Where is Somalia?
About Somalia
The Land
The People
Life and Death
Health, Energy and the Environment
Education and Work
Travel, Communication and the Media
Back to the Flags of Africa page
Somalia is a large country in eastern Africa.
Somalia borders the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
The land is mostly flat with some hills in the north.
The geographical coordinates for the centre of Somalia, also known as lines of latitude and longitude, are:-
Latitude - 10 00N
Longitude - 49 00E
Back to the top
Check the weather in Mogadishu now.
This is the time in Mogadishu now
The Somali flag is light blue with a large white five-pointed star in the centre. The blue represents the sky and the Indian Ocean. Te five points of the star
represent the five regions in the horn of Africa that are inhabited by Somali people.
The capital of Somalia is Mogadishu.
Somalia is a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of the government.
In elections everyone over the age of 18 can vote.
The currency in Somalia is the Somali shilling
Somali and Arabic are the official languages.
Hear the National Anthem
These are the anthem words
Somalia is a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of the government.
In elections everyone over the age of 18 can vote.
The currency in Somalia is the Somali shilling
Somali and Arabic are the official languages.
Hear the National Anthem
These are the anthem words
We have already written our own history of England but are asking schools in Somalia to provide us with a detailed history of
their own country. Check how here.
Back to the top
The total land area of Somalia is 627,337 sq kms which is the 19th largest in Africa.
Somalia has lakes, rivers and canals which total 10,320 sq kms.
Somalia has boundaries with 3 countries
- Ethiopia 1,640 kms
- Kenya 684 kms
- Djibouti 61 kms
Somalia has a coastline of 3,025 kms which is the 2nd longest in Africa.
The highest point in Somalia is Shimbiris 2,416 metres.
The pie chart below shows how the land is split between agricultural land (crops and pastures), forests and other, which can be towns, villages, desert or frozen waste called tundra.
Back to the top
The total population of Somalia is 11.26 million people, making it the 32nd largest country in Africa by population.
Of this number 5.59 million are females and 5.67 million are males.
A person from Somalia is called a Somali.
To be a citizen of Somalia, your father must be a citizen of Somalia. It is not sufficient to be born in Somalia. You have to live in Somalia for
7 years before you can begin to apply for citizenship.
The largest five cities in Somalia, by population are:-
- Mogadishu 2,587,183 people
- Hargeisa 477,876
- Berbera 242,344
- Kismayo 234,852
- Merca 230,100
For each country we will give you a diagram showing the population density. This is the average number of people for each square kilometre.
Each little Owlbut is 1 person and
the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as
more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.
45.0% of the people live in cities or towns.
Each little Owlbut is 1 person and
the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as
more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.
45.0% of the people live in cities or towns.
Back to the top
The birth rate in Somalia is 39.3 births per 1,000 of population
The death rate in Somalia is 12.8 deaths per 1,000 people.
Check this against the birth rate. If the death rate is higher than the birth rate then
the population will decrease unless immigrants arrive in the country.
There are 84.3 deaths of girls under 1 year per 1,000 of births and 101.4 deaths of boys.
The median age for females is 18.0 and for males is 18.4. The median age is that age which divides the population exactly in half so there are the same number
of people above the median age as below it.
We have no figures for the average age of a woman when she has her first child.
The elderly dependency ratio is 5.3. This is the number of elderly people (ages 65+) per 100 people of working age (ages 15-64).
The potential support ratio is 18.8. This is the number of working-age people (ages 15-64) per one elderly person (ages 65+). As a population ages, the potential support ratio tends to fall, meaning there are fewer potential workers to support the elderly.
Back to the top
We have no figures for the amount Somalia spends of its total income on health care.
There are 0.02 doctors per 1,000 people.
There are 8.7 hospital beds per 1,000 people.
8.3% of the population are estimated as obese.
69.6% of the urban population and 8.8% of the rural population have drinking water that is either piped into their home or they have access to a public tap, a protected borehole, well, spring or
protected rainwater collection facility.
52.0% of the urban population and 6.3% of the rural population have access to a flushing toilet that is connected to a sewer, a pit latrine (that is a
permanent hole in the ground that is looked after) or a composting toilet.
Somalia releases 0.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels in the process of producing and consuming energy. This puts it as the 40th highest in Africa.
Back to the top
We have no figures for the amount Somalia spends of its total income on education.
Children usually start school at age 5 in Somalia. Primary education is for eight years until age 13 and secondary education must continue till 17. This may be followed
by further education at a university or college.
Generally the school year consists of 2 terms and starts in January and finishes at the end of June. There is usually a 2 month
break in June and July.
We have no figures for the number of people who are able to read and write by the age of 15.
We have no figures for the number of people aged between 16 and 24 who are not in work.
The total number of people available for work in Somalia is 4.15 million.
They work in the following sectors.
- Agriculture includes farming, fishing and forestry work
- Industry includes mining, manufacturing, construction and energy workers
- Services is everything else
Back to the top
There are 6 paved airports in Somalia, which is the 34th highest number in Africa.
There are no railways in Somalia.
There are 22,121 kilometres of roads in Somalia, which means Somalia is in 22nd place for the most kilometres of roads in Africa.
There are no major national newspapers in Somalia.
There are 6.65 million mobile phone users.
Less than 1% of the people have a fixed landline.
203,366 people have access to the internet at home via any device (computer or mobile).
Back to the top
