Somalia

World Book Index

Introduction

Background
In the late 19th century, the area that would become Somalia was colonized by Britain in the north and Italy in the south. The two colonies merged in 1960 to form the new nation of Somalia. Since 1991, civil war and political instability have resulted in the country being split into several regional governments, and terrorist group al-Shabaab controls large portions of the country.

Geography

Area
total : 637,657 sq km
land: 627,337 sq km
water: 10,320 sq km

Climate
principally desert; northeast monsoon (December to February), moderate temperatures in north and hot in south; southwest monsoon (May to October), torrid in the north and hot in the south, irregular rainfall, hot and humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons

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

People and Society

Population
total: 13,017,273 (2024 est.)

Ethnic groups
predominantly Somali with lesser numbers of Arabs, Bantus, and others

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

Religions
Muslim 99.9% (Sunni Muslim 98.1%, Shia Muslim 1.2%, Islamic schismatic 0.6%), ethnic religionist 0.1% (2020 est.)

Population growth rate
2.55% (2024 est.)

Government

Government type
federal parliamentary republic

Capital
name: Mogadishu

Executive branch
chief of state: President HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud (since 23 May 2022)
head of government: Prime Minister Hamza Abdi BARRE (since 25 June 2022)

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador DAHIR Hassan Abdi (since 18 September 2024)

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard H. RILEY (since 20 June 2024)

Economy

Economic overview
low-income African Horn economy; 30 years of war and instability crippled economic potential; high remittances for basic survival; new fiscal federalism approach; cleared some unsustainable debt; environmentally fragile; digitally driven urbanization efforts

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$26.77 billion (2024 est.)
$25.747 billion (2023 est.)
$24.706 billion (2022 est.)

Real GDP per capita
$1,400 (2024 est.)
$1,400 (2023 est.)
$1,400 (2022 est.)

Exports
$2.424 billion (2024 est.)
$2.164 billion (2023 est.)
$1.804 billion (2022 est.)

Exports - partners
UAE 35%, Saudi Arabia 27%, Oman 18%, Djibouti 8%, India 3% (2023)

Exports - commodities
sheep and goats, gold, postage stamps/documents, other animals, cattle (2023)

Imports
$9.002 billion (2024 est.)
$8.002 billion (2023 est.)
$7.456 billion (2022 est.)

Imports - partners
UAE 29%, China 19%, India 15%, Turkey 8%, Oman 5% (2023)

Imports - commodities
raw sugar, tobacco, broadcasting equipment, rice, milk (2023)

Human Development Index

The country's Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.404, ranking it 192nd out of 193 countries tested. (more information)

World Happiness Report

The World Happiness Report ranked the country 125th out of 158 countries tested with a score of 4.347. (more information)