- Outline of Somalia
-
See also: Index of Somalia-related articles
Somalia (pronounced /soʊˈmɑːliə/ soh-mah-lee-ə; Somali: Soomaaliya; Arabic: الصومال aṣ-Ṣūmāl), officially the Republic of Somalia (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, Arabic: جمهورية الصومال Jumhūriyyat aṣ-Ṣūmāl) and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under communist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden with Yemen to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west. With the longest coastline on the continent,[1] its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands.[2]
In antiquity, Somalia was an important centre for commerce with the rest of the ancient world. Its sailors and merchants were the main suppliers of frankincense, myrrh and spices, items which were considered valuable luxuries by the Ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Mycenaeans and Babylonians with whom the Somali people traded.[3][4] According to most scholars, Somalia is most likely where the ancient Land of Punt was situated.[5][6] The ancient Puntites were a nation of people that had close relations with Pharaonic Egypt during the times of Pharaoh Sahure and Queen Hatshepsut. The pyramidal structures, temples and ancient houses of dressed stone littered around the country are said to date from this period.[7] During the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade, including the Ajuuraan State, the Sultanate of Adal, the Warsangali Sultanate and the Gobroon Dynasty.
Somalia was never formally colonized.[8][9] Muhammad Abdullah Hassan's Dervish State successfully repulsed the British Empire four times and forced it to retreat to the coastal region.[10] Due to these successful expeditions, the Dervish State was recognized as an ally by the Ottoman and German Empires. The Turks also named Hassan Emir of the Somali nation,[11] and the Germans promised to officially recognize any territories the Dervishes were to acquire.[12] After a quarter of a century of holding the British at bay, the Dervishes were finally defeated in 1920 as a direct consequence of Britain's new policy of aerial bombardment.[13] As a result of this bombardment, former Dervish territories were turned into a protectorate of Britain. Italy faced similar opposition from Somali Sultans and armies, and did not acquire full control of parts of modern Somalia until the Fascist era in late 1927. This occupation lasted until 1941, and was replaced by a British military administration. Northern Somalia would remain a protectorate, while southern Somalia became a trusteeship. The Union of the two regions in 1960 formed the Somali Republic. A civilian government was formed, and on July 20, 1961, through a popular referendum, a new constitution that had first been drafted the year before was ratified.[14]
Due to its longstanding ties with the Arab world, Somalia was accepted in 1974 as a member of the Arab League.[15] During the same year, the nation's former socialist administration also chaired the Organization of African Unity, the predecessor of the African Union.[16] In 1991, the Somali Civil War broke out, which saw the collapse of the federal government. Somalia's inhabitants subsequently reverted to local forms of conflict resolution, either secular, Islamic or customary law, with a provision for appeal of all sentences.[2] As with other previously nationalized sectors, informal providers stepped in to fill the void and replaced the former government monopoly over healthcare, with access to facilities witnessing a significant increase and general living conditions improving.[17][18] Through similar grass-roots initiatives, many educational institutions were restored and newer ones were developed; several are now ranked among the 100 best universities in Africa.[19] Additionally, a Transitional Federal Government was created in 2004, which saw the restoration of numerous national institutions, including the Military of Somalia. While it still has room for improvement, the interim government continues to reach out to both Somali and international stakeholders to help grow the administrative capacity of the Transitional Federal Institutions and to work toward eventual national elections in 2011.[2] According to the CIA and the recently re-established Central Bank of Somalia, despite experiencing civil unrest, Somalia has also maintained a healthy informal economy, based mainly on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies, and telecommunications.[2][20] Libertarian economist Peter T. Leeson attributes this increased economic activity to the Somali traditional law (referred to as Xeer), which provides a stable environment to conduct business in.[17]
General reference
- Pronunciation:
- Common English country name: Somalia
- Official English country name: The Somali Republic
- Common endonym(s):
- Official endonym(s):
- Adjectival(s): Somali
- Demonym(s): Somali;[2] Somalian[21]
- ISO country codes: SO, SOM, 706
- ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:SO
- Internet country code top-level domain: .so
Geography of Somalia
See also: Geography of Somalia- Somalia is: a country
- Location:
- Eastern Hemisphere, on the Equator
- Africa
- Time zone: East Africa Time (UTC+03)
- Extreme points of Somalia
- High: Shimbiris 2,450 m (8,038 ft)
- Low: Indian Ocean 0 m
- Land boundaries: 2,340 km
- Population of Somalia: 8,699,000 - 90th most populous country
- Area of Somalia: 637,661 km2
- Atlas of Somalia
Environment of Somalia
Main article: Environment of Somalia- Climate of Somalia
- Environmental issues in Somalia
