 10 Interesting Facts About Somalia. Somalia is a country in the horn of Africa noted for extensive poverty, civil wars, territorial conflicts, and an unstable administration. Somalia, like every other country on the planet, has its own thrilling destinations, distinct cultures, and amazing geographical facts. It stretches from just south of the equator to the Gulf of Aden, occupying a strategic geopolitical location between sub-Saharan Africa and Arabian and southern Asian countries. It covers 637,657 square kilometers. Its capital and largest city is Mavidishu. Somalia's official languages are Somali and Arabic. Its official currency is the Somali Shilling, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya are its neighboring nations. Somalia has a massive coastline, prehistoric rock paintings, and a terrible and complicated history, among other things. The environment is primarily arid and hot, with thornbush savanna and semi-desert landscapes, and Somalia's residents have developed similarly challenging economic survival techniques. Apart from a mountainous coastal zone in the north and numerous distinct river basins, the majority of the nation is fairly flat, with few natural obstacles preventing nomads and their livestock from moving around. The Somali people are clan-based Muslims, and roughly three-fifths of them practice a nomadic pastoralism or agri-pastoralism lifestyle. The following is a collection of some of the most fascinating and unusual facts about Somalia. 10. The People, Ethnic Groups The Somalis account for the vast bulk of Somalia's population. They are grouped into a number of clans, which are groups of people who have a common ancestor. These clans, which are further subdivided into countless sulclans, come together to form clan families at a higher level. The Rahimwayne and Dichol clan families inhabit the interfluvial area of southern Somalia, and together they are known as the SAAV. The SAAV, who are primarily farmers and agri-pastoralists, include both natives and several Somali clans who have immigrated to this climatically favorable location. Other clan families include the Darud, who live in northeastern Somalia, the Ogadan, and the Somali-Kenyan border region, the Hauiii, who are primarily on both sides of the Middle Shabuil in south-central Somalia, and the Isak, who live in northern Somalia's central and western regions. There are also the Dair, who live in the country's northern region, but are also scattered throughout southern Somalia, and the Tani, who live along the coast between Marga and Kismio. The Batchounis, a Swahili fishing community, live along the small coastal strip and offshore islands near the Kenyan border. Several tens of thousands of Arabs, mostly of Yemeni ancestry, are an economically prominent minority. Another economically significant community is the Bantu, who are primarily responsible for the lucrative irrigated agriculture practiced on the Jabba and Shabuil rivers lower and middle sections. 9. Language The Somali language is part of the Afro-Asian language family's Kashidic branch. Despite many regional dialects, it is widely spoken and is an official language in the country. Herabic is the second official language, spoken primarily in northern Somalia and coastal areas. Because of Somalia's colonial background, many individuals are fluent in English and Italian, which are utilized at the country's colleges and universities in addition to Somali. In the south, Swahili is also spoken. Somalia adopted a Latin alphabet based national orthography in 1973. Somali has previously been an unwritten language. 8. Demographic Factor In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Somalia's population grew by roughly 3% every year. The country has one of the world's highest rates of infant mortality. The Somali population has a life expectancy of around 50 years, which is significantly lower than that of its neighbors. More than two-fifths of Somalia's population is under the age of 15, making it a comparatively young country. A high rate of young males migrating to the cities has resulted in a disproportionately large percentage of older individuals in most rural areas, as well as substantial unemployment in the cities. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled to Somalia after the Agaddon crisis of 1977-78, in which Somalia attacked and seized Ethiopia's Agaddon region, before being defeated and pushed out. Somalia's civil war broke out soon after the Agaddon battle ended, and more than one million Somalis have sought refuge in neighboring countries, with hundreds of thousands more internally displaced. 7. The Economy of Somalia Agriculture accounts for almost three-fifths of Somalia's economy. However, livestock keeping, not crop cultivation, is the predominant economic activity. Mohamed Sa'ib Behr's military government imposed a system of scientific socialism between 1969 and the early 1980s, which included the nationalization of banks, insurance companies, oil companies, and large industrial firms, as well as the establishment of state-owned enterprises, farms, and trading companies, as well as the formation of state-controlled cooperatives. In the end, this experiment harmed the Somali economy significantly, and the economy has suffered even more as a result of a civil conflict, since the military regime's collapse. The country remained one of the poorest in the world in the early 21st century, and its major sources of income were foreign aid, remittances, and the informal sector. 6. Resources and Power The most significant resource in Somalia is its pastures, which cover the majority of the country. Only a few deposits of tin, phosphate, chipsm, guano, coal, iron ore, and uranium exist in Somalia, and the amount and quality are insufficient for mining to be profitable. However, the clay mineral sepialite, or miershcham, deposits in south-central Somalia are among the world's greatest known reserves. Natural gas reserves have been discovered, but they have yet to be used. Several locations along the coast acquire sea salt. The country's few existing power stations, which are located in Mavadishu, Harjesa, and Kismio, are frequently out of commission, resulting in frequent power outages that have a negative impact on manufacturing operations. There are no power plants in rural areas. After the collapse of the government in 1991, the construction of dams on the Chubber River for hydroelectricity and irrigation was halted. 