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Somalia Historical and Political Profile








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Somalia Index

  • Somalia-Specialized Occupational Groups
  • Somalia-THE SOMALIS: THEIR ORIGINS, MIGRATIONS, AND SETTLEMENT
  • Somalia-GEOGRAPHY
  • Somalia-Problems of National Integration
  • Somalia-Somalia During World War II
  • Somalia-Politics of Disintegration
  • Somalia-Supreme Revolutionary Council
  • Somalia-THE COLONIAL ECONOMY
  • Somalia-FROM SCIENTIFIC SOCIALISM TO "IMF-ISM," 1981-90
  • Somalia-NATIONAL SECURITY
  • Somalia-Undeveloped Sectors
  • Somalia-FOREIGN MILITARY ASSISTANCE
  • Somalia-Export of Livestock
  • Somalia-People's Militia
  • Somalia-ECONOMY
  • Somalia-Climate
  • Somalia-The Ogaden War: Performance and Implications of Defeat
  • Somalia -COUNTRY PROFILE
  • Somalia-Foreign Relations, 1960-69
  • Somalia-Forestry
  • Somalia-The Language and Literacy Issue
  • Somalia-RELIGIOUS LIFE
  • Somalia-Politics of Reconciliation
  • Somalia-HEALTH
  • Somalia-Chapter 2 - The Society and Its Environemnt
  • Somalia-Manpower, Training, and Conditions of Service
  • Somalia-Siad Barre's Repressive Measures
  • Somalia-GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE
  • Somalia-IMPERIAL PARTITION
  • Somalia-Entrenching Siad Barre's Personal Rule SOMALIA'S DIFFICULT DECADE, 1980-90
  • Somalia-Energy
  • Somalia-HUMAN RIGHTS
  • Somalia-Introduction
  • Somalia-Fishing
  • Somalia-CRIMINAL JUSTICE
  • Somalia-Other Foreign Relations
  • Somalia-Somali Police Force (SPF) STATE SECURITY SERVICES
  • Somalia-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, 1960-69
  • Somalia-PASTORALISM AND COMMERCE IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
  • Somalia-Persecution of the Majeerteen
  • Somalia-BREAKDOWN OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE
  • Somalia-Rural Subsistence Sector
  • Somalia-Chapter 3 - The Economy
  • Somalia-The Somali Peninsula on the Eve of Imperial Partition
  • Somalia-Samaal
  • Somalia-Legislature
  • Somalia-Terrain, Vegetation, and Drainage
  • Somalia-Coastal Towns
  • Somalia-The Husseen Government
  • Somalia-THE "REAL" SOMALI ECONOMY IN THE 1980s
  • Somalia-HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARMED FORCES
  • Somalia-THE REVOLUTIONARY REGIME
  • Somalia-Manufacturing
  • Somalia-Siad Barre and Scientific Socialism
  • Somalia-The Majeerteen Sultanates
  • Somalia-Mining
  • Somalia-TRANSPORTATION
  • Somalia-FROM INDEPENDENCE TO REVOLUTION
  • Somalia-Trusteeship and Protectorate: The Road to Independence
  • Somalia-Acknowledgments
  • Somalia-Coup d'Etat
  • Somalia-Land NATURAL RESOURCES AND ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE
  • Somalia-Social Change
  • Somalia-THE SEGMENTARY SOCIAL ORDER
  • Somalia-Relations with Other African States
  • Somalia-Opposition Movements
  • Somalia-PHYSICAL SETTING
  • Somalia-National Security Service
  • Somalia-Urban Subsistence and Government Employment
  • Somalia-Local Government
  • Somalia-Religious Orders and the Cult of the Saints
  • Somalia-FOREIGN RELATIONS
  • Somalia-Challenges to the Regime
  • Somalia-The Armed Forces in National Life
  • Somalia-Rising Islamism
  • Somalia-Irredentism and the Changing Balance of Power
  • Somalia-Sources of Opposition
  • Somalia-Oppression of the Isaaq
  • Somalia-Relations with Arab Countries
  • Somalia-Consolidation of Colonial Rule
  • Somalia-Islam in the Colonial Era and After
  • Somalia-Relations with the United States
  • Somalia-The Warrior Tradition and Development of a Modern Army
  • Somalia-Harrying of the Hawiye
  • Somalia-The Military and the Government
  • Somalia-LINEAGE SEGMENTATION AND THE SOMALI CIVIL WAR
  • Somalia-Folk Islam and Indigenous Ritual
  • Somalia-Chapter 4 - Government and Politics
  • Somalia-The Tenets of Islam
  • Somalia
  • Somalia-The Igaal Government
  • Somalia
  • Somalia-Communications
  • Somalia-The Military and the Economy
  • Somalia-GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
  • Somalia-Education
  • Somalia
  • Somalia-INTERNAL SECURITY CONCERNS
  • Somalia
  • Somalia-Creation of the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party
  • Somalia-Legal System
  • Somalia-Mogadishu and Its Banaadir Hinterlands
  • Somalia-SOMALIA
  • Somalia
  • Somalia-Chapter 5 - National Security
  • Somalia-POPULATION AND SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
  • Somalia
  • Somalia-Courts
  • Somalia-Emergence of Adal
  • Somalia-THE SOCIALIST REVOLUTION after 1975
  • Somalia-Preface
  • Somalia-Prison System
  • Somalia-SCIENTIFIC SOCIALISM, 1970-75
  • Somalia-POLITICAL DYNAMICS
  • Somalia-Export of Labor
  • Somalia-Digil and Rahanwayn
  • Somalia-Foreign Trade
  • Somalia-Chapter 1 - Historical Setting
  • Somalia
  • Somalia-Language LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION
  • Somalia-SOCIETY
  • Somalia-British Military Administration
  • Somalia
  • Somalia-Penal System
  • Somalia-Religious Roles in Somali Islam
  • Somalia
  • Somalia
  • Somalia-Mahammad Abdille Hasau's Dervish Resistance to Colonial Occupation
  • Somalia
  • BackgroundBritain withdrew from British Somaliland in 1960 to allow its protectorate to join with Italian Somaliland and form the new nation of Somalia. In 1969, a coup headed by Mohamed SIAD Barre ushered in an authoritarian socialist rule that managed to impose a degree of stability in the country for a couple of decades. After the regime's collapse early in 1991, Somalia descended into turmoil, factional fighting, and anarchy. In May 1991, northern clans declared an independent Republic of Somaliland that now includes the administrative regions of Awdal, Woqooyi Galbeed, Togdheer, Sanaag, and Sool. Although not recognized by any government, this entity has maintained a stable existence and continues efforts to establish a constitutional democracy, including holding municipal, parliamentary, and presidential elections. The regions of Bari, Nugaal, and northern Mudug comprise a neighboring self-declared autonomous state of Puntland, which has been self-governing since 1998 but does not aim at independence; it has also made strides toward reconstructing a legitimate, representative government but has suffered some civil strife. Puntland disputes its border with Somaliland as it also claims portions of eastern Sool and Sanaag. Beginning in 1993, a two-year UN humanitarian effort (primarily in the south) was able to alleviate famine conditions, but when the UN withdrew in 1995, having suffered significant casualties, order still had not been restored. A two-year peace process, led by the Government of Kenya under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), concluded in October 2004 with the election of Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed as President of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia and the formation of an interim government, known as the Somalia Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs). The TFIs included a 275-member parliamentary body, known as the Transitional Federal Assembly (TFA). President YUSUF resigned late in 2008 while United Nations-sponsored talks between the TFG and the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) were underway in Djibouti. In January 2009, following the creation of a TFG-ARS unity government, Ethiopian military forces, which had entered Somalia in December 2006 to support the TFG in the face of advances by the opposition Council of Islamic Courts (CIC), withdrew from the country. The TFA was increased to 550 seats with the addition of 200 ARS and 75 civil society members of parliament. The expanded parliament elected Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed, the former CIC and ARS chairman as president on 31 January 2009, in Djibouti. Subsequently, President SHARIF appointed Omar Abdirashid ali SHARMARKE, son of a former president of Somalia, as prime minister on 13 February 2009. The TFIs are based on the Transitional Federal Charter (TFC), which outlines a five-year mandate leading to the establishment of a new Somali constitution and a transition to a representative government following national elections. However, in January 2009 the TFA amended the TFC to extend TFG's mandate until 2011. While its institutions remain weak, the TFG continues to reach out to Somali stakeholders and work with international donors to help build the governance capacity of the TFIs and work toward national elections in 2011.
    LocationEastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, east of Ethiopia
    Area(sq km)total: 637,657 sq km
    land: 627,337 sq km
    water: 10,320 sq km
    Geographic coordinates10 00 N, 49 00 E
    Land boundaries(km)total: 2,340 km
    border countries: Djibouti 58 km, Ethiopia 1,600 km, Kenya 682 km

    Coastline(km)3,025 km

    Climateprincipally 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

    Elevation extremes(m)lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
    highest point: Shimbiris 2,416 m
    Natural resourcesuranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt, natural gas, likely oil reserves
    Land use(%)arable land: 1.64%
    permanent crops: 0.04%
    other: 98.32% (2005)

    Irrigated land(sq km)2,000 sq km (2003)
    Total renewable water resources(cu km)15.7 cu km (1997)
    Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)total: 3.29 cu km/yr (0%/0%/100%)
    per capita: 400 cu m/yr (2000)
    Natural hazardsrecurring droughts; frequent dust storms over eastern plains in summer; floods during rainy season
    Environment - current issuesfamine; use of contaminated water contributes to human health problems; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
    Environment - international agreementsparty to: Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
    signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
    Geography - notestrategic location on Horn of Africa along southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb and route through Red Sea and Suez Canal
    Population9,832,017
    note: this estimate was derived from an official census taken in 1975 by the Somali Government; population counting in Somalia is complicated by the large number of nomads and by refugee movements in response to famine and clan warfare (July 2009 est.)
    Age structure(%)0-14 years: 45% (male 2,215,331/female 2,204,503)
    15-64 years: 52.6% (male 2,588,356/female 2,579,737)
    65 years and over: 2.5% (male 101,764/female 142,326) (2009 est.)
    Median age(years)total: 17.5 years
    male: 17.4 years
    female: 17.6 years (2009 est.)
    Population growth rate(%)2.815% (2009 est.)
    Birth rate(births/1,000 population)43.7 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
    Death rate(deaths/1,000 population)15.55 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)

    Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population)0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
    Urbanization(%)urban population: 37% of total population (2008)
    rate of urbanization: 4.2% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
    Sex ratio(male(s)/female)at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
    under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
    15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
    65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
    total population: 1 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
    Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births)total: 109.19 deaths/1,000 live births
    male: 118.31 deaths/1,000 live births
    female: 99.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

    Life expectancy at birth(years)total population: 49.63 years
    male: 47.78 years
    female: 51.53 years (2009 est.)

    Total fertility rate(children born/woman)6.52 children born/woman (2009 est.)
    Nationalitynoun: Somali(s)
    adjective: Somali
    Ethnic groups(%)Somali 85%, Bantu and other non-Somali 15% (including Arabs 30,000)

    Religions(%)Sunni Muslim
    Languages(%)Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English

    Country nameconventional long form: none
    conventional short form: Somalia
    local long form: Jamhuuriyada Demuqraadiga Soomaaliyeed
    local short form: Soomaaliya
    former: Somali Republic, Somali Democratic Republic
    Government typeno permanent national government; transitional, parliamentary federal government
    Capitalname: Mogadishu
    geographic coordinates: 2 04 N, 45 22 E
    time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
    Administrative divisions18 regions (plural - NA, singular - gobolka); Awdal, Bakool, Banaadir, Bari, Bay, Galguduud, Gedo, Hiiraan, Jubbada Dhexe, Jubbada Hoose, Mudug, Nugaal, Sanaag, Shabeellaha Dhexe, Shabeellaha Hoose, Sool, Togdheer, Woqooyi Galbeed
    Constitution25 August 1979, presidential approval 23 September 1979
    note: the formation of transitional governing institutions, known as the Transitional Federal Government, is currently ongoing