- Ecoregions in Somalia
- Renewable energy in Somalia
- Geology of Somalia
- Protected areas of Somalia
- Biosphere reserves in Somalia
- National parks of Somalia
- Wildlife of Somalia
- Flora of Somalia
- Fauna of Somalia
- Birds of Somalia
- Mammals of Somalia
Natural geographic features of Somalia
Main article: Landforms of Somalia- Glaciers in Somalia: none [22]
- Islands of Somalia
- Lakes of Somalia
- Mountains of Somalia
- Volcanoes in Somalia
- Rivers of Somalia
- Waterfalls of Somalia
- Valleys of Somalia
- World Heritage Sites in Somalia
Regions of Somalia
Main article: States and regions of SomaliaEcoregions of Somalia
Main articles: List of ecoregions in Somalia and Ecoregions in SomaliaAdministrative divisions of Somalia
Main article: Administrative divisions of Somalia- Regions of Somalia
Regions of Somalia
Main article: Regions of Somalia- Awdal
- Bakool
- Banaadir
- Bari
- Bay
- Galguduud
- Gedo
- Hiiraan
- Jubbada Dhexe
- Jubbada Hoose
- Mudug
- Nugaal
- Sanaag
- Shabeellaha Dhexe
- Shabeellaha Hoose
- Sool
- Togdheer
- Woqooyi Galbeed
Demography of Somalia
Main article: Demographics of SomaliaGovernment and politics of Somalia
- Main article: Government of Somalia and Politics of Somalia
- Form of government:
- Capital of Somalia: Mogadishu
- History of the Transitional Federal Government of the Republic of Somalia
- History of Somalia (1991-2006)
- Elections in Somalia
- (specific elections)
- Political parties in Somalia
- Taxation in Somalia
Branches of the government of Somalia
Main article: Government of SomaliaExecutive branch of the government of Somalia
- Head of state: President of Somalia, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed
- Head of government: Prime Minister of Somalia, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke
- Cabinet of Somalia
Legislative branch of the government of Somalia
- Parliament of Somalia: Transitional Federal Parliament (unicameral)
Judicial branch of the government of Somalia
Main article: Judiciary of Somalia- Transitional Supreme Court of Somalia (seated at Mogadishu)
- Transitional Appeals Court of Somalia
Foreign relations of Somalia
Main article: Foreign relations of Somalia- Diplomatic missions in Somalia
- Diplomatic missions of Somalia
International organization membership
The Republic of Somalia is a member of:[23]
Somalia is one of only 7 U.N member countries, which are not a member state of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Law and order in Somalia
Main article: Law of Somalia- Capital punishment in Somalia
- Constitution of Somalia
- Crime in Somalia
- Kidnapping and hostage taking in Somalia
- Piracy in Somalia
- Terrorism in Somalia
- Human rights in Somalia
- Freedom of religion in Somalia
- LGBT rights in Somalia
- Law enforcement in Somalia
- Marriage in Somalia
- Polygamy in Somalia
Military of Somalia
Main article: Military of Somalia- Command
- Commander-in-chief: Yusuf Osman Dumal
- Forces
- Army of Somalia
- Navy of Somalia
- Air Force of Somalia
- Special forces of Somalia
- Military history of Somalia
- Military ranks of Somalia
Local government in Somalia
Main article: Local government in SomaliaHistory of Somalia
- Main article: History of Somalia, Timeline of the history of Somalia, and Current events of Somalia
- Economic history of Somalia
- History of the Transitional Federal Government of the Republic of Somalia
- Maritime history of Somalia
- Military history of Somalia
- Somali Civil War
- Attempts at reconciliation in Somalia (1991–2004)
- Factions in the Somali Civil War
- Timeline of the War in Somalia
- 2005 timeline of the War in Somalia
- 2006 timeline of the War in Somalia
- 2007 timeline of the War in Somalia
- 2008 timeline of the War in Somalia
- 2009 timeline of the War in Somalia
- War in Somalia (2006–2009)
- War in Somalia (2009–)
- Somali Civil War
- 2011 Horn of Africa famine
Culture of Somalia
Main article: Culture of Somalia- Architecture of Somalia
- Cuisine of Somalia
- Festivals in Somalia
- Humor in Somalia
- Languages of Somalia
- Media in Somalia
- National symbols of Somalia
- Public holidays in Somalia
- Records of Somalia
- Religion in Somalia
- World Heritage Sites in Somalia
Art in Somalia
- Somali art
- Cinema of Somalia
- Literature of Somalia
- Music of Somalia
- Television in Somalia
- Theatre in Somalia
Sports in Somalia
Main article: Sports in Somalia- Somalia national football team
- Somalia national beach soccer team
- Somalia League
- Somalia Cup
- Somali Football Federation
- Somalia national basketball team
- Somalia at the Olympics
Economy and infrastructure of Somalia
Main article: Economy of Somalia- Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 153rd (one hundred and fifty third)
- Agriculture in Somalia
- Banking in Somalia
- Communications in Somalia
- Internet in Somalia
- Companies of Somalia
- Currency of Somalia: Shilling
- Economic history of Somalia
- Energy in Somalia
- Energy policy of Somalia
- Health care in Somalia
- Oil industry in Somalia
- Mining in Somalia
- Somalia Stock Exchange
- Tourism in Somalia
- Transport in Somalia
- Airports in Somalia
- Rail transport in Somalia
- Roads in Somalia
- Water supply and sanitation in Somalia
Education in Somalia
Main article: Education in SomaliaSee also
Main article: Somalia- Index of Somalia-related articles
- List of international rankings
- List of Somalia-related topics
- Member state of the United Nations
- Outline of Africa
- Outline of geography
References
- ^ International Traffic Network, The world trade in sharks: a compendium of Traffic's regional studies, (Traffic International: 1996), p.25.