5. Manufacturing Sector Manufacturing did not account for a large share of economic activity in the early 21st century. Small workshops in the informal sector produce a variety of necessities for daily life. Mavadishu was Somalia's main industrial center before 1991. With bottling facilities, companies making spaghetti, cigarettes, matches, and boats, a petroleum refinery, a small tractor assembly facility, and modest building material businesses. There was a meat-tinning industry, a tannery, and a contemporary fish factory in Kismio. There were two sugar refineries, one near Jilib on the Java's lower reaches and the other near Jahor, Jihohar, on the Shabuil's mill reaches. However, even before the civil war in Somalia wreaked havoc on the country's factories, production was low. Over long periods of time, many plants did not function at full capacity or produced nothing at all. 4. Finance The central bank of Somalia, the commercial and savings bank of Somalia, and the Somali Development Bank, which mostly offers loans for development projects, are the three primary nationalized banks. The formal banking sectors functions were significantly hampered after the government collapsed in 1991. The Somali shilling, the country's currency, has been declining for years. In the 1990s, a lack of real currency led to an upsurge in counterfeiting and the establishment of regional currencies. Inflation was aided by the profusion of newly produced currency in the early 2000s. All of these obstacles have hampered the country's economic development significantly. The Somaliland shilling is the currency of the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland. 3. Trade Somalia suffers from a significant trade deficit. Livestock and bananas are the country's principal exports, which are primarily shipped to Arab countries. Hides and skins, seafood, and frankincense and myrrh are among the other products sent. Almost everything is imported, including food for a city populace that has lost touch with its roots. Aside from the legal market, there is a thriving informal market in which tens of thousands of Somali migrants in Arab nations provide things that aren't available on the Somali market while avoiding import charges. Because salaries in Somalia are so low, practically every household is involved in informal trade, either directly or indirectly. 2. The government and society constitutional framework. The President and his followers held key positions of authority under the 1979 Constitution, which was revised in 1990, and the People's Assembly had no actual power. The legal system was mostly based on Islamic law. There was no independent judiciary, and human rights were often violated. Only the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party, a legal political party, and various socialist-style mass organizations existed. The Constitution was ignored after the central authority collapsed in 1991. Several Klan-based political coalitions and alliances attempted to take control of the country. One of these alliances formed the Independent Republic of Somaliland in the North in May 1991, while another declared the autonomous province of Puntland in the Northeast in July 1998. Despite the fact that Niveau is recognized by the international world, each has formed its own government. Despite repeated attempts to terminate the violence and build a new administration, a fractured conflict-driven south remained mostly in the hands of several Klan-based militia groups at war with one another. The last transitional government was established in 2004 as a result of a passage of the Transitional Federal Charter. It established a transitional federal parliament and a transitional federal government of a president, prime minister, and cabinet known as the Council of Ministers. In 2009, the charter was changed to prolong the transitional government's original five-year mandate for another two years, and then again in 2011 to extend it for another year. The lower house of a new federal parliament was sworn in on August 20, 2012, the day before the transitional administration was set to expire. The following month, that body elected a new president for the country. 1. Health care and welfare Somalia is in a state of emergency due to years of conflict, severe drought, and famine. War has forced hundreds of thousands of Somalis to flee their homes. In many sections of the country, chronic food shortages have resulted in high rates of malnutrition. Much of Somalia lacks proper sanitation and water resources. Malaria, cholera, measles, and tuberculosis are all common. International relief organizations are straining to deliver vital services traditionally provided by the government due to the absence of health and welfare infrastructure in the country, which has been largely damaged as a result of years of conflict. Continue violent sports for their efforts, and most Somalis have limited or no access to health care. The Republic of Somaliland and Punlan have slightly better conditions than the rest of the country, but they are still far from perfect. Because of the two self-governing areas overall stability, they have been able to restore much of their health care infrastructure. Somalia is a rapidly developing African country that has overcome various hurdles to stand the test of time. Despite being a poor third world country, the country has managed to preserve its historical and cultural values, particularly in terms of religion, Islam. You might wish to travel to Somalia and learn more about this country in Northeastern Africa. Thank you for taking the time to watch. For more videos from Africa Reloaded, switch on the notification button and feel free to leave a comment.