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Somalia

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Background :

Britain withdrew from British Somaliland in 1960 to allow its protectorate to join with Italian Somaliland and form the new nation of Somalia. In 1969, a coup headed by Mohamed SIAD Barre ushered in an authoritarian socialist rule that managed to impose a degree of stability in the country for more than two 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 semi-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 Islamic Courts Union (ICU), 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. 

Location :

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

Geographic Coordinates Center :

10 00 N, 49 00 E  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West 40.99
North 11.98
East 51.41
South -1.67

Area :

total 637 657 square km
land 627 337 square km
water 10 320 square km

Land boundaries :

total 2 340 km
Djibouti (dj) 58 km
Ethiopia (et) 1 600 km
Kenya (ke) 682 km

Coastline :

3025.00 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 

Terrain :

mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north 

Elevation extremes :

lowest point 0 metres
highest point 2 416 metres

Natural resources :

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

Land use :

arable land 1.64 %
permanent crops 0.04 %
other 98.32 %

Irrigated land :

2 000 square km

Natural hazards :

droughts floods
frequent dust torms

current issues :

famine; use of contaminated water contributes to human health problems; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification 

international agreements :

Biodiversity Desertification
Endangered Species Law of the Sea
Ozone Layer Protection

Population :

9 832 017 

Indicators :

Growth rate 2.81 %
Birth rate 43.70 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 6.52 children born/woman
Death rate 15.55 deaths/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 45.00 %
15-64 years 52.60 %
65 years and over 2.50 %

Median age :

total 17.50 years
male 17.40 years
female 17.60 years

Sex ratio :

at birth 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years 1.00 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.00 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.72 male(s)/female
total population 1.00 male(s)/female

Health :

Infant mortality rate 109.19 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 49.63 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 47.78 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 51.53 years
HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate 0.50 %
HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS 24 000
HIV-AIDS deaths 1 600

Languages :

Somali  
Arabic  
Italian  
English  

Literacy :

total population 37.80 %
male 49.70 %
female 25.80 %

Country name :

conventional short form Somalia
local long form Jamhuuriyada Demuqraadiga Soomaaliyeed
local short form Soomaaliya
former Somali Republic, Somali Democratic Republic

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 SO
ISO Numeric 706
ISO3 SOM
FIPS SO
ccTLD so
English Somalia

Administrative divisions :

18 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 

Capital :

name Mogadishu
geographic coordinates 2 04 N, 45 22 E
time difference 3.00

International organization participation :

ACP AFESD
AMF AU
AfDB CAEU
FAO G-77
IBRD ICAO
ICRM IDA
IDB IFAD
IFC IFRCS
IGAD ILO
IMF IMO
IOC IOM
IPU ITSO
ITU Interpol
LAS NAM
OIC UN
UNCTAD UNESCO
UNHCR UNIDO
UPU WFTU
WHO WIPO
WMO

Independence :

1960-07-01 

National holiday :

Foundation Day

1960-07-01

Executive branch :

Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali SHARMARKE

GDP - Gross Domestic product :

PPP - Purchasing Power Parity 5 733 000 000 $
Official Exchange Rate 2 731 000 000
RGR - Real Growth rate 2.60 %
PPP - per capita 600 $

GDP Composition by sector :

agriculture 65.00 %
industry 10.00 %
services 25.00 %

Labor force - by occupation :

agriculture 71.00 %
services 29.00 %

Other Indicators :

Labor force 3 447 000 people
Debt external 3 000 000 000 $
Military expenditures 0.90 % of GDP

Agriculture - products :

bananas beans
cattle coconuts
corn fish
goats mangoes
rice sesame seeds
sheep sorghum
sugarcane

Industries :

including sugar refining light industry
textiles wireless communication

Energy :

Electricity Production 280 000 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 260 399 999 kWh
Oil Consumption 5 000 bbl/day
Oil Exports 1 475 bbl/day
Oil Imports 6 387 bbl/day
Electricity Exports 5 663 000 000 cubic metres

Value :

300 000 000 $

Partners :

UAE 56.80 %
Yemen (ye) 21.20 %
Saudi Arabia (sa) 3.70 %

Commodities :

bananas charcoal
fish hides
livestock scrap metal

Value :

798 000 000 $

Partners :

Djibouti (dj) 30.30 %
Kenya (ke) 7.90 %
India (in) 7.70 %
United States (us) 6.20 %
Oman (om) 5.80 %
UAE 5.70 %
Yemen (ye) 4.90 %

Commodities :

construction materials foodstuffs
manufactures petroleum products
qat

Currency-name :

Somali shilling 

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 100 000
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 627 000
FM Radio broadcast stations 11
Television broadcast stations 4
Internet Country code (ccTLD) so
Internet Users 102 000

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 7
Roadways - total 22 100 km
Roadways - paved 2 608 km
Roadways - unpaved 19 492 km

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