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| Federal Republic of Somalia Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya جمهورية الصومال الفيدرالية | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
 Light green territory disputed with Somaliland | |
| Capital and largest city | Mogadishu |
| Official languages | Somali Arabic |
| Area | |
• Total | 637,657 km² |
| Population | |
• 2020 estimate | 15,893,219 |
Somalia, (Somali: Somaliya), officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya; (Arabic: جمهورية الصومال الفيدرالية), is a country in the Horn of Africa, located in East Africa.
Geography
Somalia is bordered by, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya, as well as the Gulf of Aden, and the Indian Ocean to the north and east. The capital city of Mogadishu (Somali: Moqdishu), one of the fastest growing cities in Africa, is located in the south of the country.
Political
The Federal Republic of Somalia is divided into six federal states, and 18 regions. In the self-recognized self-governing nation of Somaliland recognizes itself as a fully independent nation, of Somalia with its capital of Hargeisa, with six regions, with their own flag, government, military, police, and passports, etc., which today is unrecognized by the UN (United Nations). At the very tip of the horn, is the federal state of Puntland, made up of three regions, and in 1998 it declared autonomy, but aren't and doesn't claim independence from the Somali state. Disputes over the eastern border of Puntland and Somaliland, as well as Khatumo which wanted independence. The central border with Ethiopia is disputed and not properly demarcated. Furthering complications the region that inhabits the border, in Ethiopia is named, the ''Somali Region.'' (Somali: Deegaanka Soomaalida), primarily inhabited by ethnic Somalis. In general Somalis ''generally'' refer to this region as ''Greater Somalia'', which includes areas of historical Somali areas, extending from the southern part of Djibouti, all the way down to Ethiopia to east Kenya. Somalia has the longest coast in Africa, as long as 3,333 km (2,070mi), gives Somalia a perfect place to build deep water ports, some apart of the largest in Africa, like Mogadishu Port, Kismayo in the south, and in Somaliland (Somalia), Berbera Port in the north, is the busiest port in the Gulf of Aden.
Physical
The Horn of Africa, which Somalia lies on, is a part of the greater Somali Plate that extends to the Indian Ocean to the east, and the Great African Rift to the west. This fault zone is what created the Gulf of Aden, including the four Yemeni islands off the coast. The passage between the Somali coast and the islands is called the Guardafui channel, which connects to the sub-section of the Indian Ocean, the Somali sea. Somalia's coast is mostly smooth and straight with minimal islands, excluding or including the islands off the sea border with Djibouti with the Sa'ad Ad' din Islands. Further east are the mangrove islands of the famous Alula Lagoon. Inland the country of Somalia can be divided into three main geographic zones. The humid (&) green zone in the south, the dry plateau in the central, as well as the dry mountainous area in the north mostly in the self-proclaimed state of Somaliland. In the mountain region, is the highest peak, Shimbiris, can be seen in the Al-Madow Mountain range, a unique forested range that gathers more precipitation through fog mist and winter rains than any other area, and mountain ranges of the Ogo/Karkaar Mountains that extends all the way towards the end of the horn. Following south the mountains fade and a dry flatter plateau descends like the Nugal Valley, and the Mudug Plain, speckled with perennial rivers, and wadis that dry up seasonally. This is known as the Haud, some of the best graze lands for livestock pastoralist peoples, especially the Hobyo grasslands, and shrublands along the eastern coast. This region ends at the border of the longest river in the country the Shebelle, at about 702 miles long, and a greener, and lush savannah, and forested area of Somalia beings. The Shebelle River dries up and ends, and only in the wet seasons does it continue to flow and connect with the second largest river, the Jubba in the southeast. This all means that Somalia has no inland permanent bodies of water.
Wildlife
Somalia is both number one in camel livestock population with over 7M, and camel milk production. Somalia has six main national parks, with the fact that camels both originated, and were first domesticated in Somalia, having about ~35% of all the worlds camel population. There is over ~720 species of birds that live in Somalia. Over ~170 mammals, and thousands of plants, like the King Protea, which is the national flower. Especially shrubs like Jasmine Pointettia, Caraway, Cardamum, Myrrh, Acacia, plants, and trees. Somalis have their own version of ostriches, leopards, and other examples like the Pygmy gerbil, Berbera Gerbil, Berbillus Brockmani, Crocidura greenwoodi shrew, Elephant shrew, that are endemic to Somalia only. There are about 230+ species of reptiles in the country. The Nile crocodile finds its home in many of the river bits, with tons of fish and coral species along the coast, the most commonly caught being the Indian Ocean tuna.
Demographics
Language
Somalia's official languages includes the Somali language, and Arabic as the co-official language, used primarily for religious affairs, etc. Somali is a Cushitic language, from the Afro-Asiatic language family in Africa. A number of writings systems have been attempted to be implemented as the official Somali script, but so far none have been popular enough, which scripts including the Kaddare, Osmanya, and Borama, Hussein Sheikh Ahmed Kaddare, Abdurahman Sheikh Nuur, and Osman Yusuf Kenadid, being spearheads of the inventions of Somali scripts. But majority of Somalis use the Latin alphabet.
Urbanism
| Mogadishu | Banaadir (State) | 1st in Somalia (Excluding Somaliland) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hargeisa | Somaliland (Maroodi Jeex) | TBD | (1st in Somaliland) & (2nd including Somalia) |
| Burao | Somaliland (Togdheer) | TBD | (3rd Excluding Somaliland) (2nd including Somaliland) |
| Bosaso | Bari (Puntland) | TBD | (4th in Somalia) |
Ethnolinguistic Groups
Somali
Issaq
Darood
Hawiye
Ranhanweyn
Sub Clans
Bantu
Arabs
Religion
Islam is the state religion. Sunni Islam, with branches like Sufism also existing. The government is an ''admixture'', of civil customary, and Islamic law. Being one of the oldest Islamic nations on earth.
History
Somali Sultanates
Dervish Movement
The Dervish Movement was a result of early colonizing Europeans specifically the Italians, and the British, who have been at the time, growing and permanently implanting their spheres of influence in the Horn of Africa. To which European powers found success by using the coast for their bases of operation against enemy Somali peoples, and armed groups, which they gained the trust of local Somali clans, and people to further their imperial interests. An Somali Islamic follower of a prominent Sufi Wahhabist Revivalist named Mohamed Salih, influenced a young Somali islamist, named Sayid Mohamed Abdullahi Hassan (Somali: Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan), born in the British Protectorate of Aden, he soon opened a school in Berbera. His next move was through the Somali interior, gaining followers, preaching against heresy, materialism*, and non-Muslim foreigners. By 1899, he had about 3,000 followers. * Who became known as Dervishes. He then declared jihad against Somalis he viewed as heretics, as well as the European powers. ''In the years that followed his forces wages a determined guerilla campaign against other Somali tribes, the Italians, Ethiopians, and the British. 1905 treaty with Italians and the Mullah, to which the British also agreed. The treaty created the territory of Nugal, under Hassan's control as a protectorate, which was a ''convenient'' buffer state between the sultanates of Hobyo, and Majeerteen, *which were both Italian clients, but in conflict with each other.