39 Facts About Somalia

1.

Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is a country in the Horn of Africa.

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2.

Somalia has maintained an informal economy mainly based on livestock, remittances from Somalis working abroad, and telecommunications.

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3.

Somalia was likely one of the first lands to be settled by early humans due to its location.

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4.

Somalia mentioned that the Adal Kingdom had its capital in the city.

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5.

Somalia's army came out victorious during the Bardheere Jihad, which restored stability in the region and revitalized the East African ivory trade.

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6.

Somalia received presents from and had cordial relations with the rulers of neighbouring and distant kingdoms such as the Omani, Witu and Yemeni Sultans.

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7.

Majority of those who voted 'no' were Somalis who were strongly in favour of joining a united Somalia, as had been proposed by Mahmoud Harbi, Vice President of the Government Council.

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8.

Somalia's assassination was quickly followed by a military coup d'etat on 21 October 1969, in which the Somali Army seized power without encountering armed opposition — essentially a bloodless takeover.

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9.

Somalia was not able to exert his authority beyond parts of the capital.

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10.

Somalia blamed the international community for their failure to support the government, and said that the speaker of parliament would succeed him in office per the Charter of the Transitional Federal Government.

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11.

Somalia is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Somali Sea and Guardafui Channel to the east, and Kenya to the southwest.

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12.

Somalia is separated from Seychelles by the Somali Sea and is separated from Socotra by the Guardafui Channel.

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13.

Somalia is officially divided into thirteen regions and five claimed regions, which in turn are subdivided into districts.

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14.

Northern Somalia is de facto divided up among the autonomous regions of Puntland and Somaliland (a self-declared but unrecognized sovereign state).

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15.

In central Somalia, Galmudug is another regional entity that emerged just south of Puntland.

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16.

Somalia is bordered by Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Guardafui Channel and Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west.

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17.

Somalia has the longest coastline on the mainland of Africa, with a seaboard that stretches 3, 333 kilometres.

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18.

Somalia has several islands and archipelagos on its coast, including the Bajuni Islands and the Saad ad-Din Archipelago: see islands of Somalia.

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19.

Somalia contains seven terrestrial ecoregions: Ethiopian montane forests, Northern Zanzibar–Inhambane coastal forest mosaic, Somali Acacia–Commiphora bushlands and thickets, Ethiopian xeric grasslands and shrublands, Hobyo grasslands and shrublands, Somali montane xeric woodlands, and East African mangroves.

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20.

Somalia has only two permanent rivers, the Jubba and Shabele, both of which begin in the Ethiopian Highlands.

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21.

Somalia contains a variety of mammals due to its geographical and climatic diversity.

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22.

Reptiles endemic to Somalia include the Hughes' saw-scaled viper, the Southern Somali garter snake, a racer, a diadem snake (Spalerosophis josephscorteccii), the Somali sand boa, the angled worm lizard, a spiny-tailed lizard (Uromastyx macfadyeni), Lanza's agama, a gecko (Hemidactylus granchii), the Somali semaphore gecko, and a sand lizard (Mesalina or Eremias).

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23.

The President of Somalia is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the Somali Armed Forces and selects a Prime Minister to act as head of government.

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24.

Judiciary of Somalia is defined by the Provisional Constitution of the Federal Republic of Somalia.

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25.

Somalia is a member of many international organizations, such as the United Nations, African Union and Arab League.

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26.

Somalia has a trade deficit of about $190 million per year, but this is exceeded by remittances sent by Somalis in the diaspora, estimated to be about $1 billion.

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27.

Somalia is a major world supplier of frankincense and myrrh.

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28.

Somalia has reserves of several natural resources, including uranium, iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt and natural gas.

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29.

Somalia evolved into a major world supplier of uranium, with American, UAE, Italian and Brazilian mineral companies vying for extraction rights.

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30.

Investment in the telecom industry is held to be one of the clearest signs that Somalia's economy has continued to develop despite civil strife in parts of the country.

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31.

Somalia has a number of local attractions, consisting of historical sites, beaches, waterfalls, mountain ranges and national parks.

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32.

The Bantus, the largest ethnic minority group in Somalia, are the descendants of slaves who were brought in from southeastern Africa by Arab and Somali traders.

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33.

The president of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, was a former diaspora Somali and held US citizenship which he voluntarily renounced in 2019.

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34.

English is the medium of instruction at many universities across Somalia, and is one of the primary working languages of major NGOs operating in Somalia.

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35.

The constitution of Somalia likewise defines Islam as the state religion of the Federal Republic of Somalia, and Islamic sharia law as the basic source for national legislation.

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36.

Somalia has one of the lowest HIV infection rates on the continent.

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37.

Ministry of Education is officially responsible for education in Somalia, and oversees the nation's primary, secondary, technical and vocational schools, as well as primary and technical teacher training and non-formal education.

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38.

Cuisine of Somalia, which varies from region to region, is a mixture of diverse culinary influences.

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39.

Somalia has a rich musical heritage centred on traditional Somali folklore.

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