| overview Somaliland and somalia: |
Independence :- |
On 26 Jun 1960 and 1 July 1960, by agreement with the UN Trusteeship Council, Somalia was granted independence, merging with the former British protectorate of Somaliland.
The country's first president, Aden Abdullah Osman Daar, elected in 1960, was defeated in 1967 by the former prime minister Abdi Rashid Ali Shirmarke. Two years later, Shirmarke was assassinated, and just days later a military coup, led by Major General Muhammad Siyad Barre, took over the country.
In 1970 Barre declared Somalia a socialist state, and in the following years most of the country's modern economy was nationalised. Things went reasonably well until a drought in 1974-75 caused widespread starvation.
Antiquity :-:- |
The ancient Egyptians knew the region which now includes Somalia as Punt, and the inhabitants were referred to as the Black Berbers.
For five centuries (second to seventh century AD) much of the area came under the rule of the Ethiopian kingdom of Aksum. In the 7th Century AD, Arab tribes set up trading posts along the coastline of the Gulf of Aden, where they found the sultanate of Adel, the main port of which was Zeila.
To the west there was a lot of trading done with the people living where the Omoros (or Gallas), the Afars and the Eritreans now live. The Somali people began to migrate into this region from Yemen in the 13th Century.
The sultanate disintegrated during the 16th century into small independent states, many of which were ruled by Somali chiefs. Zeila became a dependency of Yemen, and was then incorporated into the Ottoman Empire.
Location:- |
Somalia, also called the Somali Democratic Republic, is located on the Horn of Africa, the easternmost part of the African continent. The total area is 637,657 sq km, and the capital is Mogadishu.
Population :- |
The 1995 estimated population was 9.9 million, though 13 million is an estimated average which includes Somalis living outside Somalia,about 3,500,900 are the population of somaliland. About 70% of all Somalis are nomads who travel with their herds through Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. Somalia joined the Arab League in 1974.
Language :- |
The official language of Somalia is Somali, which, despite attempts to introduce Arabic script, uses the Roman alphabet. Arabic and English are also used widely.
Religion :- |
The official religion is Islam. About 100% of Somalis are Sunni Muslims.
Area :-
637,657 sq km
Main towns
Mogadishu,Hargeisa , Berbera, Merca and Kismayu
Political structure | Date of independence
1 July 1960
Head of state :
Since the overthrow of Siyad Barre and the wars between factions, interim presidents and a fervent political climate have meant that no party has ever really gained full control of the government.
Currency :- | Somali shilling and Sl shilling,
Ethiopia and Somalia :-
The Somali Youth League -- a social and political movement established in Mogadishu in 1942 -- quickly gained popularity and spread throughout the region. It called for the complete restoration of cultural and political freedom.
The government of Ethiopia, where the movement had considerable popular support, pronounced a ban on all political activity, particularly targeting the League. When Ethiopia took over the Haud and Reserved Areas, there were violent demonstrations throughout Somali territory. Consequently, thousands fled from the Ethiopian military, forcing Britain and Italy to accept them as refugees.
In July 1960, the British Protectorate and the Italian Trust were united, but no clear legal border had been accepted to separate the newly formed Somali Democratic Republic from the in Somaligalbed Ethiopia.
Reconciliation talks with Ethiopia were held in May, August and September of 1986, and the question of the Ogaden border dispute was still not solved. A sudden attack by Ethiopian forces in the middle of the peace talks, in February 1987, surprised everyone and brought the talks to a close.
With the loss of some 400 Ethiopian soldiers and 11 tanks captured, it was generally believed that Somali guerrillas had tricked the Ethiopians into attack to derail the peace accord
Agriculture :- |
The principal occupation in Somalia has traditionally been the raising of livestock.
In the late 1980s, the number of livestock animals was estimated at about 20 million goats, 13.5 million sheep, 6.7 million camels and 5 million cattle.
The principal crops were sugar cane, corn, sorghum, bananas and sesame seed. In 1968, the local canning of meat was introduced.
However, the drought of 1994 meant the loss of more than a million livestock. Many of the farmers were encouraged to take up fishing and moved into coastal regions. Somalia's ailing agricultural base is struggling to survive.
Manufacturing:- | At the onset of civil war, manufacturing in Somalia was in the early stages of development. A cement factory, a cotton gin, a meat and fish cannery, and a textile plant had been established. Other industries included oilseed and fruit processing plants, leather and shoe factories, and petroleum and sugar refineries.
All suffered heavy losses during Somalia's civil war.
Textiles are produced locally. Milk and pasta products are also processed in Somalia. A cement factory with a capacity of 200,000 metric tons was recently opened
Oil and mining :- |
Although traces of natural gas and petroleum have been found, no commercial exploitation has been carried out. Even the deposits of some radioactive ores and minerals such as iron, manganese and gypsum, although known to exist, are not extensive enough to be commercially viable