Somalia

Demographics

• Population: 9,558,666 (UK: 61 million)
• Birth rate: 44.12 births/1,000 population  (UK: 11 births/1,000)
• Population under 15 years: 45% (UK: 17%)
• HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate: 1%(UK: 0.2%)
• Literacy rate: 38% (UK: 99%)

Infrastructure

• Area of the country: 246,201 sq miles (UK: 94,525 sq miles)
• 13,732 miles of roads, but only 1,621 miles of paved roads (UK: 241,104 miles – all paved)
• 67 landing strips of which only 7 are paved

Economy
Despite the lack of effective national governance, Somalia has maintained a healthy informal economy, largely based on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies, and telecommunications

• 71% of the population employed in agriculture, fishing and forestry
• Main exports include livestock, bananas, hides, fish, charcoal, scrap metal

Environment
Mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north. Environmental hazard include:

• Famine
• Use of contaminated water contributes to human health problems;
• Deforestation
• Overgrazing
• Soil erosion
• Desertification

Climate
Principally desert; northeast monsoon (December to February), moderate temperatures in north and hot in south; southwest monsoon (May to October), torrid in the north and hot in the south, irregular rainfall, hot and humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons

• Frequent dust storms over eastern plains in summer
• Floods during rainy season
• Recurring droughts

Religion
Islam is the official religion. Islamists gained influenced in both the south and Somaliland and seek to enforce Shar’ia law.