Somalia

Broadcast media

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)

Internet country code

.so

Internet users

total: 203,366 | percent of population: 1.9% (July 2016 est.) | country comparison to the world: 164

Telephone system

general assessment: the public telecom 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 some of the lowest rates on the continent | domestic: seven networks compete for customers in the mobile sector; some of these mobile-service providers offer fixed-line and Internet services | international: country code - 252; Mogadishu is a landing point for the EASSy fiber-optic submarine cable system linking East Africa with Europe and North America; this connection ended the country's expensive satellite-dependent Internet access (2016)

Telephones - fixed lines

total subscriptions: 48,000 | subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (July 2016 est.) | country comparison to the world: 157

Telephones - mobile cellular

total: 6,653,040 | subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 62 (July 2016 est.) | country comparison to the world: 113

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

revenues: $145.3 million | expenditures: $151.1 million (2014 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-0.1% of GDP (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 46

Central bank discount rate

NA%

Commercial bank prime lending rate

NA%

Current account balance

$-640 million (2016 est.) | country comparison to the world: 106

Debt - external

$5.3 billion (31 December 2014 est.) | $2.892 billion (31 December 2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 131

Economy - overview

Despite the lack of effective national governance, Somalia maintains an informal economy largely based on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies, and telecommunications. Somalia's government lacks the ability to collect domestic revenue and external debt – mostly in arrears – was estimated at 93% of GDP in 2014. | 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. Economic activity is estimated to have increased by 3.7% in 2016 because of growth in the agriculture, construction and telecommunications sector. Somalia's small industrial sector, based on the processing of agricultural products, has largely been looted and the machinery sold as scrap metal. | In recent years, Somalia's capital city, Mogadishu, has witnessed the development of the city's first gas stations, supermarkets, and airline flights to Turkey since the collapse of central authority in 1991. Mogadishu's main market offers a variety of goods from food to electronic gadgets. Hotels continue to operate and are supported with private-security militias. Formalized economic growth has yet to expand outside of Mogadishu and a few regional capitals, and within the city, security concerns dominate business. 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, although international concerns over the money transfers into Somalia continues to threaten these services’ ability to operate in Western nations.

Exchange rates

Somali shillings (SOS) per US dollar - | 23,960 (2016 est.) | 20,227 (2013 est.)

Exports

$819 million (2014 est.) | $779 million (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 162

Exports - commodities

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

Exports - partners

Saudi Arabia 37.2%, Oman 22.7%, UAE 16.3% (2016)

Fiscal year

NA

GDP (official exchange rate)

$6.336 billion (2015 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$16.77 billion (2016 est.) | $16.04 billion (2015 est.) | $15.32 billion (2014 est.) | note: data are in 2016 US dollars | country comparison to the world: 177

GDP - composition, by end use

household consumption: 72.1% | government consumption: 8.7% | investment in fixed capital: 19.8% | investment in inventories: 0.8% | exports of goods and services: 0.3% | imports of goods and services: -1.7% (2015 est.)

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 60.2% | industry: 7.4% | services: 32.5% (2013 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$NA (2016 est.) | $NA (2015 est.) | $NA (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 230

GDP - real growth rate

3.2% (2016 est.) | 3.6% (2015 est.) | 3.6% (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 72

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA% | highest 10%: NA%

Imports

$3.482 billion (2014 est.) | $3.322 billion (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 135

Imports - commodities

manufactures, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials, qat

Imports - partners

India 26.3%, China 20.8%, Oman 9.1%, Kenya 8.3%, Turkey 6%, Malaysia 4.3%, Brazil 4.2% (2016)

Industrial production growth rate

3.5% (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 65

Industries

light industries, including sugar refining, textiles, wireless communication

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1.5% (2016 est.) | -71.1% (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 109

Labor force

4.154 million (2016 est.) | country comparison to the world: 91

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 71% | industry and services: 29% (1975)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$30.45 million (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 173

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$NA

Taxes and other revenues

2.5% of GDP (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 219

Unemployment rate

NA%

Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy

900,000 Mt (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 166

Crude oil - exports

0 bbl/day (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 191

Crude oil - imports

0 bbl/day (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 190

Crude oil - production

0 bbl/day (2016 est.) | country comparison to the world: 195

Crude oil - proved reserves

0 bbl (1 January 2017 es) | country comparison to the world: 194

Electricity - consumption

319.9 million kWh (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 182

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2016 est.) | country comparison to the world: 198

Electricity - from fossil fuels

98.8% of total installed capacity (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 34

Electricity - from hydroelectric plants

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 204

Electricity - from nuclear fuels

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 183

Electricity - from other renewable sources

1.2% of total installed capacity (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 134

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (2016 est.) | country comparison to the world: 202

