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The Federal Republic of Somalia is a state in the Eastern African Region. It occupies a strategic location along the Somali peninsula, known as the Horn of Africa, the world’s fourth-largest peninsula. It has the longest national coastline on mainland Africa with an estimated length of 3,025 km that approaches the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean.

See the fact file below for more information on Somalia or you can download our 32-page Somalia worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

GEOGRAPHY AND DEMOGRAPHY

• Somalia has a land area of 637,657 km². It is home to 16,880,391 residents as of 2022. Ethiopia bounds the country to the west, the Gulf of Aden to the north, Kenya to the southwest, and the Indian Ocean to the east. Somalia has the longest coastline on mainland Africa, second after Madagascar, an island nation located off the southern African coast and surrounded by the Indian Ocean.
• Mogadishu is the capital city of Somalia. It is also the biggest city in the country, with a land area of  637 km².
• There are 18 administrative regions comprising Somalia. Adwal, Sanag, Sool, Togdheer, and Woqooyi Galbeed are located in the Northwestern part of Somalia. 
• The regions of Bari, Mudug, and Nugal are located in Northeastern Somalia.
• The regions of Banadir, Galguduud, Hiran, Middle Shabelle, and Lower Shabelle are located in the Central part of Somalia.
• While the regions of Bakool, Bay, Gedo, Middle Juba, and Lower Juba are located in the Southern part of Somalia. Bari is the largest region in Somalia, with a land area of 85,088 km², followed by the Gedo region, which measures 85,000 km².
• Somalia’s climate ranges from arid to semi-arid due to its proximity to the equator. It experiences hot weather and regular drought throughout the year, with uneven rainfall. The highest peak of Somalia is Mount Shimbiris. It is the tallest mountain in the country and stands at  8,070 ft. above sea level. 

HISTORY

• From the prehistoric until the medieval period, there was no centralized political organization in Somalia. Its territory was ruled by different sultanates who dominated the regional trade.
• The southern part of Somalia was ruled by the Mogadishu Sultanate from the 10th–16th centuries. It was founded by  Sultan Fakhr ad-Din, who also served as the first sultan of Mogadishu. This powerful Somali clan had an extensive trading network. It controlled the regional gold trade.
• The Ajuran Sultanate ruled over the larger part of Somalia from the 13th–17th centuries covering the southern Somalia region stretching to eastern Ethiopia. This centralized sultanate dominated the  Indian Ocean trade during the medieval period.
• The northeastern part of ancient Somalia was ruled by the Warsangali Sultanate, established in 1218 by Abdulaahi Kooge Maxamuud Harti, who belonged to the Darod, one of the most prominent Somali clans in the Horn of Africa. This sultanate lasted until the 19th century.
• The northern part of Somalia, stretching to eastern Ethiopia and Djibouti, was ruled by the Ifat Sultanate. This Muslim sultanate reigned from the 13th–15th centuries. It is centered in the old city of Zeila, which serves as its commercial and religious center.
• After the fall of the Ifat Sultanate, the Adal sultanate was established in the same territory. This Sunni Muslim empire reigned from 1415 to 1577. It was founded by Sabr ad-Din III, the eldest son of Sa’ad ad-Din II, who was a Sultan of the fallen Ifat dynasty.
• Sabr ad-Din III declared himself King of Adal after defeating Ethiopia. During his reign, the Adal sultanate maintained a solid economic and political relationship with the Ottoman Empire. 
• The origin of Islam and the establishment of the Muslim Sultanate in Somalia are associated with the coming of Persian and Arab traders who established trading posts along Somalia’s coast during the 7th–10th centuries.
• Arab merchants converted native Somali people to Islam, and the religion spread widely during the 14th century, particularly in northern Somalia, where Arabs dominated.  
• In the 19th century, the European colonial legacy in Somalia started to develop. Great Britain established a British protectorate, Somaliland, in 1887, around the coastal areas of Zeila and Berbera in the Northern region of present-day Somalia. This was done to secure the British trade route to the Suez Canal and to acquire more food supplies from Somalia.
• Meanwhile, Italy gained control over the eastern, central, and southern Somalia regions after the establishment of Italian Somaliland in 1889. 
• The aim was to expand Italy’s territory and exploit Somalia’s ports and livestock. 
• In 1940, the Italian fascist troops invaded British Somaliland. This was part of the Eastern African Campaign – a series of battles between Italy and Great Britain during the Second World War. At this time, Italy successfully defeated the British in combat.
• In 1941, Great Britain reclaimed British Somaliland and occupied Italian Somaliland, which lasted until 1950 – when it became a UN trust territory under the administration of Italy.
• In 1960, Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland gained independence from protectorate countries. On July 1, 1960, these territories were unified to form the Somali Republic and celebrated as the country’s independence day.
• The suffering of the Somali people did not end, even after its independence. In 1969, Dictator Mohamed Siad Barre came to power. He declared Somalia a socialist state and re-established the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) as the ruling body in Somalia. 
• The SRC enacted harsh policies such as detention of former civilian government members, banning political parties, dissolving parliament and the supreme court, and suspending the constitution. This was opposed by clan-based groups in Somaliland.
• Barre’s forces attacked these clan-based groups in 1978, which resulted in the Somali Rebellion. This event marked the beginning of the civil war from the 1980s until the 1990s – part of this was the Somali War of Independence, from 1981 to 1991.
• In 1991, opposition groups in Somaliland, together with the Somali National Movement (a guerilla group), overthrew the Barre regime. The same year, they officially broke away from the Republic of Somalia and formed the Republic of Somaliland. 

POLITICS

• Somalia has a Federal Parliamentary Republic System of government. The executive branch is headed by the president parliament elects. Somalia’s president is the head of state and has the authority to appoint the prime minister.
• Somalia’s parliament serves as the legislative branch. It comprises the senate (upper house) and assembly (lower house). It is headed by the Prime Minister, the head of government, who leads and appoints the council of ministers.
• The judiciary branch of Somalia is defined by the state constitution, which organizes the national court structure into three levels: the Constitutional Court, Federal Government level courts, and Federal Member State level courts.
• Somalia comprises six federal member states as of 2016. These are Galmudug, Hirshabelle, Jubaland, Puntland, South West, and autonomous Somaliland. 
• Somaliland claims to be part of Somalia even though it has been politically independent since 1991. 
• The Mogadishu central government and the international community do not recognize Somaliland’s independence, despite having its own government. Thus it is not considered a state.
• Puntland is also a federal member-state of Somalia, even after its declaration of autonomy in 1998, to avoid clan warfare in southern Somalia. However, Puntland maintained ties with Mogadishu and did not seek recognition as an independent state, unlike Somaliland.

ECONOMY

• The United Nations (UN) classified Somalia as the least developed country. Based on data from the World Population Review in 2022, Somalia ranked as the second poorest country in the world, next to Burundi, also located on the African continent.
• The leading cause of poverty in Somalia is the lack of an active centralized government. Additional factors are the prolonged conflicts and war that killed many Somali people. Autonomous Somaliland is more peaceful and stable than the other Federal member-states of Somalia. This is a result of Somaliland’s inclusive democratic institutions.
• Agriculture is the most significant economic sector in Somalia. It is the primary source of income for Somali people. 
• There are three agricultural subsectors in the country. First is nomadic pastoralism, which focuses on raising livestock.
• The second is the traditional subsistence agriculture that small farmers mainly practice. This subsector includes rain-fed and small-scale irrigated farming along the rivers. 
• Lastly is market-oriented farming, which includes medium to large-scale irrigated farming along the river.
• The table below shows the main products produced by each agricultural subsector.

• The official currency of Somalia is the Somali Shilling, which is issued and managed by the Central Bank of Somalia. This currency is used in Puntland but not in autonomous Somaliland since they have their currency, the Somaliland Shilling.
• The table below shows the denominations of the Somali Shilling.

CULTURE

• Islam is the dominant religion in Somalia, and 99% of the population identifies as Sunni Muslims. This religion was brought by the Arab merchants who converted the early Somali inhabitants on the coast of Northern Somalia.
• Somali is the national language of Somalia, which is spoken as a mother tongue, while Arabic is its second official language. Aside from these languages, Somali people also speak Italian and English, a fact attributed to their colonial past.

HISTORICAL LANDMARKS

• Mogadishu Cathedral was built in 1928 by Italian colonizers and served as the seat of Mogadishu’s Roman Catholic Diocese from 1928 until 1991.
• Gondorshe, also called El Torre, is a historical stone city along the coastal area of Lower Shabelle. It consists of tombs, mosques, and stone houses that date from the 13th–17th centuries.
• Laas Geel is a cave formation located in Somaliland that contains ancient cave paintings of African aurochs dating from 5,000 to 11,000 years old. It was discovered by the team of French Archaeologist Xavier Gutherns in 2002. 
• Hargeisa War Memorial in Somaliland was built to commemorate the Somali War of Independence from 1881 to 1991. It also symbolizes the sufferings of Somaliland’s citizens at this time.

Somalia Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Somalia across 32 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Somalia, which is a state in the Horn of Africa, in the Eastern African Region.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

1. Somalia Facts
2. Somalia Profile
3. Be a Geographer
4. The Ruling Clans
5. Tracing the Past
6. European Protectorates
7. Sightseeing
8. Politext Hunt
9. Sort it Out
10. State-ing Facts
11. Two Truths, One Lie

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Somalis known for?

Somalis are known for being generous, hospitable, and respectful to their elders and family members. In addition, they are resourceful and good at any business, even when times are tough.

What made ancient Somalia famous?

The ancient Egyptians highly esteemed the fragrant gum resins frankincense and myrrh produced by Somalia’s trees, a territory they dubbed “the Land of Punt.”

How old is Somalia?

In 1960, the Republic of Somalia was founded when a former Italian colony and British protectorate joined forces.

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Link will appear as Somalia Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, November 30, 2022