    Legal systemno national system; a mixture of English common law, Italian law, Islamic sharia, and Somali customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

    Suffrage18 years of age; universal
    Executive branchchief of state: Transitional Federal President Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed (since 31 January 2009); note - a transitional governing entity with a five-year mandate, known as the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs), was established in October 2004; the TFIs relocated to Somalia in June 2004
    head of government: Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali SHARMARKE (since 13 February 2009)
    cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by the Transitional Federal Assembly
    election results: Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed was elected president by the expanded Transitional Federal Assembly in Djibouti

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

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

    Political pressure groups and leadersother: numerous clan and sub-clan factions exist both in support and in opposition to the transitional government
    International organization participationACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, LAS, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
    Flag descriptionlight blue with a large white five-pointed star in the center; blue field influenced by the flag of the UN

    Economy - overviewDespite the lack of effective national governance, Somalia has maintained a healthy informal economy, largely based on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies, and telecommunications. Agriculture is the most important sector, with livestock normally accounting for about 40% of GDP and about 65% of export earnings. Nomads and semi-pastoralists, who are dependent upon livestock for their livelihood, make up a large portion of the population. Livestock, hides, fish, charcoal, and bananas are Somalia's principal exports, while sugar, sorghum, corn, qat, and machined goods are the principal imports. Somalia's small industrial sector, based on the processing of agricultural products, has largely been looted and sold as scrap metal. Somalia's service sector also has grown. Telecommunication firms provide wireless services in most major cities and offer the lowest international call rates on the continent. In the absence of a formal banking sector, money transfer/remittance services have sprouted throughout the country, handling roughly $2 billion in remittances annually. Mogadishu's main market offers a variety of goods from food to the newest electronic gadgets. Hotels continue to operate and are supported with private-security militias. Somalia's arrears to the IMF continued to grow in 2008. Statistics on Somalia's GDP, growth, per capita income, and inflation should be viewed skeptically.
    GDP (purchasing power parity)$5.524 billion (2008 est.)
    $5.387 billion (2007 est.)
    $5.252 billion (2006 est.)
    note: data are in 2008 US dollars
    GDP (official exchange rate)$2.6 billion (2008 est.)
    GDP - real growth rate(%)2.6% (2008 est.)
    2.6% (2007 est.)
    2.6% (2006 est.)
    GDP - per capita (PPP)$600 (2008 est.)
    $600 (2007 est.)
    $600 (2006 est.)
    note: data are in 2008 US dollars
    GDP - composition by sector(%)agriculture: 65%
    industry: 10%
    services: 25% (2005 est.)
    Labor force3.447 million (few skilled laborers) (2007)

    Labor force - by occupation(%)agriculture: 71%
    industry and services: 29% (1975)
    Unemployment rate(%)NA%
    Population below poverty line(%)NA%
    Household income or consumption by percentage share(%)lowest 10%: NA%
    highest 10%: NA%
    Budgetrevenues: $NA
    expenditures: $NA
    Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%)NA%
    note: businesses print their own money, so inflation rates cannot be easily determined

    Economic aid - recipient$236.4 million (2005 est.)

    Agriculture - productsbananas, sorghum, corn, coconuts, rice, sugarcane, mangoes, sesame seeds, beans; cattle, sheep, goats; fish
    Industriesa few light industries, including sugar refining, textiles, wireless communication

    Industrial production growth rate(%)NA%

    Exports$300 million (2006)

    Exports - commodities(%)livestock, bananas, hides, fish, charcoal, scrap metal
    Exports - partners(%)UAE 56.2%, Yemen 21%, Saudi Arabia 3.6% (2008)
    Imports$798 million (2006)

    Imports - commodities(%)manufactures, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials, qat
    Imports - partners(%)Djibouti 29.2%, India 11.9%, Kenya 7.6%, US 6%, Oman 5.6%, UAE 5.5%, Yemen 4.7% (2008)

    Debt - external$3 billion (2001 est.)

