Africa · Eastern Africa
Somalia
Somalia covers about 472,000 km² (182,000 mi²), the 53rd largest of the 246 places listed here. That is close to Turkmenistan, at about 471,000 km².
- 472,000km²Area, main territory
- 11.0 millionPopulation
- 15.4In Belgiums
200 km
- Somalia
Facts
| Area, main territory | 472,000 km²182,000 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 638,000 km²Wikidata · 26% above our measure |
| In Belgiums | 15.4 |
| Capital | Mogadishu |
| Population | 11.0 millionWikidata, 2017 |
| Density | 23 people per km² |
| Latitude range | 2°S to 12°N |
| In other languages | Somalie Français · Somália Português · ソマリア 日本語 · 索马里 中文 · 소말리아 한국어 |
| Continent | Africa#24 of 54 countries by area |
What the numbers say about Somalia
- Russia, the largest place listed, is 36.0× the size of Somalia.
- Somalia ranks 52nd of 239 by area but only 82nd of 237 by population: it holds fewer people than its size suggests.
- At 23 people per km², Somalia is the 144th most densely populated of the 185 places over 1,000 km²; the median is 72 per km².
- Somalia lies at 5°N, close to the equator, where a standard web map (Web Mercator) is nearly true to size: it inflates area by only about 1.0×.
- Laid out flat, Somalia's main territory stretches about 1,520 km north to south and 1,150 km east to west.
- Our measured 472,000 km² is 26% below Wikidata's official figure of 638,000 km². The official figure includes Somaliland, which Natural Earth draws as a separate place; together they measure 639,000 km².
How Somalia measures up
Somalia holds 1.6% of the land area and 0.8% of the people of the 54 countries listed for Africa. In Eastern Africa it is the 8th largest of 17.
| Where it ranks | Figure | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 472,000 km² | 52nd of 239 |
| Population | 11.0 million | 82nd of 237 |
| Density | 23 per km² | 144th of 185 |
| Farthest north | 4.7°N | 160th of 212 |
| Compared with | Its area | Somalia is |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 30,700 km² | 15.4× its size |
| United Kingdom | 244,000 km² | 1.94× its size |
| Germany | 358,000 km² | 1.32× its size |
| Japan | 374,000 km² | 1.26× its size |
| France | 548,000 km² | 0.86× its size |
| India | 3,151,000 km² | 0.15× its size |
| Brazil | 8,473,000 km² | 0.06× its size |
| United States | 9,447,000 km² | 0.05× its size |
| Russia | 16,980,000 km² | 0.03× its size |
Where Somalia sits
- Somalia's centre lies at 4.7°N, 45.7°E, in the northern and eastern hemispheres, about 530 km from the equator.
- It straddles the equator, spanning 2°S to 12°N.
Closest neighbours, by distance between centres
On the same latitude, elsewhere in the world
If Somalia had other densities
- At Bangladesh's density of 1,252 people per km², Somalia would have 590.9 million people. It has 11.0 million.
- At Canada's density of 3.7 people per km², Somalia would have 1.8 million people. It has 11.0 million.
- At the median density of the places listed, 72 per km², it would have 34.1 million.
About the same size as
Largest in Africa
Compare Somalia
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Sources and method
- Outline
- Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
- Boundary
- De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth.
- Area
- Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outline, shown rounded
- Official figures
- Area, population and capital from Wikidata (CC0), fetched 2026-11-11
- Population
- Wikidata, 2017; covers the whole country, overseas territory included
- Data built
- 2026-11-11