e land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 69%
forests and woodland: 26%
other: 3% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 1,800 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: recurring droughts; frequent dust storms over
eastern plains in summer

Environment--current issues: famine; use of contaminated water
contributes to human health problems; deforestation; overgrazing;
soil erosion; desertification

Environment--international agreements:
party to: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban

Geography--note: strategic location on Horn of Africa along
southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb and route through Red Sea and
Suez Canal

People

Population: 7,140,643 (July 1999 est.)
note: this estimate was derived from an official census taken in
1987 by the Somali Government with the cooperation of the UN and the
US Bureau of the Census; population estimates are updated between
censuses by factoring in growth rates and by taking account of
refugee movements and losses due to famine; lower estimates of
Somalia's population in mid-1996 (on the order of 6.0 million to 6.5
million) have been made by aid and relief agencies, based on the
number of persons being fed; population counting in Somalia is
complicated by the large numbers of nomads and by refugee movements
in response to famine and clan warfare

Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (male 1,588,025; female 1,584,770)
15-64 years: 53% (male 1,898,794; female 1,865,487)
65 years and over: 3% (male 92,419; female 111,148) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 4.13% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 47.98 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 18.62 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 11.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 125.77 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 46.23 years
male: 44.66 years
female: 47.85 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 7.25 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Somali(s)
adjective: Somali

Ethnic groups: Somali 85%, Bantu, Arabs 30,000

Religions: Sunni Muslim

Languages: Somali (official), Arabic, It