Somalia

At a Glance

Somalia is a country on the Horn of Africa with a coastline longer than any in sub-Saharan Africa, an ancient trading heritage connecting the Indian Ocean world, and a culture with one of the richest oral poetry traditions anywhere. The landscape ranges from fertile river valleys in the south to dramatic highland gorges. It remains a very challenging destination requiring extensive local knowledge and planning, but the culture and landscape hold something genuinely extraordinary.

• No stable central government since 1991 — yet Somaliland in the north has been peaceful for 30 years.
• Has the longest coastline in continental Africa.
• Somali pirates at peak (2011) were costing global shipping $7 billion per year.