Somalia

• 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

agricultural land:

70.3%;

• arable land 1.8%;
• permanent crops 0%;
• permanent pasture 68.5%

forest:

10.6%

other:

19.1% (2011 est.)

• 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

• 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

party to:

Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

noun:

Somali(s)

adjective:

Somali

• 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

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.)

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)

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)

name:

Mogadishu

geographic coordinates:

2 04 N, 45 20 E

time difference:

UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

• 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

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

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

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

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

• 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

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

• 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)

name:

"Qolobaa Calankeed" (Every Nation Has its own Flag)

lyrics/music:

lyrics/music: Abdullahi QARSHE

note: adopted 2012; written in 1959

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

agriculture:

71%

industry and services:

29% (1975)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

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)

• 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)

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)

total:

22,100 km

paved:

2,608 km

unpaved:

19,492 km (2000)

country comparison to the world: 105

total:

5

by type:

general cargo 2, other 3 (2017)

country comparison to the world: 156

• 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

• 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 (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)