 Somalia — (sō mä´lē ə) |
About The People
Did You Know...... Somalia has the world's lowest health budget at 1.5% of it's Gross Domestic Product. »» More
Fashion... Somali people are tall and slender. Urban men wear Western-style pants or a flowing plaid ma'awiis o »» More
Socializing... Most Somali have had little exposure to Western cultures, or any culture outside Somalia. Even thoug »» More
Family... Loyalty and devotion to the family is important, and families always help each other when in need. T »» More
Sports & Recreation... The favorite leisure activity of
adult Somalis is conversation with their friends and relatives. Wo »» More
| World Region: Africa
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Somalia History
!["[GIF]"](/history/somalia/so01_00a.gif)
Shaykh Abdulaziz Mosque, one of Mogadishu's oldest
historical structures
LOCATED IN THE HORN OF AFRICA, adjacent to the Arabian
Peninsula, Somalia is steeped in thousands of years of history.
The ancient Egyptians spoke of it as "God's Land" (the Land of
Punt). Chinese merchants frequented the Somali coast in the tenth
and fourteenth centuries and, according to tradition, returned
home with giraffes, leopards, and tortoises to add color and
variety to the imperial menagerie. Greek merchant ships and
medieval Arab dhows plied the Somali coast; for them it formed
the eastern fringe of »» More | Statistics, Graphs, Charts, & Data Tables
Capital Cities... Mogadishu »» History of Mogadishu
Population: 9,832,017
GDP: $5,520,000,000 (USD)
Total Area: 637,657 (sq km) 246,199 (sq mi)
Currency: Somali shilling
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