African Countries - Somalia, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Libya, Sudan, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia, Algeria, Rwanda, Ni (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 223. Chapters: Somalia, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Libya, Sudan, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia, Algeria, Rwanda, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Excerpt: Somalia (Somali: Arabic: -lee- ), officially the Federal Republic of Somalia (Somali: , Arabic: ), is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Kenya to the southwest. Somalia has the longest coastline on the continent, and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. Hot conditions prevail year-round, along with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall. Somalia has a population of around 10 million inhabitants. About 85% of local residents are ethnic Somalis, who have historically inhabited the northern part of the country. Ethnic minority groups make up the remainder of the nation's population, and are largely concentrated in the southern regions. Somali and Arabic are the official languages of Somalia, both of which belong to the Afro-Asiatic family. Most people in the territory are Muslims, the majority being Sunni. In antiquity, Somalia was an important centre for commerce with the rest of the ancient world, and according to most scholars, it is among the most probable locations of the fabled ancient Land of Punt. During the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade, including the Ajuuraan State, the Adal Sultanate, the Warsangali Sultanate and the Geledi Sultanate. In the late nineteenth century, through a succession of treaties with these kingdoms, the British and Italians gained control of parts of the coast, and established British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland. In the interior, Muhammad Abdullah Hassan's Dervish State...