Somalia

[soh-mah-lee-uh, -mahl-yuh]

noun

1. an independent republic on the eastern coast of Africa, formed from the former British Somaliland and the former Italian Somaliland. 246,198 sq. mi. (637,653 sq. km). Mogadishu.

Somalia

/ səʊˈmɑːlɪə /

noun

1. a republic in NE Africa, on the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden: the north became a British protectorate in 1884; the east and south were established as an Italian protectorate in 1889; gained independence and united as Somalia (or the Somali Republic) in 1960. In 1991 the former British Somaliland region in the north unilaterally declared itself independent as the Republic of Somaliland, and Puntland and other areas are also operating effectively as separate states, but this has not been recognized officially. Official languages: Arabic and Somali. Official religion: (Sunni) Muslim. Currency: Somali shilling. Capital: Mogadishu. Pop: 10 251 568 (2013 est). Area: 637 541 sq km (246 154 sq miles)

Somalia

1. Republic in extreme eastern Africa, directly south of the Arabian Peninsula across the Gulf of Aden, bordered by Ethiopia and Kenya to the west. Mogadishu is the capital and largest city.

Civil war and famine have recently ravaged the country. In 1992, the United States embarked on a humanitarian intervention designed to ensure delivery of food supplies to the population. After American troops were drawn into a conflict between local warlords and suffered casualties, the United States withdrew from Somalia in 1994. The country currently lacks any central government.

Britain, France, and Italy established protectorates in the area in the late 1880s. Somalia gained independence in 1960.

Other Word Forms

• Somalian adjective

Example Sentences

Some 60 civilians and security officers were killed last year in al-Shabaab attacks along Kenya’s borders with Somalia, according to the Nairobi-based Center for Human Rights and Policy Studies, a nonprofit research group.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Somalia is to introduce Swahili, the lingua franca of East Africa, to its national curriculum, the president has announced.

Read more on BBC

Al-Shabab is affiliated to al-Qaeda and has waged a brutal insurgency against the government in Somalia for nearly 20 years.

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Other far-right social media users took the rhetoric and ran with it, questioning Fateh’s citizenship and further maligning Somalia in the process.

Read more on Salon

The region was once considered the world's most dangerous area for maritime piracy, surpassing the waters off Somalia.

Read more on BBC