    Exchange ratesSomali shillings (SOS) per US dollar - NA (2007-08), 1,438.3 (2006) official rate; the unofficial black market rate was about 23,000 shillings per dollar as of February 2007
    note: the Republic of Somaliland, a self-declared independent country not recognized by any foreign government, issues its own currency, the Somaliland shilling

    Currency (code)Somali shilling (SOS)

    Telephones - main lines in use100,000 (2008)
    Telephones - mobile cellular627,000 (2008)
    Telephone systemgeneral assessment: the public telecommunications system was almost completely destroyed or dismantled during the civil war; private companies offer limited local fixed-line service and private wireless companies offer service in most major cities while charging the lowest international rates on the continent
    domestic: local cellular telephone systems have been established in Mogadishu and in several other population centers
    international: country code - 252; international connections are available from Mogadishu by satellite (2001)
    Internet country code.so
    Internet users102,000 (2008)
    Airports59 (2009)
    Roadways(km)total: 22,100 km
    paved: 2,608 km
    unpaved: 19,492 km (2000)

    Ports and terminalsBerbera, Kismaayo
    Military branchesno national-level armed forces (2008)
    Manpower available for military servicemales age 16-49: 2,181,050
    females age 16-49: 2,125,558 (2008 est.)
    Manpower fit for military servicemales age 16-49: 1,301,026
    females age 16-49: 1,351,649 (2009 est.)
    Manpower reaching militarily significant age annuallymale: 93,763
    female: 93,738 (2009 est.)
    Military expenditures(% of GDP)0.9% of GDP (2005 est.)
    Disputes - internationalEthiopian forces invaded southern Somalia and routed Islamist Courts from Mogadishu in January 2007; "Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities in Berbera to landlocked Ethiopia and have established commercial ties with other regional states; "Puntland" and "Somaliland" "governments" seek international support in their secessionist aspirations and overlapping border claims; the undemarcated former British administrative line has little meaning as a political separation to rival clans within Ethiopia's Ogaden and southern Somalia's Oromo region; Kenya works hard to prevent the clan and militia fighting in Somalia from spreading south across the border, which has long been open to nomadic pastoralists

    Refugees and internally displaced personsIDPs: 1.1 million (civil war since 1988, clan-based competition for resources) (2007)
    Electricity - production(kWh)280 million kWh (2007 est.)
    Electricity - production by source(%)fossil fuel: 100%
    hydro: 0%
    nuclear: 0%
    other: 0% (2001)
    Electricity - consumption(kWh)260.4 million kWh (2007 est.)
    Electricity - exports(kWh)0 kWh (2008 est.)
    Electricity - imports(kWh)0 kWh (2008 est.)
    Oil - production(bbl/day)0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
    Oil - consumption(bbl/day)5,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
    Oil - exports(bbl/day)1,475 bbl/day (2007 est.)
    Oil - imports(bbl/day)6,387 bbl/day (2007 est.)
    Oil - proved reserves(bbl)0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
    Natural gas - production(cu m)0 cu m (2008 est.)
    Natural gas - consumption(cu m)0 cu m (2008 est.)
    Natural gas - exports(cu m)0 cu m (2008)
    Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m)5.663 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
    HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%)0.5% (2007 est.)
    HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS24,000 (2007 est.)
    HIV/AIDS - deaths1,600 (2007 est.)
    Major infectious diseasesdegree of risk: high
    food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
    vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, and Rift Valley fever
    water contact disease: schistosomiasis
    animal contact disease: rabies (2009)
    Literacy(%)definition: age 15 and over can read and write
    total population: 37.8%
    male: 49.7%
    female: 25.8% (2001 est.)

    Education expenditures(% of GDP)NA








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