The administrative division of Somaliland are organized into three hierarchical levels. consists of 6

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

and 22

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

. Districts in turn contain villages. In addition, the capital

Hargeisa Hargeisa (; so, Hargeysa, ar, هرجيسا) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland. It is located in the Maroodi Jeex region of the Horn of Africa. It succeeded Burco as the capital of the British Somaliland Protector ...

has its own law (capital law) that is different from the law that defines administrative divisions. The administrative-territorial division of the country is established by the Law of Somaliland No. 23/2002 ( so, Xeerka Ismaamulka Gobolada iyo Degmooyinka), which was finally approved in 2007.

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

is a self-declared unrecognized sovereign state in the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004 ...

, internationally considered to be part of

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 Constitut ...

History

Before March 21, 2008, the Somaliland government continued to use the six administrative regions covered by

at the time of unification: Awdal, Waqooyi Gelbeed, Sanaag, Sool, Togdheer, Sahil. On March 22 of the same year,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Dahir Riyale Kahin Dahir Riyale Kahin ( so, Daahir Riyaale Kaahin, ar, ظاهر ريالي كاهن) (born 12 March 1952) is a Somaliland politician who was President of Somaliland from 2002 to 2010. He previously served as a senior officer in the National Secur ...

issued the "Presidential Press Statement", announcing the establishment of 6 new administrative districts and 16 sub-districts from the original administrative divisions. On May 15 of the same year, the President announced the establishment of the 13th administrative district. In June 2014, Somaliland

Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud "Silanyo" ( so, Axmed Maxamed Maxamuud Siilaanyo, ar, احمد محمد محمود سيلانيو) (born 1938) is a Somaliland politician who was President of Somaliland from 2010–2017. He is a long-time member of the g ...

announced the establishment of a 14th administrative district and 4 sub-districts. The new administrative district called Haysimo is composed of Sur and Sanaq in the east. However, the administrative divisions established by the two presidents were not approved by the Parliament.

First-level divisions

According to the 2019 Local Government Act, Somaliland is divided into six regions ( so, Gobolo; ar, مناطق‎). The territory of the region is based on

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate ( so, Dhulka Maxmiyada Soomaalida ee Biritishka), was a British protectorate in present-day Somaliland. During its existence, the territory was bordered by Italian Somalia, French So ...

and

State of Somaliland The State of Somaliland (, ) was a short-lived independent country in the territory of present-day unilaterally declared Republic of Somaliland. It existed on the territory of former British Somaliland for five days between 26 June 1960 and 1 ...

administrative divisions, not Union-era.

Second-level divisions

There are 22 districts ( so, Degmo; ar, مقاطعة). under the state. Each district is rated A, B, C, and D according to population, budget, and economic scale. The highest is A grade. The district where the state capital is located is always Class A (Article 9 of the Local Government Law). The region with the most districts is Awdal,

Sool Sool ( so, Sool, ar, صول) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in south eastern Somaliland/north western Somalia. It borders Togdheer to the west, Sanaag to the north, Ethiopia to the south and Nugal, Bari to the east. Its capital city ...

and conversely the region with the fewest is Sahil.

References

{{Africa topic, Administrative divisions of

Somaliland geography-related lists

History

First-level divisions

Second-level divisions

See also

References