Somali people

Somali people
Soomaalida
𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖
سٝوماليداَ
Traditional area inhabited by the Somali ethnic group
Total population
25.8 million[1]
Regions with significant populations
Horn of Africa
 Somalia[a]17,597,511 (2022)[2]
 Ethiopia4,581,793 (2007)[3]
 Kenya2,780,502 (2019)[4]
 Djibouti534,000 (2017)[5]
 Yemen500,000 (2014)[6]
 United States164,723 (2022)[7]
 Libya112,000 (2020)[8]
 United Kingdom109,000 (2018)[9]
 United Arab Emirates101,000[10]
 Oman80,000[11]
 Sweden66,369[12][13]
 Canada62,550[14]
 Tanzania60,000[15]
 Norway43,196[16]
 Uganda41,515[17]
 South Africa27,000–40,000[18]
 Netherlands39,737[19]
 Germany38,675[20]
 Saudi Arabia34,000–67,500[21][22]
 Finland24,647[23]
 Egypt22,709[24]
 Denmark21,210[25]
 Australia18,401[26]
 Italy8,228[27]
 Austria7,101[28]
  Switzerland7,025[29]
 Turkey5,518[30]
Other countries
 Zambia3,000–4,000[31][32]
 Belgium2,627[33]
 Eritrea2,604[34]
 France2,000–3,000[35]
 Pakistan2,500[36]
 ASEAN1,857[37][38]
 New Zealand1,617[39]
 Ireland1,495[40]
Languages
Somali
Religion
Islam (Sunni)
Related ethnic groups
AfarSahoOromoRendilleCushites[41]
A Somali man in a traditional Koofiyad

The Somali people (Somali: Soomaalida, Osmanya: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖, Wadaad: سٝوماليداَ‎) are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa[42][43] who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The East Cushitic Somali language is the shared mother tongue of ethnic Somalis, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family, and they are predominantly Sunni Muslim.[44][45] Forming one of the largest ethnic groups on the continent, they cover one of the most expansive landmasses by a single ethnic group in Africa.[46]

According to most scholars, the ancient Land of Punt and its native inhabitants formed part of the ethnogenesis of the Somali people. This ancient historical kingdom is where a great portion of their cultural traditions and ancestry are said to derive from.[47][48][49][50] Somalis share many historical and cultural traits with other Cushitic peoples, especially with Lowland East Cushitic people, specifically the Afar and the Saho.[51]

Ethnic Somalis are principally concentrated in Somalia (around 17.6 million),[52] Somaliland (5.7 million),[53] Ethiopia (4.6 million),[3] Kenya (2.8 million),[4] and Djibouti (534,000).[54] Somali diasporas are also found in parts of the Middle East, North America, Western Europe, African Great Lakes region, Southern Africa and Oceania.

