km, Ethiopia 1,600 km, Kenya 682 km

Coastline:

3,025 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 200 nm

Climate:

principally desert; northeast monsoon (December to February),
moderate temperatures in north and hot in south; southwest monsoon
(May to October), 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

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Shimbiris 2,416 m

Natural resources:

uranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum,
bauxite, copper, salt, natural gas, likely oil reserves

Land use:

arable land: 1.64%
permanent crops: 0.04%
other: 98.32% (2005)

Irrigated land:

2,000 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

15.7 cu km (1997)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 3.29 cu km/yr (0%/0%/100%)
per capita: 400 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

recurring droughts; frequent dust storms over eastern plains in
summer; floods during rainy season

Environment - current issues:

famine; use of contaminated water contributes to human health
problems; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of
the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection

Geography - note:

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

People
Somalia

Population:

9,558,666
note: this estimate was derived from an official census taken in
1975 by the Somali Government; population counting in Somalia is
complicated by the large number of nomads and by refugee movements
in response to famine and clan warfare (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 44.7% (male 2,143,758/female 2,132,869)
15-64 years: 52.8% (male 2,525,562/female 2,516,879)
65 years and over: 2.5% (male 100,655/female 138,943) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 17.5 years
male: 17.4 years
female: 17.6 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.824% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

44.12 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

15.89 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.03 male(