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Interesting Facts about Somalia

Trivia, oddities, and curious tidbits about Somalia.

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Did You Know?

15 curious facts about Somalia.

Somalia has the world's lowest health budget at 1.5% of it's Gross Domestic Product.
Although the country is named after its people, Somalis also live in many neighbouring countries due to the partitioning of eastern Africa by colonial powers.
Traditionally, age in Somalia is calculated by the number of gu’s a person has lived. Gu is also normally the peak season for marriages, contests and dispute settlements.
A 14th century travelogue by Ibn Battuta praises the city of Mogadishu for its size, wealth and beautiful handmade cloth of red and yellow.

The Samaal people’s possessions must be quite light in order to be easily transported. Families use mattresses made of woven palm-leaf ribs, which are supported on four wood stakes and covered with animal skins..
Children of nomadic herders usually take care of the animals. Boys are responsible for their family’s camels, which must be fed and milked three times a day, while girls tend the sheep and goats.
Somalis view language as a means of saving face and presenting a powerful character to the world. People often use humour to combat an opponent’s criticism or smoothly escape from an embarrassing situation.
Sheep fat is used to treat a variety of ailments, from rheumatism and broken bones to chest pains and tainted blood.
An 8th century Somali theologian named Shaykh Uthman bin Ali al-Zeylai wrote the only authoritative text on the Hanafi school of Islam. His book is called the Tabayin al-Haqa’iq li Sharh Kanz al-Daqa’iq. Its four volumes are still in print.
Some nomads drink a fermented beverage called chino, which is made by burying camel’s milk in a leather flask for a week.