Denmark (2001) | Somalia (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 2 kommunes*; Arhus, Bornholm, Fredericksberg*, Frederiksborg, Fyn, Kobenhavn, Kobenhavns*, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkobing, Roskilde, Sonderjylland, Storstrom, Vejle, Vestsjalland, Viborg
note: see separate entries for the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are part of the Kingdom of Denmark and are self-governing administrative divisions |
18 regions (plural - NA, singular - gobolka); Awdal, Bakool, Banaadir, Bari, Bay, Galguduud, Gedo, Hiiraan, Jubbada Dhexe, Jubbada Hoose, Mudug, Nugaal, Sanaag, Shabeellaha Dhexe, Shabeellaha Hoose, Sool, Togdheer, Woqooyi Galbeed |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
18.59% (male 510,826; female 484,385) 15-64 years: 66.56% (male 1,804,617; female 1,758,019) 65 years and over: 14.85% (male 331,906; female 463,062) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,802,154; female 1,792,749)
15-64 years: 52.5% (male 2,120,934; female 2,093,699) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 93,682; female 121,972) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, rape, sugar beets; pork and beef, dairy products; fish | cattle, sheep, goats; bananas, sorghum, corn, coconuts, rice, sugarcane, mangoes, sesame seeds, beans; fish |
Airports | 119 (2000 est.) | 60 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
28 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 6
over 3,047 m: 4 2438 to 3047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
91 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 83 (2000 est.) |
total: 54
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
Area | total:
43,094 sq km land: 42,394 sq km water: 700 sq km note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark (the Jutland Peninsula, and the major islands of Sjaeland and Fyn), but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland |
total: 637,657 sq km
land: 627,337 sq km water: 10,320 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts | slightly smaller than Texas |
Background | Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the political and economic integration of Europe. So far, however, the country has opted out of some aspects of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the economic and monetary system (EMU) and issues concerning certain internal affairs. | The SIAD BARRE regime was ousted in January 1991; turmoil, factional fighting, and anarchy have followed for twelve years. In May of 1991, northern clans declared an independent Republic of Somaliland that now includes the administrative regions of Awdal, Woqooyi Galbeed, Togdheer, Sanaag, and Sool. Although not recognized by any government, this entity has maintained a stable existence, aided by the overwhelming dominance of a ruling clan and economic infrastructure left behind by British, Russian, and American military assistance programs. The regions of Bari and Nugaal and northern Mudug comprise a neighboring self-declared autonomous state of Puntland, which has been self-governing since 1998, but does not aim at independence; it has also made strides towards reconstructing a legitimate, representative government, but has suffered civil strife in 2002. Puntland disputes its border with Somaliland as it also claims portions of eastern Sool and Sanaag. Beginning in 1993, a two-year UN humanitarian effort (primarily in the south) was able to alleviate famine conditions, but when the UN withdrew in 1995, having suffered significant casualties, order still had not been restored. The mandate of the Transitional National Government (TNG), created in August 2000 in Arta, Djibouti, expires in August 2003 and a new interim government was being created at peace talks held in Kenya. Numerous warlords and factions are still fighting for control of Mogadishu and the other southern regions. Suspicion of Somali links with global terrorism further complicates the picture. |
Birth rate | 11.96 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 46.42 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$52.9 billion expenditures: $51.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $500 million (2001 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Copenhagen | Mogadishu |
Climate | temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers | principally desert; December to February - northeast monsoon, moderate temperatures in north and very hot in south; May to October - southwest monsoon, torrid in the north and hot in the south, irregular rainfall, hot and humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons |
Coastline | 7,314 km | 3,025 km |
Constitution | 1849 was the original constitution; there was a major overhaul 5 June 1953, allowing for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state | 25 August 1979, presidential approval 23 September 1979
note: the Transitional National Government formed in August 2000 has a mandate to create a new constitution and hold elections within three years |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Denmark conventional short form: Denmark local long form: Kongeriget Danmark local short form: Danmark |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Somalia former: Somali Republic, Somali Democratic Republic |
Currency | Danish krone (DKK) | Somali shilling (SOS) |
Death rate | 10.9 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.64 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $21.7 billion (2000) | $2.6 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Stuart BERNSTEIN embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen mailing address: PSC 73, APO AE 09716 telephone: [45] 35 55 31 44 FAX: [45] 35 38 96 16 |
the US does not have an embassy in Somalia; US interests are represented by the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya at Mombasa Road; mailing address: P. O. Box 30137, Unit 64100, Nairobi; APO AE 09831; telephone: [254] (2) 537800; FAX [254] (2) 537810 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Ulrik Andreas FEDERSPIEL chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300 FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
