Climate: principally desert; December to February - northeast monsoon, moderate temperatures in north and very hot in south; May to October - southwest monsoon, torrid in the north and hot in the south, irregular rainfall, hot and humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons
Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Shimbiris 2,450 m
Natural resources: uranium and largely unexploited reserves of
iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt
Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 46%
forest and woodland: 14%
other: 38%
Irrigated land: 1,600 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: famine; use of contaminated water contributes to
human health problems; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion;
desertification
natural hazards: recurring droughts; frequent dust storms over
eastern plains in summer
international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Law of the
Sea; signed, but not ratified - Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban
Geographic note: strategic location on Horn of Africa along
southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb and route through Red Sea and
Suez Canal
People ———
Population: 9,639,151 (July 1996 est.) note: this estimate was derived from an official census taken in 1987 by the Somali Government with the cooperation of the UN and the US Bureau of the Census; population estimates are updated year by year between census years by factoring growth rates into them, and by taking account of refugee movements, and of losses due to famine; lower estimates of Somalia's population in mid-1996 (on the order of 6.0 to 6.5 million) have been made by aid and relief agencies, based on the number of persons being fed; population counting in Somalia is complicated by the large numbers of nomads and by refugee movements in response to famine and clan warfare
Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (male 2,143,775; female 2,139,104)
15-64 years: 52% (male 2,609,911; female 2,387,620)
65 years and over: 4% (male 182,991; female 175,750) (July 1996 est.)