Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

is officially divided into 18 administrative regions (''gobollo'', singular ''gobol''). These are in turn subdivided into seventy-two districts (plural ''degmooyin''; singular ''degmo''). On a ''de facto'' basis, northern Somalia is now divided up among the autonomous region of

Puntland Puntland is an autonomous state that considers itself to be part of Somalia, despite not accepting the legitimacy of Somalia's current governing administration. It was formed in 1998, and was a federal member state of Somalia from its fou ...

In central Somalia,

Galmudug Galmudug (; ), officially Galmudug State of Somalia (), is a States and regions of Somalia, Federal Member State in central Somalia, with its capital at Dhusamareb. It is bordered to the north by the Puntland state of Somalia, to the west by the S ...

is another regional entity that emerged south of Puntland.

Regions and districts

Historical divisions

Pre-independence

In 1931,

Italian Somaliland Italian Somaliland (; ; ) was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate in the north, and by the Hiraab Imamate and ...

consisted of seven commissariats."Regions of Somalia"
. ''Statoids''. Retrieved 20 February 2011. * Alto Giuba * Alto Uebi-Scebeli * Basso Giuba * Basso Uebi-Scebeli * Migiurtinia * Mogadiscio * Mudugh Following the 1935–36

Second Italo-Abyssinian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression waged by Italy against Ethiopia, which lasted from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Ita ...

, Italian Somaliland became part of

Italian East Africa Italian East Africa (, A.O.I.) was a short-lived colonial possession of Fascist Italy from 1936 to 1941 in the Horn of Africa. It was established following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, which led to the military occupation of the Ethiopian ...

with

Abyssinia Abyssinia (; also known as Abyssinie, Abissinia, Habessinien, or Al-Habash) was an ancient region in the Horn of Africa situated in the northern highlands of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea.Sven Rubenson, The survival of Ethiopian independence, ...

(Ethiopia) and

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

. Italian Somaliland was one of six

governorate A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions ...

s of the new colony, the Somalia Governorate, and incorporated Somali-inhabited parts of the former Abyssinia. The governorate was subdivided into 10 commissariats, which were themselves divided into residencies. * Alto Giuba ''(English: Upper

Juba Juba is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria, Central Equatoria State. It is the most recently declared national capital and had a populatio ...

)'' (capital:

Baidoa Baidoa (, Somali (Af-Maxaa): , ) is the largest city of the South West State of Somalia. Between 2002 and 2014, Baidoa was the capital of the South West State. In 2014, the capital was changed to Barawa. Overview Baydhabo is the main hub of ...

) * Alto Scebeli ''(Upper Shabele)'' ( Bulo Burti) * Basso Scebeli ''( Lower Shabele)'' (

Merca Merca (, ) is the capital city of the Lower Shebelle province of Somalia, a historic port city in the region. It is located approximately to the southwest of the nation's capital Mogadishu. Merca is the traditional home territory of the Bimal c ...

) * Migiurtinia ''( Migiurtinia)'' (

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

) * Mogadiscio ''(

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

)'' ( Mogadiscio) * Mudugh ''(

Mudug Mudug () is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in north-central Somalia. The population of Mudug is 131,455 as of 2005. Overview Physiographically, Mudug is bordered to the west by Ethiopia, to the north and south by the Somali regions of Nu ...

)'' ( Rocca Littorio) * Ogaden ''(

Ogaden Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled ''Ogadēn''; , ) is one of the historical names used for the modern Somali Region. It is also natively referred to as Soomaali Galbeed (). The region forms the eastern portion of Ethiopia and borders Somalia ...

)'' ( Uarder) * Uebi Gestro ''( Gestro River)'' ( Callafo) * Basso Giuba ''(

Lower Juba Lower Juba (, , , ) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in southern Somalia. With its capital at Kismayo, it lies in the autonomous Jubaland region. Lower Juba is bordered by Kenya, the Somali regions of Gedo, Middle Juba (Jubbada Dhex ...

)'' ( Chisimaio) * Nogal ''(

Nugaal The Nugaal () is an intermittent river Intermittent, temporary or seasonal rivers or streams cease to flow every year or at least twice every five years. Such rivers drain large arid and semi-arid areas, covering approximately a third of ...

)'' (

Eil Eil may refer to: Places * Eil (crater), on Mars * Eil, Cologne, a quarter of Cologne, Germany * Eil, Somalia * Eil District, Somalia * Loch Eil, a lake in Scotland Other uses

* Eastern Independent League, an American high school sports c ...

) Following World War II, the Italian-administered

Trust Territory of Somalia The Trust Territory of Somaliland, officially the Trust Territory of Somaliland under Italian Administration (), was a United Nations Trust Territory from 1950 to 1960, following the dissolution of the former British Military Administration. I ...

consisted of six Regions. * Alto Giuba * Basso Giuba * Benadir * Hiiraan * Migiurtinia * Mudugh The

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate (), was a protectorate of the United Kingdom in modern Somaliland. It was bordered by Italian Somalia, French Somali Coast and Ethiopian Empire, Abyssinia (Italian Ethiopia from 1936 ...

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

also consisted of two Regions. * Burao * Hargeisa

Somalia

Upon independence in 1960, the Somali Republic maintained the 12 districts of the former Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland that merged to form the new country. In 1964, a new Northeastern (Burao) Province was established by merging Burao, Erigavo, and Las Anod and a Northwestern (Hargeisa) Province was formed from Berbera, Borama, and Hargeisa districts. In 1968, the capital of Basso Giuba was moved from Kismayo to

Jamame Jamame (, , , formerly ''Villaggio Regina Margherita''), also spelled Giamame, is a town in the southern Lower Juba (Jubbada Hoose) region of Somalia. There are many farms located near Jamame. The equator passes over the town. Overview Jamame i ...

. The 8 provinces at this time were: In 1982, Somalia reorganized from eight provinces into 16 regions. In June 1984, Awdal was split from Woqooyi Galbeed and Sool was split from Nugaal to form the current 18 regions.

References

{{Articles on second-level administrative divisions of African countries

Somalia geography-related lists

Regions and districts

Historical divisions

Pre-independence

Somalia

See also

References