Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (Portuguese: República de Angola, pronounced:;[5] Kikongo, Kimbundu, Umbundu: Repubilika ya Ngola), is a country in Southern Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital citySony PCG-71313M battery. The exclave province of Cabinda has borders with the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Portuguese were present in some—mostly coastal—points of the territory of what is now Angola, from the 16th to the 19th century, interacting in diverse ways with the peoples that lived there. In the 19th century they slowly and hesitantly began to establish themselves in the interiorSony PCG-71212M battery. Angola as a Portuguese colony encompassing the present territory was not established before the end of the 19th century, and "effective occupation", as required by the Berlin Conference (1884) was achieved only by the 1920s. Independence was achieved in 1975, after a protracted liberation war. After independence, Angola was the scene of an intense civil war from 1975 to 2002Sony PCG-71311M battery. The country has vast mineral and petroleum reserves, and its economy has on average grown at a two-digit pace since the 1990s, especially since the end of the civil war. In spite of this, standards of living remain low for the majority of the population, and life expectancy and infant mortality rates in Angola are among the worst-ranked in the world.[6] Angola is considered to be economically disparate, with the majority of the nation's wealth concentrated in a disproportionately small sector of the populationSony PCG-71213M battery.

Angola is a member state of the African Union, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, the Latin Union and the Southern African Development Community.

The name "Angola" comes from the Portuguese colonial name Reino de Angola, appearing as early as Dias de Novais's 1571 charter.[7] The toponym was derived by the Portuguese from the title ngola held by the kings of NdongoSony PCG-61211M battery. Ndongo was a kingdom in the highlands between the Kwanza and Lukala Rivers nominally tributary to the king of Kongo but which was seeking greater independence during the 16th century.

Main article: History of Angola

[edit]Early migrations and political units

Khoisan hunter-gatherers are the earliest known modern human inhabitants of the area. They were largely absorbed and/or replaced by Bantu peoples during the Bantu migrations, though small numbers remain in parts of southern Angola to the present daySony VAIO VPCF24Q1E battery. The Bantu came from the north, probably from somewhere near the present-day Republic of Cameroon. When they reached what is now Angola, they encountered the Khoisan, Bushmen and other groups considerably less technologically advanced than themselves, whom they easily dominated with their superior knowledge of metal-working, ceramics and agricultureSony VAIO VPCF13M1E/H battery. The establishment of the Bantu took many centuries and gave rise to various groups who took on different ethnic characteristics.

During this period of time, the Bantu established a number of political units ("kingdoms", "empires") in most parts of what today is Angola. The best known of these is the Kingdom of the Kongo that had its centre in the northwest of contemporary AngolaSony VAIO VPCF12Z1E/BI battery, but included important regions in the west of present day Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of Congo as well as in southern Gabon. It established trade routes with other trading cities and civilizations up and down the coast of southwestern and West Africa and even with the Great Zimbabwe Mutapa Empire, but engaged in little or no transoceanic trade.[8]

Portuguese presence on the coastSony VAIO VPCF12S1E/B battery

View from Ilha de Luanda to the bay of Luanda, Angola's capital city and economic and commercial hub, 2008.

Main articles: Colonial history of Angola and Angola (Portugal)

The geographical areas now designated as Angola entered into contact with the Portuguese in the late 15th century, concretely in 1483, when Portugal established relations with the Kongo State, which stretched from modern Gabon in the north to the Kwanza River in the southSony VAIO VPCF13Z8E/BI battery. In this context, they established a small trade post at the port of Mpinda, in Soyo. The Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais founded Luanda in 1575 as "São Paulo de Loanda", with a hundred families of settlers and four hundred soldiers. Benguela, a Portuguese fort from 1587 which became a town in 1617, was another important early settlement they founded and ruledSony VAIO VPCF13Z8E battery. The Portuguese would establish several settlements, forts and trading posts along the coastal strip of current-day Angola, which relied on slave trade, commerce in raw materials, and exchange of goods for survival. The African slave trade provided a large number of black slaves to Europeans and their African agents. For example, in what is now Angola, the Imbangala economy was heavily focused on the slave tradeSony VAIO VPCF13M1E/B battery.

Queen Nzinga in peace negotiations with the Portuguese governor in Luanda, 1657.

European traders would export manufactured goods to the coast of Africa where they would be exchanged for slaves. Within the Portuguese Empire, most black African slaves were traded to Portuguese merchants who bought them to sell as cheap labour for use on Brazilian agricultural plantations. This trade would last until the first half of the 19th centurySony VAIO VPCF1318E/H battery. According to John Iliffe, "Portuguese records of Angola from the 16th century show that a great famine occurred on average every seventy years; accompanied by epidemic disease, it might kill one-third or one-half of the population, destroying the demographic growth of a generation and forcing colonists back into the river valleys".[11]

The Portuguese gradually took control of the coastal strip during the 16th century by a series of treaties and warsSony VAIO VPCF13J0E/H battery, forming the Portuguese colony of Angola. Taking advantage of the Portuguese Restoration War, the Dutch occupied Luanda from 1641 to 1648, where they allied with local peoples, consolidating their colonial rule against the remaining Portuguese resistance. In 1648, a fleet under the command of Salvador de Sá retook Luanda for Portugal and initiated a conquest of the lost territoriesSony VAIO VPCF13E8E battery, which restored Portugal to its former possessions by 1650. Treaties regulated relations with Kongo in 1649 and Njinga's Kingdom of Matamba and Ndongo in 1656. The conquest of Pungo Andongo in 1671 was the last major Portuguese expansion from Luanda outwards, as attempts to invade Kongo in 1670 and Matamba in 1681 failed. Portugal also expanded its territory behind Sony VAIO VPCF13E4E batterythe colony of Benguela to some extent, but until the 19th century the inroads from Luanda and Benguela were very limited, and Portugal had neither the intention nor the means to carry out a large scale territorial occupation and colonization.

Delimitation and occupation of Angola

Portuguese troops heading for Angola, during World War I.

The process resulted in few gains until the 1880s. Development of the hinterland began after the Berlin Conference in 1885 fixed the colony's borders, and British and Portuguese investment fostered mining, railways, and agriculture based on various forced labour systemsSony VAIO VPCF12M1E/H battery. Full Portuguese administrative control of the hinterland did not occur until the beginning of the 20th century. In 1951, the colony was designated as an overseas province, called Overseas Province of Angola. Portugal had a presence in Angola for nearly five hundred years, and the population's initial reaction to calls for independence was scarce. More overtly political organisations first appeared in the 1950s and began to make organised demands for self-determination, Sony VAIO VPCF12F4E/H battery especially in international forums such as the Non-Aligned Movement.

The Portuguese regime, meanwhile, refused to accede to the demands for independence, provoking an armed conflict that started in 1961 when black guerrillas attacked both white and black civilians in cross-border operations in northeastern Angola. The war came to be known as the Colonial War. In this struggle, the principal protagonists were the MPLA Sony VAIO VPCF12E1E/H battery (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola), founded in 1956, the FNLA (National Front for the Liberation of Angola), which appeared in 1961, and UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola), founded in 1966. After many years of conflict that lead to the weakening of all the insurgent parties, Angola gained its independence on 11 November 1975, after the 1974 coup d'état in Lisbon, Portugal, which overthrew the Portuguese regime headed by Marcelo CaetanoSony VAIO VPCF11Z1E/BI battery.

Portugal's new revolutionary leaders began in 1974 a process of political change at home and accepted its former colonies' independence abroad. In Angola, a fight for the conquest of power broke out immediately between the three nationalist movements. The events prompted a mass exodus of Portuguese citizens, creating up to 300 000 destitute Portuguese refugeesSony VAIO VPCF24M1E battery—the retornados.[12] The new Portuguese government tried to mediate an understanding between the three competing movements, and succeeded in agreeing, on paper, to form a common government, but in the end none of them respected the commitments made, and the issue was resolved by military force.

Independence and civil war

Main articles: Angolan War of Independence and Angolan Civil War

Further information: 1980s in Angola and 1990s in AngolaSony VAIO VPCF23S1E battery

After independence in November 1975, Angola faced a devastating civil war which lasted several decades and claimed millions of lives and produced many refugees.[13] Following negotiations held in Portugal, itself under severe social and political turmoil and uncertainty due to the April 1974 revolution, Angola's three main guerrilla groups agreed to establish a transitional government in January 1975Sony VAIO VPCF231S1E battery.

Within two months, however, the FNLA, MPLA and UNITA were fighting each other and the country was well on its way to being divided into zones controlled by rival armed political groups. The superpowers were quickly drawn into the conflict, which became a flash point for the Cold War. The United States, Zaire (today's DRC) and South Africa supported the FNLA and UNITA.[14][15] The Soviet Union and Cuba supported the MPLASony VAIO VPCF23Q1E battery.

In the beginning of the Civil War, most of the half million Portuguese that lived in Angola and accounted for the majority of the skilled work in the public administration, agriculture, industries and trade fled the country leaving its once prosperous and growing economy to a state of bankruptcy. Sony VAIO VPCF23M1E battery

During most of this period, 1975–1990, the MPLA organised and maintained a socialist regime. Despite the ongoing civil war, the model functioned to a certain degree, although it was foreseeable that it would eventually fail in face of UNITA opposition.[17]

Ceasefire with UNITA

Main article: 2000s in Angola

On 22 March 2002, after the MPLA regime came to terms with the USA, Jonas Savimbi, the leader of UNITA, was killed in combat with government troopsSony VAIO VPCF22S8E battery. A cease-fire was reached by the two factions shortly afterwards.[18] UNITA gave up its armed wing and assumed the role of major opposition party, although in the knowledge that in the present regime a legitimate democratic election is impossible. Although the political situation of the country began to stabilize, President Dos Santos has so far refused to institute regular democratic processesSony VAIO VPCF22S1E battery, UNITA head officials being given senior positions in top level companies. Among Angola's major problems are a serious humanitarian crisis (a result of the prolonged war), the abundance of minefields, the continuation of the political, and to a much lesser degree, military activities in favour of the independence of the northern exclave of CabindaSony VAIO VPCF22M1E battery, carried out in the context of the protracted Cabinda Conflict by the Frente para a Libertação do Enclave de Cabinda, but most of all, the dilapidation of the country's rich mineral resources by the regime. While most of the internally displaced have now settled around the capital, in the so-called "Musseques", the general situation for Angolans remains desperate. Sony VAIO VPCF22L1E battery

Embassy of Angola in Washington, D.C.

Main article: Politics of Angola

See also: List of political parties in Angola, Foreign relations of Angola, and List of diplomatic missions of Angola

Angola's motto is Virtus Unita Fortior, a Latin phrase meaning "Virtue is stronger when united". The executive branch of the government is composed of the President, the Vice-Presidents and the Council of Ministers. For decades, political power has been concentrated in the PresidencySony VAIO VPCF22J1E battery.

Governors of the 18 provinces are appointed by the president. The Constitutional Law of 1992 establishes the broad outlines of government structure and delineates the rights and duties of citizens. The legal system is based on Portuguese and customary law but is weak and fragmented, and courts operate in only 12 of more than 140 municipalities. A Supreme Court serves as the appellate tribunalSony VAIO VPCF11S1E/B battery; a Constitutional Court with powers of judicial review has not been constituted until 2010, despite statutory authorization.

After the end of the Civil War the regime came under pressure from within as well as from the international environment, to become more democratic and less authoritarian. Its reaction was to operate a number of changes without substantially changing its character. Sony VAIO VPCF11M1E/H battery

Parliamentary elections held on 5 September 2008, announced MPLA as the winning party with 81% of votes. The closest opposition party was UNITA with 10%. These elections were the first since 1992 and were described as only partly free but certainly not as fair.[21] A White Book on the elections in 2008 lists all irregularities surrounding the Parliamentary elections of 2008. Sony VAIO VPCF11D4E battery

Angola scored poorly on the 2008 Ibrahim Index of African Governance. It was ranked 44 from 48 sub-Saharan African countries, scoring particularly badly in the areas of Participation and Human Rights, Sustainable Economic Opportunity and Human Development. The Ibrahim Index uses a number of different variables to compile its list which reflects the state of governance in Africa. Sony VAIO VPCF11C5E battery

The new constitution, adopted in 2010, further sharpened the authoritarian character of the regime. In the future, there will be no presidential elections: the president and the vice-president of the political party which comes out strongest in the parliamentary elections become automatically president and vice-president of Angola. Sony VAIO VPCF11C4E/B battery Through a variety of mechanisms, the state president controls all the other organs of the state, so that the principle of the division of power is not maintained. As a consequence, Angola has no longer a presidential system, in the sense of the systems existing e.g. in the USA or in France. In terms of the classifications used in constitutional lawSony VAIO PCG-31114V battery, its regime falls now in the same category as the "caesarist" monarchy of Napoléon Bonaparte in France, António de Oliveira Salazar's "corporatist" system established by the Portuguese constitution of 1933, the Brazilian military dictatorship based on the constitution of 1967/69, or several authoritarian regimes in contemporary Africa.[25]

Tazua Falls, Rio Cuango. One of Angola's richest sources of gem diamondsSony VAIO PCG-31113V battery.

Main article: Angolan Armed Forces

The Angolan Armed Forces (AAF) is headed by a Chief of Staff who reports to the Minister of Defense. There are three divisions—the Army (Exército), Navy (Marinha de Guerra, MGA), and National Air Force (Força Aérea Nacional, FAN). Total manpower is about 110,000.[citation needed] Its equipment includes Russian-manufactured fighters, bombersSony VAIO PCG-31112V battery, and transport planes. There are also Brazilian-made EMB-312 Tucano for training role, Czech-made L-39 for training and bombing role, Czech Zlin for training role and a variety of western made aircraft such as C-212\Aviocar, Sud Aviation Alouette III, etc. A small number of AAF personnel are stationed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa) and the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) Sony VAIO PCG-31111V battery.

The National Police departments are: Public Order, Criminal Investigation, Traffic and Transport, Investigation and Inspection of Economic Activities, Taxation and Frontier Supervision, Riot Police and the Rapid Intervention Police. The National Police are in the process of standing up an air wing, which will provide helicopter support for police operationsSony VAIO PCG-31114M battery. The National Police are also developing their criminal investigation and forensic capabilities. The National Police has an estimated 6,000 patrol officers, 2,500 Taxation and Frontier Supervision officers, 182 criminal investigators and 100 financial crimes detectives and around 90 Economic Activity Inspectors.

The National Police have implemented a modernization and development plan to increase the capabilities and efficiency of the total forceSony VAIO PCG-31113M battery. In addition to administrative reorganization; modernization projects include procurement of new vehicles, aircraft and equipment, construction of new police stations and forensic laboratories, restructured training programs and the replacement of AKM rifles with 9 mm UZIs for police officers in urban areasSony VAIO PCG-31112M battery.

Exclave of Cabinda

Main articles: Cabinda and Republic of Cabinda

With an area of approximately 7,283 square kilometres (2,812 sq mi), the Northern Angolan province of Cabinda is unique in being separated from the rest of the country by a strip, some 60 kilometres (37 mi) wide, of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) along the lower Congo river. Cabinda borders the Congo Republic to the north and north-northeast and the DRC to the east and south. The town of Cabinda is the chief population centerSony VAIO PCG-31111M battery.

According to a 1995 census, Cabinda had an estimated population of 600,000, approximately 400,000 of whom live in neighboring countries. Population estimates are, however, highly unreliable. Consisting largely of tropical forest, Cabinda produces hardwoods, coffee, cocoa, crude rubber and palm oil. The product for which it is best knownSony VAIO PCG-41111V battery, however, is its oil, which has given it the nickname, "the Kuwait of Africa". Cabinda's petroleum production from its considerable offshore reserves now accounts for more than half of Angola's output.[27] Most of the oil along its coast was discovered under Portuguese rule by the Cabinda Gulf Oil Company (CABGOC) from 1968 onwardsSony VAIO PCG-41112M battery.

Ever since Portugal handed over sovereignty of its former overseas province of Angola to the local independence groups (MPLA, UNITA, and FNLA), the territory of Cabinda has been a focus of separatist guerrilla actions opposing the Government of Angola (which has employed its military forces, the FAA—Forças Armadas Angolanas) and Cabindan separatistsSony VAIO PCG-41111M battery. The Cabindan separatists, FLEC-FAC, announced a virtual Federal Republic of Cabinda under the Presidency of N'Zita Henriques Tiago. One of the characteristics of the Cabindan independence movement is its constant fragmentation, into smaller and smaller factions.

Avenida 4 de Fevereiro with the bay of Luanda.

Main article: Transport in AngolaSONY VAIO PCG-21214V battery

Transport in Angola consists of:

Three separate railway systems totalling 2,761 km (1,715 mi)

76,626 km (47,613 mi) of highway of which 19,156 km (11,903 mi) is paved

1,295 navigable inland waterways

Eight major sea ports

243 airports, of which 32 are paved.

Travel on highways outside of towns and cities in Angola (and in some cases within) is often not best advised for those without four-by-four vehicles. While a reasonable road infrastructure has existed within Angola, time and the war have taken their toll on the road surfaces, leaving many severely potholedSONY VAIO PCG-21213V battery, littered with broken asphalt. In many areas drivers have established alternate tracks to avoid the worst parts of the surface, although careful attention must be paid to the presence or absence of landmine warning markers by the side of the road. The Angolan government has contracted the restoration of many of the country's roads. The road between Lubango and NamibeSONY VAIO PCG-21212V battery, for example, was completed recently with funding from the European Union, and is comparable to many European main routes. Progress to complete the road infrastructure is likely to take some decades, but substantial efforts are already being made in the right directions.

Coatinha beach in Benguela, Angola

Miradouro da Lua (watchpoint of the moon), situated at the coast 40 kilometers south of Luanda, AngolaSONY VAIO PCG-21212M battery

Main article: Geography of Angola

At 481,321 square miles (1,246,620 km2),[28] Angola is the world's twenty-third largest country (after Niger). It is comparable in size to Mali and is nearly twice the size of the US state of Texas, or five times the area of the United Kingdom. It lies mostly between latitudes 4° and 18°S, and longitudes 12° and 24°ESONY VAIO PCG-21211M battery.

Angola is bordered by Namibia to the south, Zambia to the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north-east, and the South Atlantic Ocean to the west. The exclave of Cabinda also borders the Republic of the Congo to the north. Angola's capital, Luanda, lies on the Atlantic coast in the northwest of the countrySONY VAIO PCG-51212M battery.

Main article: Climate of Angola

Angola's average temperature on the coast is 60 °F (16 °C) in the winter and 70 °F (21 °C) in the summer. It has two seasons; dry season (May to October) and hot rainy season (November to April).

Recently finished new development area in Luanda Sul, 2009

Main article: Economy of Angola

Angola has a rich subsoil heritage, from diamonds, oil, gold, copper, as well as a rich wildlife (dramatically impoverished during the civil war), forest, and fossilsSONY VAIO PCG-51211M battery. Since independence, oil and diamonds have been the most important economic resource. Smallholder and plantation agriculture have dramatically dropped because of the Angolan Civil War, but have begun to recover after 2002. The transformation industry that had come into existence in the late colonial period collapsed at independenceSONY VAIO PCG-51112M battery, because of the exodus of most of the ethnic Portuguese population, but has begun to reemerge (with updated technologies), partly because of the influx of new Portuguese entrepreneurs. Similar developments can be verified in the service sector.

Overall, Angola's economy has undergone a period of transformation in recent years, moving from the disarray caused by a quarter century of civil war to being the fastest growing SONY VAIO PCG-51111M batteryeconomy in Africa and one of the fastest in the world, with an average GDP growth of 20 percent between 2005 and 2007.[29] In the period 2001–2010, Angola had the world's highest annual average GDP growth, at 11.1 percent. In 2004, China's Eximbank approved a $2 billion line of credit to Angola. The loan is being used to rebuild Angola's infrastructure, and has also limited the influence of the International Monetary Fund in the country. SONY VAIO PCG-51111V battery

The Economist reported in 2008 that diamonds and oil make up 60 percent of Angola's economy, almost all of the country's revenue and are its dominant exports.[31] Growth is almost entirely driven by rising oil production which surpassed 1.4 million barrels per day (220,000 m3/d) in late 2005 and was expected to grow to 2 million barrels per day (320,000 m3/d) by 2007SONY VAIO PCG-81211V battery. Control of the oil industry is consolidated in Sonangol Group, a conglomerate which is owned by the Angolan government. In December 2006, Angola was admitted as a member of OPEC.[32] The economy grew 18% in 2005, 26% in 2006 and 17.6% in 2007. However, due to the global recession the economy contracted an estimated −0.3% in 2009. SONY VAIO PCG-81111V battery The security brought about by the 2002 peace settlement has led to the resettlement of 4 million displaced persons, thus resulting in large-scale increases in agriculture production.

