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Somalia
By: Michael Vito
This is a map of Somalia
Somalia is located on the
east coast of Africa
The Somalia
Flag(light blue
influenced by the
flag and color of
the U.N.) With a
five pointed star in
the middle
Capital
Culture
Literacy Rate
Population
Holidays
Ethnic Groups
Politics
Religion
Languages
Birth Rate
Death Rate
Mogadishu
Mogadishu is the largest city in Somalia and
is the nation’s capital
Mogadishu has been run by competing warlords up until 2006
Also with the collapse of the central government in 1991,
Mogadishu has been the stage for 17 years of fighting
between rival militias.
Bakaara Market
Is the main market in
Mogadishu. (also has
been called the Heart of
Mogadishu)
Languages/ Ethnic Groups/ Religion
• Languages
• Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English
• Ethnic Groups
• Somali, and also a small minority of nonSomali (mostly Bantu and Arabs).
• Religion
• 99.9% Muslim
Birth Rate/ Death Rate/ Literacy Rate
• Birth Rate-114.9/1,000 live births.
• This means that 114.9 kids will die within the infant
part of his/her life
• Death Rate- 48.7 yrs
• This means that when you are born you are only
expected to lie for 48.7 years.
• Literacy Rate- The total population that can read
and write is only 37.8% from that 49.7% is male,
and 25.8% is female.
Politics/ Holidays
Somalia’s economy is pastoral and agricultural, with livestock--principally
camels, cattle, sheep, and goats--representing the main form of wealth.
There are no railways in Somalia; internal transportation is by truck and bus.
The national road system nominally comprises 13,702 miles of roads that include
about 1,612 miles of all-weather roads, although most roads have received little
maintenance for years and have fallen apart.
With the absence of a central government authority the Somali shilling has
decreased to 1 U.S. dollar is worth 30,000 Somali shillings.
A small fishing industry exists in the north where tuna, shark, and other warmwater fish are caught, although fishing production is seriously affected by poaching.
Aromatic woods--frankincense and myrrh--from a small and diminishing forest also
contribute to the country's exports. Minerals, including uranium and deposits of
petroleum and natural gas, are found throughout the country. With the help of
foreign aid, small industries such as textiles, handicrafts, meat processing, and
printing are being established.
Government
• Type: Transitional government, known as the Transitional Federal Government
(TFG)
• Suffrage: 18 years of age (no nationwide elections).
• Central government budget: N/A.
• Defense: N/A.
• National holiday: July 1 (June 26 in Somaliland).
• Political parties: None
Economy
•
GDP (2008 est.): U.S. $5.756 billion.
•
Annual growth rate (2008 est.): 2.6%.
•
Per capita GDP (2008 est.): $600.
•
Avg. inflation rate: N/A.
•
•
Natural resources: Largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite,
uranium, copper, and salt; likely petroleum and natural gas reserves.
•
•
Agriculture: Products--livestock, fish, bananas, corn, sorghum, sugar. Arable land--13%, of
which 2% is cultivated.
•
•
•
Industry: Types--Telecommunications, livestock, fishing, textiles, transportation, and limited
financial services. Somalia's surprisingly innovative private sector has continued to function
despite the lack of a functioning central government since 1991.
•
•
•
•
•
Trade: Exports--$241 million (f.o.b., 2004 est.): livestock, bananas, hides, fish, charcoal, scrap
metal. Major markets--United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Oman. Imports--$576 million (f.o.b.,
2004 est.): food grains, animal and vegetable oils, petroleum products, construction materials,
manufactured products, qat. Major suppliers--Djibouti, Kenya, Brazil, India, United Arab
Emirates, Oman.
•
•
Aid disbursed: N/A. Primary donors--United States, European Union, Australia, Canada, Denmark, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom.
•
Remittances (2008 est.): $1 billion.
G
• Somalia is located on the east coast of Africa on and
north of the Equator and, with Ethiopia, Eritrea,
Djibouti, and Kenya, is often referred to as the Horn of
Africa.
People
•
Today, about 60% of all Somalis are nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists who
raise cattle, camels, sheep, and goats. About 25% of the population is settled
farmers who live mainly in the fertile agricultural zone between the Juba and
Shabelle Rivers in southern Somalia. The remainder of the population (15%-20%) is
urban
•
Sizable ethnic groups in the country include Bantu agricultural workers, several
thousand Arabs and some hundreds of Indians and Pakistanis. Nearly all
inhabitants speak the Somali language, which remained unwritten until October
1973.
•
Somali is now the language of instruction in schools, although Arabic, English, and
Italian also are used extensively.
Other Information
• Area: 637,657 sq. km. (slightly smaller than Texas)
• Terrain: Mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to
hills in the north.
• Nationality: Noun--Somali(s). Adjective--Somali.
Population (2006 est., no census exists): 8.8 million
(of which an estimated 2 million in Somaliland).
Annual growth rate (2006 est.): 2.85%.
Bibliography
• radiocaptivity.files.wordpress.com(Somalia Flag)
• www.internationalimagegallery.com Somalia
624 x 400 - 39k - gif
go.hrw.com ... central government in Somalia!
254 x 260 - 79k - jpg
mises.org somalia ...
390 x 280 - 32k - jpg
www.florida-cracker.org Somalia
1078 x 1292 - 203k - jpg
www.iss.co.za
[ More from www.iss.co.za ] ... Recovery in Northern Somalia;
400 x 300 - 49k - jpg
www.oxfam.ca In Somalia, Those Who Feed Off ...
600 x 300 - 78k - jpg
www.nytimes.com Who Are Somalia's Al Shabab?
500 x 333 - 130k - jpg
warisboring.com
Pirates
Somalia has been hijacking boats off of the Gulf of Yemen
and has hijacked about 3 U.S. ships.
Lately the U.S. has had a Captain Richard Phillips held as a
prisoner and had 3 U.S. Navy Seals Snipers shoot and kill
the Somalia Pirates