Somaliland

The Block

Somaliland is an autonomous territory that declared independence from Somalia in 1991 as the latter country was falling into anarchy and civil war in the aftermath of the Siad Barre regime. Although it has a distinct parliament, currency, military, etc, it remains unrecognized as an independent nation by any member state of the United Nations. Due to this lack of international recognition, Somaliland does not have a block on the Quilt of Belonging made for them. Information on the identity of Somaliland can be found in the Cultural Profile section below.

Cultural Profile

Somaliland is a polity to the north of Somalia that declared independence in 1991. While most of the country of Somalia was formerly controlled by Italy, Somaliland corresponds to the old British territory in Africa called British Somaliland. Since the collapse of regime of Siad Barre in 1991 and subsequent descent of much of Somalia into anarchy and civil war Somaliland has been a relatively stable region. Yet it remains unrecognized by any other state in the world; it is actually the largest unrecognized state in the world by size.

Somaliland’s estimated current population is 6200000. Its official language is Somali with Arabic and English also serving as widespread second languages. Somaliland’s main and official religion is Sunni Islam. Its capital is its largest city of Hargeisa.

Somaliland’s economy is largely dependent on agriculture with port services and oil extraction comprises a smaller component.

One noteworthy element of Somaliland’s culture is the art involving decoration with henna dye that dates back to Antiquity.