Ovens to produce clay block bricks in Angola

Although the country's economy has developed very significantly since achieving political stability in 2002, mainly thanks to the fast-rising earnings of the oil sector, Angola faces huge social and economic problemsSONY VAIO PCG-81212M battery. These are in part a result of the almost continual state of conflict from 1961 onwards, although the highest level of destruction and socio-economic damage took place after the 1975 independence, during the long years of civil war. However, high poverty rates and blatant social inequality are chiefly the outcome of a combination of a persistent political authoritarianismSony VAIO PCG-81112M battery, of "neo-patrimonial" practices at all levels of the political, administrative, military, and economic apparatuses, and of a pervasive corruption.[34] The main beneficiary of this situation is a social segment constituted since 1975, but mainly during the last decades, around the political, administrative, economic, and military power holders, which has accumulated SONY VAIO PCG-71111M battery (and continues accumulating) enormous wealth.[35] "Secondary beneficiaries" are the middle strata which are about to become social classes. However, overall almost half the population has to be considered as poor, but in this respect there are dramatic differences between the countryside and the cities (where by now slightly more than 50% of the people live) SONY VAIO PCG-7192V battery.

Offshore platform on move to final destination to the oilfields off the Angola coast, June 2010

An inquiry carried out in 2008 by the Angolan Instituto Nacional de Estatística has it that in the rural areas roughly 58% must be classified as "poor", according to UN norms, but in the urban areas only 19%, while the overall rate is 37%.[36] In the cities, a majority of familiesSONY VAIO PCG-7191V battery, well beyond those officially classified as poor, have to adopt a variety of survival strategies.[37] At the same time, in urban areas social inequality is most evident, and assumes extreme forms in the capital, Luanda.[38] In the Human Development Index Angola constantly ranks in the bottom group.[39]

According to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative American think tank, oil production from Angola has increased so significantly that Angola now is China's biggest supplier of oil. SONY VAIO PCG-7196M battery Growing oil revenues have also created opportunities for corruption: according to a recent Human Rights Watch report, 32 billion US dollars disappeared from government accounts from 2007 to 2010.[41]

Before independence in 1975, Angola was a breadbasket of southern Africa and a major exporter of bananas, coffee and sisal, but three decades of civil war (1975–2002) destroyed the fertile countrysideSONY VAIO PCG-7195M battery, leaving it littered with landmines and driving millions into the cities. The country now depends on expensive food imports, mainly from South Africa and Portugal, while more than 90 percent of farming is done at family and subsistence level. Thousands of Angolan small-scale farmers are trapped in poverty.[42]

The enormous differences between the regions pose a serious structural problem in the Angolan economySONY VAIO PCG-7194M battery. This is best illustrated by the fact that about one third of the economic activities is concentrated in Luanda and the neighbouring Bengo province, while several areas of the interior are characterized by stagnation and even regression.[43]

One of the economic consequences of the social and regional disparities is a sharp increase in Angolan private investments abroadSONY VAIO PCG-7192M battery. The small fringe of Angolan society where most of the accumulation takes place seeks to spread its assets, for reasons of security and profit. For the time being, the biggest share of these investments is concentrated in Portugal where the Angolan presence (including that of the family of the state president) in banks as well as in the domais of energy, telecommunications, and mass media has become notable, as has the acquisition of vinyards and orchards as well as of touristic enterprises. SONY PCG-8113M battery

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Angola

Angola's population is estimated to be 18,498,000 (2009).[1] It is composed of Ovimbundu (language Umbundu) 37%, Ambundu (language Kimbundu) 25%, Bakongo 13%, and 32% other ethnic groups (including the Ovambo, the Ganguela and the Xindonga) as well as about 2% mestiços (mixed European and African) and 1% European[SONY PCG-8112M battery The Ambundu and Ovimbundu nations combined form a majority of the population, at 62%.[46] The population is forecast to grow to over 47 million people to 2060, nearly tripling the estimated 16 to 18 million in 2011.[47] The last official census was taken in 1970, and showed the total population as being 5.6 million.[48] The first post-independence census is to be held in 2013SONY PCG-7134M battery .

It is estimated that Angola was host to 12,100 refugees and 2,900 asylum seekers by the end of 2007. 11,400 of those refugees were originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo-Kinshasa) who arrived in the 1970s.[49] As of 2008 there were an estimated 400,000 DRC migrant workers,[50] at least 30,000 Portuguese, SONY PCG-7131M battery  and more than 20,000 Chinese living in Angola.[52] Since 2003, more than 400,000 Congolese migrants have been expelled from Angola.[53] Prior to independence in 1975, Angola had a community of approximately 350,000 Portuguese;[54] currently, there are just under 100,000 who are registered with the consulates, and increasing due to the debt crisis in Portugal. SONY PCG-7122M battery

[edit]Languages

Main article: Languages of Angola

The languages in Angola are those originally spoken by the different ethnic groups plus Portuguese due to the country being a former Portuguese colony. The indigenous languages with the largest usage are Umbundu, Kimbundu, and Kikongo, in that order. Portuguese is the official language of the countrySONY PCG-7121M battery.

Mastery of the official language in Angola is probably more extended than elsewhere in Africa, and this certainly applies to its use in everyday life. Moreover, and above all, the proportion of native (or near native) speakers of the language of the former colonizer, turned official after independence, is no doubt considerably higher than in any other African country. Population pyramid of Angola in 2012 from International FuturesSONY PCG-7113M battery

Street scene with children, April 2009

There are three intertwined historical reasons for this situation.

In the Portuguese “bridgeheads” Luanda and Benguela, which existed on the coast of what today is Angola since the 15th and 16th century, respectively, Portuguese was spoken not only by the Portuguese and their mestiço descendents, but—especially in and around Luanda—by a significant number of Africans, although these always remained native speakers of their local African languageSONY PCG-7112M battery.

Since the Portuguese conquest of the present territory of Angola, and especially since its “effective occupation” in the mid-1920s, schooling in Portuguese was slowly developed by the colonial state as well as by Catholic and Protestant missions. The rhythm of this expansion was considerably accelerated during the late colonial period, 1961–1974, so that by the end of the colonial period children all over the territory (with relatively few exceptions) had at least some access to the Portuguese language. SONY PCG-8Z3M battery

In the same late colonial period, the legal discrimination of the black population was abolished, and the state apparatus in fields like health, education, social work, and rural development was enlarged. This entailed a significant increase in jobs for Africans, under the condition that they spoke PortugueseSONY PCG-8Z2M battery.

As a consequence of all this, the African “lower middle class” which at that stage formed in Luanda and other cities began to often prevent their children from learning the local African language, in order to guarantee that they learned Portuguese as their native language. At the same time, the white and “mestiço” population, where some knowledge of African languages could previously often been foundSONY PCG-8Z1M battery , neglected this aspect more and more, to the point of frequently ignoring it totally. After independence, these tendencies continued, and were even strengthened, under the rule of the MPLA which has its main social roots exactly in those social segments where the mastery of Portuguese as well as the proportion of native Portuguese speakers was highest. This became a political side issueSONY PCG-8Y3M battery, as FNLA as well as UNITA, given their regional constituencies, came out in favour of a greater attention to the African languages, and as the FNLA favoured French over Portuguese.

The dynamics of the language situation, as described above, were additionally fostered by the massive migrations triggered by the Civil War. Ovimbundu, the most populous ethnic group and the most affected by the warSONY PCG-8Y2M battery, appeared in great numbers in urban areas outside their areas, especially in Luanda and surroundings. At the same time, a majority of the Bakongo who had fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the early 1960s, or of their children and grandchildren, returned to Angola, but mostly did not settle in their original "habitat", but in the cities—and again above all in LuandaSONY PCG-7Z1M battery. As a consequence, more than half the population is now living in the cities which, from the linguistic point of view, have become highly heterogeneous. This means, of course, that Portuguese as the overall language of communication is by now of paramount importance, and that the role of the African languages is steadily decreasing among the urban population—a trend which is beginning to spread into rural areas as wellSONY PCG-6W2M battery.

The exact numbers of those fluent in Portuguese or who speak Portuguese as a first language are unknown, although a census is expected to be carried out in 2013.[citation needed] Quite a number of voices demand the recognition of “Angolan Portuguese” as a specific variant, comparable to those spoken in Portugal or in Brazil. However, while there exists a certain number of idiomatic particularities in everyday PortugueseSONY PCG-5J5M battery , as spoken by Angolans, it remains to be seen whether or not the Angolan government comes to the conclusion that these particularities constitute a configuration that justifies the claim to be a new language variant.

Ethnic groups of Angola 1970

Main article: Religion in Angola

There are about 1000 mostly Christian religious communities in Angola.[57] While reliable statistics are nonexistent, estimates have it that more than half of the population are Roman CatholicsSONY PCG-5K2M battery, while about a quarter adhere to the Protestant churches introduced during the colonial period: the Congregationalists mainly among the Ovimbundu of the Central Highlands and the coastal region to its West, the Methodists concentrating on the Kimbundu speaking strip from Luanda to Malanje, the Baptists almost exclusively among the Bakongo of the Northwest (now massively present in Luanda as well) SONY PCG-5K1M batteryand dispersed Adventists, Reformed and Lutherans.[58] In Luanda and region there subsists a nucleus of the "syncretic" Tocoists and in the Northwest a sprinkling of Kimbanguism can be found, spreading from the Congo/Zaire. Since independence, hundreds of Pentecostal and similar communities have sprung up in the cities, where by now about 50% of the population is livingSONY PCG-5J4M battery; several of these communities/churches are of Brazilian origin. The Muslims, practically all of them immigrants from West African and other countries and belonging to the Sunnite branch, represent only about 1%; because of their diversity, they do not form a community. In 2011, according to the Islamic Community of Angola (Comunidade Islâmica de Angola, COIA) there were more than 80 mosques serving about 500,000 Muslims in Angola, and the number was growing. SONY PCG-5J1M battery

In a study assessing nations' levels of religious regulation and persecution with scores ranging from 0 to 10 where 0 represented low levels of regulation or persecution, Angola was scored 0.8 on Government Regulation of Religion, 4.0 on Social Regulation of Religion, 0 on Government Favoritism of Religion and 0 on Religious Persecution. SONY PCG-5G2M battery

Foreign missionaries were very active prior to independence in 1975, although since the beginning of the anti-colonial fight in 1961 the Portuguese colonial authorities expelled a series of Protestant missionaries and closed mission stations based on the belief that the missionaries were inciting pro-independence sentiments. Missionaries have been able to return to the country since the early 1990sSony VAIO PCG-8131M battery, although security conditions due to the civil war have prevented them until 2002 from restoring many of their former inland mission stations.[61]

The Roman Catholic and some major Protestant denominations mostly keep to themselves in contrast to the "New Churches" which actively proselytize. The Roman Catholic as well as some major Protestant denominations provide help for the poor in the form of crop seeds, farm animals, medical care and educationSony VAIO PCG-8152M battery.

Epidemics of cholera, malaria, rabies and African hemorrhagic fevers like Marburg hemorrhagic fever, are common diseases in several parts of the country. Many regions in this country have high incidence rates of tuberculosis and high HIV prevalence rates. Dengue, filariasis, leishmaniasis, and onchocerciasis (river blindness) Sony VAIO PCG-31311M batteryare other diseases carried by insects that also occur in the region. Angola has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world and one of the world's lowest life expectancies. A 2007 survey concluded that low and deficient niacin status was common in Angola.[65] Demographic and Health Surveys is currently conducting several surveys in Angola on malaria, domestic violence and more. Sony VAIO PCG-31111M battery

Children in an outdoor classroom in Bié, Angola

Training center in Luena, Moxico Province

Main article: Education in Angola

Although by law, education in Angola is compulsory and free for eight years, the government reports that a certain percentage of students are not attending school due to a lack of school buildings and teachers.[67] Students are often responsible for paying additional school-related expenses, including fees for books and supplies. Sony VAIO PCG-8112M battery

In 1999, the gross primary enrollment rate was 74 percent and in 1998, the most recent year for which data are available, the net primary enrollment rate was 61 percent.[67] Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. Sony VAIO PCG-7186M batteryThere continue to be significant disparities in enrollment between rural and urban areas. In 1995, 71.2 percent of children ages 7 to 14 years were attending school.[67] It is reported that higher percentages of boys attend school than girls.[67] During the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002), nearly half of all schools were reportedly looted and destroyed, leading to current problems with overcrowding. Sony VAIO PCG-7171M battery

The Ministry of Education hired 20,000 new teachers in 2005, and continued to implement teacher trainings.[67] Teachers tend to be underpaid, inadequately trained, and overworked (sometimes teaching two or three shifts a day).[67] Some teachers may also reportedly demand payment or bribes directly from their students. Sony VAIO PCG-9Z1M battery Other factors, such as the presence of landmines, lack of resources and identity papers, and poor health also prevent children from regularly attending school.[67] Although budgetary allocations for education were increased in 2004, the education system in Angola continues to be extremely under-funded. Sony VAIO PCG-5S1M battery

Literacy is quite low, with 67.4% of the population over the age of 15 able to read and write in Portuguese.[68] 82.9% of males and 54.2% of women are literate as of 2001.[69] Since independence from Portugal in 1975, a number of Angolan students continued to be admitted every year at high schools, polytechnical institutes, and universities in Portugal, Brazil and Cuba through bilateral agreements; in general, these students belong to the Angolan elitesSony VAIO PCG-5P1M battery.

Yombe-sculpture, 19th century

Main article: Culture of Angola

See also: Music of Angola and Angolan cuisine

Portugal has been present in Angola for 400 years, occupied the territory in the 19th and early 20th century, and ruled over it for about 50 years. As a consequence, both countries share cultural aspects: language (Portuguese) and main religion (Roman Catholic Christianity). Of course, the "substrate" of Angolan culture is African, mostly Bantu, while Portuguese culture has been importedSony VAIO PCG-5N2M battery. The diverse ethnic communities – the Ovimbundu, Ambundu, Bakongo, Chokwe, and other peoples – maintain to varying degrees their own cultural traits, traditions and languages, but in the cities, where slightly more than half of the population now lives, a mixed culture has been emerging since colonial times – in Luanda since its foundation in the 16th century. In this urban cultureSony VAIO PCG-3C2M battery, the Portuguese heritage has become more and more dominant. An African influence is evident in music and dance, and is moulding the way in which Portuguese is spoken, but is almost disappearing from the vocabulary. This process is well reflected in contemporary Angolan literature, especially in the works of Pepetela and Ana Paula Ribeiro TavaresSony VAIO PCG-8161M battery.

Leila Lopes, Miss Angola 2011, was crowned Miss Universe 2011 in Brazil on 12 September 2011 making her the first Angolan to win the pageant.

Benin (French: Bénin, formerly Dahomey), officially the Republic of Benin (French: République du Bénin), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, by Nigeria to the east and by Burkina Faso and Niger to the northSony VAIO PCG-8141M battery. A majority of the population live on its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin.[4] The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, but the seat of government is in Cotonou, the country's largest city. Benin covers an area of approximately 110,000 square kilometers (42,000 sq mi), with a population of approximately 9.05 million. Benin is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with substantial employment and income arising from subsistence farming. Sony VAIO PCG-3J1M battery

The official language of Benin is French. However, indigenous languages such as Fon and Yoruba are commonly spoken. The largest religious group in Benin is Roman Catholicism, followed closely by Islam, Vodun and Protestantism. Benin is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation ZoneSony VAIO PCG-3H1M battery, La Francophonie, the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, the African Petroleum Producers Association and the Niger Basin Authority.[6]

From the 17th to the 19th century, modern day Benin was ruled by the Kingdom of Dahomey. This region was referred to as the Slave Coast from as early as the 17th century due to the large number of slaves shipped to the New World during the Trans-Atlantic slave tradeSony VAIO PCG-3F1M battery. After slavery was abolished, France took over the country and renamed it French Dahomey. In 1960, Dahomey gained full independence from France, bringing in a democratic government for the next 12 years.[7]

A Marxist-Leninist state called the People's Republic of Benin existed between 1972 and 1990. Many sources state this regime led to repression and the collapse of the economy. The Republic of Benin was formed in 1991 which brought in multiparty electionsSony VAIO PCG-3C1M battery.

The Kingdom of Dahomey formed from a mixture of ethnic groups on the Abomey plain. Historians theorize that the insecurity caused by slave trading may have contributed to mass migrations of groups to modern day Abomey, including some Aja, a Gbe people who are believed to have founded the city.[10] Those Aja living in Abomey mingled with the local Fon peopleSony VAIO PCG-9Z2L battery, also a Gbe people, creating a new ethnic group known as "Dahomey".[11]

The Gbe peoples are said to be descendents of a number of migrants from Wyo. Gangnihessou (a member of an Aja dynasty that in the 16th century along with the Aja populace had come from Tado before settling and ruling separately in what is now Abomey, Allada, and Porto Novo) became the first ruler of the Dahomey Kingdom. Sony VAIO PCG-9Z1L batteryDahomey had a military culture aimed at securing and eventually expanding the borders of the small kingdom with its capital at modern-day Abomey.

The Dahomey Kingdom was known for its culture and traditions. Young boys were often apprenticed to older soldiers, and taught the kingdom's military customs until they were old enough to join the army. Sony VAIO PCG-9131L batteryDahomey was also famous for instituting an elite female soldier corps, called Ahosi or "our mothers" in the Fongbe language, and known by many Europeans as the Dahomean Amazons. This emphasis on military preparation and achievement earned Dahomey the nickname of "black Sparta" from European observers and 19th century explorers like Sir Richard Burton. Sony VAIO PCG-8161L battery

The kings of Dahomey sold their war captives into transatlantic slavery;[16] otherwise the captives would have been killed in a ceremony known as the Annual Customs. By about 1750, the King of Dahomey was earning an estimated £250,000 per year by selling Africans to the European slave-traders.[17] Though the leaders of Dahomey appeared initially to resist the slave tradeSony VAIO PCG-8152L battery, it flourished in the region of Dahomey for almost three hundred years (beginning in 1472 with a trade agreement with Portuguese merchants), leading to the area being named "the Slave Coast". Court protocols, which demanded that a portion of war captives from the kingdom's many battles be decapitated, decreased the number of enslaved people exported from the areaSony VAIO PCG-8141L battery. The number went from 20,000 per year at the beginning of the seventeenth century to 12,000 at the beginning of the 19th century.[citation needed] The decline was partly due to the banning[citation needed] of the trans-Atlantic slave trade by Britain and other countries. This decline continued until 1885, when the last Portuguese slave ship departed from the coast of the present-day Benin RepublicSony VAIO PCG-8131L battery.

In 1892, the French, led by Colonel Dodds, a Senegalese mulatto, invaded Dahomey.

By the middle of the nineteenth century, Dahomey started to lose its status as the regional power. This enabled the French to take over the area in 1892. In 1899, the French included the land called French Dahomey within the French West Africa colony. In 1958, France granted autonomy to the Republic of Dahomey, and full independence as of August 1, 1960Sony VAIO PCG-81312L battery. The president who led them to independence was Hubert Maga.

For the next twelve years, ethnic strife contributed to a period of turbulence. There were several coups and regime changes, with four figures dominating — Hubert Maga, Sourou Apithy, Justin Ahomadegbé and Emile Derlin Zinsou — the first three representing a different area and ethnicity of the countrySony VAIO PCG-81214L battery. These three agreed to form a presidential council after violence marred the 1970 elections.

On May 7, 1972, Maga turned over power to Ahomadegbe. On October 26, 1972, Lt. Col. Mathieu Kérékou overthrew the ruling triumvirate, becoming president and stating that the country will not "burden itself by copying foreign ideology, and wants neither Capitalism, Communism, nor Socialism"Sony VAIO PCG-81115L battery. On November 30, however, he announced that the country was officially Marxist, under the control of the Military Council of the Revolution (CNR[citation needed]), which nationalized the petroleum industry and banks. On November 30, 1975, he renamed the country to People's Republic of Benin.

