The Somali People

Before the civil war, the population of Somalia was estimated at 7.7 million people. It is believed that about 400,000 people died of famine or disease or were killed in the war, and nearly 45% of the population was displaced inside Somalia or fled to neighboring countries, to the Middle East, or to the West.

Somalia's population is mostly rural. Nearly 80% of the people are pastoralists, agriculturalists, or agropastoralists. Except for a small number of Somalis who rely on fishing, the rest of the population are urban dwellers. Somalia's chief cities and towns are Mogadishu* (the capital), Hargeisa, Burao, Berbera, Bossaso, Marka, Brava, Baidoa, and Kismaayo. In the past few years, civil war and famine have changed urban demographics, as hundreds of thousands of displaced Somalis have poured into the cities seeking sanctuary and relief.

Ethnically and culturally, Somalia is one of the most homogeneous countries in Africa. Somalia has its minorities: There are people of Bantu descent living in farming villages in the south, and Arab enclaves in the coastal cities. A small number of Europeans, mostly Italians, live on farms in the south. But the great majority of the people are ethnic Somalis who speak dialects of the same language, Somali, and who practice the same religion, Islam. In a land of sparse rainfall, more than half the population are pastoralists or agropastoralists who raise camels, cattle, sheep, and goats. There are farmers, mostly in the south and northwest, and in recent years a new urban group of government workers, shopkeepers, and traders has emerged, but it is the nomadic way of life, with its love of freedom and open spaces, that is celebrated in Somali poetry and folklore.

Clans constitute the heart of Somali society, and the central challenge facing modern Somalia is how to unify a country whose people often give greater allegiance to lineage than to nation. It is important to note, however, that while Somalis have traditionally fought among themselves, their greater identity as Somalis takes hold in front of strangers.

*We apologize to Somalis who may object to seeing Anglicized spelling of Somali words. The official Somali orthography uses letters of the Latin alphabet, but in a manner which departs from the orthographic conventions of English. We have used Anglicized spellings for proper names for the sake of the reader who would not recognize Muqdisha, Cali, and Maxammed as Somali renderings of Mogadishu, Ali, and Mohammed.

www.culturalorientation.net
For more information contact sanja@cal.org .
Designed by SAGARTdesign
This site looks best when viewed using Netscape Navigator 3.0 or higher. Last Updated:02/18/04