a Clan-based Society'', The Red Sea Press, pp. 8–9, {{ISBN|1-56902-103-1}}.</ref> The constitution of Somalia likewise defines Islam as the state religion of the Federal Republic of Somalia, and Islamic [[sharia]] law as the basic source for national legislation. It also stipulates that no law that is inconsistent with the basic tenets of Shari'a can be enacted.<ref name="Frspc"/>

[[Christianity]] is a minority religion in Somalia, with adherents representing less than 0.1% of the population in 2010 according to the Pew Research Center.<ref name="Pew"/> The number of Christians in Somalia is estimated at 1,000 people.<ref name="economist">{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/world/middleeast-africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14707279 |title=Almost expunged: Somalia's Embattled Christians |date=2009-10-22 |access-date=2009-10-22 |newspaper=The Economist |archive-date=25 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025043912/http://www.economist.com/world/middleeast-africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14707279 |url-status=live }}</ref> There is one [[Catholicism|Catholic]] diocese for the whole country, the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Mogadiscio|Diocese of Mogadishu]], which estimates that there were only about one hundred Catholic practitioners in 2004.<ref>{{Catholic-hierarchy|diocese|dmgds|Diocese of Mogadiscio|23 January 2015}}</ref>

In 1913, during the early part of the colonial era, there were virtually no Christians in the Somali territories, with only about 100–200 followers coming from the schools and orphanages of the few Catholic missions in the [[British Somaliland]] [[protectorate]].<ref>[[Charles George Herbermann]] (1913) ''The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', Vol. 14, Robert Appleton Co., p. 139.</ref> There were also no known Catholic missions in Italian Somaliland during the same period.<ref>Charles Henry Robinson (2007) [1915], ''History of Christian Missions'', Read Books, p. 356.</ref> In the 1970s, during the reign of Somalia's then [[Marxism|Marxist]] government, church-run schools were closed and [[Missionary|missionaries]] sent home. There has been no [[archbishop]] in the country since 1989, and the [[Mogadishu Cathedral|cathedral]] in Mogadishu was severely damaged during the civil war. In December 2013, the Ministry of Justice and Religious Affairs also released a directive prohibiting the celebration of Christian festivities in the country.<ref>{{cite news|last=Khalif|first=Abdulkadir|title=Somalia bans Christmas celebrations|url=http://mobile.nation.co.ke/news/Somalia-bans-Christmas-celebrations/-/1950946/2125192/-/format/xhtml/-/774d8c/-/index.html|access-date=3 January 2014|newspaper=Daily Nation|date=25 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211105011/http://mobile.nation.co.ke/news/Somalia-bans-Christmas-celebrations/-/1950946/2125192/-/format/xhtml/-/774d8c/-/index.html|archive-date=11 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

According to the Pew Research Center, less than 0.1% of Somalia's population in 2010 were adherents of [[folk religion]]s.<ref name="Pew"/> These mainly consisted of some non-Somali ethnic minority groups in the southern parts of the country, who practice [[animism]]. In the case of the [[Somali Bantu|Bantu]], these religious traditions were inherited from their ancestors in [[Southeast Africa]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |url=http://www.unhcr.org/publ/PUBL/3d9ac1502.pdf |title=Refugees Vol. 3, No. 128, 2002 UNHCR Publication Refugees about the Somali Bantu |date=1 September 2002 |access-date=27 June 2010 |archive-date=14 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614220126/http://www.unhcr.org/publ/PUBL/3d9ac1502.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Additionally, according to the Pew Research Center, less than 0.1% of Somalia's population in 2010 were adherents of [[Judaism]], [[Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]], or [[Irreligion by country|unaffiliated with any religion]].<ref name="Pew"/>

=== Health ===
{{Main|Healthcare in Somalia|Child marriage in Somalia}}

[[File:Life expectancy in Somalia.png|thumb|right|Life expectancy in Somalia, 1950 to 2023]]
Until the collapse of the federal government in 1991, the organisational and administrative structure of Somalia's [[healthcare]] sector was overseen by the Ministry of Health. Regional medical officials enjoyed some authority, but healthcare was largely centralised. The [[Socialism|socialist]] government of former President of Somalia [[Siad Barre]] had put an end to private medical practice in 1972.<ref>Maxamed Siyaad Barre (1970) ''My country and my people: the collected speeches of Major-General Mohamed Siad Barre'', President, the Supreme Revolutionary Council, Somali Democratic Republic, Vol. 3, Ministry of Information and National Guidance, p. 141.</ref> Much of the national budget was devoted to military expenditure, leaving few resources for healthcare, among other services.<ref name="Petletbet">{{cite web|url=http://www.peterleeson.com/Better_Off_Stateless.pdf|title=Better Off Stateless: Somalia Before and After Government Collapse|access-date=27 June 2010|archive-date=16 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110116082923/http://www.peterleeson.com/Better_Off_Stateless.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Somalia's public healthcare system was largely destroyed during the ensuing civil war. As with other previously nationalised sectors, informal providers have filled the vacuum and replaced the former government monopoly over healthcare, with access to facilities witnessing a significant increase.<ref name="ANEITMIS">{{cite web |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/22522103/Svrger-2008-Vol-4 |title=Entrepreneurship and Statelessness: A Natural Experiment in the Making in Somalia |publisher=Scribd.com |date=1 October 2008 |access-date=30 December 2010 |archive-date=29 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129025903/http://www.scribd.com/doc/22522103/Svrger-2008-Vol-4 |url-status=live }}</ref> Many new healthcare centres, clinics, hospitals and pharmacies have in the process been established through home-grown Somali initiatives.<ref name="ANEITMIS"/> The cost of medical consultations and treatment in these facilities is low, at $5.72 per visit in health centres (with a population coverage of 95%), and $1.89–3.97 per outpatient visit and $7.83–13.95 per bed day in primary through tertiary hospitals.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/choice/country/som/cost/en/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060626140831/http://www.who.int/choice/country/som/cost/en/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 June 2006 |title=Estimates of Unit Costs for Patient Services for Somalia |publisher=World Health Organization |date=6 December 2010 |access-date=12 June 2011}}</ref>

Comparing the 2005–2010 period with the half-decade just prior to the outbreak of the conflict (1985–1990), [[life expectancy]] actually increased from an average of 47 years for men and women to 48.2 years for men and 51 years for women.<ref name="Uhdrsom01">UNDP (2001). Human Development Report 2001-Somalia. New York: UNDP.</ref><ref name="Udasom">{{cite web |url=http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=Somalia |title=UNdata – Somalia |publisher=United Nations |date=20 September 1960 |access-date=12 June 2011 |archive-date=25 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225171834/http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=Somalia |url-status=live }}</ref> Similarly, the number of one-year-olds fully immunised against [[measles]] rose from 30% in 1985–1990 to 40% in 2000–2005,<ref name="Uhdrsom01"/><ref name="Wbunses">World Bank and UNDP (2003). Socio-Economic Survey-Somalia-2004. Washington, D.C./New York: UNDP and World Bank.</ref> and for [[tuberculosis]], it grew nearly 20% from 31% to 50% over the same period.<ref name="Uhdrsom01"/><ref name="Wbunses"/>

The number of infants with low birth weight fell from 16 per 1,000 to 0.3, a 15% drop in total over the same time frame.<ref name="Uhdrsom01"/><ref>World Bank and UNDP (2003). Socio-Economic Survey-Somalia-1999. Washington, D.C./New York: UNDP and World Bank.</ref> Between 2005 and 2010 as compared to the 1985–1990 period, [[infant mortality]] per 1,000 births also fell from 152 to 109.6.<ref name="Uhdrsom01"/><ref name="Udasom"/> Significantly, maternal mortality per 100,000 births fell from 1,600 in the pre-war 1985–1990 half-decade to 1,100 in the 2000–2005 period.<ref name="Uhdrsom01"/><ref>UNDP (2006). Human Development Report 2006. New York: UNDP.</ref> The number of physicians per 100,000 people also rose from 3.4 to 4 over the same time frame,<ref name="Uhdrsom01"/><ref name="Wbunses"/> as did the percentage of the population with access to sanitation services, which increased from 18% to 26%.<ref name="Uhdrsom01"/><ref name="Wbunses"/>

According to [[United Nations Population Fund]] data on the midwifery workforce, there is a total of 429 midwives (including nurse-midwives) in Somalia, with a density of one midwife per 1,000 live births. Eight midwifery institutions presently exist in the country, two of which are private. Midwifery is regulated by the government, and a license is required to practice professionally. A live registry is also in place to keep track of licensed midwives. In addition, midwives in the country are officially represented by a local midwives association, with 350 registered members.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unfpa.org/sowmy/report/home.html|title=The State Of The World's Midwifery|publisher=United Nations Population Fund|access-date=1 June 2016|archive-date=20 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120184853/http://www.unfpa.org/sowmy/report/home.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to a 2005 World Health Organization estimate, about 97.9% of Somalia's women and girls underwent [[female genital mutilation]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/fgm/prevalence/en/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090716094114/http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/fgm/prevalence/en/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 July 2009 |title=Prevalence of FGM |publisher=World Health Organization |date=9 December 2010 |access-date=30 December 2010}}</ref> a pre-marital custom mainly endemic to the [[horn of Africa]] and parts of the Near East.<ref>{{cite journal |author=[[Rose Oldfield Hayes]] |year=1975 |title=Female genital mutilation, fertility control, women's roles, and the patrilineage in modern Sudan: a functional analysis |journal=American Ethnologist |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=617–633 |doi=10.1525/ae.1975.2.4.02a00030|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>Herbert L. Bodman, [[Nayereh Tohidi|Nayereh Esfahlani Tohidi]] (1998) ''Women in Muslim societies: diversity within unity'', Lynne Rienner Publishers, p. 41, {{ISBN|1-55587-578-5}}.</ref> Encouraged by women in the community, it is primarily intended to protect chastity, deter promiscuity, and offer protection from assault.<ref>Suzanne G. Frayser, Thomas J. Whitby (1995) ''Studies in human sexuality: a selected guide'', Libraries Unlimited, p. 257, {{ISBN|1-56308-131-8}}.</ref><ref>Goldenstein, Rachel. "Female Genital Cutting: Nursing Implications". ''Journal of Transcultural Nursing''. 25.1 (2014): 95–101. Web. 19 February 2014.</ref> By 2013, UNICEF in conjunction with the Somali authorities reported that the prevalence rate among 1- to 14-year-old girls in the autonomous northern Puntland and Somaliland regions had dropped to 25% following a social and religious awareness campaign.<ref>{{cite news |title=Somalia: Female genital mutilation down|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/04/16/somalia-female-genital-mutilation-down.html|access-date=17 May 2013|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=The Jakarta Post|date=16 April 2013}}</ref> About 93% of Somalia's male population is also reportedly circumcised.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cid.harvard.edu/neudc07/docs/neudc07_s1_p02_ahuja.pdf |title=Male Circumcision and AIDS: The Macroeconomic Impact of a Health Crisis by Eric Werker, Amrita Ahuja, and Brian Wendell :: NEUDC 2007 Papers :: Northeast Universities Development Consortium Conference|publisher= Center for International Development at Harvard University |access-date=30 December 2010}}</ref>

Somalia has one of the lowest [[HIV]] infection rates on the continent. This is attributed to the Muslim nature of Somali society and adherence of Somalis to Islamic morals.<ref name="RCTHIV">{{cite journal |url=http://ams.ac.ir/aim/07104/0012.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413173845/http://ams.ac.ir/aim/07104/0012.pdf |archive-date=13 April 2008 |title=Religious and cultural traits in HIV/AIDS epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa|author=Ali-Akbar Velayati |author-link=Ali Akbar Velayati |author2=Valerii Bakayev |author3=Moslem Bahadori |author-link3=Moslem Bahadori |author4=Seyed-Javad Tabatabaei |author5=Arash Alaei |author6=Amir Farahbood |author7=Mohammad-Reza Masjedi|pmid=17903054|year=2007|volume=10|issue=4|pages=486–497|journal=Archives of Iranian Medicine}}</ref> While the estimated HIV prevalence rate in Somalia in 1987 (the first case report year) was 1% of adults,<ref name="RCTHIV"/> a 2012 report from UNAIDS says that since 2004, estimates from 0.7% to 1.0% have been assumed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/featurestories/2012/july/20120726mogadishu|title=Mogadishu – HIV in a time of unrest|website=www.unaids.org}}</ref>

