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 characterized by the persecution, jailing and torture of political opponents and dissidents. 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. In 2000, the Somalia National Peace Conference (SNPC) held in Djibouti resulted in the formation of an interim government, known as the Transitional National Government (TNG). When the TNG failed to establish adequate security or governing institutions, the Government of Kenya, under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), led a subsequent peace process that concluded in October 2004 with the election of Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed as President of a second interim government, known as the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of the Somali Republic. The TFG included a 275-member parliamentary body, known as the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP). 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 TFP was doubled in size 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 ICU and ARS chairman as president in January 2009. The creation of the TFG was based on the Transitional Federal Charter (TFC), which outlined a five-year mandate leading to the establishment of a new Somali constitution and a transition to a representative government following national elections. In 2009, the TFP amended the TFC to extend TFG's mandate until 2011 and in 2011 Somali principals agreed to institute political transition by August 2012. The transition process ended in September 2012 when clan elders appointed 275 members to a new parliament replacing the TFP and the subsequent election, by parliament, of a new president.

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

10 00 N, 49 00 E

Africa

slightly smaller than Texas

3,025 km

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

mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north

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

2,000 sq km (2003)

15.7 cu km (1997)

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

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

strategic location on Horn of Africa along southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb and route through Red Sea and Suez Canal

Somali 85%, Bantu and other non-Somali 15% (including 30,000 Arabs)

Somali (official), Arabic (official, according to the Transitional Federal Charter), Italian, English

Sunni Muslim (Islam) (official, according to the Transitional Federal Charter)

10,085,638 (July 2012 est.)

1.596% (2012 est.)

42.12 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

14.55 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

-11.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

MOGADISHU (capital) 1.353 million (2009)

1,000 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

6.26 children born/woman (2012 est.)

0.035 physicians/1,000 population (2006)

urban: 52% of population

rural: 6% of population

total: 23% of population

urban: 48% of population

rural: 94% of population

total: 77% of population

0.7% (2009 est.)

34,000 (2009 est.)

1,600 (2009 est.)

32.8% (2006)

NA

in the process of building a federated parliamentary republic

18 regions (plural - NA, singular - gobolka); Awdal, Bakool, Banaadir, Bari, Bay, Galguduud, Gedo, Hiiraan, Jubbada Dhexe (Middle Jubba), Jubbada Hoose (Lower Jubba), Mudug, Nugaal, Sanaag, Shabeellaha Dhexe (Middle Shabeelle), Shabeellaha Hoose (Lower Shabeelle), Sool, Togdheer, Woqooyi Galbeed

1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland that became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960 and Italian Somaliland that became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on 1 July 1960 to form the Somali Republic)

Foundation of the Somali Republic, 1 July (1960); note - 26 June (1960) in Somaliland

Provisional Constitution for the Federal Republic of Somalia, approved by a constitutional assembly 1 August 2012

mixed legal system of civil law, Islamic law, and customary law (referred to as Xeer)

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

bicameral National Parliament consisting of the House of the People of the Federal Parliament (275 seats, elected by Somali citizens) and the Upper House of the Federal Parliament (54 seats, elected by people of the Federal member states)

Constitutional Court; Federal Government-level courts; Federal Member-level courts

none

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

Somalia does not have an embassy in the US (ceased operations on 8 May 1991); note - the Transitional Federal Government is represented in the United States through its Permanent Mission to the United Nations

the US does not have an embassy in Somalia; US interests are represented by the US Special Representative for Somalia, James C. Swan operating out of the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya at United Nations Avenue, Nairobi; mailing address: Unit 64100, Nairobi; APO AE 09831; telephone: [254] (20) 363-6000; FAX [254] (20) 363-6157

light blue with a large white five-pointed star in the center; the blue field was originally influenced by the flag of the UN, but today is said to denote the sky and the neighboring Indian Ocean; the five points of the star represent the five regions in the horn of Africa that are inhabited by Somali people: the former British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland (which together make up Somalia), Djibouti, Ogaden (Ethiopia), and the North East Province (Kenya)

leopard

although a transitional government was created in 2004, other regional and local governing bodies continue to exist and control various regions of the country, including the self-declared Republic of Somaliland in northwestern Somalia and the semi-autonomous State of Puntland in northeastern Somalia