  1. ^ "Somali, worldwide distribution". Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  2. ^ "United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2022). World Population Prospects 2022, Online Edition". population.un.org. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Table 2.2 Percentage distribution of major ethnic groups: 2007" (PDF). Summary and Statistical Report of the 2007 Population and Housing Census Results. Population Census Commission. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b "2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume IV: Distribution of Population by Socio-Economic Characteristics". Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. December 2019. p. 423. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  5. ^ [1] – Joshuaproject.net
  6. ^ Gramer, Robbie (17 March 2017). "Apache Helicopter Guns Down Boat Full of Somali Refugees Fleeing Yemen". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  7. ^ Bureau, U.S. Census. "American Community Survey – 1-Year Estimates – Table B04006". data.census.gov.
  8. ^ "Migration Policy Institute tabulation of data from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2019), Trends in International Migrant Stock: Migrants by Destination and Origin (United Nations database, POP/DB/MIG/Stock/Rev.2019)". Archived from the original on 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Table 1.3: Overseas-born population in the United Kingdom, excluding some residents in communal establishments, by sex, by country of birth, January 2018 to December 2018". Office for National Statistics. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2020. Figure given is the central estimate. See the source for 95% confidence intervals.
  10. ^ "Ethnologue United Arab Emirates". Ethnologue. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  11. ^ "Ethnologue Oman". Ethnologue. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  12. ^ "Statistics Sweden – Foreign-born and born in Sweden".
  13. ^ Kleist, N. (2018). Somali Diaspora Groups in Sweden. Delmi.
  14. ^ "Census Profile, 2016 Census – Canada [Country] and Canada [Country]". 8 February 2017.
  15. ^ PeopleGroups.org. "PeopleGroups.org – Somali of Tanzania". peoplegroups.org. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  16. ^ "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents".
  17. ^ "Iazzolino, G. (2014). A safe haven for Somalis in Uganda?. Rift Valley Institute briefing paper, Nairobi" (PDF).[dead link]
  18. ^ Jinnah, Zaheera. "Making Home in a Hostile Land: Understanding Somali Identity, Integration, Livelihood and Risks in Johannesburg" (PDF). J Sociology Soc Anth, 1 (1–2): 91–99 (2010). KRE Publishers. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  19. ^ "Population; sex, age, origin and generation, 1 January". CBS StatLine. Statistics Netherlands.
  20. ^ "Anzahl der Ausländer in Deutschland nach Herkunftsland". Statista.
  21. ^ "Ethnologue Saudi Arabia". Ethnologue. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  22. ^ PeopleGroups.org. "PeopleGroups.org – Somali of Saudi Arabia". peoplegroups.org. Retrieved 18 December 2018.[permanent dead link]
  23. ^ "Statistics Finland". stat.fi.
  24. ^ "United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2015). Trends in International Migrant Stock: Migrants by Destination and Origin".
  25. ^ "StatBank Denmark". statbank.dk.
  26. ^ "Table 5. Ancestry by State and Territory of Usual Residence, Count of persons – 2016(a)(b)". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  27. ^ "Statistiche demografiche ISTAT". istat.it.
  28. ^ "Bevölkerung zu Jahresbeginn 2002–2021 nach detaillierter Staatsangehörigke". Statistik Austria. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  29. ^ "Federal Statistical Office". Archived from the original on 17 April 2017.
  30. ^ UNHCR (1 August 2018). "Turkey Fact Sheet". unhcr.org.
  31. ^ "Somalis in Zambia seek better leadership". www.hiiraan.com. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  32. ^ "Zambia : Somali Community in Zambia donate 35 trucks for garbage collection". LusakaTimes.com. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  33. ^ Hertogen, J. "Inwoners van vreemde afkomst in België".
  34. ^ UNHCR (1 August 2018). "Eritrea Fact Sheet". Unhcr.
  35. ^ Charmarkeh, Houssein (2013). "Social Media Usage, Tahriib (Migration), and Settlement among Somali Refugees in France". Refuge. 29 (1): 43–52. doi:10.25071/1920-7336.37505.
  36. ^ Fakhr, Alhan (15 July 2012). "Insecure once again". Daily Jang. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  37. ^ UNHCR (1 August 2015). "Malaysia Fact Sheet". Unhcr.
  38. ^ UNHCR (1 February 2016). "Indonesia Fact Sheet". Unhcr.
  39. ^ "Ethnic group profiles". stats.govt.nz.
  40. ^ "Population Usually Resident and Present in the State who Speak a Language other than English or Irish at Home 2011 to 2016 by Birthplace, Language Spoken, Age Group and CensusYear – StatBank – data and statistics". www.cso.ie. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  41. ^ Joireman, Sandra F. (1997). Institutional Change in the Horn of Africa: The Allocation of Property Rights and Implications for Development. Universal-Publishers. p. 1. ISBN 978-1581120004.
  42. ^ Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World. Elsevier. 6 April 2010. ISBN 978-0-08-087775-4. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  43. ^ "Somalia". World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  44. ^ "Somali-people". Britannica. 23 September 2023.
  45. ^ Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi, Culture and Customs of Somalia, (Greenwood Press: 2001), p.1
  46. ^ The Collapse of the Somali State: The Impact of the Colonial Legacy by A.M. Issa-Salwe (Page 1)
  47. ^ Egypt: 3000 Years of Civilization Brought to Life By Christine El Mahdy
  48. ^ Ancient perspectives on Egypt By Roger Matthews, Cornelia Roemer, University College, London.
  49. ^ Africa's legacies of urbanization: unfolding saga of a continent By Stefan Goodwin
  50. ^ Civilizations: Culture, Ambition, and the Transformation of Nature By Felipe Armesto Fernandez
  51. ^ Peoples of the Horn of Africa: Somali, Afar and Saho by I. M. Lewis
  52. ^ "Population, total - Somalia". World Bank. 2022.
  53. ^ "Republic of Somaliland – Country Profile 2021" (PDF). March 2021.
  54. ^ [2] – Ethnologue.com


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