In June 2021 Somalia was estimated to have a population of 16.35 million people, of whom 46% now live in cities. The urban population is predicted to triple by 2050. Somalia, which is 627 340 km2 in extent is situated on the Horn of Africa. It has the longest coastline of any country on the continent. It shares borders with Kenya in the south, Ethiopia in the west and Djibouti in the north-west. Maritime borders are shared with Yemen.
Socio-economic indicators
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Land Area
62,734,000 ha
GDP/Capita
1,136.7 USD
Total population
17,065,600
Urban population
45 %
Land-related indicators
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Agricultural land
70.3 %
NewsBrowse all
17 August 2023
This story was originally published in The New Humanitarian
Mohamed Gabobe - Freelance journalist based in Mogadishu, Somalia
Abdirahman Ahmed Aden - Freelance journalist and filmmaker
Obi Anyadike, Senior Editor, Africa
War and drought is emptying Somalia’s countryside, creating a surge in…
28 September 2022
Somalia is facing a "very alarming" situation after more than four years of drought have devastated livestock many people depend upon, a top UN official said on Tuesday.
The United Nations has warned that the Horn of Africa nation is on the brink of famine for the second time in just over a decade…
07 September 2022
The Horn of Africa region is on the brink of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, the United Nations and several aid organisations have said.
Millions of people are facing food insecurity, as scientists and aid groups warned that Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia could be experiencing their worst…
Somalia has been cast as the new frontier for oil and gas exploration which has strong potential to lead to further conflict between contesting elites seeking access to oil revenues.
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21 February 2024
Photo: AU UN IST PHOTO / TOBIN JONES. (CC0 1.0 Universal)
In the business of ‘doing[1]
The Saameynta Joint Programme is a project aimed at achieving durable solutions for internally displaced people in Somalia, which currently hosts 3.8 million IDPs. Land governance is at the center of this…
EventsBrowse all
High Level Political Forum 2019 - Side Event
Thursday, 11 July 18.30 – 20.00
Conference Room 11, UN HQ
UN-Habitat in collaborationwith Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs,
the Department of Peace Operations, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Global Donor Working…
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