Although healthcare is now largely concentrated in the private sector, the country's public healthcare system is in the process of being rebuilt, and is overseen by the Ministry of Health. The Minister of Health is Qamar Adan Ali.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emro.who.int/EMROInfo/moh/somalia.htm |title=The Regional Office And Its Partners – Somalia |publisher=Emro.who.int |access-date=30 December 2010 |archive-date=18 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218124445/http://www.emro.who.int/EMROInfo/moh/somalia.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The autonomous Puntland region maintains its own Ministry of Health,<ref>[http://health.puntlandgovt.com/ Ministry of Health – Puntland State of Somalia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417192409/http://health.puntlandgovt.com/ |date=17 April 2018 }}. Health.puntlandgovt.com. Retrieved 15 December 2011.</ref> as does the Somaliland region in northwestern Somalia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://somalilandgov.com/govt-ministries/|title=Somaliland – Government Ministries |publisher=Somalilandgov.com |access-date=30 December 2010}}</ref>

Some of the prominent healthcare facilities in the country are [[East Bardera Mothers and Children's Hospital]], [[Abudwak Maternity and Children's Hospital]], [[Edna Adan Maternity Hospital]] and [[West Bardera Maternity Unit]].

=== Education ===
{{Main|Education in Somalia}}

The [[Ministry of Education (Somalia)|Ministry of Education]] is officially responsible for education in Somalia, and oversees the nation's [[Primary education|primary]], [[Secondary education|secondary]], [[Vocational education|technical and vocational]] schools, as well as primary and technical [[Teacher education|teacher training]] and [[Nonformal learning|non-formal education]]. About 15% of the government's budget is allocated toward scholastic instruction.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wes.org/ca/wedb/somalia/soedov.htm |title=Somalia – Education Overview |publisher=Wes.org |date=6 May 2004 |access-date=30 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511075522/http://www.wes.org/ca/wedb/somalia/soedov.htm |archive-date=11 May 2011}}</ref> The autonomous Puntland and Somaliland macro-regions maintain their own Ministries of Education.

[[File:Mogauniv1.jpg|thumb|[[Mogadishu University]]'s main campus in Mogadishu]]
Higher education in Somalia is now largely private. Several universities in the country, including [[Mogadishu University]], have been scored among the 100 best universities in Africa in spite of the harsh environment, which has been hailed as a triumph for [[grass-roots]] initiatives.<ref name="Somtroap"/> Other universities also offering higher education in the south include [[Benadir University]], the [[Somalia National University]], [[Kismayo University]] and the [[University of Gedo]]. In Puntland, higher education is provided by the [[Puntland State University]] and [[East Africa University]]. In Somaliland, it is provided by [[Amoud University]], the [[University of Hargeisa]], [[Somaliland University of Technology]] and [[Burao University]].

[[Madrasah|Qu'ranic schools]] (also known as ''dugsi quran'' or ''mal'aamad quran'') remain the basic system of traditional religious instruction. Known as the most stable local, non-formal system of education providing basic religious and moral instruction, their strength rests on community support and their use of locally made and widely available teaching materials. The Qu'ranic system, which teaches the greatest number of students relative to other educational sub-sectors, is often the only system accessible to Somalis in nomadic as compared to urban areas. To address shortcomings in religious instruction, the Somali government on its own part also subsequently established the Ministry of Endowment and Islamic Affairs, under which Qur'anic education is now regulated.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pitt.edu/~ginie/somalia/pdf/koran.pdf |title=Koranic School Project|access-date=27 June 2010}}</ref>

== Culture ==
{{Main|Culture of Somalia}}

=== Cuisine ===
{{Main|Somali cuisine}}

[[File:Banadir3.jpg|thumb|Assortment of various popular Somali dishes]]
Somali cuisine is a mixture of various culinary influences that is derived from [[Arab cuisine|Arab]], [[Indian cuisine|Indian]], and [[Italian cuisine|Italian]] flavours as a direct result of Somalia's extensive history of trade and commerce.<ref>{{Harvnb|Diriye Abdullahi|2001|p=109}}</ref> Examples of Somali dishes include staples like [[rice]] and [[pasta]], along with [[meat]]s such as [[Lamb and mutton|lamb]], [[beef]], and [[chicken]]. Aromatic [[spice]]s such as [[cumin]], [[cardamom]], and [[coriander]] are often used to give distinct flavours to dishes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Report on Somali Diet |url=https://ethnomed.org/resource/report-on-somali-diet/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=EthnoMed |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hooyoshousecom |date=2023-06-30 |title=Exploring the Aromatic World of Traditional Somali Spice Blends |url=https://hooyoshouse.medium.com/exploring-the-aromatic-world-of-traditional-somali-spice-blends-3ab93879b74e |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=Medium |language=en}}</ref>

Alongside [[stew]]s, traditional [[flatbread]]s, and [[Pastry|pastries]], another Somali dish is the "[[Lahoh|Canjeero/Lahooh]]", a variation of fermented [[pancake]]-like [[flatbread]] that is savoured in Somalia and in neighbouring countries like [[Injera|Ethiopia]], [[Eritrea]], and [[Yemen]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-01-01 |title=Yemenite Lahoh (Lachoch) |url=https://www.deliciousisrael.com/blog/lahoh |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=Delicious Israel |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Diriye Abdullahi|2001|page=113}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Somali Anjero (Canjeero) Anjero Somali {{!}} Xawaash.com |url=http://xawaash.com/?p=1548 |access-date=2024-04-22 |language=en-US |archive-date=4 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004063819/http://xawaash.com/?p=1548 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Additionally, [[camel]] [[meat]] and [[milk]] are considered a delicacy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Guliye |first1=A.Y. |last2=Noor |first2=I.M. |last3=Bebe |first3=B.O. |last4=Kosgey |first4=I.S. |title=Role of Camels ( Camelus Dromedarius ) in the Traditional Lifestyle of Somali Pastoralists in Northern Kenya |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.5367/000000007780223669 |journal=Outlook on Agriculture |language=en |publication-date=March 2007 |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=29–34 |doi=10.5367/000000007780223669 |bibcode=2007OutAg..36...29G |issn=0030-7270|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[Bariis iskukaris|Somali rice]], the usual staple for [[dinner]] or [[lunch]], is typically [[Seasoning|seasoned]] and mixed with various [[ingredient]]s such as [[meat]], [[vegetable]]s, and, in a somewhat unique manner, [[raisin]]s. It is not uncommon for this dish to be presented in a visually appealing manner by incorporating multiple colours, as certain portions may be artificially tinted with shades of yellow or orange using [[saffron]] and other [[spice]]s to enhance its aesthetic appeal.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 14, 2013 |title=Somali Rice Pilaf (Bariis Maraq) Riz Pilaf Somali البيلاف الصومالي |url=http://xawaash.com/?p=5892 |website=Xawaash |access-date=22 April 2024 |archive-date=23 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923064942/http://xawaash.com/?p=5892 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Djiboutian rice (bariis) and fish (kalluun), Liver (beerka) with vegetable also (Sabaayad) pancakes.jpg|thumb|Somali rice (bariis) and fish (kalluun), Liver (beer) with vegetable also (Sabaayad) pancakes]]

The period of [[Italian Somaliland|Italian colonial rule]] saw the widespread adoption of [[pasta]] and [[Lasagna|lasagne]], especially in the south.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Lasagna Landed in Africa |url=https://www.saveur.com/how-lasagna-landed-africa/#:~:text=Somalia%3A%20Colonized,be%20mixed%20in. |website=saveur| date=26 September 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Rose |first=Nick |title=Spaghetti and Bananas Is Somali Comfort Food |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/spaghetti-and-bananas-is-somali-comfort-food/ |work=Vice}}</ref>

[[Tea]] and [[coffee]] are also really popular. Somalis were among the early adopters of [[coffee]] consumption, and Somali merchants were some of the first traders to export coffee beans.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The History of Coffee |url=https://www.cafedirect.co.uk/shop/the-history-of-coffee/#:~:text=Historians%20believe%20that%20coffee%20was%20being%20exported%20from%20Ethiopia%20to%20Yemen%20by%20Somali%20merchants%20at%20the%20beginning%20of%20the%2015th%20Century.%20Mocha%2C%20a%20city%20in%20Yemen%2C%20became%20the%20centre%20of%20the%20coffee%20trade%20around%20this%20time. |website=Cafedirect| date=19 May 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Gavin |first=R. J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cscbDgqCsOMC&q=harar |title=Aden Under British Rule, 1839–1967 |date=1975 |publisher=Hurst |isbn=978-0-903983-14-3 |language=en}}</ref> Somali coffee, known locally as '[[Qahwah|Qahwo]]' and tea 'Shah', stand out due to their preparation method, which involves selecting various [[spice]]s to enhance its flavor profile.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Qahwe |url=https://www.mysomalifood.com/qahwe/ |website=mysomalifood|date=12 June 2011 }}</ref>

