Modern Somalia is essentially a broad strip of coastal desert. Roads are poor and consequently coastal shipping is an important form of transport, both socially and economically. Traffic drives on the right. It is difficult to travel outside Mogadishu by car. Existing roads run from the capital to Burao and Baidoa and there are sealed roads between Mogadishu and Kismayu and Mogadishu and Hargeysa.
Passenger transport is restricted almost entirely to road haulage.
There are few cars and buses although there are reasonable bus services between the major centres in the south. These are available in large towns.