Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Somalia: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna grade (MCD, ranked #193 of 195).
Somalia — in Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, east of Ethiopia. Political status: federal parliamentary republic. The country's capital is Mogadishu; it covers 637,657 sq km. Independence: 1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland, which became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960, and Italian Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on 1 July 1960 to form the Somali Republic). Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north. Climate: principally desert; northeast monsoon (December to February), moderate temperatures in north and hot in south; southwest monsoon (May to October), torrid in t…
| Capital | Mogadishu |
|---|---|
| Population | 20,324,160 (2025 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $26.77 billion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $1,400 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | 4% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 6.8% |
| Unemployment | 18.9% |
| Public debt | 93% of GDP (2014 est.) |
| Exports | $2.424 billion (2024 est.) |
| Imports | $9.002 billion (2024 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 56.5 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 15.7 |
| Urbanization | 47.9% of total population (2023) |
| Government | federal parliamentary republic |
| Independence | 1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland, which became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960, and Italian Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on 1 July 1960 to form the Somali Republic) |
| Languages | Somali (official), Arabic (official), Italian, English |
MCD · 27/100 — The Magna grade is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — five dimensions, 100+ indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum 0 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
The quarter passed without decisive turns. Governance continued, markets functioned, and the score reflects that uneventfulness.
For countries like this, the real story is always the slow one — and this quarter added no new chapter to it.
Iron ore, Tin, Gypsum, Bauxite, Copper, Salt, Natural gas.
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud — President. President HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud (since 23 May 2022)
Somalia maintains 39 embassies and 2 consulates abroad, hosts 16 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to UN New York, AU Addis Ababa. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 39 |
|---|---|
| Consulates abroad | 2 |
| Foreign missions hosted | 16 |
| Multilateral missions | UN New York, AU Addis Ababa |
Source: Consular Affairs Center, Diplomatic and Consular Networks Database and Rankings, January 2026 (Zenodo, CC BY 4.0). https://zenodo.org/records/18109976
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Coastal — 3025 km of coastline. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 40 (registration prefix 6O) |
| Major seaports | Baraawe, Berbera, Boosaaso, Kismaayo, Marka, Muqdisho |
Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ) — Mogadishu; Bender Qassim International Airport (BSA) — Bosaso; Egal International Airport (HGA) — Hargeisa; Berbera Airport (BBO) — Berbera.
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28); theodora.com CIA mirror (CIA World Factbook Transportation section), scraped 2026-10-02
| Political system | federal parliamentary republic |
|---|---|
| Next election | No election currently scheduled. |
MCD · 27 Ranked #193 of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Somalia.
Historical timeline of Somalia