Somalia does not have an embassy in the US (ceased operations on 8 May 1991); note - the TNG and other factions have representatives in Washington and at the United Nations |
Disputes - international | Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Iceland and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area); dispute with Iceland over the Faroe Islands fisheries median line boundary within 200 NM; disputes with Iceland, the UK, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM | "Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities to land-locked Ethiopia and establish commercial ties with regional states; "Puntland" secessionists clash with "Somaliland" secessionists to establish territorial limits and clan loyalties, each seeking support from neighboring states; Ethiopia maintains only an administrative line with the Oromo region of southern Somalia and maintains alliances with local Somali clans opposed to the unrecognized Transitional National Government in Mogadishu |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1.63 billion (1999) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $60 million (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | This thoroughly modern market economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is a net exporter of food and energy and has a comfortable balance of payments surplus. The center-left coalition government has reduced the formerly high unemployment rate and attained a budget surplus as well as followed the previous government's policies of maintaining low inflation and a stable currency. The coalition has lowered marginal income tax rates and raised environmental taxes thus maintaining overall tax revenues. Problems of bottlenecks, and longer term demographic changes reducing the labor force, are being addressed through labor market reforms. The government has been successful in meeting, and even exceeding, the economic convergence criteria for participating in the third phase (a common European currency) of the European Monetary Union (EMU), but Denmark, in a September 2000 referendum, reconfirmed its decision not to join the 11 other EU members in the euro. Even so, the Danish currency remains pegged to the euro. | Somalia's economic fortunes are being driven by its deep political divisions. The northern area has declared its independence as "Somaliland"; the central area, Puntland, is a self-declared autonomous state; and the remaining southern portion is riddled with the struggles of rival factions. Economic life continues, in part because much activity is local and relatively easily protected. Agriculture is the most important sector, with livestock normally accounting for about 40% of GDP and about 65% of export earnings, but Saudi Arabia's recent ban on Somali livestock, because of Rift Valley Fever concerns, has severely hampered the sector. Nomads and semi-nomads, who are dependent upon livestock for their livelihood, make up a large portion of the population. Livestock, hides, fish, charcoal, and bananas are Somalia's principal exports, while sugar, sorghum, corn, qat, and machined goods are the principal imports. Somalia's small industrial sector, based on the processing of agricultural products, has largely been looted and sold as scrap metal. Despite the seeming anarchy, Somalia's service sector has managed to survive and grow. Telecommunication firms provide wireless services in most major cities and offer the lowest international call rates on the continent. In the absence of a formal banking sector, money exchange services have sprouted throughout the country, handling between $200 million and $500 million in remittances annually. Mogadishu's main market offers a variety of goods from food to the newest electronic gadgets. Hotels continue to operate, and security is provided by militias. The ongoing civil disturbances and clan rivalries, however, have interfered with any broad-based economic development and international aid arrangements. In 2002 Somalia's overdue financial obligations to the IMF continued to grow. |
Electricity - consumption | 32.916 billion kWh (1999) | 227.9 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 7.28 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 4.963 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 37.885 billion kWh (1999) | 245.1 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
88.4% hydro: 0.07% nuclear: 0% other: 11.53% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Lammefjord -7 m highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Shimbiris 2,416 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution, principally from vehicle and power plant emissions; nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes and pesticides | famine; use of contaminated water contributes to human health problems; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea |
party to: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali | Somali 85%, Bantu and other non-Somali 15% (including Arabs 30,000) |
Exchange rates | Danish kroner per US dollar - 7.951 (January 2001), 8.083 (2000), 6.976 (1999), 6.701 (1998), 6.604 (1997), 5.799 (1996); note - the Danes rejected the Euro in a 28 September 2000 referendum | Somali shillings per US dollar - 11,000 (November 2000), 2,620 (January 1999), 7,500 (November 1997 est.), 7,000 (January 1996 est.), 5,000 (1 January 1995)
note: the Republic of Somaliland, a self-declared independent country not recognized by any foreign government, issues its own currency, the Somaliland shilling |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972); Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the monarch (born 26 May 1968) head of government: Prime Minister Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN (since 25 January 1993) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: ABDIKASSIM Salad Hassan (since 26 August 2000); note - as of December 2002, there was no executive branch in southern Somalia; Interim President ABDIKASSIM was chosen for a three-year term by a 245-member National Assembly serving as a transitional government but has little power and was due to leave office in August 2003; the political situation, particularly in the south, with interclan fighting and random banditry, remains fluid
