Somalia is situated in the Horn of Africa along the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
It is comprised of a merger in 1960 of the former British protectorate
of Somaliland and the Italian Trust Territory of Somalia. It was proclaimed
a socialist state by President Siad Barre in 1970. He was overthrown in
1991. Since that time the country has been without an effective government.
There have been years of fighting between rival warlords as well as famine
and disease. Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was selected as president of the Transitional
Federal Government in October 2004 by the interim parliament.
The population of Somalia is approximately 9.1 million. Nearly all inhabitants speak Somali, which is the official language although it remained unwritten until 1973. Arabic, English and Italian are also spoken.
The primary religion is Sunni Islam. Somalia is slightly smaller than the state of Texas at 246,201 square miles. The capital is Mogadishu.
The climate is hot all year round. About 60 percent of the population are nomadic and raise cattle, camels, sheep and goats. 25 percent of Somalis are settled farmers. Primary exports include livestock, bananas, hides and fish.
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