| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Somalia
former: Somali Republic, Somali Democratic Republic |
| Capital: |
Mogadishu |
| Location: |
Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, east of Ethiopia |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
10 00 N, 49 00 E |
| Area: |
total: 637,657 sq km
land: 627,337 sq km
water: 10,320 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly smaller than Texas |
| Land
Boundaries: |
total: 2,340 km
border countries: Djibouti 58 km, Ethiopia 1,600 km, Kenya 682 km |
| Coastline: |
3,025 km |
| Maritime
Claims: |
territorial sea: 200 nm |
| Climate: |
principally desert; December to February - northeast monsoon, moderate temperatures in north and very hot in south; May to October - southwest monsoon, 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 |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Shimbiris 2,416 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
uranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt, natural gas, likely oil reserves |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
no permanent national government; transitional, parliamentary federal government |
| Administratives
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 |
| Independence |
1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland, which became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960, and Italian Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on 1 July 1960, to form the Somali Republic) |
| National
Holiday: |
Foundation of the Somali Republic, 1 July (1960); note - 26 June (1960) in Somaliland |
| Constitution: |
25 August 1979, presidential approval 23 September 1979
note: the formation of transitional governing institutions, known as the Transitional Federal Government, is currently ongoing |
| Legal
System; |
no national system; Shari'a and secular courts are in some localities |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive
Branch: |
chief of state: Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed (since 14 October 2004); note - a new Transitional Federal Government consisting of a 275-member parliament was established in October 2004 but remains resident in Nairobi, Kenya, and has not extablished effective governance inside Somalia
head of government: Prime Minister Ali Muhammad GHEDI (since 24 December 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by the Transitional Federal Assembly
election results: Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed, the leader of the Puntland region of Somalia, was elected president by the Transitional Federal Assembly |
| Legislative
Branch: |
unicameral National Assembly
note: fledgling parliament; a 275-member Transitional Federal Assembly; the new parliament consists of 61 seats assigned to each of four large clan groups (Darod, Digil-Mirifle, Dir, and Hawiye) with the remaining 31 seats divided between minority clans |
| Judicial
Branch: |
following the breakdown of the central government, most regions have reverted to local forms of conflict resolution, either secular, traditional clan-based arbitration, or Islamic (Shari'a) law with a provision for appeal of all sentences |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
none |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
8,591,629
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 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 44.5% (male 1,918,209/female 1,905,974)
15-64 years: 52.9% (male 2,278,406/female 2,263,602)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 96,256/female 129,182) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 17.59 years
male: 17.53 years
female: 17.65 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: 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 |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
100,000 (2002 est.) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
35,000 (2002) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: the public telecommunications system was almost completely destroyed or dismantled by the civil war factions; private wireless companies offer service in most major cities and charge 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 |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 0, FM 11, shortwave 1 in Mogadishu; 1 FM in Puntland, 1 FM in Somaliland (2001) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
4
note: two in Mogadishu; two in Hargeisa (2001) |
| Internet country
code: |
.so |
| Internet hosts: |
4 (2004) |
| Internet users: |
89,000 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 22,100 km
paved: 2,608 km
unpaved: 19,492 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: |
|
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Boosaaso, Berbera, Chisimayu (Kismaayo), Merca, Mogadishu |
| Merchant marine: |
|
| Airports: |
60 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 6
over 3,047 m: 4
2438 to 3047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 54
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 19
914 to 1,523 m: 29
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