- ^ a b c d e "Somalia". World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 2009-05-14. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/so.html. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
- ^ John Kenrick, Phoenicia, (B. Fellowes: 1855), p.199.
- ^ Jeanne Rose, John Hulburd, The aromatherapy book: applications & inhalations, (North Atlantic Books: 1992), p.94.
- ^ Christine El Mahdy, Egypt : 3000 Years of Civilization Brought to Life, (Raincoast Books: 2005), p.297.
- ^ Stefan Goodwin, Africa's legacies of urbanization: unfolding saga of a continent, (Lexington Books: 2006), p.48.
- ^ John G. Jackson, J. Hampden Jackson, Man, God and Civilization, (Citadel Press: 1972), p.216.
- ^ David D. Laitin, Politics, Language, and Thought: The Somali Experience, (University Of Chicago Press: 1977), p. 135
- ^ Don R. Hoy, Leonard Berry, Essentials of geography and development: concepts and processes, (C.E. Merrill Pub. Co.: 1984), p. 305.
- ^ Kevin Shillington, Encyclopedia of African history, (CRC Press: 2005), p.1406.
- ^ I.M. Lewis, The modern history of Somaliland: from nation to state, (Weidenfeld & Nicolson: 1965), p. 78
- ^ Thomas P. Ofcansky, Historical dictionary of Ethiopia, (The Scarecrow Press, Inc.: 2004), p.405
- ^ Samatar, Said Sheikh (1982). Oral Poetry and Somali Nationalism. Cambridge University Press. pp. 131 & 135. ISBN 0521238331.
- ^ Greystone Press Staff, The Illustrated Library of The World and Its Peoples: Africa, North and East, (Greystone Press: 1967), p.338.
- ^ Benjamin Frankel, The Cold War, 1945-1991: Leaders and other important figures in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, China, and the Third World, (Gale Research: 1992), p.306.
- ^ Oihe Yang, Africa South of the Sahara 2001, 30th Ed., (Taylor and Francis: 2000), p.1025.
- ^ a b "Better Off Stateless: Somalia Before and After Government Collapse" (PDF). http://www.peterleeson.com/Better_Off_Stateless.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
- ^ Benjamin Powell, Ryan Ford, Alex Nowrasteh (November 30, 2006). "Somalia After State Collapse: Chaos or Improvement?". http://www.independent.org/pdf/working_papers/64_somalia.pdf.
- ^ The African Executive. "Somalia: The Resilience of a People". Africanexecutive.com. http://www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/article_print.php?article=4693. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
- ^ Central Bank of Somalia - Economy and Finance
- ^ Paul Dickson, Labels for locals: what to call people from Abilene to Zimbabwe, (Merriam-Webster: 1997), p.175.
- ^ The only glaciers in Africa are on Mt Kenya (in Kenya), on Kilimanjaro (in Tanzania), and in the Ruwenzori Mountains (which are located in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo). See Proceedings of the Riederalp Workshop, September 1978; Actes de l'Atelier de Riederalp, septembre 1978): IAHS-AISH Publ. no. 126, 1980.
- ^ "Somalia". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. July 3, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/so.html. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
External links
- Turbulent Waters in a Maritime Black Hole The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies May 2008
- Condemn US-Ethiopian aggression against Somalia Lalkar January 2007
- Somalia Operations: Lessons Learned by Kenneth Allard (CCRP, 1995)
- From Nation-State to Stateless Nation: The Somali Experience by Michael van Notten (Amsterdam, 2000)
- "Preserving American Security Ties to Somalia," by Michael Johns, Heritage Foundation, December 26, 1989.
- Changed Arab attitudes to Somalia Conflict
- "Separation Anxiety", article in The Walrus about post-traumatic stress disorder among Somali warriors
- Between Kat and Katyushas Elaborated Article on the Contemporary History of Somalia
- Government
- Geography
- News;
- Somalia - War situation since 1991 on France 24 – Special Report about Somalia on France 24 International News Channel
- "Somalia in crisis" - collection of articles on the BBC
- Somalia news headlines
- Somalia's Struggle for Stability, Online NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
- HRW claims US involved in secret detention of Somalis, Breaking Legal News 2007/04/01
- IRIN Somalia humanitarian news and analysis
- U.S. Special Envoy Cites Widespread ‘Lack of Confidence’ in Somali Government Council on Foreign Relations
- ITN/CNN Report "War tears Somalia apart", an up-to-date report on Mogadishu, October 10, 2007.
- Economy
- Anarchy and Invention: How Does Somalia's Private Sector Cope without Government?
- Breaking Legal News 2007/04/01
- General information
- Somalia at the Open Directory Project
- CBC Digital Archives - The Somalia Affair
- News and Discussions
- Religion
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- Somalia-related lists
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