Somalia

American  

[soh-mah-lee-uh, -mahl-yuh] / soʊˈmɑ li ə, -ˈmɑl jə /

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.

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Somalia British  

/ 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)

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Somalia Cultural  

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.

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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

See Examples For:

Somalia

Qabowsade rejected suggestions that forces from Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia, had helped some of the pirates escape.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Their home countries, Yemen and Somalia, sit on opposite shores of the Gulf of Aden, through which 12% of the world’s seaborne oil passed before the Iran war.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

But experts stress that while the pirate networks were suppressed, they remained intact, given the failure to address the poor economic and security conditions in Somalia that feed them.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

But attacks have multiplied in 2026, particularly in the Gulf of Aden between Somalia and Yemen, which links the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

Jenna, who landed in our neighborhood from Somalia last year, is a Carver full-ride scholarship junior like me, also recruited by Grandma Rose.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins