Somalia: Flag and Facts
Somalia's flag is plain light blue with a single big white five-pointed star centered on it.
- Official name
- Federal Republic of Somalia
- Capital
- Mogadishu
- Region
- Eastern Africa
- Population
- 20 million (2025)
- Languages
- Arabic, Somali
- Currency
- Somali shilling
- Area
- 637,657 km² (246,201 sq mi)
- People
- Somali
- Calling code
- +252
- Highest point
- Mount Shimbiris 2,460 m
- Independence
- 1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland, which…)
- National symbols
- leopard
About Somalia
Somalia sits on the Horn of Africa, bordering Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya, with one coast on the Gulf of Aden and another on the Indian Ocean. Arab and Persian traders built coastal posts there between A.D. 800 and 1100. Later in the 19th century, colonies were set up by Britain, France and Italy. British Somaliland became free on 26 June 1960, and it joined former Italian Somaliland on 1 July 1960 to make the Somali Republic.
Parliamentary rule lasted until 1969, when a coup started 22 years of socialist dictatorship. Clan militias overthrew that government in 1991, and the state collapsed into fighting and famine. Much of the land is a flat or rolling plateau that climbs into hills up north, and the climate is mostly desert, shaped by two monsoons. Mogadishu holds about 2.6 million of the country's 20.3 million people.
Did you know?
- The leopard is Somalia's national symbol.
- Somalia has a median age of just 15.7 years.
- The anthem's name means Every Nation Has Its Own Flag.
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Questions about Somalia
What do the colors on Somalia's flag mean?
Today the blue is linked with the Indian Ocean and the sky above it. The five star points stand for the regions where Somali people live.
What languages are spoken in Somalia?
Somali and Arabic are both official. The currency is the Somali shilling.
Sources
- CIA World Factbook, checked October 8, 2026
- REST Countries data (mledoze/countries), checked October 8, 2026
- Flag artwork: flag-icons (MIT), checked October 8, 2026
Facts are compiled from these open sources and rewritten in our own words. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.