Somalia Facts, Map, Population, GDP

Capital

Mogadishu

Population

20,324,160 (2025 est.)

Area

637,657 sq km

Location

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

🧭 Background

Between A.D. 800 and 1100, immigrant Muslim Arabs and Persians set up coastal trading posts along the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, solidifying present-day Somalia’s close trading relationship with the Arab Peninsula. In the late 19th century, Britain, France, and Italy established colonies in the Somali Peninsula that lasted until 1960, when British Somaliland gained independence and joined with Italian Somaliland to form the Republic of Somalia. The country functioned as a parliamentary democracy until 1969, when General Mohamed SIAD Barre took control in a coup, beginning a 22-year socialist dictatorship. In an effort to centralize power, SIAD called for the eradication of the clan, the key cultural and social organizing principle in Somali society. Resistance to SIAD’s socialist leadership, which was causing a rapid deterioration of the country, prompted allied clan militias to overthrow SIAD in 1991, resulting in state collapse. Subsequent fighting between rival clans for resources and territory overwhelmed the country, causing a manmade famine and prompting international intervention. Beginning in 1993, the UN spearheaded an international humanitarian mission, but the international community largely withdrew by 1995 after an incident that became known as Black Hawk Down, in which two US military helicopters were shot down in Mogadishu. The fighting and subsequent siege and rescue resulted in 21 deaths and 82 wounded among the international forces. International peace conferences in the 2000s resulted in a number of transitional governments that operated outside Somalia. Left largely to themselves, Somalis in the country established alternative governance structures; some areas formed their own administrations, such as Somaliland and Puntland, while others developed localized institutions. Many local populations turned to sharia courts, an Islamic judicial system that implements religious law. Several of these courts came together in 2006 to form the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). The ICU established order in many areas of central and southern Somalia, including Mogadishu, but was forced out when Ethiopia intervened militarily in 2006 on behalf of the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG). As the TFG settled in the capital, the ICU fled to rural areas or left Somalia altogether, but the organization reemerged less than a year later as the Islamic insurgent and terrorist movement al-Shabaab, which is still active today. In 2007, the African Union (AU) established a peacekeeping force, took over security responsibility for the country, and gave the TFG space to develop Somalia’s new government. By 2012, Somali powerbrokers agreed on a provisional constitution with a loose federal structure and established a central government in Mogadishu called the Somali Federal Government (SFG). Since then, the country has seen several interim regional administrations and three presidential elections, but significant governance and security problems remain because al-Shabaab still controls large portions of the country.

🗺️ Geography

Location

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

Geographic coordinates

10 00 N, 49 00 E

Map references

Africa

Area — total

637,657 sq km

Area — land

627,337 sq km

Area — water

10,320 sq km

Area - comparative

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

Land boundaries — total

2,385 km

Land boundaries — border countries

Djibouti 61 km; Ethiopia 1,640 km; Kenya 684 km

Coastline

3,025 km

Maritime claims — territorial sea

200 nm; note: the US does not recognize this claim

Maritime claims — exclusive economic zone

200 nm

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

Terrain

Mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north

Elevation — highest point

Mount Shimbiris 2,460 m

Elevation — lowest point

Indian Ocean 0 m

Elevation — mean elevation

410 m

Natural resources

Uranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt, natural gas, likely oil reserves

Land use — agricultural land

70.3% (2023 est.)

Land use — agricultural land: arable land

Arable land: 1.8% (2023 est.)

Land use — agricultural land: permanent crops

Permanent crops: 0% (2023 est.)

Land use — agricultural land: permanent pasture

Permanent pasture: 68.5% (2023 est.)

Land use — forest

7.9% (2023 est.)

Land use — other

21.7% (2023 est.)

Irrigated land

2,000 sq km (2012)

Major aquifers

Ogaden-Juba Basin

Population distribution

Distribution varies greatly throughout the country; least densely populated areas are in the northeast and central regions, as well as areas along the Kenyan border; most populated areas are in and around the cities of Mogadishu, Marka, Boorama, Hargeysa, and Baidoa, as shown on this population distribution map

Natural hazards

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

Geography - note

Strategic location on Horn of Africa along southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb and route through Red Sea and Suez Canal

👥 People and Society⬆️ Top

Population — total

20,324,160 (2025 est.)