head of government: Prime Minister HASSAN Abshir Farah (since 12 November 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and sworn in on 20 October 2000; as of 1 January 2002, the Cabinet was in caretaker status following a no-confidence vote in October 2001 that ousted HASSAN's predecessor election results: ABDIKASSIM Salad Hassan was elected president of an interim government at the Djibouti-sponsored Arta Peace Conference on 26 August 2000 by a broad representation of Somali clans that comprised a transitional National Assembly |
Exports | $50.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills | livestock, bananas, hides, fish, charcoal, scrap metal |
Exports - partners | EU 66.5% (Germany 20.1%, Sweden 11.7%, UK 9.6%, France 5.3%, Netherlands 4.7%), Norway 5.8%, US 5.4% (1999) | UAE 45.6%, Yemen 24.3%, Oman 9.5% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | NA |
Flag description | red with a white cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side, and that design element of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden | light blue with a large white five-pointed star in the center; blue field influenced by the flag of the UN |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $136.2 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4.27 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3% industry: 25% services: 72% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 65%
industry: 10% services: 25% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $25,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $600 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2000 est.) | 3.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 56 00 N, 10 00 E | 10 00 N, 49 00 E |
Geography - note | controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen | strategic location on Horn of Africa along southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb and route through Red Sea and Suez Canal |
Government - note | - | although an interim government was created in 2000 other governing bodies continue to exist and control various cities and regions of the country, including Somaliland, Puntland, and traditional clan and faction strongholds |
Highways | total:
71,474 km paved: 71,474 km (including 880 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
total: 22,100 km
paved: 2,608 km unpaved: 19,492 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2% highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $43.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods | manufactures, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials, qat |
Imports - partners | EU 72.1% (Germany 21.6%, Sweden 12.4%, UK 8.0%, Netherlands 8.0%, France 5.8%), Norway 4.2%, US 4.5% (1999) | Djibouti 29.8%, Kenya 13.6%, Brazil 10.5%, Thailand 4.7%, UK 4.4%, UAE 4.3% (2002) |
Independence | first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy | 1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland, which became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960, and Italian Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on 1 July 1960, to form the Somali Republic) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | food processing, machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture, and other wood products, shipbuilding, windmills | a few light industries, including sugar refining, textiles, petroleum refining (mostly shut down), wireless communication |
Infant mortality rate | 5.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 120.34 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 129.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 110.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.9% (2000 est.) | over 100% (businesses print their own money) |
International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC | ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 13 (2000) | 3 (one each in Boosaaso, Hargeisa, and Mogadishu) (2000) |
Irrigated land | 4,350 sq km (1993 est.) | 2,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life) | following the breakdown of national government, most regions have reverted to either Islamic (Shari'a) law with a provision for appeal of all sentences, or traditional clan-based arbitration |
Labor force | 2.856 million (2000 est.) | 3.7 million (very few are skilled laborers) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 79%, industry 17%, agriculture 4% (2000 est.) | agriculture (mostly pastoral nomadism) 71%, industry and services 29% |
Land boundaries | total:
68 km border countries: Germany 68 km |
total: 2,340 km
border countries: Djibouti 58 km, Ethiopia 1,600 km, Kenya 682 km |
Land use | arable land:
60% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 10% other: 25% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 1.66%
permanent crops: 0.04% other: 98.3% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language |
Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English |
Legal system | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | no national system; Shari'a and secular courts are in some localities |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Folketing (179 seats, including 2 from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe Islands; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 11 March 1998 (next to be held by March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - progovernment parties: Social Democratic Party 65, Socialist People's Party 13, Social Liberal Party 7, Red-Green Unity List 5; opposition: Liberal Party 43, Conservative Party 17, Danish People's Party 13, Center Democratic Party 8, Christian People's Party 4, Progress Party 4; seats by party as of 1 January 2001: government coalition parties - Social Democrats 63, Social Liberals 7; pro-government parties - Socialist People's Party 13, Unity List 5; opposition - Liberals 42, Conservatives 16, Danish People's Party 13, Center Democrats 8, Christian People's Party 4, Progress Party 4 (now named Freedom 2000); does not include the 4 overseas seats |
unicameral National Assembly