Electricity - installed generating capacity

81,000 kW (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 182

Electricity - production

344 million kWh (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 177

Electricity access

population without electricity: 8,900,000 | electrification - total population: 15% | electrification - urban areas: 33% | electrification - rural areas: 4% (2013)

Natural gas - consumption

0 cu m (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 131

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 183

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 188

Natural gas - production

0 cu m (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 195

Natural gas - proved reserves

5.663 billion cu m (1 January 2017 es) | country comparison to the world: 94

Refined petroleum products - consumption

5,700 bbl/day (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 174

Refined petroleum products - exports

0 bbl/day (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 198

Refined petroleum products - imports

5,679 bbl/day (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 163

Refined petroleum products - production

0 bbl/day (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 198

Area

total: 637,657 sq km | land: 627,337 sq km | water: 10,320 sq km | country comparison to the world: 45

Area - comparative

almost five times the size of Alabama; slightly smaller than Texas

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

Coastline

3,025 km

Elevation

mean elevation: 410 m | elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m | highest point: Shimbiris 2,416 m

Environment - current issues

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

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection | signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geographic coordinates

10 00 N, 49 00 E

Geography - note

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

Irrigated land

2,000 sq km (2012)

Land boundaries

total: 2,385 km | border countries (3): Djibouti 61 km, Ethiopia 1,640 km, Kenya 684 km

Land use

agricultural land: 70.3% | arable land 1.8%; permanent crops 0%; permanent pasture 68.5% | forest: 10.6% | other: 19.1% (2011 est.)

Location

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

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 200 nm

Natural hazards

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

Natural resources

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

Population - distribution

distribution varies greatly throughout the country; least densely populated areas are in the northeast and central regions, as well as areas along the Kenyan border; most populated areas are in and around the cities of Mogadishu, Marka, Boorama, Hargeysa, and Baidoa

Terrain

mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north

Administrative divisions

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

Capital

name: Mogadishu | geographic coordinates: 2 04 N, 45 20 E | time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Citizenship

citizenship by birth: no | citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Somalia | dual citizenship recognized: no | residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years

Constitution

history: previous 1961, 1979; latest drafted 12 June 2012, approved 1 August 2012 (provisional) | amendments: proposed by the federal government, by members of the state governments, the Federal Parliament, or by public petition; proposals require review by a joint committee of Parliament with inclusion of public comments and state legislatures’ comments; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote in both houses of Parliament and approval by a majority of votes cast in a referendum; constitutional clauses on Islamic principles, the federal system, human rights and freedoms, powers and authorities of the government branches, and inclusion of women in national institutions cannot be amended

Country name

conventional long form: Federal Republic of Somalia | conventional short form: Somalia | local long form: Jamhuuriyadda Federaalkaa Soomaaliya | local short form: Soomaaliya | former: Somali Republic, Somali Democratic Republic | etymology: "Land of the Somali" (ethnic group)

Diplomatic representation from the US

the US Mission to Somalia, operating out of the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, is headed by Ambassador (vacant)

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Ahmed Issa AWAD (since 17 September 2015) | chancery: 425 East 61st Street, Suite 702, New York City, NY 10021 | telephone: [1] (212) 688-9410, 688-5046 | FAX: [1] (212) 759-0651

Executive branch

chief of state: President Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" (since 8 February 2017) | head of government: Prime Minister Hassan Ali KHAYRE (since 1 March 2017) | cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister, approved by the House of the People | elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by the Federal Parliament by two-thirds majority vote in 2 rounds if needed for a single 4-year term; election last held on 8 February 2017 (previously scheduled for 30 September 2016 but postponed repeatedly); prime minister appointed by the president, approved by the House of the People | election results: Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" elected president; Federal Parliament second round vote - Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" (TPP) 184, HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud (PDP) 97, Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed (ARS) 46

Flag description

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)

Government - note

regional and local governing bodies continue to exist and control various areas of the country, including the self-declared Republic of Somaliland in northwestern Somalia

Government type

federal parliamentary republic

Independence

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)

International law organization participation

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

International organization participation

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, IPU, ITSO, ITU, LAS, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO

Judicial branch

highest court(s): the provisional constitution stipulates the establishment of the Constitutional Court (consists of 5 judges including the chief judge and deputy chief judge); note - under the terms of the 2004 Transitional National Charter, a Supreme Court based in Mogadishu and an Appeal Court were established; yet most regions have reverted to local forms of conflict resolution, either secular, traditional Somali customary law, or sharia Islamic law | judge selection and term of office: judges appointed by the president upon proposal of the Judicial Service Commission, a 9-member judicial and administrative body; judge tenure NA | subordinate courts: federal courts; federal member state-level courts; military courts; sharia courts

