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East Africa

Somalia

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

Muslim population99.9%of the population

Population20.3 millionpeople (current)

CapitalMogadishuUTC+3

Currency23,098 = $1Somali shillings (SOS) (2017)

Country basics

Somalia is a federal republic on the Horn of Africa, with the longest coastline in mainland Africa.

Somalia is a federation with Mogadishu as its capital and Somali and Arabic as official languages, and several regions govern themselves. The shilling is the currency, and livestock, fish and remittances lead foreign earnings.

Official name

Federal Republic of Somalia

Region

Africa · Eastern Africa

Government

Federal parliamentary republic under a Provisional Constitution

Time zonesCheck the offset for your own city

UTC+03:00

Driving side

Right

Phone code

+252

Currency

Somali shilling (SOS, Sh)

Member of

Arab League; UN; African Union

Website

https://www.villasomalia.gov.so

Faith and language

Religions

Muslim 99.9% (Sunni Muslim 98.1%, Shia Muslim 1.2%, Islamic schismatic 0.6%), ethnic religionist 0.1%

Languages

Arabic; Somali

People and cities

Population

20.3 million (current)

Median ageHalf the population is younger than this

15.7 years (2025)

Living in cities

47.9% (2023)

Largest cities

Mogadishu (capital) 2.610 million · Hargeysa 1.127 million

Money and cost of living

Exchange rateYearly average; check today’s rate before you budget

23,098 Somali shillings (SOS) per US dollar (2017)

Income per personGDP per person, adjusted for local prices (2021 dollars)

$1,400 (2024)

InflationHow much prices rose over the year

6.8% (2022)

Unemployment

18.9% (2024)

Health and daily life

Life expectancy

56.5 years (2024)

Doctors

0.05 per 1,000 people (2014)

Hospital beds

0.9 per 1,000 people (2019)

Safe drinking water

58.3% of people (2022)

Electricity

48.9% of people (2022)

Internet users

28% of people (2022)

Literacy

54.1% of adults (2022)

Land and climate

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

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

637,657 sq km

Natural hazards

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

National holiday

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