Population — male

10,170,863

Population — female

10,153,297

Nationality — noun

Somali(s)

Nationality — adjective

Somali

Ethnic groups

Predominantly Somali with lesser numbers of Arabs, Bantus, and others

Languages — Languages

Somali (official), Arabic (official), Italian, English

Languages — major-language sample(s)

Buugga Xaqiiqda Aduunka, waa laga maarmaanka macluumaadka assasiga. (Somali) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions

Muslim 99.9% (Sunni Muslim 98.1%, Shia Muslim 1.2%, Islamic schismatic 0.6%), ethnic religionist 0.1% (2020 est.)

Age structure — 0-14 years

41.4% (male 2,689,086/female 2,694,372)

Age structure — 15-64 years

55.8% (male 3,699,721/female 3,568,163)

Age structure — 65 years and over

2.8% (2024 est.) (male 157,505/female 208,426)

Dependency ratios — total dependency ratio

100.5 (2025 est.)

Dependency ratios — youth dependency ratio

97.1 (2025 est.)

Dependency ratios — elderly dependency ratio

3.3 (2025 est.)

Dependency ratios — potential support ratio

29.9 (2025 est.)

Median age — total

15.7 years (2025 est.)

Median age — male

19.3 years

Median age — female

18.9 years

Population growth rate

3.32% (2025 est.)

Birth rate

46.36 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

Death rate

11.22 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

Net migration rate

-1.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

Population distribution

Distribution varies greatly throughout the country; least densely populated areas are in the northeast and central regions, as well as areas along the Kenyan border; most populated areas are in and around the cities of Mogadishu, Marka, Boorama, Hargeysa, and Baidoa, as shown on this population distribution map

Urbanization — urban population

47.9% of total population (2023)

Urbanization — rate of urbanization

4.2% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas - population

2.610 million MOGADISHU (capital), 1.127 million Hargeysa (2023)

Sex ratio — at birth

1.03 male(s)/female

Sex ratio — 0-14 years

1 male(s)/female

Sex ratio — 15-64 years

1.04 male(s)/female

Sex ratio — 65 years and over

0.76 male(s)/female

Sex ratio — total population

1.01 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

563 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

Infant mortality rate — total

81.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)

Infant mortality rate — male

93.2 deaths/1,000 live births

Infant mortality rate — female

73.7 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth — total population

56.5 years (2024 est.)

Life expectancy at birth — male

54.1 years

Life expectancy at birth — female

59 years

Total fertility rate

6.38 children born/woman (2025 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

3.14 (2025 est.)

Drinking water source — improved: urban

Urban: 80.1% of population (2022 est.)

Drinking water source — improved: rural

Rural: 38.6% of population (2022 est.)

Drinking water source — improved: total

Total: 58.3% of population (2022 est.)

Drinking water source — unimproved: urban

Urban: 19.9% of population (2022 est.)

Drinking water source — unimproved: rural

Rural: 61.4% of population (2022 est.)

Drinking water source — unimproved: total

Total: 41.7% of population (2022 est.)

Health expenditure

2.5% of national budget (2022 est.)

Physician density

0.05 physicians/1,000 population (2014)

Hospital bed density

0.9 beds/1,000 population (2019 est.)

Sanitation facility access — improved: urban

Urban: 82.9% of population (2022 est.)

Sanitation facility access — improved: rural

Rural: 34.8% of population (2022 est.)

Sanitation facility access — improved: total

Total: 57.6% of population (2022 est.)

Sanitation facility access — unimproved: urban

Urban: 17.1% of population (2022 est.)

Sanitation facility access — unimproved: rural

Rural: 65.2% of population (2022 est.)

Sanitation facility access — unimproved: total

Total: 42.4% of population (2022 est.)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

8.3% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita — total