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
etymology: "Land of the Somali" (ethnic group)

Government type:
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:
history: previous 1961, 1979; latest drafted 12 June 2012, approved 1 August 2012 (provisional)
amendments: proposed by the federal government, by members of the state governments, the Federal Parliament, or by public petition; proposals require review by a joint committee of Parliament with inclusion of public comments and state legislatures’ comments; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote in both houses of Parliament and approval by a majority of votes cast in a referendum; constitutional clauses on Islamic principles, the federal system, human rights and freedoms, powers and authorities of the government branches, and inclusion of women in national institutions cannot be amended

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 Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" (since 8 February 2017)
head of government: Prime Minister Hassan Ali KHAYRE (since 1 March 2017)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister, approved by the House of the People
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 8 February 2017 (previously scheduled for 30 September 2016 but postponed repeatedly); prime minister appointed by the president, approved by the House of the People
election results: Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" elected president; Federal Parliament second round vote - Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" (TPP) 184, HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud (PDP) 97, Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed (ARS) 46

Legislative branch:
description: bicameral Federal Parliament to consist of an Upper House (54 seats; senators elected by state assemblies to serve 4-year terms) and the House of the People (275 seats; members elected by regional delegates to serve 4-year terms)
note: the inaugural House of the People was appointed in September 2012 by clan elders; in elections in 2016 and 2017, the Federal Parliament became bicameral with elections scheduled for 10 October 2016 for the Upper House and 23 October to 10 November 2016 for the House of the People; while the elections were delayed, they were eventually held in most regions despite voting irregularities; on 27 December 2016, 41 Upper House senators and 242 House of the People members were sworn in

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 courts; federal member state-level courts; military courts; sharia courts

Political parties and leaders:
Cosmopolitan Democratic Party [Yarow Sharef ADEN] Daljir Party or DP [Hassan MOALIM] 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] Justice and Development of Democracy and Self-Respectfulness Party or CAHDI [Abdirahman Abdigani IBRAHIM Bile] 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
inactive: Alliance for the Reliberation of Somalia; reportedly inactive since 2009

Political pressure groups and leaders:
numerous political associations and clan and sub-clan factions exist in support of and against political leaders from clans, Federal Member State presidents, and others, including the former and current presidents

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 Mission to Somalia, operating out of the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, is headed by Acting Head of Mission Martin DALE (since July 2017)

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