Somalia

National name

Somaliya

Government
Between January 1991 and August 2000, Somalia had no working government. In 2004, a new transitional Parliament was instituted and elected a president.

Geography
Somalia, situated in the Horn of Africa, lies along the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Generally arid and barren, Somalia has two chief rivers, the Shebelle and the Juba.

Historical Background
Britain withdrew from British Somaliland in 1960 in order to allow its protectorate to join with Italian Somaliland and form the new nation of Somalia. In 1969, a coup headed by Mohamed SIAD Barre ushered in an authoritarian socialist rule that managed to impose a degree of stability in the country for a couple of decades. After the regime's overthrow early in 1991, Somalia descended into turmoil, factional fighting, and anarchy. Beginning in 1993, a two-year UN humanitarian effort (primarily in the south) was able to alleviate famine conditions, but when the UN withdrew in 1995, having suffered significant casualties. The mandate of the Transitional National Government (TNG), created in August 2000 in Arta, Djibouti, expired in August 2003. A twoyear peace process, led by the Government of Kenya under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), concluded in October 2004 with the election of Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed as Transitional Federal President of Somalia and the formation of a transitional government, known as the Somalia Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs). The Somalia TFIs include a 275-member parliamentary body, known as the Transitional Federal Assembly (TFA), a transitional Prime Minister, Ali Mohamed GHEDI, and a 90-member cabinet. President Yusuf dismissed Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein in Dec. 2008, saying Hussein had "failed to accomplish his duties." On January 31, 2009, Parliament elected Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad, a moderate Islamist cleric, as president. Many Somalis greeted the election of Sheikh Sharif as an
opportunity to move toward peace and end the brutal 18-year war. Amid a growing threat from militant Islamists, Ethiopia began withdrawing troops from Somalia in January 2009.

Name

Somalia

Capital

Mogadishu

Language

Somali, Arabic

Area

Total 637,657 km2 (246,200 sq m

Population

2010 estimate 9,359,000[4] (89th)  -  Density 14/km2 (209) 36/sq mi

Currency

Somali shilling (SOS)