1989 Edition

Climate

tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather

desert; northeast monsoon (December to February), cooler southwest monsoon (May to October); irregular rainfall; hot, humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons

Coastline

5,313 km

3,025 km

Comparative area

slightly larger than Maryland

slightly smaller than Texas

Disputes

southern half of boundary with Ethiopia is a Provisional Administrative Line; territorial dispute with Ethiopia over the Ogaden; possible claims to Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya based on unification of ethnic Somalis

Environment

subject to typhoons, which are rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors

recurring droughts; frequent dust storms over eastern plains in summer; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

Extended economic zone

200 nm

Land boundaries

none

2,340 km total; Djibouti 58 km, Ethiopia 1,600 km, Kenya 682 km

Land use

1% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures; 93% forest and woodland; 4% other

2% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 46% meadows and pastures; 14% forest and woodland; 38% other; includes 3% irrigated

Maritime claims

(measured from claimed archipelagic baselines)

Natural resources

fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates

uranium, and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt

Note

located just east of Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean

strategic location on Horn of Africa along southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb and route through Red Sea and Suez Canal

Terrain

mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls

mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north

Territorial sea

1 2 nm

200 nm

Total area

28,450 km2; land area: 27,540 km2

637,660 km2; land area: 627,340 km2

Birth rate

41 births/ 1,000 population (1990)Death rate: 5 deaths/ 1,000 population (1990)

47 births/ 1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

15 deaths/ 1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

93.0% Melanesian, 4.0% Polynesian, 1.5% Micronesian, 0.8% European, 0.3% Chinese, 0.4% other

85% Somali, rest mainly Bantu; 30,000 Arabs, 3,000 Europeans, 800 Asians

Infant mortality rate

40 deaths/ 1,000 live births (1990)

125 deaths/ 1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

23,448 economically active; 32.4% agriculture, forestry, and fishing; 25% services, 7.0% construction, manufacturing, and mining; 4.7% commerce, transport, and finance (1984)

2,200,000; very few are skilled laborers; 70% pastoral nomad, 30% agriculture, government, trading, fishing, handicrafts, and other; 53% of population of working age (1985)

Language

120 indigenous languages; Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English spoken by 1-2% of population

Somali (official); Arabic, Italian, English

Life expectancy at birth

67 years male, 72 years female (1990)

53 years male, 54 years female (1990)

Literacy

60%

1 1 .6% (government est.)

Nationality

noun — Solomon Islander(s); adjective— Solomon Islander

noun — Somali(s); adjective — Somali

Net migration rate

0 migrants/ 1,000 population (1990)

— 24 migrants/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

NA, but most of the cash-economy workers have trade union representation

General Federation of Somali Trade Unions is controlled by the government

Population

335,082 (July 1990), growth rate 3.5% (1990)

8,424,269 (July 1990), growth rate 0.8% (1990)

Religion

almost all at least nominally Christian; Anglican, Seventh-Day Adventist, and Roman Catholic Churches dominant

almost entirely Sunni Muslim

Total fertility rate

6.3 children born/ woman (1990)

7.3 children born/ woman (1990)

Administrative divisions

7 provinces and 1 town*; Central, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Temotu, Western

1 6 regions (plural — NA, singular — gobolka); Bakool, Banaadir, Bari, Bay, Galguduud, Gedo, Hiiraan, Jubbada Dhexe, Jubbada I loose. Mudug, Nugaal, Sanaag, Shabeellaha Dhexe, Shabeellaha Hoose, Togdheer, Woqooyi Galbeed

Capital

Honiara

Mogadishu

Communists

probably some Communist sympathizers in the government hierarchy

Constitution

7 July 1978

25 August 1979, presidential approval 23 September 1 979

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador (vacant) resides in Honiara (Solomon Islands); US — the ambassador in Papua New Guinea is accredited to the Solomon Islands; Embassy at Mud Alley, Honiara (mailing address is American Embassy, P. O. Box 561, Honiara); telephone (677)