Legal system

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

Legislative branch

description: bicameral Federal Parliament to consist of an Upper House (54 seats; senators elected by state assemblies to serve 4-year terms) and the House of the People (275 seats; members elected by regional delegates to serve 4-year terms) | note: the inaugural House of the People was appointed in September 2012 by clan elders; in elections in 2016 and 2017, the Federal Parliament became bicameral with elections scheduled for 10 October 2016 for the Upper House and 23 October to 10 November 2016 for the House of the People; while the elections were delayed, they were eventually held in most regions despite voting irregularities; on 27 December 2016, 41 Upper House senators and 242 House of the People members were sworn in

National anthem

name: "Qolobaa Calankeed" (Every Nation Has its own Flag) | lyrics/music: lyrics/music: Abdullahi QARSHE | note: adopted 2012; written in 1959

National holiday

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

National symbol(s)

leopard; national colors: blue, white

Political parties and leaders

Cosmopolitan Democratic Party [Yarow Sharef ADEN] | Daljir Party or DP [Hassan MOALIM] | Democratic Green Party of Somalia or DGPS [Abdullahi Y. MAHAMOUD] | Democratic Party of Somalia or DPS [Maslah Mohamed SIAD] | Green Leaf for Democracy or GLED | Hiil Qaran | Justice and Communist Party [Mohamed NUR] | Justice and Development of Democracy and Self-Respectfulness Party or CAHDI [Abdirahman Abdigani IBRAHIM Bile] | Liberal Party of Somalia | National Unity Party (Xisbiga MIdnimo-Quaran) [Abdurahman BAADIYOW] | Peace and Development Party or PDP | Somali National Party or SNP [Mohammed Ameen Saeed AHMED] | Somali People's Party [Mahamud Hassan RAGE] | Somali Green Party (local chapter of Federation of Green Parties of Africa) | Tayo or TPP [Mohamed Abdullahi MOHAMED] | Tiir Party [Fadhil Sheik MOHAMUD] | United and Democratic Party [Salad Ali JELLE] | United Somali Parliamentarians

Political pressure groups and leaders

numerous political associations and clan and sub-clan factions exist in support of and against political leaders from clans, Federal Member State presidents, and others, including the former and current presidents

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

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 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 the regions of Sool and Sanaag, and portions of Togdheer. Beginning in 1993, a two-year UN humanitarian effort (primarily in south-central Somalia) 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 UN-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 replaced the TFP by appointing 275 members to a new parliament who subsequently elected a new president.

Maritime threats

despite a dramatic drop in the number of attacks in 2016, the International Maritime Bureau continues to report the territorial and offshore waters in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean as a region of significant risk for piracy and armed robbery against ships; during the first half of 2017, nine vessels were attacked or hijacked compared with two in 2016; Operation Ocean Shield, the NATO naval task force established in 2009 to combat Somali piracy, concluded its operations in December 2016 as a result of the drop in reported incidents over the last few years; additional anti-piracy measures on the part of ship operators, including the use of on-board armed security teams, have reduced piracy incidents in that body of water; Somali pirates tend to be heavily armed with automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades; the use of "mother ships" from which skiffs can be launched to attack vessels allows these pirates to extend the range of their operations hundreds of nautical miles offshore

Military branches

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

Military service age and obligation

18 is the legal minimum age for compulsory and voluntary military service (2012)

Age structure

0-14 years: 43.15% (male 2,376,526/female 2,383,060) | 15-24 years: 19.04% (male 1,059,608/female 1,040,343) | 25-54 years: 31.43% (male 1,795,355/female 1,671,421) | 55-64 years: 4.2% (male 230,027/female 233,257) | 65 years and over: 2.19% (male 93,736/female 148,053) (2017 est.)

Birth rate

39.6 births/1,000 population (2017 est.) | country comparison to the world: 9

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

23% (2009) | country comparison to the world: 9

Death rate

13.1 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.) | country comparison to the world: 14