In 1979, the CNR was dissolved, and Kérékou arranged show elections where he was the only allowed candidate. Establishing relations with the People's Republic of ChinaSony VAIO PCG-81114L battery, North Korea, and Libya, he put nearly all businesses and economic activities under state control, causing foreign investment in Benin to dry up.[20] Kérékou attempted to reorganize education, pushing his own aphorisms such as "Poverty is not a fatality", resulting in a mass exodus of teachers, along with a large number of other professionals.[20] The regime financed itself by contracting to take nuclear waste first from the Soviet Union and later from France. Sony VAIO PCG-81113L battery

In 1980, Kérékou converted to Islam and changed his first name to Ahmed, then changed his name back after claiming to be a born-again Christian.

In 1989, riots broke out after the regime did not have money to pay its army. The banking system collapsed. Eventually Kérékou renounced Marxism and a convention forced Kérékou to release political prisoners and arrange elections.Sony VAIO PCG-7142L battery

The name of the country was changed to the Republic of Benin on March 1, 1990, once the newly formed country's constitution was complete, after the abolition of Marxism–Leninism in the nation in 1989.

In 1991, Kérékou was defeated by Nicéphore Soglo, and became the first black African president to step down after an election. Kérékou returned to power after winning the 1996 voteSony VAIO PCG-7141L battery. In 2001, a closely fought election resulted in Kérékou winning another term, after which his opponents claimed election irregularities.

Kérékou and former president Soglo did not run in the 2006 elections, as both were barred by the constitution's restrictions on age and total terms of candidates. Kérékou is widely praised[citation needed] for making no effort to change the constitution so that he could remain in office or run again, unlike many African leadersSony VAIO PCG-71111L battery.

On March 5, 2006, an election was held that was considered free and fair. It resulted in a runoff between Yayi Boni and Adrien Houngbédji. The runoff election was held on March 19, and was won by Boni, who assumed office on April 6. The success of the fair multi-party elections in Benin won praise internationally. Boni was reelected in 2011, taking 53.18% of the vote in the first round—enough to avoid a runoff electionSony VAIO PCG-61411L battery, becoming the first president to win an election without a runoff since the restoration of democracy in 1991.

Main article: Politics of Benin

Benin's politics take place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, where the President of Benin is both head of state and head of government, within a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the governmentSony VAIO PCG-61112L battery. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the legislature. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The political system is derived from the 1990 Constitution of Benin and the subsequent transition to democracy in 1991.

Benin scored highly in the 2009 Ibrahim Index of African Governance, which comprehensively measures the state of governance across the continentSony VAIO PCG-61111L battery. Benin was ranked 15th out of 53 African countries, and scored particularly well in the categories of Safety & Security and Participation & Human Rights.[23]

In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Benin 53rd out of 169 countries.

Benin has been rated equal-88th out of 159 countries in a 2005 analysis of police, business and political corruption.Sony VAIO PCG-5T4L battery

Departments and communes

Departments of Benin

Main articles: Departments of Benin and Communes of Benin

Benin is divided into 12 departments (French: départements), and subdivided into 77 communes. In 1999, the previous six departments were each split into two halves, forming the current 12. The six new departments have not been assigned an official capital yet.

Benin, a narrow, north-south strip of land in west Africa, lies between the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer. Benin lies between latitudes 6° and 13°N, and longitudes 0° and 4°ESony VAIO PCG-5T3L battery. Benin is bounded by Togo to the west, Burkina Faso and Niger to the north, Nigeria to the east, and the Bight of Benin to the south.

With an area of 112,622 km2 (43,484 sq mi), Benin extends from the Niger River in the north to the Atlantic Ocean in the south, a distance of 650 km (404 mi). Although the coastline measures 121 km (75 mi) the country measures about 325 km (202 mi) at its widest point.

It is one of the smaller countries in West Africa, one-eighth the size of Nigeria, its neighbor to the east. It is, however, twice as large as Togo, its neighbor to the westSony VAIO PCG-5T2L battery.

Benin shows little variation in elevation and can be divided into four areas from the south to the north, starting with the low-lying, sandy, coastal plain (highest elevation 10 m (32.8 ft)) which is, at most, 10 km (6.2 mi) wide. It is marshy and dotted with lakes and lagoons communicating with the ocean. Behind the coast lies the Guinean forest-savanna mosaic-covered plateaus of southern Benin Sony VAIO PCG-5S3L battery (altitude between 20 and 200 m (66 and 656 ft)), which are split by valleys running north to south along the Couffo, Zou, and Oueme Rivers.

Then an area of flat lands dotted with rocky hills whose altitude seldom reaches 400 m (1,312 ft) extends around Nikki and Save. Finally, a range of mountains extends along the northwest border and into Togo; this is the Atacora, with the highest point, Mont Sokbaro, at 658 m (2,159 ft) Sony VAIO PCG-5S2L battery.

Benin has fields of lying fallow, mangroves, and remnants of large sacred forests. In the rest of the country, the savanna is covered with thorny scrubs and dotted with huge baobab trees. Some forests line the banks of rivers. In the north and the northwest of Benin the Reserve du W du Niger and Pendjari National Park attract tourists eager to see elephants, lions, antelopes, hippos, and monkeys. Sony VAIO PCG-5S1L battery Historically Benin has served as habitat for the endangered Painted Hunting Dog, Lycaon pictus;[26] however, this canid is thought to have been locally extirpated.

Benin's climate is hot and humid. Annual rainfall in the coastal area averages 1300 mm or about 51 inches. Benin has two rainy and two dry seasons per year. The principal rainy season is from April to late July, with a shorter less intense rainy period from late September to NovemberSony VAIO PCG-5R2L battery. The main dry season is from December to April, with a short cooler dry season from late July to early September. Temperatures and humidity are high along the tropical coast. In Cotonou, the average maximum temperature is 31 °C (87.8 °F); the minimum is 24 °C (75.2 °F).[25]

Variations in temperature increase when moving north through a savanna and plateau toward the Sahel. A dry wind from the Sahara called the Harmattan blows from December to MarchSony VAIO PCG-5R1L battery, during which grass dries up, the vegetation turns reddish brown, and a veil of fine dust hangs over the country, causing the skies to be overcast. It also is the season when farmers burn brush in the fields.[25]

Main article: Economy of Benin

Cotton field in northern Benin

The economy of Benin is dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Cotton accounts for 40 percent of GDP and roughly 80 percent of official export receipts. Sony VAIO PCG-5P4L battery Growth in real output has averaged around 5 percent in the past seven years, but rapid population growth has offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. Benin uses the CFA franc, which is pegged to the euro.

Benin’s economy has continued to strengthen over the past years, with real GDP growth estimated at 5.1 and 5.7 percent in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The main driver of growth is the agricultural sectorSony VAIO PCG-5P2L battery, with cotton being the country’s main export, while services continue to contribute the largest part of GDP largely because of Benin’s geographical location, enabling trade, transportation, transit and tourism activities with its neighbouring states.[28]

In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourismSony VAIO PCG-5N4L battery, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. Projects to improve the business climate by reforms to the land tenure system, the commercial justice system, and the financial sector were included in Benin's US$307 million Millennium Challenge Account grant signed in February 2006. Sony VAIO PCG-5N2L battery

Benin Exports (2009) by Product Category

The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, with Benin benefiting from a G8 debt reduction announced in July 2005, while pressing for more rapid structural reforms. An insufficient electrical supply continues to adversely affect Benin's economic growth though the government recently has taken steps to increase domestic power production. Sony VAIO PCG-51513L battery

Although trade unions in Benin represent up to 75% of the formal workforce, the large informal economy has been noted by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITCU) to contain ongoing problems, including a lack of women's wage equality, the use of child labour, and the continuing issue of forced labour. Sony VAIO PCG-51511L battery

Benin is a member of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA).

Cotonou harbors the country's only seaport and international airport. A new port is currently under construction between Cotonou and Porto Novo. Benin is connected by 2 lane asphalted roads to its neighboring countries (Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria) Sony VAIO PCG-51412L battery. Mobile telephone service is available across the country through various operators. ADSL connections are available in some areas. Benin is connected to the Internet by way of satellite connections (since 1998) and a single submarine cable SAT-3/WASC (since 2001), keeping the price of data extremely high. Relief is expected with initiation of the Africa Coast to Europe cable in 2011Sony VAIO PCG-51411L battery.

Currently, about a third of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 per day.[32]

Woman from Kobli, Atakora, Benin.

Main article: Demography of Benin

The majority of Benin's population lives in the south. The population is young, with a life expectancy of 59 years. About 42 African ethnic groups live in this country; these various groups settled in Benin at different times and also migrated within the country. Ethnic groups include the Yoruba in the southeast (migrated from Nigeria in the 12th century) Sony VAIO PCG-51312L battery; the Dendi in the north-central area (they came from Mali in the 16th century); the Bariba and the Fula (French: Peul or Peulh; Fula: Fulɓe) in the northeast; the Betammaribe and the Somba in the Atacora Range; the Fon in the area around Abomey in the South Central and the Mina, Xueda, and Aja (who came from Togo) on the coast. Sony VAIO PCG-51311L battery

Recent migrations have brought other African nationals to Benin that include Nigerians, Togolese, and Malians. The foreign community also includes many Lebanese and Indians involved in trade and commerce. The personnel of the many European embassies and foreign aid missions and of nongovernmental organizations and various missionary groups account for a large part of the 5500 European population.[25] A small part of the European population consists of Beninese citizens of French ancestry, whose ancestors ruled Benin and left after independenceSony VAIO PCG-51211L battery.

Main article: Health in Benin

See also: HIV/AIDS in Benin

During the 1980s, less than 30% of the population had access to primary health care services. Benin had one of the highest death rates for children under the age of five in the world. Its infant mortality rate stood at 203 deaths for every 1000 live births. Only one in three mothers had access to child health care servicesSony VAIO PCG-41112L battery. The Bamako Initiative changed that dramatically by introducing community-based health care reform, resulting in more efficient and equitable provision of services.[33] A comprehensive approach strategy was extended to all areas of health care, with subsequent improvement in the health care indicators and improvement in health care efficiency and cost.[34] Demographic and Health Surveys has completed three surveys in Benin since 1996. Sony VAIO PCG-3A4L battery

See also: Literature of Benin and Music of Benin

Beninese literature had a strong oral tradition long before French became the dominant language.[36] Felix Couchoro wrote the first Beninese novel, L'Esclave in 1929.

Post-independence, the country was home to a vibrant and innovative music scene, where native folk music combined with Ghanaian highlife, French cabaret, American rock, funk and soul, and Congolese rumbaSony VAIO PCG-3A3L battery.

Singer Angélique Kidjo and actor Djimon Hounsou were both born in Cotonou, Benin. Composer Wally Badarou and singer Gnonnas Pedro are also of Beninese descent.

Biennale Benin, continuing the projects of several organizations and artists started in the country in 2010 as a collaborative event called "Regard Benin". In 2012, the project become a Biennial coordinated by the Consortium, a federation of local associationsSony VAIO PCG-3A2L battery. The international exhibition and artistic program of the 2012 Biennale Benin is curated by Abdellah Karroum and the Curatorial Delegation.

Customary names

Many Beninois in the south of the country have Akan-based names indicating the day of the week on which they were born. This is due to influence of the Akan people likely the Akwamu and othersSony VAIO PCG-3A1L battery.

Main article: Languages of Benin

Local languages are used as the languages of instruction in elementary schools, with French only introduced after several years. In wealthier cities, however, French is usually taught at an earlier age. Beninese languages are generally transcribed with a separate letter for each speech sound (phoneme), rather than using diacritics as in French or digraphs as in EnglishSony VAIO PCG-394L battery. This includes Beninese Yoruba, which in Nigeria is written with both diacritics and digraphs. For instance, the mid vowels written é è, ô, o in French are written e, ɛ, o, ɔ in Beninese languages, whereas the consonants written ng and sh or ch in English are written ŋ and c. However, digraphs are used for nasal vowels and the labial-velar consonants kp and gb, as in the name of the Fon language Fon gbe /fõ ɡ͡be/, and diacritics are used as tone marksSony VAIO PCG-393L battery. In French-language publications, a mixture of French and Beninese orthographies may be seen.

Main article: Religion in Benin

Celestial Church of Christ baptism in Cotonou. Five percent of Benin's population belongs to the Celestial Church of Christ, an African Initiated Church.

In the 2010 census, 27.2% of the population of Benin were Christian (7.1% Roman Catholic, 5% Celestial Church of Christ, 3.2% Methodist, 7.5% other Christian denominations), 24.4% were Muslim, 17.3% practiced Vodun, 6% other traditional local religious groups, 1.9% other religious groups, and 6.5% claim no religious affiliation. Sony VAIO PCG-391L battery

Indigenous religions include local animistic religions in the Atakora (Atakora and Donga provinces) and Vodun and Orisha or Orisa veneration among the Yoruba and Tado peoples in the center and south of the country. The town of Ouidah on the central coast is the spiritual center of Beninese VodunSony VAIO PCG-384L battery.

The major introduced religions are Christianity, followed throughout the south and center of Benin and in Otammari country in the Atakora, and Islam, introduced by the Songhai Empire and Hausa merchants, and now followed throughout Alibori, Borgou, and Donga provinces, as well as among the Yoruba (who also follow Christianity) Sony VAIO PCG-383L battery. Many, however, continue to hold Vodun and Orisha beliefs and have incorporated the pantheon of Vodun and Orisha into Christianity. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, a sect originating in the 19th century is also present, in a significant minority.

Main article: Education in Benin

The literacy rate in Benin is among the lowest in the world: in 2002 it was estimated to be 34.7% (47.9% for males and 23.3% for females). Sony VAIO PCG-382L battery Although at one time the education system was not free,[40] Benin has abolished school fees and is carrying out the recommendations of its 2007 Educational Forum.[41]

Acarajé is peeled black-eyed peas formed into a ball and then deep-fried

Main article: Benin cuisine

Beninese cuisine is known in Africa for its exotic ingredients and flavorful dishes. Beninese cuisine involves lots of fresh meals served with a variety of sauces. In southern Benin cuisine, the most common ingredient is cornSony VAIO PCG-381L battery, often used to prepare dough which is mainly served with peanut- or tomato-based sauces. Fish and chicken are the most common meats used in southern Beninese cuisine, but beef, goat, and bush rat are also consumed. The main staple in northern Benin is yams, often served with sauces mentioned above. The population in the northern provinces use beef and pork meat which is fried in palm or peanut oil or cooked in saucesSony VAIO PCG-7185L battery. Cheese is used in some dishes. Couscous, rice, and beans are commonly eaten, along with fruits such as mangoes, oranges, avocados, bananas, kiwi fruit, and pineapples.[42]

Meat is usually quite expensive, and meals are generally light on meat and generous on vegetable fat. Frying in palm or peanut oil is the most common meat preparation, and smoked fish is commonly prepared in Benin. Grinders are used to prepare corn flour, which is made into a dough and served with saucesSony VAIO PCG-7184L battery. "Chicken on the spit" is a traditional recipe in which chicken is roasted over fire on wooden sticks. Palm roots are sometimes soaked in a jar with saltwater and sliced garlic to tenderize them, then used in dishes. Many people have outdoor mud stoves for cooking.

Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open to a plateau of drier grasslandsSony PCG-71313M battery. The country possesses 40% of the remaining Upper Guinean rainforest. Liberia has a hot equatorial climate, with significant rainfall during the May to October rainy season and harsh harmattan winds the remainder of the year. Liberia covers an area of 111,369 km2 (43,000 sq mi) and is home to about 3.7 million people. English is the official language, while over 30 indigenous languages are spoken within the country(Dell D6400 battery).

Along with Ethiopia, Liberia is one of two modern countries in Sub-Saharan Africa without roots in the European colonization of Africa. Beginning in 1820, the region was colonized by blacks from the United States, most of whom were freed slaves. With the help of the American Colonization Society(Dell HF674 battery), a private organization that believed ex-slaves would have greater freedom and equality in Africa, these immigrants from the U.S. established a new country. African captives freed from slave ships were also sent there instead of being repatriated to their countries of origin. In 1847, these colonists founded the Republic of Liberia, establishing a government modeled on that of the United States and naming the capital city Monrovia after James Monroe(Dell N3010 battery), the fifth president of the United States and a prominent supporter of the colonization. The colonists, known as Americo-Liberians, led the political and economic sectors of the country.

The country began to modernize in the 1940s following investment by the United States during World War II and economic liberalization under President William Tubman. Liberia was a founding member of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity(Dell Inspiron N4010 battery). A military coup overthrew the Americo-Liberian leadership in 1980, marking the beginning of political and economic instability and two successive civil wars that left approximately 250,000 people dead and devastated the country's economy. A 2003 peace deal led to democratic elections in 2005. Today, Liberia is recovering from the lingering effects of the civil war and related economic dislocation(Dell INSPIRON 1100 battery), with about 85% of the population living below the international poverty line.

The Pepper Coast has been inhabited at least as far back as the 12th century, perhaps earlier. Mende-speaking people expanded westward from Sudan, forcing many smaller ethnic groups southward towards the Atlantic ocean. The Dei, Bassa, Kru, Gola and Kissi were some of the earliest recorded arrivals. (Dell Inspiron 1200 battery)This influx was compounded by the decline of the Western Sudanic Mali Empire in 1375 and later in 1591 with the Songhai Empire. Additionally, inland regions underwent desertification, and inhabitants were pressured to move to the wetter coast. These new inhabitants brought skills such as cotton spinning, cloth weaving, iron smelting, rice and sorghum cultivation, and social and political institutions from the Mali and Songhai Empires. (Dell Inspiron 1420 battery) Shortly after the Manes conquered the region, the Vai people of the former Mali Empire immigrated into the Grand Cape Mount region. The ethnic Kru opposed the influx of Vai, forming an alliance with the Manes to stop further influx of Vai.

People along the coast built canoes and traded with other West Africans from Cap-Vert to the Gold Coast. Between 1461 and late 17th century(Dell Inspiron 1464 battery), Portuguese, Dutch and British traders had contacts and trading posts in the region. The Portuguese named the area Costa da Pimenta, meaning Pepper Coast but later translated as Grain Coast, because of the abundance of grains of melegueta pepper. European traders would barter various commodities and goods with local people. When the Kru began trading with Europeans(Dell Inspiron 1564 battery), they initially traded in commodities, but later they actively participated in the African slave trade.

In 1820, the American Colonization Society (ACS) began sending black volunteers to the Pepper Coast to establish a colony for freed American blacks. These free African Americans came to identify themselves as Americo-Liberian, developing a cultural tradition infused with American notions of racial supremacy, and political republicanism. (Dell Inspiron 1764 battery) The ACS, a private organization supported by prominent American politicians such as Abraham Lincoln, Henry Clay, and James Monroe, believed repatriation was preferable to emancipation of slaves.[6] Similar organizations established colonies in Mississippi-in-Africa and the Republic of Maryland, which were later annexed by Liberia. On July 26, 1847, the settlers issued a Declaration of Independence and promulgated a constitution(Dell Inspiron 1520 battery), which, based on the political principles denoted in the United States Constitution, created the independent Republic of Liberia.

