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| SOMALILAND- Facts & Figures |
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Location: From the shores of the Gulf of Aden, Somaliland extends southwards to the Somali National Regional State of Ethiopia, bounded by Djibouti to the west and Somalia (Puntland) to the east.
Area: Somaliland's territory covers an area of 137, 600 square kilometres, with a northern littoral of 850 kilometres (GOS - Somaliland in Figures, 1999). The territory's geography is distinguished by three main topographical features locally known as the Guban, Oogo and Hawd (Lewis: 1961).
Capital: Hargeisa
Population: 3.5 million almost half million living in abroad different parts of the world.
Language(s): Somali, Arabic, English
Religion: 100% Muslim suni
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Brief background |
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On 18 May 1991, Somaliland proclaimed itself independent with the slogan, 'No More Mogadishu.' Hargeisa was chosen as capital. In May 1993, a council of elders elected Mohammed Ibrahim Egal as the president.
Soon after (Italian) Somalia and (British) Somaliland proclaimed independence, both merged to form the UNITED REPUBLIC OF SOMALIA. It's caoital was Mogadishu; the larger, formerly Italian south dominated politically and economically.
As part of Greater Somalia, Somaliland was part of the wars with Ethiopia over the Ogaden, of the subsequent refugee crisis. When long-term dictator Siad Barre was toppled in 1991, Somalia quickly disintegrated in petty regions controlled by warlords. Somalia came into the center of the world's attention, when UN troops invaded Somalia to ensure the safety of humanitarian organizations trying to provide the famine-stricken population with food.
During its first years, Somaliland was convulsed by internal clan-based violence. However, recently, rival clan members have reached power-sharing treaties.
Hussein Hassan Ali Mousseh, a clan elder from the town of Erigavo, in eastern Somaliland recalls:
'All the clans came here and said let us forget claims, let us begin a new chapter.'
In 1991, Somaliland in the north declared INDEPENDENCE (as the Republic of Adal), an independence which so far is not recognized internationally.
So far, the international community has not recognised Somaliland's independent status and is unwilling to endorse the fragmentation of the Horn of Africa.
Because of its unofficial status, Somaliland can not enter into formal trade agreements with other nations or seek assistance from world financial institutions.
The national revenue relies on two main sources: livestock exports and remittances from the Somali diaspora. A population of roughly 3.5 million depends on these. A large percentage of the population live in poverty.
President Egal says Somaliland's unofficial status creates many obstacles:
'The most disabling thing is the lack of communication with the international community. We have no ambassadors. We only have international agencies…We have no telephone code of our own. We are still using the Somalia code.'
There are no proper banks but rather money traders who trade Somaliland currency - the shilling. As it is not a member of the international postal union, Somaliland must hire multinational companies, such as DHL, to deliver its mail abroad.
Image: The Flag of Somaliland
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