Despite the lack of effective national governance, Somalia has maintained a healthy informal economy, largely based on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies, and telecommunications. Agriculture is the most important sector with livestock normally accounting for about 40% of GDP and more than 50% 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 the machinery sold as scrap metal. Somalia's service sector 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 up to $1.6 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 have continued to grow. Somalia's capital city - Mogadishu - has enjoyed a rebirth following the departure of al-Shabaab in August 2011. Mogadishu has witnessed the development of the city's first gas stations, supermarkets, and flights between Europe (Istanbul-Mogadishu) since the collapse of central authority in 1991. This economic growth has yet to expand outside of Mogadishu.

$5.896 billion (2010 est.)

$5.75 billion (2009 est.)

$5.607 billion (2008 est.)

$2.372 billion (2010 est.)

2.6% (2010 est.)

2.6% (2009 est.)

2.6% (2008 est.)

$600 (2010 est.)

$600 (2009 est.)

$600 (2008 est.)

3.447 million (2007) (2007)

NA%

NA%

20% of GDP (2009 est.)

NA%

NA%

NA%

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

NA%

$515.8 million (2010 est.)

$300 million (2006 est.)

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

UAE 51%, Yemen 19.1%, Oman 12.9% (2011)

$1.263 billion (2010 est.)

$798 million (2006 est.)

manufactures, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials, qat

Djibouti 26.6%, India 13.6%, Kenya 6.9%, Pakistan 6.3%, China 6.1%, Egypt 4.8%, Oman 4.8%, UAE 4.6%, Yemen 4.3% (2011)

$2.942 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$3 billion (2001 est.)

Somali shillings (SOS) per US dollar -

1,600 (2012 est.)

NA

315 million kWh (2009 est.)

293 million kWh (2009 est.)

0 kWh (2010 est.)

0 kWh (2010 est.)

80,000 kW (2009 est.)

93.8% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

6.3% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

1,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

3,666 bbl/day (2008 est.)

5,659 bbl/day (2011 est.)

1,109 bbl/day (2008 est.)

2,905 bbl/day (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

5.663 billion cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

897,500 Mt (2010 est.)

100,000 (2010)

655,000 (2011)

2 private TV stations rebroadcast Al-Jazeera and CNN; Somaliland has 1 government-operated TV station and Puntland has 1 private TV station; the transitional government operates Radio Mogadishu; 1 SW and roughly 10 private FM radio stations broadcast in Mogadishu; several radio stations operate in central and southern regions; Somaliland has 1 government-operated radio station; Puntland has roughly a half dozen private radio stations; transmissions of at least 2 international broadcasters are available (2007)

.so

186 (2012)

106,000 (2009)

62 (2012)

Berbera, Kismaayo

the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial and offshore waters in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean remain the region of greatest risk for piracy and armed robbery against ships accounting for 50% of all attacks in 2010; 217 vessels, including commercial shipping and pleasure craft, were attacked or hijacked both at anchor and while underway; hijackings off the coast of Somalia accounted for 92% of all ship seizures in 2010; as of May 2011, 26 vessels and 522 hostages were being held for ransom by Somali pirates; the presence of several naval task forces in the Gulf of Aden and additional anti-piracy measures on the part of ship operators have reduced piracy incidents in that body of water; in response Somali-based pirates, using hijacked fishing trawlers as "mother ships" to extend their range, shifted operations as far south as the Mozambique Channel and eastward to the vicinity of the Maldives

National Security Force (NSF): Somali Army (2011)

0.9% of GDP (2005 est.)

Ethiopian forces invaded southern Somalia and routed Islamist Courts from Mogadishu in January 2007; "Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities in Berbera to landlocked Ethiopia and have established commercial ties with other regional states; "Puntland" and "Somaliland" "governments" seek international support in their secessionist aspirations and overlapping border claims; the undemarcated former British administrative line has little meaning as a political separation to rival clans within Ethiopia's Ogaden and southern Somalia's Oromo region; Kenya works hard to prevent the clan and militia fighting in Somalia from spreading south across the border, which has long been open to nomadic pastoralists