President Edwin Barclay (right) and President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II, 1943

The leadership of the new nation consisted largely of the Americo-Liberians. The 1865 Ports of Entry Act prohibited foreign commerce with the inland tribes.[7] In 1877, the Americo-Liberian True Whig Party was the most powerful political power in the country. (Dell Inspiron 1521 battery) Competition for office was usually contained within the party, whose nomination virtually ensured election.[9] Pressure from the United Kingdom and France led to a loss of Liberia's claims to extensive territories, which were annexed by adjoining countries.[10] Economic development was hindered by the decline of markets for Liberian goods in the late 19th century and by indebtedness on a series of international loans. (Dell inspiron 1525 battery) In Liberia's early years, the Americo-Liberian settlers periodically encountered stiff and sometimes violent opposition from indigenous Africans who were excluded from citizenship until 1904.[12]

In the mid-20th century, Liberia gradually began to modernize with American assistance. Both the Freeport of Monrovia and Roberts International Airport were built by U.S. personnel through the Lend-Lease program during World War II. (Dell inspiron 1526 battery)President William Tubman encouraged foreign investment in the country, resulting in the second-highest rate of economic growth in the world during the 1950s.[13] Liberia also began to take a more active role in international affairs. It was a founding member of the United Nations in 1945 and became a vocal critic of the South African apartheid regime.[14] Liberia also served as a proponent both of African independence from the European colonial powers and of Pan-Africanism(Dell Inspiron 1720 battery), helping to found the Organization of African Unity.[15]

Samuel Doe with Caspar Weinberger on a 1982 visit to the United States

On April 12, 1980, a military coup led by Master Sergeant Samuel Doe of the Krahn ethnic group overthrew and killed President William R. Tolbert, Jr.. Doe and the other plotters later executed a majority of Tolbert's cabinet and other Americo-Liberian government officials and True Whig Party members. (Dell Inspiron 2000 battery) The coup leaders formed the People's Redemption Council (PRC) to govern the country.[16] A strategic Cold War ally, Doe received significant financial backing from the United States while critics condemned the PRC for corruption and political repression.[16] After the country adopted a new constitution in 1985, Doe was elected president in subsequent elections that were internationally condemned as fraudulent. (Dell INSPIRON 2600 battery) On November 12, 1985, a failed counter-coup was launched by Thomas Quiwonkpa, whose soldiers briefly occupied the national radio station.[17] Government repression intensified in response, as Doe's troops executed members of the Gio and Mano ethnic groups in Nimba County.[17]

The National Patriotic Front of Liberia, a rebel group led by Charles Taylor, launched an insurrection in December 1989 against Doe's government with the backing of neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire(Dell INSPIRON 3800 battery), triggering the First Liberian Civil War.[18] By September 1990, Doe's forces controlled only a small area just outside the capital, and Doe was captured and executed that month by rebel forces.[19] The rebels soon split into various factions fighting one another, and the Economic Community Monitoring Group under the Economic Community of West African States organized a military task force to intervene in the crisis. (Dell INSPIRON 4000 battery) From 1989 to 1996 one of Africa's bloodiest civil wars ensued, claiming the lives of more than 200,000 Liberians and displacing a million others into refugee camps in neighboring countries.[12] A peace deal between warring parties was reached in 1995 leading to Taylor's election as president in 1997. (Dell Inspiron 5000 battery)

Under Taylor's leadership, Liberia became internationally known as a pariah state due to his use of blood diamonds and illegal timber exports to fund the Revolutionary United Front in the Sierra Leone Civil War.[20] The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 when Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, a rebel group based in the northwest of the country, launched an armed insurrection against Taylor. (Dell INSPIRON 500M battery) In March 2003, a second rebel group, Movement for Democracy in Liberia, began launching attacks against Taylor from the southeast.[21] Peace talks between the factions began in Accra in June of that year, and Taylor was indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone for crimes against humanity that same month.[20] By July 2003, the rebels had launched an assault on Monrovia. (Dell INSPIRON 5100 battery)Under heavy pressure from the international community and the domestic Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace movement,[23] Taylor resigned in August and went into exile in Nigeria,[24] and a peace deal was signed later that month.[25] The United Nations Mission in Liberia began arriving in September 2003 to provide security and monitor the peace accord,[26] and an interim government took power the following October. (Dell INSPIRON 510M battery)

The subsequent 2005 elections were internationally regarded as the most free and fair in Liberian history.[28] Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Harvard-trained economist and former Minister of Finance, was elected as the first female president in Africa.[28] Upon her inauguration, Sirleaf requested the extradition of Taylor from Nigeria and immediately handed him over to the SCSL for trial in The Hague. (Dell INSPIRON 6000 battery)In 2006, the government established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the causes and crimes of the civil war.[31]

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Main article: Politics of Liberia

The government of Liberia, modeled on the government of the United States, is a unitary constitutional republic and representative democracy as established by the Constitution. The government has three co-equal branches of government(Dell INSPIRON 600M battery): executive, headed by the president; legislative, consisting of the bicameral Legislature of Liberia; and judicial, made up of the Supreme Court and several lower courts.

The president serves as head of government, head of state and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia.[1] Among the other duties of the president are to sign or veto legislative bills, grant pardons, and appoint Cabinet members, judges and other public officials. Together with the vice president, the president is elected to a six-year term by majority vote in a two-round system and can serve up to two terms in office. (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery)

The Legislature is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The House, led by a speaker, has 73 members apportioned among the 15 counties on the basis of the national census, with each county receiving a minimum of two members.[1] Each House member represents an electoral district within a county as drawn by the National Elections Commission and is elected by a plurality of the popular vote of their district in to a six-year term(Dell INSPIRON 7000 battery). The Senate is made up of two senators from each county for a total of 30 senators. Senators serve nine-year terms and are elected at-large by a plurality of the popular vote.[1] The vice president serves as the President of the Senate, with a President pro tempore serving in his absence.

Liberia's highest judicial authority is the Supreme Court, made up of five members and headed by the Chief Justice of Liberia(Dell INSPIRON 700M battery). Members are nominated to the court by the president and are confirmed by the Senate, serving until the age of 70. The judiciary is further divided into circuit and speciality courts, magistrate courts and justices of the peace.[32] The judicial system follows the Anglo-American common law.[33] An informal system of traditional courts still exists within the rural areas of the country, with trial by ordeal remaining common despite being officially outlawed(Dell Inspiron 710m battery).

Between 1877 and 1980, the government was dominated by the True Whig Party.[9] Today, over 20 political parties are registered in the country, based largely around personalities and ethnic groups.[28] Most parties suffer from poor organizational capacity. The 2005 elections marked the first time that the president's party did not gain a majority of seats in the Legislature. (Dell INSPIRON 8200 battery)

Liberia scored a 3.3 on a scale from 10 (highly clean) to 0 (highly corrupt) on the 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 87th of 178 countries worldwide and 11th of 47 in Sub-Saharan Africa.[34] This score represented a significant improvement since 2007, when the country scored 2.1 and ranked 150th of 180 countries.[35] When seeking attention of a selection of service providers, 89% of Liberians had to pay a bribe(Dell INSPIRON 8600 battery), the highest national percentage in the world according to the organization's 2010 Global Corruption Barometer.[36]

View of a lake in Bomi County

Main articles: Counties of Liberia, Districts of Liberia, and Clans of Liberia

Liberia is divided into 15 counties, which are subdivided into districts, and further subdivided into clans. The oldest counties are Grand Bassa and Montserrado, both founded in 1839 prior to Liberian independence. Gbarpolu is the newest county, created in 2001(Dell INSPIRON 9100 battery). Nimba is the largest of the counties in size at 4,460 square miles (11,551 km2), while Montserrado is the smallest at 737 square miles (1,909 km2).[37] Montserrado is also the most populous county with 1,144,806 residents as of the 2008 census.[37]

The fifteen counties are administered by superintendents appointed by the president. The Constitution calls for the election of various chiefs at the county and local level, but these elections have not taken place since 1985 due to war and financial constraints(Dell INSPIRON 9200 battery).

Liberia is situated in West Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean to the country's southwest. It lies between latitudes 4° and 9°N, and longitudes 7° and 12°W.

The landscape is characterized by mostly flat to rolling coastal plains that contain mangroves and swamps, which rise to a rolling plateau and low mountains in the northeast.[39] Tropical rainforests cover the hills(Dell INSPIRON 9300 battery), while elephant grass and semi-deciduous forests make up the dominant vegetation in the northern sections.[39] The equatorial climate is hot year-round with heavy rainfall from May to October with a short interlude in mid-July to August.[39] During the winter months of November to March, dry dust-laden harmattan winds blow inland, causing many problems for residents(Dell Inspiron 9400 battery).

Liberia's watershed tends to move in a southwestern pattern towards the sea as new rains move down the forested plateau off the inland mountain range of Guinée Forestière, in Guinea. Cape Mount near the border with Sierra Leone receives the most precipitation in the nation.[39] The country's main northwestern boundary is traversed by the Mano River while its southeast limits are bounded by the Cavalla River. (Dell Inspiron E1505 battery) Liberia's three largest rivers are St. Paul exiting near Monrovia, the river St. John at Buchanan and the Cestos River, all of which flow into the Atlantic. The Cavalla is the longest river in the nation at 320 miles (515 km).

The highest point wholly within Liberia is Mount Wuteve at 4,724 feet (1,440 m) above sea level in the northwestern Liberia range of the West Africa Mountains and the Guinea Highlands.[39] However, Mount Nimba near Yekepa(Dell Inspiron E1705 battery), is higher at 5,748 feet (1,752 m) above sea level but is not wholly within Liberia as Nimba shares a border with Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and is their tallest mountain as well.[40]

Boy grinding sugar cane.

Liberia is one of the world's poorest countries, with a formal employment rate of only 15%.[32] GDP per capita peaked in 1980 at US$496, when it was comparable to Egypt's (at the time).[41] In 2011, the country's nominal GDP was US$1.154 billion(Dell Inspiron Mini 9 battery), while nominal GDP per capita stood at US$297, the third-lowest in the world.[2] Historically, the Liberian economy has depended heavily on foreign aid, foreign direct investment and exports of natural resources such as iron ore, rubber and timber.

Following a peak in growth in 1979, the Liberian economy began a steady decline due to economic mismanagement following the 1980 coup. (Dell Latitude D400 battery) This decline was accelerated by the outbreak of civil war in 1989; GDP was reduced by an estimated 90% between 1989 and 1995, one of the fastest declines in history. Upon the end of the war in 2003, GDP growth began to accelerate, reaching 9.4% in 2007. The global financial crisis slowed GDP growth to 4.6% in 2009,[43] though a strengthening agricultural sector led by rubber and timber exports increased growth to 5.1% in 2010 and an expected 7.3% in 2011(Dell STUDIO 1450 battery), making the economy one of the 20 fastest growing in the world. Current impediments to growth include a small domestic market, lack of adequate infrastructure, high transportation costs, poor trade links with neighboring countries and the high dollarization of the economy.[44] Liberia used the United States dollar as its currency from 1943 until 1982 and continues to use the U.S. dollar alongside the Liberian dollar. (Dell Vostro 1400 battery) Following a decrease in inflation beginning in 2003, inflation spiked in 2008 as a result of worldwide food and energy crises,[47] reaching 17.5% before declining to 7.4% in 2009.[43] Liberia's external debt was estimated in 2006 at approximately $4.5 billion, 800% of GDP.[42] As a result of bilateral, multilateral and commercial debt relief from 2007–2010, the country's external debt fell to $222.9 million by 2011. (Dell Vostro 1500 battery)

While official commodity exports declined during the 1990s as many investors fled the civil war, Liberia's wartime economy featured the exploitation of the region's diamond wealth.[49] The country acted as a major trader in Sierra Leonian blood diamonds, exporting over US$300 million in diamonds in 1999.[50] This led to a United Nations ban on Liberian diamond exports in 2001(Dell XPS GEN 2 battery), which was lifted in 2007 following Liberia's accession to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.[51] In 2003, additional UN sanctions were placed on Liberian timber exports, which had risen from US$5 million in 1997 to over US$100 million in 2002 and were believed to be funding rebels in Sierra Leone. These sanctions were lifted in 2006.[54] Due in large part to foreign aid and investment inflow following the end of the war, Liberia maintains a large account deficit, which peaked at nearly 60% in 2008. (Dell XPS M1210 battery) Liberia gained observer status with the World Trade Organization in 2010 and is in the process of acquiring full member status.

Liberia has the highest ratio of foreign direct investment to GDP in the world, with US$16 billion in investment since 2006. Following the inauguration of the Sirleaf administration in 2006, the country signed several multi-billion dollar concession agreements in the iron ore and palm oil industries with numerous multinational corporations(Dell XPS M1330 battery), including BHP Billiton, ArcelorMittal, and Sime Darby. The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company has operated the world's largest rubber plantation in Liberia since 1926. Liberia has also begun exploration for offshore oil; unproven oil reserves may be in excess of one billion barrels.[58] The government divided its offshore waters into 17 blocks and began auctioning off exploration licenses for the blocks in 2004(Dell XPS 1340 battery), with further auctions in 2007 and 2009. An additional 13 ultra-deep offshore blocks were demarcated in 2011 and planned for auction.[62] Among the companies to have won licenses are Repsol, Chevron, Anadarko and Woodside Petroleum.[63]

Due to its status as a flag of convenience, the country has the second-largest maritime registry in the world behind Panama, with 3,500 vessels registered under its flag accounting for 11% of ships worldwide(Dell XPS M1530 battery).

Main articles: Demographics of Liberia and Languages of Liberia

The streets of downtown Monrovia in March 2009

As of the 2008 national census, Liberia was home to 3,476,608 people.[66] Of those, 1,118,241 lived in Montserrado County, the most populous county in the country and home to the capital of Monrovia, with the Greater Monrovia district home to 970,824 people.[66] Nimba County is the next most populous county with 462,026 residents.[66] As revealed in the 2008 census(Dell XPS M170 battery), Monrovia is more than four times more populous than all the county headquarters combined.[37] Prior to the 2008 census, the last census had been held in 1984 and listed the country's population as 2,101,628.[66] The population of Liberia was 1,016,443 in 1962 and increased to 1,503,368 in 1974.[37] As of 2006, Liberia has the highest population growth rate in the world (4.50% per annum). Similar to its neighbors, it has a large youth population, with half of the population under the age of 18(Dell XPS M1710 battery).

The population includes 16 indigenous ethnic groups and various foreign minorities. Indigenous peoples comprise about 95% of the population, the largest of which are the Kpelle in central and western Liberia. Americo-Liberians, who are descendants of African-American settlers, make up 2.5%, and Congo people, descendants of repatriated Congo and Afro-Caribbean slaves who arrived in 1825(Dell XPS M1730 battery), make up an estimated 2.5%.There is also a sizable number of Lebanese, Indians, and other West African nationals who make up a significant part of Liberia's business community. A small minority of Liberians of European descent reside in the country.[1] The Liberian constitution restricts citizenship to only people of black African descent. (Dell XPS M2010 battery)

31 indigenous languages are spoken within Liberia, none of which are a first language to more than a small percentage of the population.[69] English is the official language and serves as the lingua franca of the country.[70] Liberians speak a variety of dialects collectively known as Liberian English(Dell Latitude E5400 battery).

Main article: Education in Liberia

Students studying by candlelight in Bong County, Liberia

In 2010, the literacy rate of Liberia was estimated at 60.8% (64.8% for males and 56.8% for females).[71] In some areas primary and secondary education is free and compulsory from the ages of 6-16, though enforcement of attendance is lax.[72] In other areas children are required to pay a tuition fee to attend school. On average, children attain 10 years of education (Dell Latitude E5500 battery) (11 for boys and 8 for girls).[73] The country's education sector is hampered by inadequate schools and supplies, as well as a lack of qualified teachers.[74]

Higher education is provided by a number of public and private universities. The University of Liberia is the country's largest and oldest university. Located in Monrovia, the university opened in 1862 and today has six colleges(Dell Latitude E6400 battery), including a medical school and the nation's only law school, Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law.[75] In 2009, Tubman University in Harper, Maryland County became the second public university in Liberia.[76] Cuttington University, established by the Episcopal Church of the USA in 1889 in Suakoko, Bong County, is the nation's oldest private university. Since 2006, the government has also opened community colleges in Buchanan, Sanniquellie, and Voinjama(Dell Latitude E6500 battery).

According to the 2008 National Census, 85.5% of the population practices Christianity. Muslims comprise 12.2% of the population, largely coming from the Mandingo and Vai ethnic groups. Traditional indigenous religions are practiced by .5% of the population, while 1.5% subscribe to no religion. A small number of people are Bahá'í, Hindu, Sikh, or Buddhist(Dell Inspiron Mini 12 battery). Concurrent participation in indigenous religious secret societies such as Poro and Sande is common, with some Sande societies practicing female genital mutilation.[80]

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respects this right.[80] While separation of church and state is also mandated by the Constitution, Liberia is considered a de facto Christian state. (Dell XPS M140 battery) Public schools offer biblical studies, though parents may opt out their children. Commerce is prohibited by law on Sundays and major Christian holidays. The government does not require businesses or schools to excuse Muslims for Friday prayers.[80]

Life expectancy in Liberia is estimated to be 57.4 years in 2012.[81] With a fertility rate of 5.9 births per woman, the maternal mortality rate stood at 990 per 100,000 births in 2010. (Dell XPS 13 battery) A number of highly communicable diseases are widespread, including tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases and malaria. In 2007, HIV infection rates stood at 2% of the population aged 15–49 [83] whereas the incidence of tuberculosis was 420 per 100,000 people in 2008.[84] Liberia imports 90% of its rice, a staple food, and is extremely vulnerable to food shortages.[85] In 2007, 20.4% of children under the age of 5 were malnourished. (Dell XPS 16 battery) In 2008, only 17% of the population had access to adequate sanitation facilities.[87]

Civil war strife ended in 2003 after destroying approximately 95% of the country's healthcare facilities.[88] In 2009, government expenditure on health care per capita was US$22,[89] accounting for 10.6% of total GDP.[90] In 2008, Liberia had only 1 doctor and 27 nurses per 100,000 people. (Dell XPS 1640 battery)

Main article: Culture of Liberia

The former Executive Mansion, an example of American South architectural influence.

The religious practices, social customs and cultural standards of the Americo-Liberians had their roots in the antebellum American South. The settlers wore top hat and tails and modeled their homes on those of Southern slaveowners.[91] Most Americo-Liberian men were members of the Masonic Order of Liberia, which became heavily involved in the nation's politics. (Dell XPS 1645 battery)

Liberia has a long, rich history in textile arts and quilting, as the settlers brought with them their sewing and quilting skills. Liberia hosted National Fairs in 1857 and 1858 in which prizes were awarded for various needle arts. One of the most well-known Liberian quilters was Martha Ann Ricks, (Dell XPS 1647 battery)] who presented a quilt featuring the famed Liberian coffee tree to Queen Victoria in 1892. When President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf moved into the Executive Mansion, she reportedly had a Liberian-made quilt installed in her presidential office.[94]

A rich literary tradition has existed in Liberia for over a century. Edward Wilmot Blyden, Bai T. Moore, Roland T. Dempster and Wilton G. S. Sankawulo are among Liberia's more prominent authors. (Dell Latitude 131L battery) Moore's novella Murder in the Cassava Patch is considered Liberia's most celebrated novel.[96]

Liberian cuisine heavily incorporates rice, the country's staple food. Other ingredients include cassava, fish, bananas, citrus fruit, plantains, coconut, okra and sweet potatoes.[97] Heavy stews spiced with habanero and scotch bonnet chillies are popular and eaten with fufu.[98] Liberia also has a tradition of baking imported from the United States that is unique in West Africa. (Dell Latitude C400 battery)

[edit]Measurement system

Liberia is one of only three countries that has not officially adopted the International System of Units.[100] The Liberian government has begun transitioning away from use of imperial units to the metric system.[101] However, this change has been gradual, with government reports concurrently using both imperial and metric units. (Dell Latitude C500 battery)A 2008 report from the University of Tennessee stated that the changeover from imperial to metric measures was confusing to coffee and cocoa farmers.

Togo, officially the République Togolaise or, in English, the Togolese Republic i/ˈtoʊɡoʊ/, is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately 57,000 square kilometres (22,000 sq mi) (Dell Latitude C510 battery) with a population of approximately 6.7 million.

Togo is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with a climate that provides good growing seasons. The official language is French, with many other languages spoken in Togo, particularly those of the Gbe family. The largest religious group in Togo are those with indigenous beliefs, and there are significant Christian and Muslim minorities(Dell Latitude C540 battery). Togo is a member of the United Nations, African Union, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, La Francophonie and Economic Community of West African States.

From the 11th to the 16th century, various tribes entered the region from all directions. From the 16th century to the 18th century, the coastal region was a major trading centre for Europeans in search of slaves(Dell Latitude C600 battery), earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast". In 1884, Germany declared Togoland a protectorate. After World War I, rule over Togo was transferred to France. Togo gained its independence from France in 1960.[4]

In 1967, Gnassingbé Eyadéma led a successful military coup, after which he became president. At the time of his death in 2005(Dell Latitude C610 battery), Eyadéma was the longest-serving leader in modern African history, after having been president for 38 years.[5] In 2005, his son Faure Gnassingbé was elected president.

Main article: History of Togo

During the period from the 11th century to the 16th century, various tribes entered the region from all directions: the Ewé from the east, and the Mina and Guin from the west. Most settled in coastal areas(Dell Latitude C640 battery).

Togoland, 1908

The slave trade began in the 16th century, and for the next two hundred years the coastal region was a major trading center for Europeans in search of slaves, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast".

In 1884 a treaty was signed at Togoville with the King Mlapa III, whereby Germany claimed a protectorate over a stretch of territory along the coast and gradually extended its control inland. In 1905, this became the German colony of Togoland(Dell Latitude C800 battery). During World War I this German territory was invaded by British troops from the neighbouring Gold Coast colony and French troops coming from Dahomey.

