|RNature and climate:|N Located at the peninsula called the Horn of Africa between the Gulf of Aden and the Pacific Ocean. and stretches south to the equator at the east coast of Africa. The northern coast reaches the Harar-highland reaching elevations of about 2000 m.a.s.l. In this highland there are some small forests.
The coast by the Indian Ocean is low. In the north a desert and in the south dense vegetation with mangrove. in this southern area the fauna is rich with lions, elephants, hyenas, leopards, hippopotamus, giraffes, zebras and antilopes.
The climate is warm and dry throughout the country.
By the northern coast average temperature varies between 25 and 35°C and percipitation is less than 100 mm.
By the southern coast the average temperature is 27°C throughout the year and in the southernmost part percipitation is 500 mm.
|RPeople:|N 85% Somalian, most of them of different Bantu-tribes.
|REconomy:|N 70% of the population live as stockraising nomads.
Some areas are cultivated. Sugarcanes, cotton and bananas are grown for export and for domestic consumption the most important crops are maize and rice.
There are vast resources of uranium, iron, tin, gypsum and bauxite, but only minor extraction.
Manufacturing is very little developed. There are some sugarrefineries oilrefineries and some textilefactories.
|RHistory:|N There are rich finds from the Stone Age as well as from later ages. The Egyptians called the area Punt. In the 7th century AD Arabs and Persians founded tradestations along the coast. These prospered during the 14th and 15th centuries and in the 16th century they fell in the hands of the Imam of Muscat. By the mid 19th century they were transformed to Zanzibar.
By this time the French started to colonize the area. 1884 the protectorate British Somaliland was established in the northern parts and in 1889 the protectorate Italian Somaliland in the south.
During World War II Italy occupied the whole Somalia but it was rapidly recaptured by the British.
The republic of Somalia gained full independence in 1960.
After a military coup in 1969 the parliament was dissolved and all political parties banned.
In 1977 there was a war between Somalia and Ethiopia about the disputed common border.
Since the early 1970:s there has been severe drought in the whole area of Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea. This drought have cost millions of people their lives and forced several other million people to leave their homes to try and find food elsewhere. From the Ogaden-province of Ethiopia several million people have moved to Somalia, itself severely effected by the drought, and this have caused enormous economical and humanitarian problems.
In 1988 a guerillagroup captured several towns in northern Somalia, in 1990 the president was ousted by another guerillagroup and the southern parts of Somalia was controlled by a third group.
The country was marked by chaos and different bands of robbers ruled while most of the population was unable to find food for a living. Many nations and organizations sent food and aid to Somalia, but the bands of robbers even stole this aid and at times attacked the personnel of the helporganizations.
In an attempt to get the aid to the needing people USA sent troops in 1992, but the internal fighting did not cease. When not even a massive military effort could get the international help to the starving people the USA in 1993 withdrew their troops.