'Xalwo', which is closely associated with [[Omani cuisine|Omani]] '[[Halva|Halwa]]', is a smooth jelly-like treat that is made with [[spice]]s, seeds, [[Nut (fruit)|nuts]], and [[Caramelization|caramelised]] [[sugar]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Halwa, Mahyawa and Multiple Registers of Life in the Gulf |url=https://archive-stories.com/Halwa-Mahyawa-and-Multiple-Registers-of-Life-in-the-Gulf#:~:text=Halwa/Xalwo,or%20sesame%20seeds. |website=archive-stories}}</ref> This [[Confectionery|confection]] is commonly served together with Somali '[[Arabic coffee|Qahwo]]'. After meals, homes are traditionally perfumed using [[frankincense]] or [[incense]] ({{lang|so|unsi}}), which is prepared inside an [[Censer|incense burne]]<nowiki/>r referred to as a ''[[dabqaad]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Abdullahi |first=Mohammed |title=Culture and Customs of Somalia (Culture and Customs of Africa) |publisher=Greenwood Press |date=2012 |isbn=9780313313332 |pages=98–99}}</ref>

===Music===
{{Main|Music of Somalia}}

Somalia has a rich musical heritage centred on traditional Somali [[folklore]]. Most Somali songs are [[Pentatonic scale|pentatonic]].  Somali music might be mistaken for the sounds of nearby regions such as Ethiopia, Sudan or the Arabian Peninsula, but it is ultimately recognisable by its unique tunes and styles. Traditional instruments prominently featured in the music of Somalia include the [[oud]] [[lute]]. It is often accompanied by small [[drums]] and a [[Reed (instrument)|reed]] [[flute]] in the background. Somali songs are usually the product of collaboration between [[lyricist]]s ({{lang|so|midho}}), [[songwriter]]s ({{lang|so|laxan}}) and [[Singing|singers]] ({{lang|so|codka}} or "voice").<ref>{{Harvnb|Diriye Abdullahi|2001|pp=170–1}}.</ref>

=== Literature ===
{{Main|Literature of Somalia}}




The Somali community has been a source of many significant poets, writers, and Islamic figures over the years, a considerable proportion of whom have played a pivotal role in influencing and moulding the trajectory of Muslim scholarship and traditions, not just in the Horn of Africa but also reaching far into the Arabian Peninsula and other regions around the world. Somalia has also been called by, among others, the [[Canada|Canadian]] novelist and scholar [[Margaret Laurence]], a "Nation of [[Poet]]s" and a "Nation of [[Bards]]". Famed British explorer and writer [[Richard Francis Burton|Richard Burton]] eloquently wrote about Somalia:<blockquote>"The country teems, with 'poets, poetasters, poetitoes, poetaccios': every man has his recognized position in literature as accurately defined as though he had been reviewed in a century of magazines – the fine ear of this people causing them to take the greatest pleasure in harmonious sounds and poetical expressions, whereas a false quantity or a prosaic phrase excite their violent indignation."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Burton |first=Richard |title=First Footsteps in East Africa |date=1986 |publisher=Dover Publications |orig-year=1856 |isbn=9780785519973}}</ref></blockquote>

==== Contemporary ====
[[File:Hadrawi.jpg|thumb|Famed [[poet]], [[Philosophy|philosopher]] and [[orator]] [[Hadrawi|Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame (Hadraawi)]]]]
With the adoption of the [[Somali alphabet|Latin alphabet]] in 1972 as the nation's standard orthography, numerous contemporary Somali authors have also released novels, some of which have received worldwide acclaim. Among these modern authors, [[Nuruddin Farah]] is the most renowned, receiving, among other honours, the 1998 [[Neustadt International Prize for Literature|Neustadt international prize for Literature]].<ref name=":32">{{cite web |title=Somalia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Somalia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112230316/https://www.britannica.com/place/Somalia |archive-date=12 November 2021 |access-date=11 January 2021 |publisher=Britannica}}</ref> [[Farah Awl|Faarax M.J. Cawl]] is another notable Somali author who is famous for his novel set in the [[Dervish movement (Somali)|Dervish era]], ''Ignorance is the enemy of love''. Somali poetry also thrived during this era with [[Hadrawi|Hadraawi]] gaining national renown for his prose and poetry.