Togoland was separated into two League of Nations mandates, administered by Britain and France. After World War II, these mandates became UN Trust Territories. The residents of British Togoland voted to join the Gold Coast as part of the new independent nation of Ghana in 1957, and French Togoland became an autonomous republic within the French Union in 1959(Dell Latitude C810 battery).

[edit]Independence (1960)

Independence for French Togoland came in 1960 under Sylvanus Olympio. He was assassinated in a military coup on 13 January 1963 by a group of soldiers under the direction of Sergeant Etienne Eyadema Gnassingbe.[6] Opposition leader Nicolas Grunitzky was appointed president by the "Insurrection Committee", headed by Emmanuel Bodjollé(Dell Latitude C840 battery).

On 13 January 1967, Eyadema Gnassingbe overthrew Grunitzky in a bloodless coup and assumed the presidency, which he held from that date until his sudden death on 5 February 2005 after 38 years in power, the longest occupation of any dictator in Africa. The military's immediate but short-lived installation of his son, Faure Gnassingbé(Dell Latitude D410 battery), as president provoked widespread international condemnation, except from France. Some democratically elected African leaders such as Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria supported the move, thereby creating a rift within the African Union.[7]

Faure Gnassingbé stood down and called elections which he won two months later. The opposition claimed that the election was fraudulent(Dell Latitude D420 battery). The developments of 2005 led to renewed questions about a commitment to democracy made by Togo in 2004 in a bid to normalise ties with the European Union, which cut off aid in 1993 over the country's human rights record.[citation needed] Up to 500 people were killed and around 40,000 fled to neighbouring countries in the political violence surrounding the presidential poll, according to the United Nations. (Dell Latitude D430 battery)

Togo serves as a regional commercial and trade centre. The government's decade-long effort, supported by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to implement economic reform measures, encourage foreign investment, and bring revenues in line with expenditures, has stalled. Political unrest, including private and public sector strikes throughout 1992 and 1993(Dell Latitude D500 battery), jeopardized the reform program, shrank the tax base, and disrupted vital economic activity.

The 12 January 1994 devaluation of the currency by 50% provided an important impetus to renewed structural adjustment; these efforts were facilitated by the end of strife in 1994 and a return to overt political calm. Progress depends on increased openness in government financial operations (to accommodate increased social service outlays) (Dell Latitude D505 battery) and possible downsizing of the armed forces, on which the regime has depended to stay in place. Lack of aid, along with depressed cocoa prices, generated a 1% fall in GDP in 1998, with growth resuming in 1999. Assuming no deterioration of the political atmosphere, growth is expected to rise(Dell Latitude D510 battery).

Togo is a member of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA).[9]

Main article: Geography of Togo

Togo is a small West African nation. It borders the Bight of Benin in the south; Ghana lies to the west; Benin to the east; and to the north Togo is bound by Burkina Faso. Togo lies mostly between latitudes 6° and 11°N, and longitudes 0° and 2°E(Dell Latitude D520 battery).

In the north the land is characterized by a gently rolling savanna in contrast to the center of the country, which is characterized by hills. The south of Togo is characterized by a savanna and woodland plateau which reaches to a coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes. The land size is 21,925 sq mi (56,785 km2), with an average population density of 253 people per square mile (98/km2) (Dell Latitude D600 battery).

Main article: Climate of Togo

The climate is generally tropical with average temperatures ranging from 27.5 °C (81.5 °F) on the coast to about 30 °C (86 °F) in the northernmost regions, with a dry climate and characteristics of a tropical savanna. To the south there are two seasons of rain (the first between April and July and the second between September and November), even though the average rainfall is not very high(Dell Latitude D610 battery).

Togo's transition to democracy is stalled. Its democratic institutions remain nascent and fragile. President Gnassingbé Eyadéma, who ruled Togo under a one-party system, died of a heart attack on 5 February 2005. Gravelly ill, he was being transported by plane to a foreign country for care. He died in transit, whilst over Tunisia. Under the Togolese Constitution(Dell Latitude D620 battery), the President of the Parliament, Fambaré Ouattara Natchaba, should have become President of the country, pending a new presidential election to be called within sixty days. Natchaba was out of the country, returning on an Air France plane from Paris.[10]

The Togolese army, known as Forces Armées Togolaises (FAT) – or Togolese Armed Forces closed the nation's borders(Dell Latitude D630 battery), forcing the plane to land in nearby Benin. With an engineered power vacuum, the Parliament voted to remove the constitutional clause that would have required an election within sixty days, and declared that Eyadema's son, Faure Gnassingbé, would inherit the presidency and hold office for the rest of his father's term.[11] Faure was sworn in on 7 February 2005, despite international criticism of the succession. (Dell Latitude D800 battery)

The African Union described the takeover as a military coup d'état.[13] International pressure came also from the United Nations. Within Togo, opposition to the takeover culminated in riots in which several hundred died. There were uprisings in many cities and towns, mainly located in the southern part of the country(Dell Latitude D810 battery). In the town of Aného reports of a general civilian uprising followed by a large scale massacre by government troops went largely unreported. In response, Faure Gnassingbé agreed to hold elections and on 25 February, Gnassingbé resigned as president, but soon afterward accepted the nomination to run for the office in April. (Dell Latitude D820 battery)

On 24 April 2005, Gnassingbé was elected President of Togo, receiving over 60% of the vote according to official results. His main rival in the race had been Emmanuel Bob-Akitani from the Union des Forces du Changement (UFC) or Union of Forces for Change. However electoral fraud was suspected, due to a lack of European Union or other independent oversight. (Dell Latitude D830 battery) Parliament designated Deputy President, Bonfoh Abbass, as interim president until the inauguration.

Current political situation

On 3 May 2005, Faure Gnassingbé was sworn in as the new president, after winning 60% of the vote, according to official results. The opposition again alleged electoral fraud, claiming the military had stolen ballot boxes from various polling stations in the south, and that telecommunications shutdowns were deliberately imposed to affect the results. (Dell Latitude 2100 battery) The European Union suspended aid to Togo in support of the opposition claims, unlike the African Union and the United States which declared the vote "reasonably fair." The Nigerian president and Chair of the AU, Olusẹgun Ọbasanjọ, sought to negotiate between the incumbent government and the opposition to establish a coalition government, but rejected an AU Commission appointment of former Zambian president, Kenneth Kaunda(Dell Latitude 2110 battery), as special AU envoy to Togo. In June, President Gnassingbé named opposition leader Edem Kodjo as the prime Minister.

Reconciliation talks between government and opposition continued until Gnassingbé Eyadema's death in February 2005. In August both parties signed the Ouagadougou agreement calling for a transitional government to organize parliamentary elections(Dell Latitude E4300 battery). On 16 September, the president nominated Yaovi Agboyibor of the Action Committee for Renewal (CAR) prime minister, snubbing the major opposition party Union of the Forces of Change (UFC) which in reaction refused to join the government. Professor Léopold Gnininvi of the Democratic Convention of African Peoples (CDPA) was appointed on 20 September 2006(Dell Vostro 1310 battery).

In October 2007, after several postponements, elections were held under proportional representation. This allowed the less populated north to seat as many MPs as the more populated south. The president-backed party Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) won outright majority with the UFC coming second and the other parties claiming(Dell Vostro 1320 battery) inconsequential representation. Again vote rigging accusations were leveled at the RPT supported by the civil and military security apparatus. Despite the presence of an EU observer mission, canceled ballots and illegal voting took place, the majority of which in RPT strongholds. The election was declared fair by the international community and praised as a model with little intimidation and few violent acts for the first time since a multiparty system was reinstated. (Dell Vostro 1510 battery) On 3 December 2007 Komlan Mally of the RPT was appointed to prime minister succeeding Agboyibor. However, on 5 September 2008, after only 10 months in office, Mally resigned as prime minister of Togo.

Faure Gnassingbé won re-election in the March 2010 presidential election, taking 61% of the vote against Jean-Pierre Fabre from the UFC(Dell Vostro 1520 battery), who had been backed by an opposition coalition called FRAC (Republican Front for Change). Though the March 2010 election was largely peaceful, electoral observers noted "procedural errors" and technical problems, and the opposition did not recognize the results, claiming irregularities had affected the outcome. Periodic protests followed the election. (Dell Vostro 2510 battery)In May 2010, long-time opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio announced that he would enter into a power-sharing deal with the government, a coalition arrangement which provides the UFC with eight ministerial posts. In June, 2012, electoral reforms prompted protesters to take to the street in Lomé for several days; protesters sought a return to the 1992 constitution that would re-establish presidential term limits. (Dell Vostro 1014 battery)July, 2012, saw the surprise resignation of the prime minister, Gilbert Houngbo.[26] Days later, the commerce minister, Kwesi Ahoomey-Zunu, was named to lead the new government. In the same month, the home of opposition leader Jean Pierre Fabre was raided by security forces, and thousands of protesters again rallied publicly against the government crackdown. (Dell Inspiron 1410 battery)

Administrative divisions

Togo is divided into 5 regions, which are subdivided in turn into 30 prefectures and 1 commune. From north to south the regions are Savanes, Kara, Centrale, Plateaux and Maritime.

Main article: Foreign relations of Togo

Although Togo's foreign policy is nonaligned, it has strong historical and cultural ties with western Europe, especially France and Germany. Togo recognizes the People's Republic of China, North Korea, and Cuba. It re-established relations with Israel in 1987(Dell Vostro 1015 battery).

Togo pursues an active foreign policy and participates in many international organizations. It is particularly active in West African regional affairs and in the African Union. Relations between Togo and neighboring states are generally good.

Main article: Military of Togo

The military of Togo, in French FAT (Forces armées togolaises, "Togolese armed forces"), consists of the army, navy, air force, and gendarmerie. Total military expenditures during the fiscal year of 2005 totaled 1.6% of the country's GDP. (Dell Inspiron 1088 battery) Military bases exist in Lomé, Temedja, Kara, Niamtougou, and Dapaong.[29] The current Chief of the General Staff is Brigadier General Titikpina Atcha Mohamed, who took office on May 19, 2009.[30] The air force is equipped with Alpha strike jets built by a German-French consortium.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Togo

Togolese women in Sokodé.

New figures from the November, 2010 census gave Togo a population of 6,191,155, more than double the total counted in the last census(Dell Vostro A840 battery). That census, taken in 1981, showed the nation had a population of 2,719,567. The capital and largest city, Lomé, grew from 375,499 in 1981 to 837,437 in 2010. When the urban population of surrounding Golfe prefecture is added, the Lomé Agglomeration contained 1,477,660 residents in 2010.

Other large cities in Togo according to the new census were Sokodé (95,070), Kara (94,878), Kpalimé (75,084), Atakpamé (69,261) (Dell Vostro A860 battery), Dapaong (58,071) and Tsévié (54,474). With an estimated population of 6,619,000 (as of 2009), Togo is the 107th largest country by population. Most of the population (65%) live in rural villages dedicated to agriculture or pastures. The population of Togo shows a strong growth: from 1961 (the year after independence) to 2003 it quintupled(Dell Inspiron Mini 1012 battery).

Ethnic groups

In Togo, there are about 40 different ethnic groups, the most numerous of which are the Ewe in the south who make up 32% of the population.(Although along the southern coastline they account for 21% of the population), Kotokoli or Tem and Tchamba in the center, Kabye people in the north (22%). The Ouatchis are (14%) of the population(SONY PCG-5G2L battery). Sometimes the Ewes and Ouatchis are considered the same, but the French who studied both groups considered them different people.[35] Other Ethnic groups include the Mina, Mossi, and Aja people (about 8%). There is also a European population who make up less than 1%.

Approximately 51% of the population has indigenous beliefs, 29% is Christian, and 20% Muslim. (SONY PCG-5G3L battery)

Main article: Languages of Togo

French is the official language of Togo and is the language of commerce. The many indigenous African languages spoken by Togolese include: Gbe languages such as Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabiyé (in the north), as well as Kotokoli or Tem, Aja, Akessele, Bassar, Losso, and others(SONY PCG-F305 battery).

Health expenditure was at US$ 63 (PPP) per capita in 2004.[36] The infant mortality rate is approximately 50 deaths per 1,000 children in 2012. Male life expectancy at birth was at 60.6 in 2012, whereas it was at 65.8 for females. There were 4 physicians per 100,000 people in the early 2000s.[36] Approximately one half of the population lives below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day(SONY PCG-5J1L battery).

As of 2010, the maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Togo is 350, compared with 447.1 in 2008 and 539.7 in 1990. The under 5 mortality rate, per 1,000 births is 100 and the neonatal mortality as a percentage of under 5's mortality is 32. In Togo the number of midwives per 1,000 live births is 2 and 1 in 67 shows us the lifetime risk of death for pregnant women. (SONY PCG-5J2L battery)

Education in Togo is compulsory for six years.[41] In 1996, the gross primary enrollment rate was 119.6%, and the net primary enrollment rate was 81.3%.[41] The education system has suffered from teacher shortages, lower educational quality in rural areas, and high repetition and dropout rates. (SONY PCG-5K2L battery)

Main articles: Culture of Togo and Music of Togo

Traditional Taberma houses

Togo's culture reflects the influences of its many ethnic groups, the largest and most influential of which are the Ewe, Mina, Tem, Tchamba and Kabre.

Despite the influences of Christianity and Islam, over half of the people of Togo follow native animistic practices and beliefs.

Ewe statuary is characterized by its famous statuettes which illustrate the worship of the ibeji. Sculptures and hunting trophies were used rather than the more ubiquitous African masks. The wood-carvers of Kloto are famous for their "chains of marriage"(SONY PCG-5L1L battery): two characters are connected by rings drawn from only one piece of wood.

The dyed fabric batiks of the artisanal center of Kloto represent stylized and coloured scenes of ancient everyday life. The loincloths used in the ceremonies of the weavers of Assahoun are famous. Works of the painter Sokey Edorh are inspired by the immense arid extents, swept by the harmattan, and where the laterite keeps the prints of the men and the animals(SONY PCG-6S2L battery). The plastics technician Paul Ahyi is internationally recognized today. He practices the "zota", a kind of pyroengraving, and his monumental achievements decorate Lomé.

In Togo, breakfast normally consists of a porridge called aklui zogbon that is eaten with a doughnut tasting round ball called botoquoin. For lunch, they have white rice and tomato sauce with a side of chicken and or fish. (SONY PCG-6S3L battery) In daily life, many Togolese indulge in a staple called akoemhe or akume, as the natives call it. La Pate are essentially balls of rice or corn that are mashed into a white dough-like paste. Akoemhe is eaten because it is extremely filling, so the Togolese eat it with several different sauces to give it flavour and variety. (SONY PCG-6V1L battery)

Main article: Togo at the Olympics

On 12 August 2008, Benjamin Boukpeti (born to a Togolese father and a French mother) won a bronze medal in the Men's K1 Kayak Slalom, the first medal ever won by a member of the Togolese team at the Olympics.

As in much of Africa, soccer is the most popular sporting pursuit. Until 2006, Togo was very much a minor force in world football, but like fellow West African nations such as Senegal, Nigeria and Cameroon before them, the Togolese national team finally qualified for the World Cup(SONY PCG-6W1L battery).

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon (French: République du Cameroun), is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Bonny(SONY PCG-7111L battery), part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The country is called "Africa in miniature" for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. The highest point is Mount Cameroon in the southwest, and the largest cities are Douala, Yaoundé and Garoua. Cameroon is home to over 200 different linguistic groups(SONY PCG-71511M battery). The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for its successful national football team. French and English are the official languages.

Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad and the Baka hunter-gatherers in the southeastern rainforest. Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões, the name from which Cameroon derives. Fulani[(SONY PCG-6W3L battery) soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th century, and various ethnic groups of the west and northwest established powerful chiefdoms and fondoms. Cameroon became a German colony in 1884.

After World War I, the territory was divided between France and Britain as League of Nations mandates. The Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC) political party advocated independence, but was outlawed by France in the 1950s(SONY PCG-7113L battery). It waged war on French and UPC militant forces until 1971. In 1960, the French-administered part of Cameroon became independent as the Republic of Cameroun under President Ahmadou Ahidjo. The southern part of British Cameroons merged with it in 1961 to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The country was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon in 1972 and the Republic of Cameroon in 1984(SONY PCG-7133L battery).

Compared to other African countries, Cameroon enjoys relatively high political and social stability. This has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, railways, and large petroleum and timber industries. Nevertheless, large numbers of Cameroonians live in poverty as subsistence farmers. Power lies firmly in the hands of the authoritarian president since 1982(SONY PCG-7Z1L battery), Paul Biya, and his Cameroon People's Democratic Movement party. The English-speaking territories of Cameroon have grown increasingly alienated from the government, and politicians from those regions have called for greater decentralization and even secession (for example: the Southern Cameroons National Council) of the former British-governed territories(SONY PCG-7Z2L battery)          .

The territory of present day Cameroon was first settled during the Neolithic. The longest continuous inhabitants are groups such as the Baka (Pygmies).[8] From here, Bantu migrations into eastern, southern, and central Africa are believed to have originated about 2,000 years ago.[9] The Sao culture arose around Lake Chad c. AD 500 and gave way to the Kanem and its successor state, the Bornu empire. Kingdoms, fondoms(SONY PCG-8Y1L battery), and chiefdoms arose in the west.

Portuguese sailors reached the coast in 1472. They noted an abundance of the mud lobster Lepidophthalmus turneranus in the Wouri River and named it Rio dos Camarões, and the phrase from which Cameroon is derived. Over the following few centuries, European interests regularised trade with the coastal peoples(SONY PCG-8Y2L battery), and Christian missionaries pushed inland. In the early 19th century, Modibo Adama led Fulani soldiers on a jihad in the north against non-Muslim and partially Muslim peoples and established the Adamawa Emirate. Settled peoples who fled the Fulani caused a major redistribution of population.[10] The northern part of Cameroon was an important part of the Muslim slave trade network. (SONY PCG-8Z2L battery)

The Bamum people have an indigenous writing system, known as Bamum script or Shu Mom. The script was developed by Sultan Ibrahim Njoya in 1896, and is taught in Cameroon by the Bamum Scripts and Archives Project.[12] The German Empire claimed the territory as the colony of Kamerun in 1884 and began a steady push inland. They initiated projects to improve the colony's infrastructure, relying on a harsh system of forced labour. (SONY PCG-8Z1L battery) With the defeat of Germany in World War I, Kamerun became a League of Nations mandate territory and was split into French Cameroun and British Cameroons in 1919. France integrated the economy of Cameroun with that of France[14] and improved the infrastructure with capital investments, skilled workers, and continued forced labour. (SONY PCG-7112L battery)

The British administered their territory from neighbouring Nigeria. Natives complained that this made them a neglected "colony of a colony". Nigerian migrant workers flocked to Southern Cameroons, ending forced labour but angering indigenous peoples.[15] The League of Nations mandates were converted into United Nations Trusteeships in 1946, and the question of independence became a pressing issue in French Cameroun. (SONY PCG-6W2L battery) France outlawed the most radical political party, the Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC), on 13 July 1955. This prompted a long guerrilla war and the assassination of the party's leader, Ruben Um Nyobé, near Boumnyébel, the village where he was born. In British Cameroons, the question was whether to reunify with French Cameroun or join Nigeria(SONY PCG-5K1L battery).

Ahmadou Ahidjo arrives at Washington, D.C., in July 1982.

On 1 January 1960 at 2:30 am, French Cameroun gained independence from France under President Ahmadou Ahidjo. On 1 October 1961, the formerly British Southern Cameroons united with French Cameroun to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. Ahidjo used the ongoing war with the UPC to concentrate power in the presidency, continuing with this even after the suppression of the UPC in 1971. (SONY VGP-BPS13 battery)

His political party, the Cameroon National Union (CNU), became the sole legal political party on 1 September 1966 and in 1972, the federal system of government was abolished in favour of a United Republic of Cameroon, headed from Yaoundé.[17] Ahidjo pursued an economic policy of planned liberalism, prioritising cash crops and petroleum exploitation(SONY VGP-BPS13Q battery). The government used oil money to create a national cash reserve, pay farmers, and finance major development projects; however, many initiatives failed when Ahidjo appointed unqualified allies to direct them.[18]

Ahidjo stepped down on 4 November 1982 and left power to his constitutional successor, Paul Biya. However, Ahidjo remained in control of the CNU and tried to run the country from behind the scenes until Biya and his allies pressured him into resigning(SONY VGP-BPS13A/Q battery). Biya began his administration by moving toward a more democratic government, but a failed coup d'état nudged him toward the leadership style of his predecessor.[19]

An economic crisis took effect in the mid-1980s to late 1990s as a result of international economic conditions, drought, falling petroleum prices, and years of corruption, mismanagement, and cronyism(SONY VGP-BPS13B/Q battery). Cameroon turned to foreign aid, cut government spending, and privatised industries. With the reintroduction of multi-party politics in December 1990, the former British Cameroons pressure groups called for greater autonomy, with some (SCNC) advocating complete secession as the Republic of Ambazonia.[20] In February 2008, Cameroon experienced its worst violence in 15 years when a transport union strike in Douala escalated into violent protests in 31 municipal areas(SONY VGP-BPS13/B battery).

