Ethnic Groups: Somali 85%, Bantu and other non-Somali 15% (including 30,000 Arabs)

Languages: Somali, Arabic, Italian, English

Literacy Rate: 67.9% (2018)

Despite the lack of effective national governance, maintains an informal economy largely based on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies, and telecommunications; agriculture is the most important sector, with livestock normally accounting for about 40% of GDP and more than 50% of export earnings

Climate: principally desert; northeast monsoon (December to February), moderate temperatures in north, hot in south; southwest monsoon (May to October), torrid in the north, hot in the south, irregular rainfall, hot and humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons.

Environmental Issues: water scarcity; contaminated water contributes to human health problems; improper waste disposal; deforestation; land degradation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification