Somalia Somalia,, Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitutio ...

Somalia

is officially divided into thirteen administrative regions (''gobollo'', singular ''gobol'') and five claimed but uncontrolled regions in

Somaliland Somaliland ( so, Soomaaliland; ar, صوماليلاند ', '), officially the Republic of Somaliland ( so, Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliland, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd''), is a de facto sovereign ...

. These are in turn subdivided into seventy-two districts (plural ''degmooyin''; singular ''degmo'') and eighteen claimed but uncontrolled districts in Somaliland. On a ''de facto'' basis, northern Somalia is now divided up among the autonomous region of

Puntland Puntland ( so, Puntland, ar, أرض البنط, it, Terra di Punt or ''Paese di Punt''), officially the Puntland State of Somalia ( so, Dowladda Federalkaa ee Puntland , ar, ولاية أرض البنط الصومالية), is a States and ...

(which considers itself an

autonomous state An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or territory, internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of ...

) and

(a self-declared but unrecognized sovereign state). In central Somalia,

Galmudug Galmudug (Arabic Arabic (, ' or , ' or ) is a Semitic language The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family originating in the Middle East The Middle East is a list of transcontinental countries, transc ...

is another regional entity that emerged south of Puntland. For these

civil war A civil war, also known as an intrastate war in polemology, is a war War is an intense armed conflict between states State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine publis ...

divisions, see ''

States and regions of Somalia Somalia Somalia,, Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional C ...

''.

Regions and districts

Historical divisions

Pre-independence

In 1931,

Italian Somaliland Italian Somaliland ( it, Somala italiana; ar, الصومال الإيطالي, Al-Sumal Al-Italiy; so, Dhulka Talyaaniga ee Soomaalida), was a protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state which ...

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 A war of aggression, sometimes also war of conquest, is a military conflict waged without the justification of self-defense, usual ...

, Italian Somaliland became part of

Italian East Africa Italian East Africa ( it, Africa Orientale Italiana, AOI) was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA) om, Gaafa Afrikaa, am, የአፍሪካ ቀንድ, yäafrika qänd, so, Geeska Afrika 𐒌𐒜𐒈𐒏𐒖 𐒖𐒍 ...

with

Abyssinia The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, internal name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify ...

(Ethiopia) and

Eritrea Eritrea ( ), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula A peninsula ( la, paeninsula from ' "almost" and ' "island") is a ...

Eritrea

. Italian Somaliland was one of six

governorate A governorate is an administrative division of a country. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either State (administrative division), states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' ...

s of the new colony, the

Somalia Governorate Somalia Governorate was one of the six governorates of Italian East Africa. It was formed from the previously separate colony of Italian Somalia, enlarged by the Ogaden region of the conquered Ethiopian Empire following the Second Italo-Ethiopi ...

, and incorporated

Somali Somali refers to an East African tribe (ethnic group) native to Somalia Somalia,; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, D ...

-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 South Sudan (), officially known as the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa, East-Central Africa. It is bordered to the east by Ethiopia, to the north by ...

)'' (capital:

Baidoa Baidoa ( so, Baydhabo) is capital in the southwestern Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the bod ...

Baidoa

) * Alto Scebeli ''(Upper

Shabele

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

Merca Merca ( so, Marka, Maay Maay, Maay: ''Marky'', ar, مركة) is a historic port city in the southern Lower Shebelle province of Somalia. It is located approximately to the southwest of the nation's capital Mogadishu. Merca is the traditional home ...

) * Migiurtinia ''( Migiurtinia)'' (

Dante Dante Alighieri (), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to Mononymous person, simply as Dante (, also ; – 14 September 1321), was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Co ...

) * Mogadiscio ''(

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or Xamar ; ar, مقديشو, Muqadīshū ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital city and most populous city The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city ...

)'' (

Mogadiscio

) * Mudugh ''(

Mudug Mudug ( so, Mudug; it, Mudugh) is an administrative region (''gobol'') in north-central Somalia Somalia,, Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of Somalia ...

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

Ogaden Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled ''Ogadēn''; so, Ogaadeen, am, ውጋዴን) is one of the historical names given to the modern Somali Region The Somali Regional State ( so, Dawlad Deegaanka Soomaalida, am, የሶማሌ ክልል, a ...

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

Lower Juba Lower Juba ( so, Jubbada Hoose, ar, جوبا السفلى, it, Basso Giuba) is an administrative region (''Administrative divisions of Somalia, gobol'') in southern Somalia. With its capital at Kismayo, it lies in the States and regions of Somal ...

)'' (

Chisimaio

) * Nogal ''(

Nugaal The Nugaal an intermittent river that runs along the Nugaal Valley. It begins several miles to the west of Sool, and ends at Eyl where the outlet flows into the Indian Ocean. It evaporates at the onset of the hagaa, the Somali dry season. Due ...

)'' (

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" (in Italian: ''Amministrazione fiduciaria italiana della Somalia'') was a United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergove ...

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

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the British Somaliland Protectorate ( so, Dhulka Maxmiyada Soomaalida ee Biritishka), was a British Empire, British protectorate in present-day Somaliland. For much of its existence, the territory was bordered by ...

protectorate A protectorate is a state that is controlled and protected by another sovereign state. It is a dependent territory A dependent territory, dependent area, or dependency (sometimes referred as an external territory) is a territory that does not ...

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 ( so, Jamaame, ar, جمامة, it, Giamama 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 pass ...

. 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.

Regions and districts

Historical divisions

Pre-independence

Somalia

See also