6.5 Somalia


Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is a country ‎located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, ‎Djibouti to the northwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian ‎Ocean to the east, and Kenya to the southwest.‎Nearly all Somalis are Sunni Muslims. For more than 1400 years, ‎Islam made a great part of Somali society. Practicing Islam reinforces ‎distinctions that further set Somalis apart from their immediate ‎neighbors, many of whom are either Christians or adherents of ‎indigenous faiths. The early Muslims sought refuge from persecution ‎in cities on the northern Somali coast.‎

Key Temporary Issues ‎in Somalia
Poverty
Poverty in Somalia has become a prominent and continuing affair. ‎People in Somalia, have acclimatized to the consequences of poverty. ‎Approximately, 43% of Somalia's population lives below the poverty ‎line. Poverty in Somalia is more pronounced in the rural areas than in ‎the urban regions‎.
‎Two specific regions of Somalia; Somaliland, located in the North ‎West and Puntland, located in the north east, experience more ‎stability with regard to socio economic conditions. Stability in the two ‎areas may be attributed to the fact that, Somaliland and Puntland ‎have independent governing bodies.
‎ On the contrary, the southern part of Somalia, is comparatively ‎poorer and suffers from unstable economic conditions. The southern ‎part of Somalia, where conflict and confusions reign supreme, is ‎subjected to food shortage. Somalia economy suffers from lack of ‎proper infrastructure.‎