note: fledgling parliament; a transitional 245-member National Assembly began to meet on 13 August 2000 in the town of Arta, Djibouti and is now based in Mogadishu |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
76.72 years male: 74.12 years female: 79.47 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 47.34 years
male: 45.67 years female: 49.05 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 37.8% male: 49.7% female: 25.8% (2001 est.) |
Location | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany (Jutland); also includes two major islands (Sjaeland and Fyn) | Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, east of Ethiopia |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 200 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
342 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,073,489 GRT/8,027,002 DWT ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 128, chemical tanker 27, container 76, liquefied gas 26, livestock carrier 6, petroleum tanker 22, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 23, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Finland 1 (2000 est.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home Guard | A Somali National Army was attempted under the interim government; numerous factions and clans maintain independent militias, and the Somaliland and Puntland regional governments maintain their own security and police forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2.47 billion (FY99) | $17.1 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY99) | 0.9% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,292,619 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,942,244 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,106,094 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,072,689 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
29,212 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June is generally viewed as the National Day | Foundation of the Somali Republic, 1 July (1960); note - 26 June (1960) in Somaliland |
Nationality | noun:
Dane(s) adjective: Danish |
noun: Somali(s)
adjective: Somali |
Natural hazards | flooding is a threat in some areas of the country (e.g., parts of Jutland, along the southern coast of the island of Lolland) that are protected from the sea by a system of dikes | recurring droughts; frequent dust storms over eastern plains in summer; floods during rainy season |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, stone, gravel and sand | uranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt, natural gas, likely oil reserves |
Net migration rate | 1.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 110 km; petroleum products 578 km; natural gas 700 km | crude oil 15 km |
Political parties and leaders | Center Democratic Party [Mimi JAKOBSEN]; Christian People's Party [Jann SJURSEN]; Conservative Party (sometimes known as Conservative People's Party) [Bendt BENDTSEN]; Danish People's Party [Pia KJAERSGAARD]; Liberal Party [Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN]; Progress Party (now named Freedom 2000) [Kim BEHNKE]; Social Democratic Party [Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN]; Social Liberal Party (sometimes called the Radical Left) [Marianne JELVED, leader; Johannes LEBECH, chairman]; Socialist People's Party [Holger K. NIELSEN]; Red-Green Unity List (bloc includes Left Socialist Party, Communist Party of Denmark, Socialist Workers' Party) [collective leadership] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | numerous clan and subclan factions are currently vying for power |
Population | 5,352,815 (July 2001 est.) | 8,025,190
note: this estimate was derived from an official census taken in 1975 by the Somali Government; population counting in Somalia is complicated by the large number of nomads and by refugee movements in response to famine and clan warfare (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.3% (2001 est.) | 3.43% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Abenra, Alborg, Arhus, Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Kolding, Odense, Roenne (Bornholm), Vejle | Boosaaso, Berbera, Chisimayu (Kismaayo), Merca, Mogadishu |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 0, FM 11, shortwave 1 in Mogadishu; 1 FM in Puntland, 1 FM in Somaliland (2001) |
Radios | 6.02 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
2,859 km (508 km privately owned and operated) standard gauge: 2,859 km 1.435-m gauge (600 km electrified; 760 km double track) (1998) |
0 km |
Religions | Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, Muslims 2% | Sunni Muslim |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
excellent telephone and telegraph services domestic: buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay form trunk network, 4 cellular mobile communications systems international: 18 submarine fiber-optic cables linking Denmark with Norway, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, UK, Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Canada; satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 10 Eutelsat, 1 Orion, 1 Inmarsat (Blaavand-Atlantic-East); note - the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) share the Danish earth station and the Eik, Norway, station for worldwide Inmarsat access (1997) |
general assessment: the public telecommunications system was almost completely destroyed or dismantled by the civil war factions; private wireless companies offer service in most major cities and charge the lowest international rates on the continent
domestic: local cellular telephone systems have been established in Mogadishu and in several other population centers international: international connections are available from Mogadishu by satellite |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4.785 million (1997) | 15,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,444,016 (1997) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998) | 4
note: two in Mogadishu; two in Hargeisa (2001) |
Terrain | low and flat to gently rolling plains | mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north |
Total fertility rate | 1.73 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.98 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.3% (2000) | NA% |
Waterways | 417 km | none |