=== Sports ===
{{Main|Sports in Somalia}}

[[Association football|Football]] is the most popular sport in Somalia. Important domestic competitions are the [[Somalia League]] and [[Somalia Cup]], with the [[Somalia national football team]] playing internationally.

[[Basketball]] is also played in the country. The [[FIBA Africa Championship 1981]] was hosted in Mogadishu from 15 to 23 December 1981, during which the [[Somalia national basketball team|national basketball team]] received the bronze medal.<ref>{{cite web |title=1981 African Championship for Men|url=https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/cid/AFMSM/sid/2399/_/1981_African_Championship_for_Men/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090907182902/http://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/cid/AFMSM/sid/2399/_/1981_African_Championship_for_Men/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 September 2009|publisher=FIBA|access-date=15 December 2013}}</ref>

In 2013, a [[Somalia national bandy team]] was formed in [[Borlänge]]. It participated in the [[Bandy World Championship 2014]].

In the [[martial arts]], [[Faisal Jeylani Aweys]] and Mohamed Deq Abdulle of the [[Somalia national taekwondo team|national taekwondo team]] took home a silver medal and fourth place, respectively, at the 2013 Open World [[Taekwondo]] Challenge Cup in [[Tongeren]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Somalia moves forward at world Taekwondo|url=http://horseedmedia.net/2013/03/06/somalia-moves-forward-at-world-taekwondo-pictures/|access-date=19 October 2013|newspaper=Horseed Media|date=6 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022175949/http://horseedmedia.net/2013/03/06/somalia-moves-forward-at-world-taekwondo-pictures/|archive-date=22 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Additionally, Mohamed Jama has won both world and European titles in [[K-1]] and [[Muay Thai|Thai Boxing]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Great Victory for Malta in K1 Kickboxing|url=http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2010-02-10/others/great-victory-for-malta-in-k1-kickboxing-270164/|access-date=18 October 2013|newspaper=Malta Independent|date=10 February 2010}}</ref>

=== Architecture ===
{{Main|Somali architecture}}

[[File:Gondereshe2008.jpg|thumb|200px|The [[Citadel]] of [[Gondershe]]]]Somali architecture is a rich and diverse tradition of engineering and design. Spanning the country's ancient, medieval and early modern periods, it also embraces the fusion of Somalo-Islamic architecture with contemporary Western designs.

In ancient Somalia, [[pyramid]]ical structures known in Somali as ''taalo'' were a popular burial style, with hundreds of these [[dry stone]] monuments scattered around the country today. Houses were built of [[Ashlar|dressed stone]] similar to the ones in [[ancient Egypt]].<ref>John G. Jackson, J. Hampden Jackson (1972) ''Man, God and Civilization'', Citadel Press, p. 216, {{ISBN|0-8065-0858-2}}.</ref> There are also examples of courtyards and large stone walls enclosing settlements, such as the Wargaade Wall.

