Somalia

Learn some interesting facts about Somalia, print and colour the flag of Somalia and have a go at location it with our map and location worksheets.

Learn About Somalia

A Little Geography

• Somalia (or, more correctly, the Federal Republic of Somalia) has the longest coastline of any African country. It stretches for over 3,000 km around the Horn of Africa, which is the easternmost point of the continent.     
• Mogadishu, the capital and home to 2.5 million people, sits on the Indian Ocean coast just north of the Equator. Known as the ‘ White Pearl of the Indian Ocean’, this trading port was founded by Arabs in the 10th century CE.

A Little History

• The modern state of Somalia was formed in July 1960 by uniting the former regions of British and Italian Somalialand.
• Prolonged civil war, drought, piracy and famine have blighted the country and people, but Somalis are rebuilding the capital and many overseas Somalis are returning.
• Somalia has one of the fastest rates of population growth, with each woman having over 6 children on average.
• The majority of the 15.5m people are Sunni Muslims and share a common Somali ethnic origin and culture, which is nomadic herdsmen.

Some Interesting Facts

• Camels are a widespread  source of meat, milk, transportation and status.
• Somalia is known as the ‘Land of Poets’ as the Somalian people are very fond of poetry and storytelling.
• Puntland in northern Somalia is thought to be the location of the ancient land of Punt, which traded gold, frankincense and myrrh with the Egyptians.
• Lions, elephants, cheetahs, giraffes and leopards are amongst the large variety of mammals found in the dry centre and northwest whilst Nile crocodiles, which can grow to over 5 metres, are common in the south.

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The Somalian Flag

The flag of Somalia consists of a light blue background with a white five-pointed star in the centre.  Each point of the star represents one of the areas where Somalis live today.The flag was adopted in 1954. 

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Our Somalia Resources