President Paul Biya of Cameroon and Ambassador R. Niels Marquardt of the United States, 16 February 2006.

The President of Cameroon has broad, unilateral powers to create policy, administer government agencies, command the armed forces, negotiate and ratify treaties, and declare a state of emergency.[23] The president appoints government officials at all levels, from the prime minister (considered the official head of government), to the provincial governors(SONY VGP-BPS13B/B battery), divisional officers, and urban-council members in large cities. The president is selected by popular vote every seven years. In smaller municipalities, the public elects mayors and councilors.

Corruption is rife at all levels of government. In 1997, Cameroon established anti-corruption bureaus in 29 ministries, but only 25% became operational,[24] and in 2011, Transparency International placed Cameroon at number 134 on a list of 183 countries ranked(SONY VGP-BPS13A/S battery) from least to most corrupt.[25] On 18 January 2006, Biya initiated an anti-corruption drive under the direction of the National Anti-Corruption Observatory.[24]

Cameroon's legal system is largely based on French civil law with common law influences.[26] Although nominally independent, the judiciary falls under the authority of the executive's Ministry of Justice. (SONY VGP-BPS21A/B battery)The president appoints judges at all levels. The judiciary is officially divided into tribunals, the court of appeal, and the supreme court. The National Assembly elects the members of a nine-member High Court of Justice that judges high-ranking members of government in the event they are charged with high treason or harming national security(SONY VGP-BPS21B battery).

A statue of a chief in Bana, West Region, shows the prestige afforded such rulers. The Cameroonian government recognizes the power of traditional authorities provided their rulings do not contradict national law.

Human rights organisations accuse police and military forces of mistreating and even torturing criminal suspects, ethnic minorities, homosexuals, and political activists.[28] Prisons are overcrowded with little access to adequate food and medical facilities(SONY VGP-BPS21 battery), and prisons run by traditional rulers in the north are charged with holding political opponents at the behest of the government.[31] However, since the first decade of the 21st century, an increasing number of police and gendarmes have been prosecuted for improper conduct.[30]

The National Assembly makes legislation. The body consists of 180 members who are elected for five-year terms and meet three times per year(SONY VGP-BPS21/S battery). Laws are passed on a majority vote. Rarely has the assembly changed or blocked legislation proposed by the president. The 1996 constitution establishes a second house of parliament, the 100-seat Senate, but this body has never been put into practice.[26] The government recognises the authority of traditional chiefs, fons, and lamibe to govern at the local level and to resolve disputes as long as such rulings do not conflict with national law(SONY VGP-BPS13AS battery).

President Paul Biya's Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) was the only legal political party until December 1990. Numerous regional political groups have since formed. The primary opposition is the Social Democratic Front (SDF), based largely in the Anglophone region of the country and headed by John Fru Ndi. Biya and his party (SONY VGP-BPS13S battery)have maintained control of the presidency and the National Assembly in national elections, but rivals contend that these have been unfair.[20] Human rights organisations allege that the government suppresses the freedoms of opposition groups by preventing demonstrations, disrupting meetings, and arresting opposition leaders and journalists. Freedom House ranks Cameroon as "not free" (SONY VGP-BPS13B/S battery)in terms of political rights and civil liberties.[35] The last parliamentary elections were held on 22 July 2007.[36]

Cameroon is a member of both the Commonwealth of Nations and La Francophonie. Its foreign policy closely follows that of its main ally, France (the former colonial ruler).[37] The country relies heavily on France for its defence,[27] although military spending is high in comparison to other sectors of government. (SONY VGP-BPS13B/G battery)Biya has clashed with the government of Nigeria over possession of the Bakassi peninsula and with Gabon's president, El Hadj Omar Bongo, over personal rivalries.

Education and health

Main articles: Education in Cameroon and Health in Cameroon

A traditional doctor advertises his services in Tatum, Northwest Region. Such healers are popular alternatives to conventionally trained doctors.

In 2001, the literacy rate of Cameroon was estimated to be 67.9% (77% for males and 59.8% for females). Most children have access to state-run schools that are cheaper than private and religious facilities.[40] The educational system is a mixture of British and French precedents(SONY VGP-BPS14 battery) with most instruction in English or French. Cameroon has one of the highest school attendance rates in Africa.[40] Girls attend school less regularly than boys do because of cultural attitudes, domestic duties, early marriage and pregnancy, and sexual harassment. Although attendance rates are higher in the south,[40] a disproportionate number of teachers are stationed there, leaving northern schools chronically understaffed. (SONY VGP-BPL14 battery)

The quality of health care is generally low.[43] Outside the major cities, facilities are often dirty and poorly equipped. Life expectancy at birth is estimated to be 54.71 years in 2012, among the lowest in the world. Endemic diseases include dengue fever, filariasis, leishmaniasis, malaria, meningitis, schistosomiasis, and sleeping sickness. (SONY VGP-BPS14/B battery) The HIV/AIDS seroprevalence rate is estimated at 5.4% for those aged 15–49, although a strong stigma against the illness keeps the number of reported cases artificially low.[43] Traditional healers remain a popular alternative to Western medicine.[48]

Administrative divisions

Main articles: Regions of Cameroon and Departments of Cameroon

Cameroon is divided into 10 regions.

The constitution divides Cameroon into 10 semi-autonomous regions, each under the administration of an elected Regional Council. A presidential decree of 12 November 2008 officially instigated the change from provinces to regions. (SONY VGP-BPS14/S battery) Each region is headed by a presidentially appointed governor. These leaders are charged with implementing the will of the president, reporting on the general mood and conditions of the regions, administering the civil service, keeping the peace, and overseeing the heads of the smaller administrative units. Governors have broad powers(SONY VGP-BPS14B battery): they may order propaganda in their area and call in the army, gendarmes, and police.[50] All local government officials are employees of the central government’s Ministry of Territorial Administration, from which local governments also get most of their budgets.[9]

The regions are subdivided into 58 divisions (French départements). These are headed by presidentially appointed divisional officers (préfets) (SONY VGP-BPS22 battery), who perform the governors' duties on a smaller scale. The divisions are further sub-divided into sub-divisions (arrondissements), headed by assistant divisional officers (sous-prefets). The districts, administered by district heads (chefs de district), are the smallest administrative units. These are found in large sub-divisions and in regions that are difficult to reach(SONY VGP-BPS22 battery).

The three northernmost regions are the Far North (Extrême Nord), North (Nord), and Adamawa (Adamaoua). Directly south of them are the Centre (Centre) and East (Est). The South Province (Sud) lies on the Gulf of Guinea and the southern border. Cameroon's western region is split into four smaller regions: The Littoral (Littoral) and Southwest (Sud-Ouest) (SONY VGP-BPS18 battery)regions are on the coast, and the Northwest (Nord-Ouest) and West (Ouest) regions are in the western grassfields. The Northwest and Southwest were once part of British Cameroons; the other regions were in French Cameroon.

Main article: Geography of Cameroon

Volcanic plugs dot the landscape near Rhumsiki, Far North Region.

At 475,442 square kilometres (183,569 sq mi), Cameroon is the world's 53rd-largest country. (SONY VGP-BPS22/A battery) It is comparable in size to Papua New Guinea and somewhat larger than the U.S. state of California.[26][52] The country is located in Central and West Africa on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. Cameroon lies between latitudes 1° and 13°N, and longitudes 8° and 17°E.

Tourist literature describes Cameroon as "Africa in miniature" because it exhibits all major climates and vegetation of the continent(SONY VGP-BPS22A battery): coast, desert, mountains, rainforest, and savanna.[53] The country's neighbours are Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south.

Cameroon is divided into five major geographic zones distinguished by dominant physical, climatic, and vegetative features. The coastal plain extends 15 to 150 kilometres (9 to 93 mi) inland from the Gulf of Guinea(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11S battery) and has an average elevation of 90 metres (295 ft). Exceedingly hot and humid with a short dry season, this belt is densely forested and includes some of the wettest places on earth, part of the Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests.

The South Cameroon Plateau rises from the coastal plain to an average elevation of 650 metres (2,133 ft).[58] Equatorial rainforest dominates this region, although its alternation between wet and dry seasons makes it is less humid than the coast(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ15T battery). This area is part of the Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests ecoregion.

Countryside near Ngaoundal in Cameroon's Adamawa Region.

Fifteenth-century Portuguese explorers found the mud shrimp Lepidophthalmus turneranus in such abundance that they named the area Rio dos Camarões, the name from which Cameroon derives.

An irregular chain of mountains, hills, and plateaus known as the Cameroon range extends from Mount Cameroon on the coast—Cameroon's highest point at 4,095 metres (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ15G battery) (13,435 ft)[59]—almost to Lake Chad at Cameroon's northern border at 13°05'N. This region has a mild climate, particularly on the Western High Plateau, although rainfall is high. Its soils are among Cameroon's most fertile, especially around volcanic Mount Cameroon.[59] Volcanism here has created crater lakes. On 21 August 1986, one of these, Lake Nyos, belched carbon dioxide and killed between 1,700 and 2,000 people. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11L battery) This area has been delineated by the World Wildlife Fund as the Cameroonian Highlands forests ecoregion.

The southern plateau rises northward to the grassy, rugged Adamawa Plateau. This feature stretches from the western mountain area and forms a barrier between the country's north and south. Its average elevation is 1,100 metres (3,609 ft),[58] and its average temperature ranges from 22 °C (71.6 °F) to 25 °C (77 °F) (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11Z battery) with high rainfall between April and October peaking in July and August.[61] The northern lowland region extends from the edge of the Adamawa to Lake Chad with an average elevation of 300 to 350 metres (984 to 1,148 ft).[59] Its characteristic vegetation is savanna scrub and grass. This is an arid region with sparse rainfall and high median temperatures(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11M battery).

Cameroon has four patterns of drainage. In the south, the principal rivers are the Ntem, Nyong, Sanaga, and Wouri. These flow southwestward or westward directly into the Gulf of Guinea. The Dja and Kadéï drain southeastward into the Congo River. In northern Cameroon, the Bénoué River runs north and west and empties into the Niger. The Logone flows northward into Lake Chad, which Cameroon shares with three neighbouring countries(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18M battery).

Economy and infrastructure

Street vendor in Douala, Cameroon

Graphical depiction of Cameroon's product exports in 28 color coded categories.

A Fulani herder drives his cattle in northern Cameroon

Main article: Economy of Cameroon

Cameroon's per-capita GDP (Purchasing power parity) was estimated as US$2,300 in 2008,[62] one of the ten highest in sub-Saharan Africa.[63] Major export markets include France, Italy, South Korea, Spain, and the United Kingdom.[26] Cameroon has enjoyed a decade of strong economic performance, with GDP growing at an average of 4 percent per year. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18 battery) During the 2004–2008 period, public debt was reduced from over 60 percent of GDP to 10 percent and official reserves quadrupled to over USD 3 billion.[64] Cameroon is part of the Bank of Central African States (of which it is the dominant economy),[63] the Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa (UDEAC) and the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA). (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ210CE battery)

Its currency is the CFA franc. Red tape, high taxes, and endemic corruption have impeded growth of the private sector. Unemployment was estimated at 30% in 2001, and about a third of the population was living below the international poverty threshold of US$1.25 a day in 2009.[66] Since the late 1980s, Cameroon has been following programmes advocated by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31S battery) to reduce poverty, privatise industries, and increase economic growth.[27] Tourism is a growing sector, particularly in the coastal area, around Mount Cameroon, and in the north.

Cameroon's natural resources are very well suited to agriculture and arboriculture. An estimated 70% of the population farms, and agriculture comprised an estimated 19.8% of GDP in 2009.[26] Most agriculture is done at the subsistence scale by local farmers using simple tools(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31Z battery). They sell their surplus produce, and some maintain separate fields for commercial use. Urban centres are particularly reliant on peasant agriculture for their foodstuffs. Soils and climate on the coast encourage extensive commercial cultivation of bananas, cocoa, oil palms, rubber, and tea. Inland on the South Cameroon Plateau, cash crops include coffee, sugar, and tobacco(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31E battery). Coffee is a major cash crop in the western highlands, and in the north, natural conditions favour crops such as cotton, groundnuts, and rice. Reliance on agricultural exports makes Cameroon vulnerable to shifts in their prices.[26]

Livestock are raised throughout the country. Fishing employs some 5,000 people and provides 20,000 tons of seafood each year. Bushmeat, long a staple food for rural Cameroonians, is today a delicacy in the country's urban centres(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31J battery). The commercial bushmeat trade has now surpassed deforestation as the main threat to wildlife in Cameroon.

The southern rainforest has vast timber reserves, estimated to cover 37% of Cameroon's total land area. However, large areas of the forest are difficult to reach. Logging, largely handled by foreign-owned firms, provides the government US$60 million a year, and laws mandate the safe and sustainable exploitation of timber. Nevertheless(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31M battery), in practice, the industry is one of the least regulated in Cameroon.

A bush taxi attempts to pass a stalled logging vehicle on the road between Abong-Mbang and Lomié, East Region.

Factory-based industry accounted for an estimated 29.7% of GDP in 2009.[26] More than 75% of Cameroon's industrial strength is located in Douala and Bonabéri. Cameroon possesses substantial mineral resources, but these are not extensively mined. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31B battery)Petroleum exploitation has fallen since 1985, but this is still a substantial sector such that dips in prices have a strong effect on the economy. Rapids and waterfalls obstruct the southern rivers, but these sites offer opportunities for hydroelectric development and supply most of Cameroon's energy. The Sanaga River powers the largest hydroelectric station, located at Edéa(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ32 battery). The rest of Cameroon's energy comes from oil-powered thermal engines. Much of the country remains without reliable power supplies.

Transport in Cameroon is often difficult. Except for the several relatively good toll roads which connect major cities (all of them one-lane) roads are poorly maintained and subject to inclement weather, since only 10% of the roadways are tarred. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ410 battery) Roadblocks often serve little other purpose than to allow police and gendarmes to collect bribes from travellers.[67] Road banditry has long hampered transport along the eastern and western borders, and since 2005, the problem has intensified in the east as the Central African Republic has further destabilised. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21 battery)

Intercity bus services run by multiple private companies connect all major cities, although intercity buses rarely depart on schedule but rather wait until all the tickets are sold. They are the most popular mean of transportation followed by the rail service Camrail. Rail service runs from Kumba in the west to Bélabo in the east and north to Ngaoundéré(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21S battery).

International airports are located in Douala and Yaoundé. The airport at Bamenda is now closed. The Wouri estuary provides a harbour for Douala, the country's principal seaport. In the north, the Bénoué River is seasonally navigable from Garoua across into Nigeria.

Although press freedoms have improved since the first decade of the 21st century, the press is corrupt and beholden to special interests and political groups. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21M battery) Newspapers routinely self-censor to avoid government reprisals.[30] The major radio and television stations are state-run and other communications, such as land-based telephones and telegraphs, are largely under government control.[70] However, cell phone networks and Internet providers have increased dramatically since the first decade of the 21st century[71] and are largely unregulated. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ38M battery)

[edit]Demographics

2009 UN estimates place Cameroon's population at 19,522,000. The population is young: an estimated 40.9% are under 15, and 96.7% are under 65. The birth rate is estimated at 34.1 births per 1,000 people, the death rate at 12.2.[26] The life expectancy is 53.69 years (52.89 years for males and 54.52 years for females). (Sony VGN-NR11S/S Battery)

Cameroon's population is almost evenly divided between urban and rural dwellers.[73] Population density is highest in the large urban centres, the western highlands, and the northeastern plain.[74] Douala, Yaoundé, and Garoua are the largest cities. In contrast, the Adamawa Plateau, southeastern Bénoué depression, and most of the South Cameroon Plateau are sparsely populated. (Sony VGN-NR11M/S Battery)

People from the overpopulated western highlands and the underdeveloped north are moving to the coastal plantation zone and urban centres for employment.[76] Smaller movements are occurring as workers seek employment in lumber mills and plantations in the south and east.[77] Although the national sex ratio is relatively even, these out-migrants are primarily males, which leads to unbalanced ratios in some regions. (Sony VGN-NR11Z/S Battery)

The homes of the Musgum, in the Far North Region, are made of earth and grass.

Both monogamous and polygamous marriage are practiced, and the average Cameroonian family is large and extended.[79] In the north, women tend to the home, and men herd cattle or work as farmers. In the south, women grow the family's food, and men provide meat and grow cash crops. Cameroonian society is male-dominated(Sony VGN-NR11Z/T Battery), and violence and discrimination against women is common.

Estimates identify anywhere from 230 to 282 different folks and linguistic groups in Cameroon. The Adamawa Plateau broadly bisects these into northern and southern divisions. The northern peoples are Sudanese groups, who live in the central highlands and the northern lowlands, and the Fulani, who are spread throughout northern Cameroon. A small number of Shuwa Arabs live near Lake Chad(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21E battery). Southern Cameroon is inhabited by speakers of Bantu and Semi-Bantu languages. Bantu-speaking groups inhabit the coastal and equatorial zones, while speakers of Semi-Bantu languages live in the Western grassfields. Some 5,000 Gyele and Baka Pygmy peoples roam the southeastern and coastal rainforests or live in small, roadside settlements.[83] Nigerians, make up the largest group of foreign nationals. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21Z battery)

A Tikar family in the Northwest Province

In 2007, Cameroon hosted a total population of refugees and asylum seekers of approximately 97,400. Of these, 49,300 were from the Central African Republic (many driven west by war),[85] 41,600 from Chad, and 2,900 from Nigeria.[86] Kidnappings of Cameroonian citizens by Central African bandits have increased since 2005. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21J battery)

The European languages introduced during colonialism have created a linguistic divide between the population who live in the Northwest and Southwest regions and the French-speaking remainder of the country.[87] Both English and French are official languages, although French is by far the most understood language (80+%).[88] German, the language of the original colonisers(Sony VAIO VGN-FW11 battery), has long since been displaced by French and English. Cameroonian Pidgin English is the lingua franca in the formerly British-administered territories.[89] A mixture of English, French, and Pidgin called Camfranglais has been gaining popularity in urban centres since the mid-1970s.[90]

Cameroon has a high level of religious freedom and diversity.[30] The predominant faith is Christianity, practiced by about two-thirds of the population(Sony VAIO VGN-FW11M battery), while Islam is a significant minority faith, adhered to by about one-fifth. In addition, traditional faiths are practiced by many. Muslims are most concentrated in the north, while Christians are concentrated primarily in the southern and western regions, but practitioners of both faiths can be found throughout the country.[91] Large cities have significant populations of both groups. (Sony VAIO VGN-FW11S battery) There is significant internal migration. There are currently no active religious political parties.

People from the North-West and South-West provinces are largely Protestant, and the French-speaking regions of the southern and western regions are largely Catholic.[91] Southern ethnic groups predominantly follow Christian or traditional African animist beliefs, or a syncretic combination of the two. People widely believe in witchcraft, and the government outlaws such practices.[92] Suspected witches are often subject to mob violence. (Sony VAIO VGN-FW21E battery)

In the northern regions, the locally dominant Fulani ethnic group is mostly Muslim, but the overall population is fairly evenly divided among Muslims, Christians, and followers of indigenous religious beliefs (called Kirdi ("pagan") by the Fulani).[91] The Bamum ethnic group of the West Region is largely Muslim.[91] Native traditional religions are practiced in rural areas throughout the country but rarely are practiced publicly in cities(Sony VAIO VGN-FW21J battery), in part because many indigenous religious groups are intrinsically local in character.[91]

[edit]Culture

Each of Cameroon's ethnic groups has its own unique cultural forms. Typical celebrations include births, deaths, plantings, harvests, and religious rituals. Seven national holidays are observed throughout the year, and movable holidays include the Christian holy days of Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, and Ascension; and the Muslim holy days of Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha, and Eid Miladun Nabi(Sony VAIO VGN-FW21L battery).

