Somalia

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

In total, Somalia spends US$79 million on its military, or 1.6 percent of its GDP. This makes Somalia the 144th highest military spender in the world and represents 0.00004 percent of total global military expenditure.

With the help of a provisional government, Somalia has established the Somali Armed Forces which are tasked with retaining its territorial integrity.

Military membership

Somalia is also a member of 2 international military organizations. This makes it the 187th most militarily connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Non-Aligned Movement

Military membership

International wars

Somalia has partaken in 5 international wars. These are:

Somaliland Campaign 1900-1910
World War I 1914-1918
Shifta War 1963-1967
Ethiopian–Somali Border War 1964-1964
Ethiopian–Somali Border War 1981-1981

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

In total, Somalia is a member of 9 international political organizations. This makes it the 165th most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member state of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
Asian–African Legal Consultative Organization
African Union
Intergovernmental Authority on Development
Arab League
Organization of Islamic Cooperation
Interpol
World Organization for Animal Health

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Despite having a provisional government, it is argued that this government has abused its powers and has made serious human rights abuses as well as the expropriation of its citizens. Therefore, it is currently the 151st most democratic state in the world.

Democracy/Dictatorship

Since the government breakdown of 1991, Somalia has seen breakaway provinces as well as provisional governments. Its provisional government is in the form of a federal republic where the president is head of state and the Prime Minister is head of government.

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Known for being located at the Horn of Africa, its civil wars, poverty and its pirates, Somalia, meaning the land of the Somali, is considered to be among the most underdeveloped states in the world. Before contact with the Europeans, the area was inhabited by the Doian people which led a hunter gatherer lifestyle. Throughout the first century, Somalia had small city states which came into contact with Arab merchants which established trading posts by the eighth century. During the seventh century, a portion of Somalia was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. During the second half of the 19th century, the French and the British occupied parts of Somalia and divided it between them. At the end of the 19th century, a portion of Somalia came under the jurisdiction of Italy which was called Somaliland. However, after the second world war, the Italian part of Somalia became a UN trust territory in 1950. In 1960, British Somalia as well as Italian Somaliland were joined with each other and became independent. Since then, Somalia has faced several struggles. It had several border disputes with Kenya and Ethiopia between 1960 and 1988, a severe drought which led to starvation, a civil war and the collapse of the Somali government. It had several provinces that tried to break away and claimed their independence from Somalia and it has seen the rise of warlords, piracy and Islamic terrorism.

Located in the horn of Africa, the geography of Somalia consists of a mountain range along its northern coast and flat plains on its southern part. Its terrain is mostly a desert terrain with the exception of its most southern tip which is lightly forested. In total, Somalia borders three other states with Djibouti to its north, the Indian Ocean to its east and south and Kenya and Ethiopia to its west.

It is the 43rd largest state with a total surface area of 640.845 square kilometers or 247.432 square miles. This makes Somalia slightly smaller than Central African Republic and slightly larger than France.

It has a total water surface area of 10.372 square kilometers or 4000 square miles. This makes Somalia the 48th largest state in the world.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

Water is extremely scarce in the northern part of Somalia. Aside from the Juba and the Shabelle River which are located in the south, the vast majority of this population is heavily dependent on ground water. This is mainly extracted from local wells which are often heavily polluted.

The climate of Somalia ranges from a desert climate to the north to a subtropical climate in its southern part. The average temperature is 26.8 degrees Celsius or 80 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes Somalia the 21st warmest state in the world.

The average high temperature is 31.6 degrees Celsius or 89 degrees Fahrenheit.

The average low temperature is 21.2 degrees Celsius or 70.2 degrees Fahrenheit.

Despite being located on the coast, Somalia receives little rainfall. The majority of its rainfall occurs during its monsoons between December to February and May to October. The remaining months receive little to no rainfall. Rain is also unevenly divided throughout Somalia with its southern part receiving up to 12 times as much compared to its northern part. On average, Somalia receives 31.4 centimetres or 12.4 inches of rainfall per year which ranks it as the 175th highest in the world.

The capital of Somalia, Mogadishu, is home to approximately 1.9 million people. The closest capital is Nairobi, Kenya, with a distance of 996 kilometers or 619 miles. The capital that is the furthest removed is Apia, Samoa, with a distance of 15.733 kilometers or 9.776 miles.

Since the dissolution of the Somali government in 1991, the economy of Somalia has been mostly informal. A large portion of its economy consists of agriculture as well as the export of animal related products. Around half of its annual income is derived from remittances that are sent by Somalians abroad. It currently has an underdeveloped economy and is likely to have this type of economy in the near future due to the destruction of its infrastructure as well as industries since the collapse of the government. Currently, Somalia exports meat, nuts and bananas. Its largest trading partner is unknown because there are no official governmental statistics.

Somalia is a member of 11 international economic organizations. This makes it the 142nd most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

African development Bank
International Monetary Fund
Islamic Development Bank
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
Indian Ocean Rim Association
Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States
International Renewable Energy Agency
International Solar Alliance
Group of 77

It has a GDP of US$3.272 million, which makes it the 164th highest in the world and represents 0.00039 percent of total global GDP.

Its GDP per surface area is the 194th highest in the world with US$5106 per square kilometer or US$13224 per square mile.

Its GDP per capita is the 195th highest in the world with US$212.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power parity per capita is the 195th highest in the world with US$309.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

Somalia is the 72nd most populous state in the world with a total population of 15.5 million people. The vast majority of its population are ethnic Somalis which speak Somalian as well as Arab. The Somali population is further divided up into thousands of smaller clan families which are located throughout Somalia.

It has the 158th highest population density in the world with 24 people per square kilometer or 62 people per square mile.

13.4 percent of the population, or just over 2 million people, have migrated to other states. The main reasons are social, economic as well as security and health. The largest recipients of Somali migrants are its neighbouring states Kenya and Ethiopia which together represent nearly 50 percent of all Somali migrants. Other destinations have been Yemen as well as Western Europe and the north America.

Immigration to Somalia is represented by 0.17 percent of the population, or just over 25,000 people. The main suppliers of migrants have been Ethiopia and Yemen. The reason for Ethiopia has been the expulsion of Somalis due to border disputes and the reason for Yemen are the return of refugees after its civil war.

The educational system of Somalia is that the virtually non-existent. Most of its education is done by volunteers which have no resources available. Its literacy rate is the lowest in the world which stands at 17.5 percent.

Somalia has an extremely limited health care system which is able to provide health care to a handful of people. It is also unevenly spread out throughout Somalia with it only being available in the larger cities. The largest health threats to its population come from communicable diseases which range from mosquito borne diseases, waterborne diseases as well as airborne diseases. Noncommunicable diseases are also prevalent in Somalia and are mainly related to violence as well as malnutrition. The average life expectancy is 58.36 years which is the 188th highest in the world. Women have an average life expectancy of 60.1 years, while men have an average life expectancy of 56.6 years.

As a Muslim majority state, Somalia strictly adheres to the sharia laws which are applied to all of its citizens. This means that the worshiping of other religions are punishable by death.

Christianity is represented by less than 1000 people, or less than 0.001 percent of the total population. It has been introduced to Somalia during colonial times and has had several Catholic churches throughout Somalia. However, since its independence, the majority of its Christian population had perished or fled to other states. Currently, Somalia is considered to be the least Christian state in the world.

Islam is represented by 99.8 percent of the population which makes it the second most Islamic state in the world. It was first introduced by Arab merchants during the seventh century and greatly increased during the Ottoman rule. The largest denomination is the Sunni branch of Islam which is followed by roughly 90 percent of the population.

There are no official Buddhist organizations in Somalia.

There are no official Hindu organizations in Somalia.

There is a small Somali clan that adheres to Judaism.

Other religions are represented by 0.07 percent of the population and mainly consists of indigenous religions such as animistic religions as well as voodoo.

Irreligion is represented by 0.03 percent of the population and is likely not much higher due to social stigma as well as the death penalty.