Somalia, which was formed in 1960 from a former protectorate of the United Kingdom and an Italian colony, descended into anarchy in 1991 after President Siad Barre's military government was overthrown.
An international-backed unity government that was established in 2000 struggled to take control as rival warlords tore the nation into clan-based fiefdoms. As a result, Somaliland and Puntland, two relatively peaceful northern regions, effectively broke away.
A coalition of Islamist shariah courts' seizure of the nation's capital Mogadishu and a large portion of its south in 2006 prompted an intervention by Ethiopian and later African Union forces.
Although Somalia has made progress toward stability since a new, internationally supported government was put in place in 2012, the Al-Shabab insurgents, who are affiliated with al-Qaeda, continue to pose a threat to the new authorities.
- with capital letters. Mogadishu.
- Area:. 637,657 sq km.
- Population:. 16 million.
- Languages:. Somalia and Arabic.
- Life expectancy: 55 years old for men and 59 years old for women.
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is in charge.
In May 2022, Hassam Sheikh Mohamud was chosen as president by parliament, defeating outgoing leader Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo.
The conflict with the al-Shabab jihadists, which Mohamud previously served as president from 2012 to 2017, dominated that period, and the insurgency continues to pose a serious threat to him.
The fragmented, partisan, and hostile media of Somalia, which reflects the country's disintegration, operates in.
Intimidation by state security agencies is a problem that media organizations and journalists are complaining about. Nevertheless, there have been some professionally run media outlets that have appeared, particularly FM radios that lack overt factional affiliations.
Radio is the most popular medium, and the TV and press industries are both weak. Poor infrastructure in the home restricts web access, but social media usage is rising.
7th to 19th centuries. Modern-day Somalia is governed by a number of occasionally rival sultanates since the arrival of Islam in the 7th century.
19th century. - The Italians take control of the majority of the region, while the British take over the northwest, as European colonial powers make slow but steady progress into Somalia's rival regional states.
1960 . - Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland reunite to form the United Republic of Somalia after gaining independence.
1969 . - Mohamed Siad Barre takes over in a coup after the elected leader is killed; he then declares Somalia a socialist state and nationalizes the majority of the economy.
1991 . - The overthrow of Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 leads to the emergence of rival clan warlords and the breakdown of centralized rule. Formerly British Somaliland unilaterally declares independence.
1990s. - The United Nations mission to maintain peace, led by the US, fails to do so.
2006 . - After defeating clan warlords, militias loyal to the Islamist Union of Islamic Courts take control of Mogadishu and other southern locations before being driven out by Ethiopian forces.
2007-11 - . Ethiopian troops leave in 2009 as Amisom, an African Union peacekeeping force, begins to deploy. Kenya intervenes militarily in southern and central Somalia as a result of Al-Shabab's advance, a jihadist breakaway from the Islamic Courts.
2012 . - With the first formal inauguration of a parliament in more than 20 years and the holding of the first presidential election since 1967, efforts to restore a central authority since 2000 finally make significant progress.
2022. - With the assistance of US airstrikes and African Union forces, Somali government forces launch major offensives against al-Shabab, regaining control of a number of key areas that were previously under their control.