The adoption of Islam in Somalia's early medieval history brought [[Islamic architecture|Islamic architectural influences]] from [[Arabia]] and [[Persia]]. This stimulated a shift in construction from dry stone and other related materials to [[Coral rag|coral]] stone, [[Mudbrick|sun dried bricks]], and the widespread use of [[limestone]] in Somali architecture. Many of the new architectural designs, such as mosques, were built on the ruins of older structures, a practice that would continue throughout the following centuries.<ref>{{Harvnb|Diriye Abdullahi|2001|p=102}}.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Outline of Somalia]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book
 |last=Diriye Abdullahi |first=Mohamed |author-link=Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VOPEEAAAQBAJ
 |title=Culture and Customs of Somalia
 |publisher=[[Greenwood Press]]
 |year=2001
 |isbn=978-0-313-31333-2
 |series=Culture and customs of Africa
 |location=Westport, Conn}}
* {{Cite journal
  |last= Alpers |first= Edward A. |year= 1976
  |title= Gujarat and the Trade of East Africa, c. 1500–1800
  |journal=[[The International Journal of African Historical Studies]] |volume= 9 |issue= 1 |pages= 22–44
  |doi= 10.2307/217389 |jstor= 217389 }}
* {{Cite book
  |author= Gebru Tareke <!-- Ethiopian names, remember! --> |year= 2009
  |title= The Ethiopian Revolution: War in the Horn of Africa
  |location= New Haven,&nbsp;CT |publisher=[[Yale University Press]]
  |isbn= 978-0-300-14163-4}}
* {{Cite book
  |last= Laitin |first= David D. |year= 1977
  |title= Politics, Language, and Thought: The Somali Experience
  |location= Chicago |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]
  |isbn= 978-0-226-46791-7 }}
* {{Cite journal
  |last1= Lecarme |first1= Jacqueline |last2= Maury |first2= Carole |year= 1987
  |title= A Software Tool for Research in Linguistics and Lexicography: Application to Somali
  |journal= Computers and Translation |volume= 2 |issue= 1 |pages= 21–36
  |doi= 10.1007/BF01540131 |s2cid= 6515240 }}
* {{Cite book
 |last=Mauri |first=Arnaldo
 |chapter-url=https://ssrn.com/abstract=958442
 |title=Banking Systems in Africa
 |publisher=[[Cariplo]] – Finafrica
 |year=1971
 |editor-last=Dell'Amore |editor-first=Giordano
 |location=Milan
 |pages=209–217
 |chapter=Banking Development in Somalia}}
* {{Cite book
  |last= Samatar |first= Said S. |year= 1982
  |title = Oral Poetry and Somali Nationalism
  |location= Cambridge |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]
  |isbn= 978-0-521-10457-9 }}
* {{Cite book
  |last= Schraeder |first= Peter J. |year= 2006
  |editor-last=Barrington |editor-first=Lowell W.
  |chapter-url=https://press.umich.edu/pdf/0472098985-ch5.pdf
  |title=After Independence: Making and Protecting the Nation in Postcolonial and Postcommunist States
  |pages=107–137
  |chapter=From Irredentism to Secession: The Decline of Pan-Somali Nationalism
  |location= Ann Arbor |publisher=[[University of Michigan Press]]
  |isbn= 978-0-472-09898-9 }}
* {{Cite book
 |last=Shay |first=Shaul
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uqw0DwAAQBAJ
 |title=Somalia in Transition Since 2006
 |date=2014
 |publisher=[[Transaction Publishers]]
 |isbn=978-1-4128-5390-3
 |location=New Brunswick}}
* {{Cite book
  |last= Warmington |first= Eric Herbert |year= 1995
  |title= The Commerce Between the Roman Empire and India
  |publisher= South Asia Books
  |isbn= 81-215-0670-0 }}
* {{Cite book
  |last1= Zolberg |first1= Aristide R. |author-link1=Aristide Zolberg
  |last2= Suhrke |first2= Astri
  |last3= Aguayo |first3= Sergio |author-link3= Sergio Aguayo |year= 1989
  |title= Escape from Violence: Conflict and the Refugee Crisis in the Developing World
  |location= New York |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]
  |isbn= 978-0-19-505592-4 }}
* {{Cite book
 |last1=Rosati |first1=A.
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=av8qvZ-0sHUC&pg=PA169
 |title=Animal Production and Animal Science Worldwide
 |last2=Tewolde |first2=A.
 |last3=Mosconi |first3=C.
 |date=2007
 |publisher=[[Wageningen Academic Publishers]]
 |isbn=978-90-8686-034-0
 |series=WAAP book of the year
 |location=Wageningen
 |page=169}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Library resources box}}
* [https://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=SO Key Development Forecasts for Somalia] from [[International Futures]]

=== Government ===
* [https://www.somalia.gov.so Official Government web portal]&nbsp;– gateway to government sites
* [https://villasomalia.gov.so/en Presidency] – official website of the president of Somalia
* [https://opm.gov.so Prime Minister] – official website of the prime minister of Somalia
* [https://senate.gov.so Senate]&nbsp;– official website of the Senate of Somalia
* [http://www.parliament.gov.so Parliament] – official website of the Federal Parliament of Somalia
* [https://nbs.gov.so Statistics] – official website of Somalia National Bureau of Statistics

=== History ===
* [https://www.somalia.gov.so/about-somalia "History"] – Somalian history at the website of Federal Government of Somalia

=== Tourism ===
* [https://tourism.gov.so Department of Tourism] – Official website of Department of Tourism from Ministry of Information, Culture & Tourism

=== Maps ===
* {{Wikiatlas}}
* {{Osmrelation-inline|192799}}

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