Somalia

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Somalia (Somali: Soomaaliya; Arabic: الصومال, As-Sumal), formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is an African country that exists solely in a de jure capacity. Somalia has no recognized central government authority, national currency, or any other feature associated with a well-established nation state. De facto authority is in the hands of the governments of the unrecognized entities of Somaliland, Puntland and small groups of rival warlords who lead small opposing governments.

Abdullahi Yusuf was elected transitional President by Somalia's transitional Parliament on October 10, 2004. He won 189 of the 275 votes from Parliament. The session of Parliament was held in neighbouring Kenya. His government is recognized by most western nations as the country's legitimate rulers, though his actual authority is very questionable.

Soomaaliya

الصومال

As-Sumal

(In Detail) (Full size)
National motto:
Official language	Somali
Capital	Mogadishu
President (de jure)	Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed
Prime Minister (de jure)	Ali Muhammad Ghedi
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 41st 637,657 km² 1.6%
Population  - Total  - Density	Ranked 88th 9,890,000 15.5/km²
Independence  - Merged territory	from the United Kingdom and Italy July 1, 1960 (Year)
Currency	Shilling (SOS)
Time zone	UTC +3
National anthem	Somalian National Anthem
Internet TLD	.so
Calling Code	252

History

Main article: History of Somalia

Intermittent civil war has been a fact of life in Somalia since 1977. In 1991, the northern portion of the country declared its independence as Somaliland; although de facto independent and relatively stable compared to the tumultuous south, it has not been recognized by any foreign government.

Beginning in 1993, a two-year UN humanitarian effort (primarily in the south) was able to alleviate famine conditions, but when the UN withdrew on March 3, 1995, having suffered significant casualties, order still had not been restored.

Yet again another secession from Somalia took place in the northeastern region. The secessionist state took the name Puntland after declaring independence in 1998.

A third succession led by the Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA) took place in 1999. That seccesion was reasserted in 2002. This led to the autonomy and independence of Southwestern Somalia. The RRA had originally set up an autonomous administration over the Bay and Bakool regions of south and central Somalia in 1999.

• List of Notable Somali Leaders

Politics

Main article: Politics of Somalia

Somalia has no effective national government. In the northwest, there is a breakaway republic of Somaliland. In the rest of the country there are various warlords, cf. Puntland and Southwestern Somalia. The internationally-recognised government is the Transitional National Government, originally headed by Abdulkassim Salat Hassan, which controls only part of the capital, Mogadishu.

On October 10, 2004 Somali MPs elected Abdullahi Yusuf, president of Puntland, to be the next President. Because of the chaotic situation in Mogadishu, the election was held in a sports centre in Nairobi, Kenya.

Provinces

Main article: Regions of Somalia

Map of Somalia including the self-proclaimed boundary of Somaliland

Diagram of Somalian factions along regional borders

Somalia is divided into 19 regions (gobollada):

• Awdal (*)
• Bakool
• Banaadir
• Bari
• Bay
• Galguduud
• Gedo
• Hiiraan
• Jubbada Dhexe
• Jubbada Hoose
• Mudug
• Nugaal
• Saaxil (*)
• Sanaag (*)
• Shabeellaha Dhexe
• Shabeellaha Hoose
• Sool (*)
• Togdheer (*)
• Woqooyi Galbeed (*)

Note: regions marked (*) are part of the self-proclaimed but internationally unrecognized Republic of Somaliland.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Somalia

Somalia is located on the east coast of Africa on and north of the Equator between the Gulf of Aden on the north and Indian Ocean on the west. Together with Ethiopia and Djibouti it is often referred to as the Horn of Africa. It borders to Djibouti on northwest, to Ethiopia on the west, and to Kenya on southwest. Somalia comprises Italy's former Trust Territory of Somalia and the former British Protectorate of Somaliland (now seeking recognition as an independent state). The coastline extends 2,720 kilometers (1,700 mi.).

The northern part of the country is hilly, and in many places the altitude ranges between 900 and 2,100 meters (3,000 ft.-7,000 ft.) above sea level. The central and southern areas are flat, with an average altitude of less than 180 meters (600 ft.). The Juba and the Shebelle Rivers rise in Ethiopia and flow south across the country toward the Indian Ocean. The Shebelle, however, does not reach the sea.

Major climatic factors are a year-round hot climate, seasonal monsoon winds, and irregular rainfall with recurring droughts. Mean daily maximum temperatures range from 30°C to 40°C (85° F-105°F), except at higher elevations and along the east coast. Mean daily minimums usually vary from about 15°C to 30°C (60°F-85°F). The southwest monsoon, a sea breeze, makes the period from about May to October the mildest season at Mogadishu. The December-February period of the northeast monsoon also is relatively mild, although prevailing climatic conditions in Mogadishu are rarely pleasant. The "tangambili" periods that intervene between the two monsoons (October-November and March-May) are hot and humid.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Somalia

One of the world's poorest and least developed countries, Somalia has few resources. Moreover, much of the economy has been devastated by the civil war. Agriculture is the most important sector, with livestock accounting for about 40% of GDP and about 65% of export earnings. Nomads and semi-nomads, who are dependent upon livestock for their livelihood, make up a large portion of the population. After livestock, bananas are the principal export; sugar, sorghum, maize, and fish are products for the domestic market. The small industrial sector, based on the processing of agricultural products, accounts for 10% of GDP; most facilities have been shut down because of the civil strife. Moreover, in 1999, ongoing civil disturbances in Mogadishu and outlying areas interfered with any substantial economic advance and with international aid arrangements.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Somalia

As early as the seventh century A.D., indigenous Cushitic peoples began to mingle with Arab and Persian traders who had settled along the coast. Interaction over the centuries led to the emergence of a Somali culture bound by common traditions, a single language, and the Islamic faith.

Today, about 60% of all Somalis are nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists who raise cattle, camels, sheep, and goats. About 25% of the population are settled farmers who live mainly in the fertile agricultural zone between the Juba and Shebelle Rivers in southern Somalia. The remainder of the population (15%-20%) is urban.

Sizable ethnic groups in the country include Bantu agricultural workers, several thousand Arabs and some hundreds of Indians and Pakistanis. Apart from the Brava people who speak a language similar to Swahili, nearly all inhabitants speak the Somali language. The language remained unwritten until October 1973, when the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) proclaimed it the nation's official language and decreed an orthography using Latin letters. Somali is now the language of instruction in schools, to the extent that these exist. Arabic, English, and Italian also are used extensively.

Early history and peoples

During the Egyptian civilization, Somalia was known as Punt. Egyptian traders came and traded with the population, but also intermingled with the Punt inhabitants. During the collapsing of the Egyptian civilization, the Greeks frequently traded and settled in Punt and mixing with the people and making a Greek-Punt culture. The Greeks were followed by the Phoenicians who invaded the area through the Red Sea after Phoenicia started to collapse. For 1000 years the Phoenicians mingled with the Punt inhabitants. The Romans captured Punt and traded with the people very frequently and made several settlements across Northern Punt and the west coast also. The kingdom of Axum captured Punt and put it under the Axum control and it stayed under control for 1, 000 years. The rise of Islam had migrations of Semitic peoples, chiefly Arabic peoples, bring Islam to the area and by 800 A.D. the Somali peoples were muslim. The Arab trades from Syria, Lebanon and Yemen made several settlement across the Gulf of Aden coast and Indian Ocean coast. Persian traders from Persia made several settlements across the Indian ocean coast and built the city of Mogadishu (Muqdishu. The Somali peoples migrated south and mixed with the Bantu and Oromo peoples as they penetrated south. The Somalis today are a racial blend of Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Ethiopians (Tigray and Amhara), Arabs, Persians, Bantus and Oromo peoples. Their Cushitic language has mainly words borrowed from Arabic, Persian, Greek, and Ethiopian.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Somalia

• Music of Somalia
• Islam in Somalia
• List of writers from Somalia

Telecommunication

Somalia has a relatively better telecommunicatin services in comparison to Kenya, its neighbour. This is despite its lack of government and poor security. Some of the factors that have aided such a situation is lack of government controlled telecommunication company which would have monopoly, little taxation and the telecommunication firms being neutral to war lords [1]. Companies providing telecommunication services are:-

• Telcom
• Nationlink
• Hormuud
• Global Internet Company

Miscellaneous topics

• List of Somalia-related topics
• Communications in Somalia
• Transportation in Somalia
• Military of Somalia
• Foreign relations of Somalia
• Building block theory

External links

• unsomalia.net - United Nations in Somalia.
• Historical Timeline at unsomalia.net
• Photo Gallery at unsomalia.net

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