Ambassador ABDIKARIM AH Omar; Chancery at Suite 710, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037; telephone (202) 342-1575; there is a Somali Consulate General in New York; US — Ambassador T. Frank CRIGLER; Embassy at Corso Primo Luglio, Mogadishu (mailing address is P. O. Box 574, Mogadishu); telephone [252] (01) 20811

Elections

National Parliament — last held 22 February 1989 (next to be held February 1993); results — percent of vote by party NA; seats — (38 total) PAP 13, UP 6, NFP 4, SILP 4, LP 2, independents 9

President — last held 23 December 1 986 (next to be held December 1993); results — President Siad was reelected without opposition; People's Assembly — last held 31 December 1984 (next scheduled for December 1989 was postponed); results — SRSP is the only party; seats — (177 total, 171 elected) SRSP 171

Executive branch

British monarch, governor general, prime minister, Cabinet

president, two vice presidents, prime minister. Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Flag

light blue with a large white fivepointed star in the center; design based on the flag of the UN (Italian Somaliland was a UN trust territory)

Hag

divided diagonally by a thin yellow stripe from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is blue with five white five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern; the lower triangle is green

Independence

7 July 1978 (from UK; formerly British Solomon Islands)

1 July 1 960 (from a merger of British Somaliland, which became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960, and Italian Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on 1 July 1960, to form the Somali Republic)

Judicial branch

High Court

Supreme Court

Leaders

Chief of State — Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General George LEPPING (since 27 June 1989, previously acted as governor general since 7 July 1988); Head of Government — Prime Minister Solomon MAMALONI (since 28 March 1989); Deputy Prime Minister Danny PHILIP (since 31 March 1989) Political parties and leaders: People's Alliance Party (PAP), Solomon Mamaloni; United Party (UP), Sir Peter Kenilorea; Solomon Islands Liberal Party (SILP), Bartholemew Ulufa'alu; Nationalist Front for Progress (NFP), Andrew Nori; Labor Party (LP), Joses Tuhanuku

Chief of State — President and Commander in Chief of the Army Maj. Gen. Mohamed SIAD Barre (since 21 October 1969); Head of Government — Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Mohamed Ali SAMANTAR (since 1 February 1987) Political parties and leaders: only party — Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP), Maj. Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre, general secretary

Legal system

common law

Legislative branch

unicameral National Parliament

unicameral People's Assembly

Long-form name

none

Somali Democratic Republic

Member of

ACP, ADB, Commonwealth, ESCAP, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, SPF, UN, UPU, WHO

ACP, AfDB, Arab League, EAMA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB— Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, QIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

National holiday

Independence Day, 7 July (1978)

Anniversary of the Revolution, 21 October (1969)

Suffrage

universal at age 21

universal at age 18

Type

independent parliamentary state within Commonwealth

republic

Agriculture

including fishing and forestry, accounts for about 75% of GDP; mostly subsistence farming; cash crops — cocoa, beans, coconuts, palm kernels, timber; other products — rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit, cattle, pigs; not self-sufficient in food grains; 90% of the total fish catch of 44,500 metric tons was exported (1988) Solomon Islands (continued) Somalia

dominant sector, led by livestock raising (cattle, sheep, goats); crops — bananas, sorghum, corn, mangoes, sugarcane; not self-sufficient in food; fishing potential largely unexploited

Aid

Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1985), $16.1 million

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $618 million; Western (nonUS) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $2.8 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $1.1 billion; Communist countries (1970-88), $336 million

Budget

revenues $139.0 million; expenditures $154.4 million, including capital expenditures of $1 13.4 million (1987)

revenues $273 million; expenditures $405 million, including capital expenditures of $219 million (1987)

Currency

Solomon Islands dollar (plural — dollars); 1 Solomon Islands dollar (SIS) = 100 cents

Somali shilling (plural — shillings); 1 Somali shilling (So.Sh.) = 100 centesimi

Electricity

1 5,000 kW capacity; 30 million kWh produced, 90 kWh per capita (1989)

71,000 kW capacity; 65 million kWh produced, 8 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