Demographic profile

Somalia scores very low for most humanitarian indicators, suffering from poor governance, protracted internal conflict, underdevelopment, economic decline, poverty, social and gender inequality, and environmental degradation. Despite civil war and famine raising its mortality rate, Somalia’s high fertility rate and large proportion of people of reproductive age maintain rapid population growth, with each generation being larger than the prior one. More than 60% of Somalia’s population is younger than 25, and the fertility rate is among the world’s highest at almost 6 children per woman – a rate that has decreased little since the 1970s. | A lack of educational and job opportunities is a major source of tension for Somalia’s large youth cohort, making them vulnerable to recruitment by extremist and pirate groups. Somalia has one of the world’s lowest primary school enrollment rates – just over 40% of children are in school – and one of world’s highest youth unemployment rates. Life expectancy is low as a result of high infant and maternal mortality rates, the spread of preventable diseases, poor sanitation, chronic malnutrition, and inadequate health services. | During the two decades of conflict that followed the fall of the SIAD regime in 1991, hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes. Today Somalia is the world’s third highest source country for refugees, after Syria and Afghanistan. Insecurity, drought, floods, food shortages, and a lack of economic opportunities are the driving factors. | As of 2016, more than 1.1 million Somali refugees were hosted in the region, mainly in Kenya, Yemen, Egypt, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Uganda, while more than 1.1 million Somalis were internally displaced. Since the implementation of a tripartite voluntary repatriation agreement among Kenya, Somalia, and the UNHCR in 2013, nearly 40,000 Somali refugees have returned home from Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp – still houses to approximately 260,000 Somalis. The flow sped up rapidly after the Kenyan Government in May 2016 announced its intention to close the camp, worsening security and humanitarian conditions in receiving communities in south-central Somalia. Despite the conflict in Yemen, thousands of Somalis and other refugees and asylum seekers from the Horn of Africa risk their lives crossing the Gulf of Aden to reach Yemen and beyond (often Saudi Arabia). Bossaso in Puntland overtook Obock, Djibouti, as the primary departure point in mid-2014.

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 97.4 | youth dependency ratio: 92.1 | elderly dependency ratio: 5.3 | potential support ratio: 18.8 (2015 est.)

Drinking water source

urban: 69.6% of population | rural: 8.8% of population | total: 31.7% of population | urban: 30.4% of population | rural: 91.2% of population | total: 68.3% of population (2011 est.)

Education expenditures

NA

Ethnic groups

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.4% (2016 est.) | country comparison to the world: 78

HIV/AIDS - deaths

1,700 (2016 est.) | country comparison to the world: 55

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

24,000 (2016 est.) | country comparison to the world: 72

Infant mortality rate

total: 94.8 deaths/1,000 live births | male: 103.3 deaths/1,000 live births | female: 86 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.) | country comparison to the world: 2

Languages

Somali (official, according to the 2012 Transitional Federal Charter), Arabic (official, according to the 2012 Transitional Federal Charter), Italian, English

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 52.8 years | male: 50.7 years | female: 54.9 years (2017 est.) | country comparison to the world: 218

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very 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 (2016)

Major urban areas - population

MOGADISHU (capital) 2.138 million; Hargeysa 760,000 (2015)

Maternal mortality ratio

732 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 6

Median age

total: 18.1 years | male: 18.3 years | female: 17.9 years (2017 est.) | country comparison to the world: 216

Nationality

noun: Somali(s) | adjective: Somali

Net migration rate

-6.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) | country comparison to the world: 201

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

8.3% (2016) | country comparison to the world: 153

Physicians density

0.03 physicians/1,000 population (2014)

Population

11,031,386 | 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 2017 est.) | country comparison to the world: 83

Population distribution

distribution varies greatly throughout the country; least densely populated areas are in the northeast and central regions, as well as areas along the Kenyan border; most populated areas are in and around the cities of Mogadishu, Marka, Boorama, Hargeysa, and Baidoa

Population growth rate

2% (2017 est.) | country comparison to the world: 49

Religions

Sunni Muslim (Islam) (official, according to the 2012 Transitional Federal Charter)

Sanitation facility access

urban: 52% of population | rural: 6.3% of population | total: 23.6% of population | urban: 48% of population | rural: 93.7% of population | total: 76.4% of population (2011 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female | 0-14 years: 1 male(s)/female | 15-24 years: 1.02 male(s)/female | 25-54 years: 1.07 male(s)/female | 55-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female | 65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female | total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

Total fertility rate

5.8 children born/woman (2017 est.) | country comparison to the world: 5

Urbanization

urban population: 40.5% of total population (2017) | rate of urbanization: 4.05% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Disputes - international

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

Refugees and internally displaced persons

refugees (country of origin): 10,449 (Yemen) (2017) | IDPs: 1,106,751 (civil war since 1988, clan-based competition for resources; 2011 famine; insecurity because of fighting between al-Shabaab and the Transitional Federal Government's allied forces) (2017)

Airports

61 (2013) | country comparison to the world: 81

Airports - with paved runways

total: 6 | over 3,047 m: 4 | 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 | 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2013)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 55 | over 3,047 m: 1 | 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 | 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 | 914 to 1,523 m: 23 | under 914 m: 6 (2013)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

6O (2016)

Merchant marine

total: 5 | by type: general cargo 2, other 3 (2017) | country comparison to the world: 156

National air transport system

number of registered air carriers: 1 | inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 1 | annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 251,652 | annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 0 mt-km (2015)

Ports and terminals

major seaport(s): Berbera, Kismaayo

Roadways

total: 22,100 km | paved: 2,608 km | unpaved: 19,492 km (2000) | country comparison to the world: 105