Somalia
Somalia is a country located in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north and the Indian Ocean to the east. The capital and largest city is Mogadishu. Somalia has an estimated population of about 18-million people and operates under a federal parliamentary republic system of government. The economy is primarily based on livestock, agriculture, telecommunications and remittances from the Somali diaspora, with livestock exports being a particularly important source of foreign exchange. The country uses the Somali shilling as its currency. Somalia is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. The nation has faced prolonged challenges including civil conflict, political instability, drought and food insecurity, which have significantly affected economic development and humanitarian conditions. Somalia declared independence in 1960 following the merger of British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland, but has experienced decades of internal strife and state fragmentation since the collapse of the central government in 1991. Efforts to rebuild federal governance and institutions have been ongoing since the early 2000s, with international support playing a significant role in stabilisation and development initiatives.
Somalia Updates
Somali military and opposition-allied militias trade fire ahead of anti-government protests
By: Reuters 4th June 2026 Government troops and militias allied with the opposition exchanged fire overnight and on Thursday morning in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, damaging... →
Iran war disruption threatening delivery of lifesaving supplies for children, UN says
By: Reuters 2nd June 2026 Surging global transport costs and supply chain disruptions linked to the Middle East crisis are threatening the delivery of lifesaving aid to... →
More instability for Somalia as another election deadline lapses
By: ISS, Institute for Security Studies 20th May 2026 Only a gradual consensus-based process can reconcile Somalia’s competing political systems and avert repeated election crises. When Somalia’s... →
Somali piracy returns: a warning from the Western Indian Ocean
By: ISS, Institute for Security Studies 18th May 2026 Joint naval patrols are stretched thin by the Middle East crisis, but their ability to eradicate piracy was always limited. Piracy has re-emerged... →
Daily Podcast – May 14, 2026
By: Thabi Shomolekae 14th May 2026 Making headlines: Ramaphosa fires Social Development Minister; Hill-Lewis says no trade-off for accountability in government; And, Part of Somalia... →
How the Iran war could derail Somalia’s fragile recovery
By: ISS, Institute for Security Studies 14th May 2026 Somalia faces more than spillover effects – these shocks are pushing the country’s long-term recovery further out of reach. The United... →
Part of Somalia at risk of famine for first time since 2022
By: Reuters 14th May 2026 A district in southern Somalia is at risk of famine, a UN-sponsored report said on Thursday, the first time that part of the country has reached... →
Somalia faces severe malnutrition crisis as WFP warns of aid halt
By: Reuters 8th May 2026 Somalia faces a severe malnutrition crisis and urgently needs more aid funding to avert a catastrophe, the United Nations World Food Programme said... →
Iran war is latest blow to Somalia's malnourished children
By: Reuters 28th April 2026 For Somalia's malnourished children, already suffering the twin catastrophes of looming famine and radical cuts in foreign aid, the US-Israeli war... →
East African Community’s expansion has triggered financial troubles: why solutions come with risks
23rd April 2026 The East African Community is one of Africa’s oldest regional economic organisations. Its birth in 1967 was the culmination of decades of economic... →