Solomon Islands dollars (SIS) per US$1— 2.4067 (January 1990), 2.3090 (1989), 2.0825 (1988), 2.0033 (1987), 1.7415 (1986), 1.4808 (1985)

Somali shillings (So. Sh.) per US$1— 643.92 (December 1989), 170.45 (1988), 105.18 (1987), 72.00 (1986), 39.49(1985)

Exports

$80.1 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities— fish 46%, timber 3 1 %, copra 5%, palm oil 5%; partners — Japan 51%, UK 12%, Thailand 9%, Netherlands 8%, Australia 2%, US 2% (1985)

$58.0 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities— livestock, hides, skins, bananas, fish; partners — US 0.5%, Saudi Arabia, Italy, FRG(1986)

External debt

$128 million (1988 est.)

$2.8 billion (1989 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

calendar year

GDP

$156 million, per capita $500; real growth rate 4.3% (1988)

$1.7 billion, per capita $210; real growth rate -1.4% (1988)

Imports

$101.7 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities — plant and machinery 30%, fuel 19%, food 16%; partners— Japan 36%, US 23%, Singapore 9%, UK 9%, NZ 9%, Australia 4%, Hong Kong 4%, China 3% (1985)

$354.0 million (c.i.f., 1988); commodities— textiles, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials; partners—US 13%, Italy, FRG, Kenya, UK, Saudi Arabia (1986)

Industrial production

growth rate 0% (1987)

growth rate NA%

Industries

copra, fish (tuna)

a few small industries, including sugar refining, textiles, petroleum refining

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1 1 .2% (1988)

81.7% (1988 est.)

Overview

About 90% of the population depend on subsistence agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of their livelihood. Agriculture, fishing, and forestry contribute about 75% to GDP, with the fishing and forestry sectors being important export earners. The service sector contributes about 25% to GDP. Manufacturing activity is negligible. Most manufactured goods and petroleum products must be imported. The islands are rich in undeveloped mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold. The economy suffered from a severe cyclone in mid1986 which caused widespread damage to the infrastructure.

One of the world's least developed countries, Somalia has few resources. In 1988 per capita GDP was $210. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, with the livestock sector accounting for about 40% of GDP and about 65% of export earnings. Nomads and seminomads who are dependent upon livestock for their livelihoods make up about 50% of the population. Crop production generates only 10% of GDP and employs about 20% of the work force. The main export crop is bananas; sugar, sorghum, and corn are grown for the domestic market. The small industrial sector is based on the processing of agricultural products and accounts for less than 10% of GDP. At the end of 1988 serious economic problems facing the nation were the external debt of $2.8 billion and doubledigit inflation.

Unemployment rate

NA%

NA%

Airports

29 total, 27 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 2,439 m; 5 with runways 1, 220-2,439 m

60 total, 45 usable; 8 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,4403,659 m; 20 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Branches

NA

Somali National Army (including Navy, Air Force, and Air Defense Force), National Police Force

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

2 major transport aircraft

Defense expenditures

NA GuH at Aden Baidoa / Indian Ocean MOGADISHU Chisimayu Stf regional map VII Boundary representation is

NA South Africa South Atlantic Ocean Cape Town ifossetbaai

Highways

about 2,100 km total (1982); 30 km sealed, 290 km gravel, 980 km earth, 800 private logging and plantation roads of varied construction

15,215 km total; including 2,335 km bituminous surface, 2,880 km gravel, and 10,000 km improved earth or stabilized soil (1983)

Merchant marine

3 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,563 GRT/9,512 DWT; includes 2 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo

Military manpower

NA

males 1 5-49, 1,878,939; 1,052,644 fit for military service

Pipelines

1 5 km crude oil

Ports

Honiara, Ringi Coye

Mogadishu, Berbera, Chisimayu

Telecommunications

3,000 telephones; stations — 4 AM, no FM, no TV; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station Defense Forces

minimal telephone and telegraph service; radio relay and troposcatter system centered on Mogadishu connects a few towns; 6,000 telephones; stations— 2 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station; scheduled to receive an ARABSAT station Defense Forces