Country name:
conventional long form: Federal Republic of Somalia
conventional short form: Somalia
local long form: Jamhuuriyadda Federaalkaa Soomaaliya
local short form: Soomaaliya
former: Somali Republic, Somali Democratic Republic

Government type:
in the process of building a federal parliamentary republic

Capital:
name: Mogadishu
geographic coordinates: 2 04 N, 45 20 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
18 regions (plural - NA, singular - gobolka); Awdal, Bakool, Banaadir, Bari, Bay, Galguduud, Gedo, Hiiraan, Jubbada Dhexe (Middle Jubba), Jubbada Hoose (Lower Jubba), Mudug, Nugaal, Sanaag, Shabeellaha Dhexe (Middle Shabeelle), Shabeellaha Hoose (Lower Shabeelle), Sool, Togdheer, Woqooyi Galbeed

Independence:
1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland that became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960 and Italian Somaliland that became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on 1 July 1960 to form the Somali Republic)

National holiday:
Foundation of the Somali Republic, 1 July (1960); note - 26 June (1960) in Somaliland

Constitution:
previous 1961, 1979; latest drafted 12 June 2012, approved 1 August 2012 (provisional) (2015)

Legal system:
mixed legal system of civil law, Islamic law, and customary law (referred to as Xeer)

International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Somalia
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud (since 10 September 2012)
head of government: Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali SHARMARKE (since 24 December 2014); Deputy Prime Minister Mohamad Omar ARTEH (since 6 February 2015)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister, approved by the National Parliament
elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by the Federal Parliament by two-thirds majority vote in 2 rounds if needed for a single 4-year term; election last held on 10 September 2012 (next to be held in 2016); prime minister appointed by the president, approved by the Federal Parliament
election results: HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud elected president; Federal Parliament second round vote - HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud (PDP) 190, Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed (ARS) 79; Omar Abdirashid Ali SHARMARKE approved as prime minister; Federal Parliament vote - 218 for approval, none against (6 members not present for vote)

Legislative branch:
description: unicameral National Parliament or Golaha Shacabka Soomaaliya consists of the House of the People (275 seats; members directly elected to serve 4-year terms)
note: the inaugural House of the People was appointed in September 2012 by clan elders; slated for 2016, the National Parliament will become bicameral with the formation of an upper house that will consist of 54 seats with members indirectly elected by regional governing councils to serve 4-year terms

Judicial branch:
highest court(s): the provisional constitution stipulates the establishment of the Constitutional Court (consists of 5 judges including the chief judge and deputy chief judge); note - under the terms of the 2004 Transitional National Charter, a Supreme Court based in Mogadishu and an Appeal Court were established; yet most regions have reverted to local forms of conflict resolution, either secular, traditional Somali customary law, or sharia Islamic law
judge selection and term of office: judges appointed by the president upon proposal of the Judicial Service Commission, a 9-member judicial and administrative body; judge tenure NA
subordinate courts: federal- and federal member state-level courts; military courts; sharia (Islamic) courts

Political parties and leaders:
CADHI [Abdirahman IBRAHIM] Cosmopolitan Democratic Party [Yarow Sharef ADEN] Democratic Green Party of Somalia or DGPS [Abdullahi Y. MAHAMOUD] Democratic Party of Somalia or DPS [Maslah Mohamed SIAD] Green Leaf for Democracy or GLED Hiil Qaran Justice and Communist Party [Mohamed NUR] Liberal Party of Somalia National Unity Party (Xisbiga MIdnimo-Quaran) [Abdurahman BAADIYOW] Peace and Development Party or PDP Somali National Party or SNP [Mohammed Ameen Saeed AHMED] Somali People's Party [Mahamud Hassan RAGE] Somali Green Party (local chapter of Federation of Green Parties of Africa] Tayo or TPP [Mohamed Abdullahi MOHAMED] Tiir Party [Fadhil Sheik MOHAMUD] United and Democratic Party [Salad Ali JELLE] United Somali Parliamentarians

Political pressure groups and leaders:
other: numerous political associations and clan and sub-clan factions exist both in support and in opposition to the incumbent president

International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU (candidate), FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, LAS, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ahmed Issa AWAD (since 17 September 2015)
chancery: 425 East 61st Street, Suite 702, New York City, NY 10021
telephone: [1] (212) 688-9410, 688-5046
FAX: [1] (212) 759-0651

Diplomatic representation from the US:
the US does not have an embassy in Somalia; US interests are represented by the US Special Representative for Somalia, Ambassador James P. MCANULTY (since August 2013), operating out of the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya at United Nations Avenue, Nairobi; mailing address: Unit 64100, Nairobi; APO AE 09831; telephone: [254] (20) 363-6000; FAX [254] (20) 363-6157

Flag description:
light blue with a large white five-pointed star in the center; the blue field was originally influenced by the flag of the UN, but today is said to denote the sky and the neighboring Indian Ocean; the five points of the star represent the five regions in the horn of Africa that are inhabited by Somali people: the former British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland (which together make up Somalia), Djibouti, Ogaden (Ethiopia), and the North East Province (Kenya)

National symbol(s):
leopard; national colors: blue, white

National anthem:
name: "Qolobaa Calankeed" (Every Nation Has its own Flag)
lyrics/music: lyrics/music: Abdullahi QARSHE
note: adopted 2012; written in 1959

Government - note:
regional and local governing bodies continue to exist and control various areas of the country, including the self-declared Republic of Somaliland in northwestern Somalia and the semi-autonomous state of Puntland in northeastern Somalia