Somalia: Facts & Stats

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Jul 19, 2025

News •

Al Shabaab captures central Somali town, presses on with advance • July 15, 2025, 4:19 AM ET (Straits Times)

Lobbyists linked to Donald Trump paid millions by world’s poorest countries • July 10, 2025, 6:52 AM ET (The Guardian)

Al-Shabab group claims responsibility for explosion at a military training school in Somalia • July 9, 2025, 2:54 AM ET (ABC News (U.S.))

Farming without soil helps to tackle Somalia's hunger crisis • July 8, 2025, 2:54 AM ET (Deutsche Welle)

Award-winning international correspondent launches a new journalism platform • July 2, 2025, 8:03 AM ET (AP)

Facts

Also Known As	As-Sūmāl • Somali Democratic Republic • Soomaaliya • Jamhuuriyadda Dimuqraadiga Soomaaliya
Head Of Government	Prime Minister: Hamza Abdi Barre²
Capital	Mogadishu
Population	(2025 est.) 21,289,000
Head Of State	President: Hassan Sheikh Mohamud²
Form Of Government	federal republic² with two legislative houses (House of the People [275]; Upper House [54])
Official Languages	Somali; Arabic
Official Religion	Islam
Official Name	Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka ee Soomaaliya¹ (Somali); Jumhūriyyat al-Sūmāl al-Fīdīraliyyah (Arabic) (Federal Republic of Somalia)
Total Area (Sq Km)	637,657
Total Area (Sq Mi)	246,199
Monetary Unit	Somali shilling (Shilin Soomaali; So.Sh.)
Population Rank	(2025) 63
Population Projection 2030	19,254,000
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi	(2025) 86.5
Density: Persons Per Sq Km	(2025) 33.4
Urban-Rural Population	Urban: (2020) 46.1% • Rural: (2020) 53.9%
Life Expectancy At Birth	Male: (2022) 53.4 years • Female: (2022) 58.1 years
Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate	Male: (2022) 65% • Female: (2022) 44%
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000)	(2023) 10,786
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$)	(2023) 590
¹Proclamation of the “Republic of Somaliland” in May 1991 on territory corresponding to the former British Somaliland (which unified with the former Italian Trust Territory of Somalia to form Somalia in 1960) had not received international recognition as of June 2022. This entity represented about a quarter of Somalia’s territory. ²The government did not control all of Somalia in June 2022.