Claim: Somali is one of the official languages of Somalia.

Somalia -LRB- -LSB- səˈmɑːliə , _ soʊ - , _ - ljə -RSB- ; Soomaaliya الصومال -RRB- , officially the Federal Republic of Somalia -LRB- Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya , جمهورية الصومال الفيدرالية -RRB- , is a country located in the Horn of Africa . It is bordered by Ethiopia to the west , Djibouti to the northwest , the Gulf of Aden to the north , the Indian Ocean to the east , and Kenya to the southwest . Somalia has the longest coastline on Africa 's mainland , and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus , plains and highlands . Climatically , hot conditions prevail year-round , with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall .   Somalia has an estimated population of around 16.3 million . Around 85 % of its residents are ethnic Somalis , who have historically inhabited the northern part of the country . Ethnic minorities are largely concentrated in the southern regions . The official languages of Somalia are Somali and Arabic , both of which belong to the Afroasiatic family . Most people in the country are Muslim , with the majority being Sunni .   In antiquity , Somalia was an important commercial centre . It is among the most probable locations of the fabled ancient Land of Punt . During the Middle Ages , several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade , including the Ajuran Empire , the Adal Sultanate , the Warsangali Sultanate , and the Geledi Sultanate . In the late 19th century , through a succession of treaties with these kingdoms , the British and Italian empires gained control of parts of the coast and established the colonies of British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland . In the interior , Mohammed Abdullah Hassan 's Dervish State repelled the British Empire four times and forced it to retreat to the coastal region , before succumbing to defeat in 1920 by British airpower . The toponym Somalia was coined by the Italian explorer Luigi Robecchi Bricchetti -LRB- 1855 -- 1926 -RRB- . Italy acquired full control of the northeastern , central and southern parts of the area after successfully waging the so-called Campaign of the Sultanates against the ruling Majeerteen Sultanate and Sultanate of Hobyo . Italian occupation lasted until 1941 , yielding to British military administration . British Somaliland would remain a protectorate , while Italian Somaliland in 1949 became a United Nations Trusteeship under Italian administration , the Trust Territory of Somaliland . In 1960 , the two regions united to form the independent Somali Republic under a civilian government .   The Supreme Revolutionary Council seized power in 1969 and established the Somali Democratic Republic . Led by Mohamed Siad Barre , this government later collapsed in 1991 as the Somali Civil War broke out . Various armed factions began competing for influence in the power vacuum , particularly in the south . During this period , due to the absence of a central government , Somalia was a `` failed state '' , and residents returned to customary and religious law in most regions . A few autonomous regions , including the Somaliland and Puntland administrations emerged in the north . The early 2000s saw the creation of fledgling interim federal administrations . The Transitional National Government -LRB- TNG -RRB- was established in 2000 , followed by the formation of the Transitional Federal Government -LRB- TFG -RRB- in 2004 , which reestablished national institutions such as the military . In 2006 , the TFG , assisted by Ethiopian troops , assumed control of most of the nation 's southern conflict zones from the newly formed Islamic Courts Union -LRB- ICU -RRB- . The ICU subsequently splintered into more radical groups such as Al-Shabaab , which battled the TFG and its AMISOM allies for control of the region .   By mid-2012 , the insurgents had lost most of the territory that they had seized . In 2011 -- 2012 , a political process providing benchmarks for the establishment of permanent democratic institutions was launched . Within this administrative framework a new provisional constitution was passed in August 2012 , which reformed Somalia as a federation . Following the end of the TFG 's interim mandate the same month , the Federal Government of Somalia , the first permanent central government in the country since the start of the civil war , was formed and a period of reconstruction began in Mogadishu . Somalia has maintained an informal economy , mainly based on livestock , remittances from Somalis working abroad , and telecommunications .