Music and dance are an integral part of Cameroonian ceremonies, festivals, social gatherings, and storytelling.[93] Traditional dances are highly choreographed and separate men and women or forbid participation by one sex altogether.[94] The goals of dances range from pure entertainment to religious devotion.[95] Traditionally, music is transmitted orally. In a typical performance, a chorus of singers echoes a soloist. (Sony VAIO VGN-FW41M battery)

Musical accompaniment may be as simple as clapping hands and stomping feet,[97] but traditional instruments include bells worn by dancers, clappers, drums and talking drums, flutes, horns, rattles, scrapers, stringed instruments, whistles, and xylophones; the exact combination varies with ethnic group and region. Some performers sing complete songs by themselves, accompanied by a harplike instrument. (Sony VAIO VGN-FW41M/H battery)

Popular music styles include ambasse bey of the coast, assiko of the Bassa, mangambeu of the Bangangte, and tsamassi of the Bamileke.[99] Nigerian music has influenced Anglophone Cameroonian performers, and Prince Nico Mbarga's highlife hit "Sweet Mother" is the top-selling African record in history.[100] The two most popular styles are makossa and bikutsi(Sony VAIO VGN-FW21M battery). Makossa developed in Douala and mixes folk music, highlife, soul, and Congo music. Performers such as Manu Dibango, Francis Bebey, Moni Bilé, and Petit-Pays popularised the style worldwide in the 1970s and 1980s. Bikutsi originated as war music among the Ewondo. Artists such as Anne-Marie Nzié developed it into a popular dance music beginning in the 1940s(Sony VAIO VGN-FW21Z battery), and performers such as Mama Ohandja and Les Têtes Brulées popularised it internationally during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.[101]

A woman weaves a basket near Lake Ossa, Littoral Region. Cameroonians practice such handicrafts throughout the country.

Cuisine varies by region, but a large, one-course, evening meal is common throughout the country. A typical dish is based on cocoyams, maize, cassava (manioc), millet, plantains, potatoes, rice, or yams, often pounded into dough-like fufu (cous-cous) (Sony VAIO VGN-FW32J battery). This is served with a sauce, soup, or stew made from greens, groundnuts, palm oil, or other ingredients.[102] Meat and fish are popular but expensive additions.[103] Dishes are often quite hot, spiced with salt, red pepper, and Maggi.[104] Water, palm wine, and millet beer are the traditional mealtime drinks, although beer, soda, and wine have gained popularity. Silverware is common, but food is traditionally manipulated with the right hand(Sony VAIO VGN-FW17W battery). Breakfast consists of leftovers of bread and fruit with coffee or tea, generally breakfast is made from wheat flour various different foods such as puff-puff (doughnuts), accra banana made from bananas and flour,bean cakes and many more. Snacks are popular, especially in larger towns where they may be bought from street vendors. (Sony VAIO VGN-FW31E battery)

Traditional arts and crafts are practiced throughout the country for commercial, decorative, and religious purposes. Woodcarvings and sculptures are especially common.[106] The high-quality clay of the western highlands is suitable for pottery and ceramics.[95] Other crafts include basket weaving, beadworking, brass and bronze working, calabash carving and painting(Sony VAIO VGN-FW139E battery), embroidery, and leather working. Traditional housing styles make use of locally available materials and vary from temporary wood-and-leaf shelters of nomadic Mbororo to the rectangular mud-and-thatch homes of southern peoples. Dwellings made from materials such as cement and tin are increasingly common.[107]

Contemporary art is mainly promoted by independent cultural organizations (Doual'art, Africréa) and artist-run initiatives (Art Wash, Atelier Viking, ArtBakery) (Sony VAIO VGN-FW139E/H battery). Douala and Yaoundé are the major cities where the institutions and projects are located. Douala hosts the art biennial DUTA (2005 and 2007) and the art and architecture triennial SUD-Salon Urbain de Douala with site-specific permanent and ephemeral urban interventions; in Yaoundé is located RAVY-Rencontres d'arts visuels de Yaoundé(Sony VAIO VGN-FW465J battery).

Cameroon faces Germany at Zentralstadion in Leipzig, 27 April 2003.

Cameroonian literature and film have concentrated on both European and African themes. Colonial-era writers such as Louis-Marie Pouka and Sankie Maimo were educated by European missionary societies and advocated assimilation into European culture as the means to bring Cameroon into the modern world. (Sony VAIO VGN-FW31M battery)After World War II, writers such as Mongo Beti and Ferdinand Oyono analysed and criticised colonialism and rejected assimilation.[109]

Shortly after independence, filmmakers such as Jean-Paul Ngassa and Thérèse Sita-Bella explored similar themes.[110] In the 1960s, Mongo Beti and other writers explored post-colonialism, problems of African development, and the recovery of African identity. (Sony VAIO VGN-FW31J battery) Meanwhile, in the mid-1970s, filmmakers such as Jean-Pierre Dikongué Pipa and Daniel Kamwa dealt with the conflicts between traditional and post-colonial society. Literature and films during the next two decades concentrated more on wholly Cameroonian themes.[112]

National policy strongly advocates sport in all forms. Traditional sports include canoe racing and wrestling, and several hundred runners participate in the 40 km (25 mi) Mount Cameroon Race of Hope each year. (Sony VAIO VGN-FW31Z battery) Cameroon is one of the few tropical countries to have competed in the Winter Olympics. However, sport in Cameroon is dominated by association football (soccer). Amateur football clubs abound, organised along ethnic lines or under corporate sponsors. The Cameroon national football team has been one of the most successful in Africa since its strong showing in the 1990 FIFA World Cup(Sony VGN-NR11Z Battery). Cameroon has won four African Cup of Nations titles and the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics.[114] Samuel Eto'o and the Cameroon national team did not make it out of the group stages of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of over 32 million and an area of 446,550 km² (710,850 km² with Western Sahara). Morocco also administers most of the disputed region of the Western Sahara as the Southern Provinces(SONY PCG-5G2L battery). Morocco remains the only African state not to be a member of the African Union due to its unilateral withdrawal on November 12, 1984 over the admission of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in 1982 by the African Union as a full member without the organization of a referendum of self-determination in the disputed territory of Western Sahara(SONY PCG-5G3L battery). Arabic name al-Mamlakat al-Maghribiyyah translates to "The Western Kingdom". Al-Maghrib, meaning "The West", is commonly used. For historical references, medieval Arab historians and geographers used to refer to Morocco as al-Maghrib al-Aqṣá and al-Maghrib al-Adná.[6]

Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive and legislative powers(SONY PCG-F305 battery), including the power to dissolve the parliament. Executive power is exercised by the government but the king's decisions usually override those of the government if there is a contradiction. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives and the Assembly of Councillors. The king can also issue decrees called dahirs which have the force of law. The latest Parliamentary elections were held on November 25, 2011(SONY PCG-5J1L battery), and were considered by some neutral observers to be mostly free and fair. Voter turnout in these elections was estimated to be 43% of registered voters. The political capital of Morocco is Rabat, although the largest city is Casablanca; other major cities include Marrakesh, Tetouan, Tangier, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, and Nador(SONY PCG-5J2L battery).

The Moroccan economy is generally diverse but very fragile. About 40% of Moroccans cannot read or write, and the country has high levels of extreme poverty and health care deprivation. Morocco also has a high level of economic inequality. The unemployment rates under the highly educated as well as the unskilled are very high and cause consistent social unrest in many cities and villages(SONY PCG-5K2L battery). In 2011, the UN's Human Development Index ranked Morocco as the 130th most developed country in the world.

Almost all Moroccans speak Berber, Moroccan Arabic or French as mother tongues. Hassaniya Arabic, sometimes considered as a variety of Moroccan Arabic, is spoken in the southern provinces (Western Sahara) in the country by a small population(SONY PCG-5L1L battery).

The full Arabic name al-Mamlakat al-Maghribiyyah (المملكة المغربية) translates to "The Western Kingdom". Al-Maghrib (المغرب), meaning "The West", is commonly used. For historical references, medieval Arab historians and geographers used to refer to Morocco as al-Maghrib al-Aqṣá (المغرب الأقصى, "The Farthest West"), disambiguating it from neighboring historical regions called al-Maghrib al-Awsaṭ (المغرب الأوسط, "The Middle West", Algeria) (SONY PCG-6S2L battery) and al-Maghrib al-Adná (المغرب الأدنى, "The Nearest West", Tunisia).[7]

The English name "Morocco" originates from Spanish "Marruecos" or the Portuguese "Marrocos", from medieval Latin "Morroch", which referred to the name of the former Almoravid and Almohad capital, Marrakesh.[8] In Persian Morocco is still called "Marrakesh". Until recent decades, Morocco was called "Marrakesh" in Middle Eastern Arabic. In Turkish, Morocco is called "Fas" which comes from the ancient Idrisid and Marinid capital, Fez(SONY PCG-6S3L battery).

The word "Marrakesh" is made of the Berber word combination Mour N Akoush (Mur N Akuc), meaning Land of God.

Main article: History of Morocco

The earliest well-known Moroccan independent state was the Berber kingdom of Mauretania under king Bocchus I. This kingdom of Mauretania (in northern Morocco, not to be confused with the present state of Mauritania) dates at least to 110 BC.[9] The region remained a part of the Roman Empire until 429 AD when invading Vandals overran the area and Roman administrative presence came to an end(SONY PCG-6V1L battery).

Ruins of Chellah, Salé

Umayyad Muslims conquered the region in the 7th century, bringing their language, their system of government, and Islam, to which many of the Berbers slowly converted, mostly after the Arab rule receded. The first Muslim state, independent from the Abbasid Empire, in the area of modern Morocco, was the Kingdom of Nekor, an emirate in the Rif Mountains(SONY PCG-6W1L battery). It was founded by Salih I ibn Mansur in 710 AD, as a client state to the Rashidun Caliphate. According to medieval legend, Idris I fled to Morocco from the Abbasids' massacre against his tribe in Iraq and managed to convince the Awraba Berber tribes to break allegiance to the distant Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad. He founded the Idrisid Dynasty in 788 AD. Morocco later became a center of learning and a major regional power(SONY PCG-7111L battery). The Idrissids were dethroned in 927 by the Fatimid Caliphate and their Miknasa alies. The Miknasa princes, who had broken off relations with the Fatimids in 932, were removed from power by the Maghrawa of Sijilmasa in 980.

From the 11th century onwards, a series of powerful Berber dynasties arose. Under the Almoravid dynasty and the Almohad dynasty, Morocco dominated the Maghreb, Muslim-conquered Spain, and the western Mediterranean region(SONY PCG-71511M battery). In the 13th century the Merinids gained power over Morocco and strove to replicate the successes of the Almohads. In the 15th century the Reconquista ended Islamic rule in central and southern Iberia (modern day Spain + Portugal) and many Muslims and Jews fled to Morocco. Under the Saadi Dynasty, the first Moroccan dynasty initiated by ethnic Arabs since the Idrisids(SONY PCG-6W3L battery), the country would consolidate power and fight off Portuguese and Ottoman invaders, as in the battle of Ksar el Kebir. The reign of Ahmad al-Mansur brought new wealth and prestige to the Sultanate, and a massive invasion of the Songhay Empire was initiated.

However, managing the territories across the Sahara proved too difficult. After the death of al-Mansur the country was divided among his sons(SONY PCG-7113L battery). In 1666 the sultanate was reunited by the Alaouite dynasty, who have since been the ruling house in Morocco. The organization of the state developed with Ismail Ibn Sharif. With his Jaysh d'Ahl al-Rif (the Riffian Army) he seized Tangier from the English in 1684 and drove the Spanish from Larache in 1689(SONY PCG-7133L battery).

In 1912, after the First Moroccan Crisis and the Agadir Crisis, the Treaty of Fez was signed, effectively dividing Morocco into a French and a Spanish protectorate. In 1956, after forty-four years of occupation, Morocco regained independence from France and Spain as the "Kingdom of Morocco"(SONY PCG-7Z1L battery).

Population of Morocco

The area of present-day Morocco has been inhabited since Paleolithic times (at least since 200,000 BC, as attested by signs of the Aterian culture), a period when the Maghreb was less arid than it is today. In Paleolithic ages, the geography of Morocco resembled a savanna more than the present-day arid landscape.[13] In the classical period, Morocco was known as Mauretania, although this should not be confused with the modern-day nation of Mauritania(SONY PCG-7Z2L battery). The suggested skeletal similarities between the robust Iberomaurusian "Mechta-Afalou" burials and European Cro-Magnon remains, as well as the case for continuity of the bearers of the Iberomaurusian industry from Morocco with later northwest African populations suggested by the dental evidence should be considered. Current scientific debate is concerned with determining the relative contributions of different periods of gene flow to the current gene pool of North Africans(SONY PCG-8Y1L battery). Anatomically modern humans are known to have been present in North Africa during the Upper Paleolithic 175,000 years ago as attested by the Aterian culture. With apparent continuity, 22,000 years ago, the Aterian was succeeded by the Iberomaurusian culture which shared similarities with Iberian cultures. The Iberomaurusian was succeeded by the Bell-Beaker culture in Morocco(SONY PCG-8Y2L battery).

Additionally, recent studies have discovered a close mitochondrial link between Berbers and the Saami of Scandinavia which confirms that the Franco-Cantabrian refuge area of southwestern Europe was the source of late-glacial expansions of hunter-gatherers that repopulated northern Europe after the Last Glacial Maximum and reveals a direct maternal link between those European hunter-gatherer populations and the Berbers(SONY PCG-8Z2L battery).

Jewish people (whether of Hebrew or Berber descent) historically lived in Morocco. In any case, over the centuries, nearly all Berbers were Islamicized. Still, a large number of Berber Jews remained in Morocco especially after the arrival of Sephardi Jews following the Alhambra decree. In the early 20th century, numerous Moroccan Jews emigrated to the United States and Italy, after Italian Jews established study centers and schools to bring the Enlightenment to Moroccan Jews(SONY PCG-8Z1L battery).

In 1948, before the creation of Israel, Berber Jews numbered approximately 265,000 in Morocco. The hostilities and disruption of the war of independence and other wars in the Mideast caused more Jews to leave for Palestine, Europe and the United States. Seven thousand live there now (mostly in a few major cities) (SONY PCG-7112L battery). In relation to the commemoration of Christopher Columbus' voyage to the New World, numerous academic studies were undertaken about the Moroccan Jews of Morocco. The late king Hassan II reached out internationally to descendants of Jews who had lived in the country and encouraged returns and visits, with recognition of their contributions to the nation, but there has not been markedly increased immigration(SONY PCG-6W2L battery).

Romans and Morocco

A Roman mosaic in Volubilis

North Africa and Morocco were slowly drawn into the wider emerging Mediterranean world by Phoenician trading colonies and settlements in the early Classical period. Major early substantial settlements of the Phoenicians were at Chellah, Lixus and Mogador,[15] with Mogador being a Phoenician colony as early as the early 6th century BC.[16] The arrival of Phoenicians heralded a long engagement with the wider Mediterranean(SONY PCG-5K1L battery), as this strategic region formed part of the Roman Empire, as Mauretania Tingitana. In the 5th century, as the Roman Empire declined, the region fell to the Vandals, Visigoths, and then the Byzantine Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire, in rapid succession. During this time, however, the high mountains of most of modern Morocco remained unsubdued, and stayed in the hands of their Berber inhabitants(SONY VGP-BPL12 battery). Christianity was introduced in the 2nd century and gained converts in the towns and among slaves and Berber farmers.

The Kasbah of Aït Benhaddou, High Atlas. Built by the Berbers from the 14th century onwards, a Kasbah was a single family stronghold (as opposed to a Ksar: a fortified tribal village).

Islamic expansion began in the 7th century. In 670 AD, the first Islamic conquest of the North African coastal plain took place under Uqba ibn Nafi(SONY VGP-BPS12 battery), a general serving under the Umayyads of Damascus. After the outbreak of the Great Berber Revolt in 739, the region's Berber population asserted its independence, forming states and kingdoms such as the Miknasa of Sijilmasa and the Barghawata. Under Idris ibn Abdallah, who was appointed by the Awraba Berbers of Volubilis to be their representative, the country soon cut ties and broke away from the control of the distant Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad and the Umayyad rule in Al-Andalus(SONY VGP-BPS13 battery). The Idrisids established Fes as their capital and Morocco became a centre of Muslim learning and a major regional power.

Morocco would reach its height under a series of Berber dynasties that replaced the Idrisids after the 11th century.[17] From the 13th century onwards the country saw an importation of Banu Hilal Arab tribes as Mercenaries. Their arrival was to have a critical effect on the nation(SONY VGP-BPS13Q battery): due to them nomadism returned, urban civilization fell and the country's inhabitants were quickly becoming Ruined. The Almoravids, the Almohads, the Marinids, the Wattasids and finally the Saadi dynasty would see Morocco rule most of Northwest Africa, as well as large sections of Islamic Iberia, or Al-Andalus. Following the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula, large numbers of Muslims and Jews were forced to flee to Morocco. (SONY VGP-BPS13A/Q battery)

The Sultan Abderrahmane of Morocco, by Eugène Delacroix

After the Saadi, the Alaouite Dynasty eventually gained control. Morocco was facing aggression from Spain and the Ottoman Empire that was sweeping westward. The Alaouites succeeded in stabilizing their position, and while the kingdom was smaller than previous ones in the region, it remained quite wealthy. In 1684, they annexed Tangier. (SONY VGP-BPS13B/Q battery) The organization of the kingdom developed under Ismail Ibn Sharif (1672–1727), who, against the opposition of local tribes began to create a unified state.[19] According to Elizabeth Allo Isichei, "In 1520, there was a famine in Morocco so terrible that for a long time other events were dated by it. It has been suggested that the population of Morocco fell from 5 to under 3 million between the early sixteenth and nineteenth centuries(SONY VGP-BPS13/B battery)."

Morocco was the first nation to recognize the fledgling United States as an independent nation in 1777. In the beginning of the American Revolution, American merchant ships were subject to attack by the Barbary Pirates while sailing the Atlantic Ocean. On 20 December 1777, Morocco's Sultan Mohammed III declared that the American merchant ships would be under the protection of the sultanate and could thus enjoy safe passage(SONY VGP-BPS13B/B battery). The Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship stands as the U.S.'s oldest non-broken friendship treaty.

European influence

Pre-1956 Tangier had a highly heterogeneous population that included 40,000 Muslims, 30,000 Europeans and 15,000 Jews.[24]

Main articles: Portuguese Empire, French colonial empire, and Spanish Protectorate of Morocco

Successful Portuguese efforts to invade and control the Atlantic coast in the 15th century did not profoundly affect the Mediterranean heart of Morocco(SONY VGP-BPS13A/S battery). After the Napoleonic Wars, Egypt and the North African Maghreb became increasingly ungovernable from Istanbul, the resort of pirates under local beys, and as Europe industrialized, an increasingly prized potential for colonization. The Maghreb had far greater proven wealth than the unknown rest of Africa and a location of strategic importance affecting the exit from the Mediterranean. For the first time, Morocco became a state of some interest in itself to the European powers(SONY VGP-BPS21A/B battery).

France showed a strong interest in Morocco as early as 1830.[25] Recognition by the United Kingdom in 1904 of France's sphere of influence in Morocco provoked a reaction from the German Empire; the crisis of June 1905 was resolved at the Algeciras Conference in Spain in 1906, which formalized France's "special position" and entrusted policing of Morocco jointly to France and Spain(SONY VGP-BPS21B battery). The Agadir Crisis provoked by the Germans, increased tensions between European powers. The Treaty of Fez (signed on March 30, 1912) made Morocco a protectorate of France. By the same treaty, Spain assumed the role of protecting power over the northern and southern Saharan zones on November 27 that year.[26]

Many Moroccan soldiers (Goumieres) served in the French army in both World War I and World War II, and in the Spanish Nationalist Army in the Spanish Civil War and after (Regulares) (SONY VGP-BPS21 battery).

Death of Spanish general Margallo during the Melilla War. Le Petit Journal, 13 November 1893.

Under the French protectorate, Moroccan natives were denied their basic human rights such as freedom of speech, the right of gathering and travel in their own country. French settlers built for themselves modern European-like cities called "villages" or "villes" (French for "city") next to poor old Arab cities called "Medinas"(SONY VGP-BPS21/S battery). The French colonial system forbade native Moroccans from living, working, and traveling into the French quarters.[27] The French education system taught a minority of noble native Moroccan families about French history, art and culture, while disregarding their native language and culture. Colonial authorities exerted tighter control on religious schools and universities, namely "madrassas" and Quaraouaine university(SONY VGP-BPS13AS battery). The rise of a young Moroccan intellectual class gave birth to nationalist movements whose main goals were to restore the governance of the country to its own people.[28]

Nationalist political parties, which subsequently arose under the French protectorate, based their arguments for Moroccan independence on such World War II declarations as the Atlantic Charter (a joint U.S.-British statement that set forth, among other things(SONY VGP-BPS13S battery), the right of all people to choose the form of government under which they live). A manifesto of the Istiqlal Party (Independence party in English) in 1944 was one of the earliest public demands for independence. That party subsequently provided most of the leadership for the nationalist movement(SONY VGP-BPS13B/S battery).

France's exile of Sultan Mohammed V in 1953 to Madagascar and his replacement by the unpopular Mohammed Ben Aarafa, whose reign was perceived as illegitimate, sparked active opposition to the French and Spanish protectorates. The most notable violence occurred in Oujda where Moroccans attacked French and other European residents in the streets(SONY VGP-BPS13B/G battery). Operations by the newly created "Jaish al-tahrir" (Liberation Army), were launched on October 1, 1955. Jaish al-tahrir was created by "Comité de Libération du Maghreb Arabe" (Arab Maghreb Liberation Committee) in Cairo, Egypt to constitute a resistance movement against occupation. Its goal was the return of King Mohammed V and the liberation of Algeria and Tunisia as well. France allowed Mohammed V to return in 1955, and the negotiations that led to Moroccan independence began the following year(SONY VGP-BPS14 battery).

All those events helped increase the degree of solidarity between the people and the newly returned king. For this reason, the revolution that Morocco knew was called "Taourat al-malik wa shaab" (The revolution of the King and the People) and it is celebrated every August 20.

Contemporary Morocco

Further information: Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)

The Mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat(SONY VGP-BPL14 battery)

On November 18, 2006, Morocco celebrated the 50th anniversary of its independence. Morocco recovered its political independence from France on March 2, 1956, and on April 7, France officially relinquished its protectorate. Through agreements with Spain in 1956 and 1958, Moroccan control over certain Spanish-ruled areas was restored, though attempts to claim other Spanish colonial possessions through military action were less successful(SONY VGP-BPS14/B battery). The internationalized city of Tangier was reintegrated with the signing of the Tangier Protocol on October 29, 1956. Hassan II became King of Morocco on March 3, 1961. His early years of rule were marked by political unrest. The Spanish enclave of Ifni in the south was reintegrated to the country in 1969. Morocco annexed the Western Sahara during the 1970s ("Marcha Verde", Green March) after demanding its reintegration from Spain since independence(SONY VGP-BPS14/S battery), but final resolution on the status of the territory remains unresolved. (See History of Western Sahara.)

Political reforms in the 1990s resulted in the establishment of a bicameral legislature in 1997. Morocco was granted Major non-NATO ally status by the United States in June 2004 and has signed free trade agreements with the United States and the European Union.

Morocco has always been known for its Islamic liberalism and openness towards the Western world(SONY VGP-BPS14B battery). King Mohammed VI of Morocco with his ruling elite are democratically-minded, showing tolerance within the limits of territorial integrity and traditional laws and customs.

Bin el Ouidane Dam, Beni-Mellal

Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Spain to the north (a water border through the Strait and land borders with three small Spanish-controlled exclaves, Ceuta, Melilla, and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera), Algeria to the east, and Western Sahara to the south(SONY VGP-BPS22 battery). Since Morocco controls most of Western Sahara, its de facto southern boundary is with Mauritania.

The internationally recognized borders of the country lie between latitudes 27° and 36°N, and longitudes 1° and 14°W. Adding Western Sahara, Morocco lies mostly between 21° and 36°N, and 1° and 17°W (the Ras Nouadhibou peninsula is slightly south of 21° and west of 17°) (SONY VGP-BPS22 battery).

The geography of Morocco spans from the Atlantic Ocean, to mountainous areas, to the Sahara (desert). Morocco is a Northern African country, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and the annexed Western Sahara.

A large part of Morocco is mountainous. The Atlas Mountains are located mainly in the center and the south of the country(SONY VGP-BPS18 battery). The Rif Mountains are located in the north of the country. Both ranges are mainly inhabited by the Berber people. At 172,402 sq mi (446,519 km2), Morocco is the fifty-seventh largest country in the world (after Uzbekistan). Algeria borders Morocco to the east and southeast though the border between the two countries has been closed since 1994(SONY VGP-BPS22/A battery).

Spanish territory in North Africa neighbouring Morocco comprises five enclaves on the Mediterranean coast: Ceuta, Melilla, Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, Peñón de Alhucemas, the Chafarinas islands, and the disputed islet Perejil. Off the Atlantic coast the Canary Islands belong to Spain, whereas Madeira to the north is Portuguese. To the north, Morocco is bordered by the Strait of Gibraltar(SONY VGP-BPS22A battery), where international shipping has unimpeded transit passage between the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

The Rif mountains stretch over the region bordering the Mediterranean from the north-west to the north-east. The Atlas Mountains run down the backbone of the country, from the south west to the northeast. Most of the southeast portion of the country is in the Sahara Desert and as such is generally sparsely populated and unproductive economically(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11S battery). Most of the population lives to the north of these mountains, while to the south lies the Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony that was annexed by Morocco in 1975 (see Green March).[31] Morocco claims that the Western Sahara is part of its territory and refers to that as its Southern Provinces(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ15T battery).

Morocco's capital city is Rabat; its largest city is its main port, Casablanca. Other cities include Agadir, Essaouira, Fes, Marrakech, Meknes, Mohammadia, Oujda, Ouarzazat, Safi, Salé, Tangier and Tétouan.

Morocco is represented in the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 geographical encoding standard by the symbol MA.[32] This code was used as the basis for Morocco's internet domain, .ma. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ15G battery)

Climate

The climate is Mediterranean in the North and in some mountains (West of Atlas), which becomes more extreme towards the interior regions. The terrain is such that the coastal plains are rich and accordingly, they comprise the backbone for agriculture, especially in the North. Forests cover about 12% of the land while arable land accounts for 18%; 5% is irrigated(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ4000 battery). In the Atlas (Middle Atlas), there are several different climates: Mediterranean (with some more humid and fresher variants), Maritime Temperate (with some humid and fresher variants too) that allow different species of oaks, moss carpets, junipers, atlantic cedars and many other plants, to form extensive and very rich humid cloud forests. In the highest peaks a different climate may occur. On the other side of Atlas mountains (East Atlas), the climate changes(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ460E battery), due to the barrier/shelter effect of these mountainous system, turning it very dry and extremely warm during the summer (that can last several months), especially on the lowlands and on the valleys faced to the Sahara. Here it starts the big Desert Sahara and it is perfectly visible, for example, on the Draa Valley, on which it is possible to find oases, sand dunes and rocky desert landscapes. So the climate in this region is desert(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ440N battery).

The Barbary lion, hunted to extinction in the wild, was a subspieces native to Morocco and is a national emblem

Morocco is known for its biodiversity; Avifauna being the most notable.[33] The avifauna of Morocco includes a total of 454 species, five of which have been introduced by humans, and 156 are rarely or accidentally seen. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ440E battery)

The last Barbary lion in the wild was shot in the Atlas Mountains in 1922.[35] The other two primary predators of northern Africa, the Atlas bear and Barbary leopard, are now extinct and critically endangered, respectively.

Further information: List of birds of Morocco, List of the Butterflies of Morocco, List of mammals of Morocco, List of reptiles of Morocco, Flora of Morocco, and List of ecoregions in Morocco(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ430E battery).

Imports and exports

Main article: Trade in Morocco

Farmers in Morocco’s fertile coastal plains grow sugar beets, grains, fruits, and vegetables in order to sell in Europe. Morocco’s major export is foods, all kinds of food, from nuts to meat to fruits. Many farmer raise livestock, mainly sheep. Although Morocco is rich in foods one of their major imports are manufactured goods, which may contain foods. They may also contain cloths, school supplies, etc(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ280E battery).

Moroccan trade is still dominated by its main import and export partner France, although France's share in Moroccan trade is declining, in favour of the US, the Gulf Region and China. If seen as a single entity, the EU is by far Morocco's largest trading partner. In recent years, Morocco has reduced its dependence on phosphate exports, emerging as an exporter of manufactured and agricultural products, and as a growing tourism destination(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11L battery). However, its competitiveness in basic manufactured goods, such as textiles, is hampered by low labour productivity and high wages. Morocco is dependent on imported fuel and its food import requirement can rise substantially in drought years, as in 2007. Although Morocco runs a structural trade deficit, this is typically offset by substantial services earnings from tourism and large remittance inflows from the diaspora, and the country normally runs a small current-account surplus(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11Z battery).

Demographics

Most Moroccans practice Sunni Islam and are of Arab and Berber ethnic background. Arabs and Berbers make up about 99.1% of the Moroccan population.,[2] which each one constituting about half the population of the state.

Morocco has been inhabited for at least the last 200,000 years. Berbers are the indigenous people and still make up the bulk of the population. Muslim Arabs conquered the territory that would become Morocco in the 7th and 11th centuries(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11M battery), at the time under the rule of various late Byzantine Roman leaders and indigenous Berber and Romano-Berber principalities, laying the foundation for the emergence of an Arab-Berber culture. The Arab occupation was brief and was ended by revolting Berbers who later founded numerous Muslim Berber kingdoms. A sizeable portion of the population is identified as Haratin and Gnawa (or Gnaoua), black or mixed race(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18M battery). Morocco's Jewish minority (265,000 in 1948) has decreased significantly and numbers about 5,500 (See History of the Jews in Morocco).[38] Most of the 100,000 foreign residents are French or Spanish. Some of them are colonists' descendants, who primarily work for European multinational companies, others are married to Moroccans and preferred to settle in Morocco. Prior to independence, Morocco was home to half a million Europeans. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18 battery)

According to The Medieval Legends, In the 12th and 13th centuries there was an invasion of Arab nomads from The Fatimid Empire located in North Eastern Africa, known as Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym tribes who were a bunch of Arabized Libyan Tribes founded in the Fayum Oasis in Egypt and Cyrenaica of Libya, swept the Eastern Maghreb,[40] but recent studies make clear no significant genetic differences exist between (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ210CE battery)Arabic speaking and non-Arabic speaking populations, highlighting that in common with most of the Arab World, Arabization was mainly via acculturation of non-Arab indigenous populations over time.[41] The Moorish refugees from Spain settled in the coast-towns.[42] According to the European Journal of Human Genetics, Moroccans from North-Western Africa were genetically closer to Iberians than to Black Sub-Saharan Africans and Middle Easterners(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31S battery).

Ethnolinguistic Groups in Morocco

The largest concentration of Moroccan migrants outside Morocco is in France, which has reportedly over one million Moroccans of up to the third generation. The Netherlands hosts about 360,000 Moroccans and Belgium hosts about 300,000 Moroccans. There are also large Moroccan communities in Spain (about 700,000 Moroccans),[43] the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Israel, Canada and the United States. Moroccan (Berber) (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31Z battery) Jews are thought to constitute the second biggest Jewish ethnic subgroup in Israel.

Most people live west of the Atlas Mountains and north of the Rif Mountains, two mountain ranges that insulate the country from the Sahara Desert. Casablanca is the major center of commerce and industry and the leading port. Rabat is the seat of government; Tangier is the gateway to Morocco from Spain and also a major port(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31E battery). Fes is the cultural and religious center of Arab-Muslim culture in Morocco. Agadir, Nador, and Al Hoceima are the major Berber cultural centers, in addition to their economic importance. Marrakesh is the top touristic city of the country and an international celebrity magnet.

There is a European professional expatriate and retiree population of about 60,000 especially in Casablanca and Marrakesh. They are mainly of French or Spanish descent. Many of them are teachers, technicians, international managers, in addition to the retirees(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31J battery).

Languages

In Morocco, there are an estimated 15 to 18 million Berber speakers, making up about 50% to 65% of the population.[45] The dubious 2004 population census, conducted by the government, says that only 28.07% of the total population actually speak Berber.[3]

Berber intellectuals and activists who dispute this figure cite various counter-arguments such as the lack of linguistic training of the census officers(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31M battery), lack of accurate linguistic census planning, absence of interest by the government in mother-tongue census and its focus on counting how many people speak French, and the difficulty or inability of census officers to distinguish between people who happen to master Moroccan Arabic as a second language and those who actually speak it as a mother tongue(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31B battery).

On the other hand, it is generally accepted that the numbers of Berber speakers in Morocco was, and possibly still is, on a sharp decline due to the anti-Berber government's policies in education and media the deprived Berber from development and flourishing in urban areas. These anti-Berber policies came to an end in 2011 after the February 20th popular protests that lead to(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21 battery), among many other things, the recognition of Berber as an official language of the country. Moreover, in the 20th century, mass migrations of Berber speakers occurred from the countryside to the cities where French and Arabic dominate and where Berber is not integrated in the economic and governmental institutions, forcing those migrants to learn another language and teach it to their children, who in turn would grow up in a city that doesn't speak Berber or doesn't encourage it(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21S battery).

Main article: Languages of Morocco

An overview of the different Arabic dialects

Morocco's official languages are Arabic and the Berber. The country's distinctive group of Moroccan Arabic dialects is referred to as Darija. Approximately 89.84%[3] of the whole population can communicate to some degree in Moroccan Arabic. The Berber language is spoken in three dialects (Tarifit, Tashelhit and Central Atlas Tamazight) (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21M battery).

As it is in Algeria and Tunisia, the French language is widely used in governmental institutions, media, mid-size and large companies, international commerce with French speaking countries, and often in international diplomacy. French is taught as an obligatory language at all schools. It is the medium of education and the curriculum language of all science and economics programs at all universities except in the programs of Arabic language, law or theology(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ38M battery). Al Akhawayn University is the only one that offers all programs in English.

Spanish is spoken by a very small population in the north of the country especially around the Spanish exclaves Melilla and Ceuta. While French language dominance in Morocco is a direct result of the French occupation, the Spanish occupation of large parts of Morocco for about half a century didn't result in any strong Spanish language presence(Sony VGN-NR11S/S Battery). Spanish today is almost invisible in the mainstream media and in the educational system.

According to the 2004 census, 2.19 million Moroccans spoke a foreign language other than French.[3] English, while far behind French in terms of number of speakers, is the first foreign language of choice, since French is obligatory, among educated youth and professionals. As a result of national education reforms entering into force in late 2002(Sony VGN-NR11M/S Battery), English is taught in most public schools from the fourth grade on. French is still taught nationally from the earliest grades.

There are about 2 million Moroccan Berber-speakers living in Europe. They represent about 80% of all Moroccans in the Netherlands, about 70% of Moroccans in Belgium, about 50% of Moroccans in France, Germany, and Spain, and about 25% of all Moroccans in Italy(Sony VGN-NR260E/S Battery).

Linguistically, Berber belongs to the Afro-Asiatic language family, and has many accents and dialects. Berber is known by Arabic-speaking Moroccans as "Shelha", "Rifiya", or "Susiya". Classical Arabic of the Middle East had used the word "al-Barbariyya" (The equivalent of "Berber" in English) since the first contacts between Berbers and Arabs 14 centuries ago. Although, there is a dominating trend, that occurred in the 2000s (decade) (Sony VGN-NR11Z/S Battery), among all Arabic-speaking media in both the Middle East and North Africa of using the word "al-Amazighiyya" to refer to the Berber language and "al-Amazigh" to refer to the Berbers, as the Arabic word "Barbari" means both "Berber" and "Barbaric"/"uncivilized". The strong campaigns and discourses of Berber cultural activists who master Arabic have managed to influenece Arab media and Arab intellectuals as far as the Persian Gulf(Sony VGN-NR11Z/T Battery). Berber activists and intellectuals have succeeded in promoting their own cultural terminology, their own symbols like the Berber flag, and their own identity keywords on a large scale in Arab and European media. This made the Berber language and Berber culture go from unnoticed to unavoidable(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21E battery).

Moroccan DNA

Berber village in the Ourika valley, High Atlas

Distribution of Y haplotype E-M81 E1b1b1b in North Africa, West Asia and Europe.

Main article: Moroccan genetics

Recent studies make clear no significant genetic differences exist between Arabic and non-Arabic speaking populations, HLA DNA data suggest that most Moroccans are of a Berber origin and that Arabs who invaded North Africa and Spain in the 7th century did not substantially contribute to the gene pool. The Moorish refugees from Spain settled in the coast-towns. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21Z battery) According to a 2000 article in European Journal of Human Genetics, Moroccans from North-Western Africa were genetically closer to Iberians than to West Africans and Middle Easterners[50]

The different loci studied revealed close similarity between the Berbers and other north African groups, mainly with Moroccan Arabic-speakers, which is in accord with the hypothesis that the current Moroccan population has a strong Berber background. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21J battery)

Main article: Politics of Morocco

For other political parties see List of political parties in Morocco. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in Morocco.

The current King of Morocco, Mohammed VI

Morocco is a de jure constitutional parliamentary monarchy with an elected parliament. With the 2011 constitutional reforms, the King of Morocco still retains few executive powers whereas those of the prime minister have been enlarged(Sony VAIO VGN-FW11 battery). Opposition political parties are legal. Politics of Morocco take place in a framework of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, whereby the Prime Minister of Morocco is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives of Morocco and the Assembly of Councillors(Sony VAIO VGN-FW11M battery). The Moroccan Constitution provides for a monarchy with a Parliament and an independent judiciary.

The constitution grants the king honorific powers; he is both the secular political leader and the "Commander of the Faithful" as a direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammed. He presides over the Council of Ministers; appoints the Prime Minister from the political party that has won the most seats in the parliamentary elections(Sony VAIO VGN-FW11S battery), and on recommendations from the latter, appoints the members of the government. The previous constitution(note constitution of 1996) theoretically allows the king to terminate the tenure of any minister, and after consultation with the heads of the higher and lower Assemblies, to dissolve the Parliament, suspend the constitution, call for new elections, or rule by decree, the only time this happened was in 1965(Sony VAIO VGN-FW21E battery). The King is formally the chief of the military. Upon the death of his father Mohammed V, King Hassan II succeeded to the throne in 1961. He ruled Morocco for the next 38 years, until he died in 1999. His son, King Mohammed VI, assumed the throne in July 1999. Following protests in Morocco and elsewhere in the Arab world in early 2011, King Mohammed VI announced the establishment of a committee aimed at preparing the text of a new constitution(Sony VAIO VGN-FW21J battery), which included further limitations on the powers of the monarch.

Following the March 1998 elections, a coalition government headed by opposition socialist leader Abderrahmane Youssoufi and composed largely of ministers drawn from opposition parties, was formed. Prime Minister Youssoufi's government was the first ever government drawn primarily from opposition parties(Sony VAIO VGN-FW21L battery), and also represents the first opportunity for a coalition of socialists, left-of-center, and nationalist parties to be included in the government until October 2002. It was also the first time in the modern political history of the Arab world that the opposition assumed power following an election. The current government is headed by Abbas El Fassi(Sony VAIO VGN-FW41M battery).

The legislature's building in Rabat

Since the constitutional reform of 1996, the bicameral legislature consists of two chambers. The Assembly of Representatives of Morocco (Majlis an-Nuwwâb/Assemblée des Répresentants) has 325 members elected for a five-year term, 295 elected in multi-seat constituencies and 30 in national lists consisting only of women. The Assembly of Councillors (Majlis al-Mustasharin) has 270 members, elected for a nine-year term, elected by local councils (162 seats) (Sony VAIO VGN-FW41M/H battery), professional chambers (91 seats) and wage-earners (27 seats). The Parliament's powers, though still relatively limited, were expanded under the 1992 and 1996 and even further in the 2011 constitutional revisions and include budgetary matters, approving bills, questioning ministers, and establishing ad hoc commissions of inquiry to investigate the government's actions(Sony VAIO VGN-FW21M battery). The lower chamber of Parliament may dissolve the government through a vote of no confidence.

2011 Constitutional reforms

On 1 July voters approved the draft of a new constitution which entered into effect on 29 July 2011.

The constitutional reforms consisted of the following:

The Berber (Amazigh) language is an official state language along with Arabic.

The state preserves and protects the Hassānīya language (spoken by some 200,000 people in the Moroccan southern Sahara) and all the linguistic components of the Moroccan culture as a heritage of the nation(Sony VAIO VGN-FW21Z battery)

Since 2011, the king has the obligation to appoint a prime minister from the party that wins the most seats in the parliamentary elections. Previously, he could appoint any person in this position regardless of the elections results.

The king is no longer "holy and sacred" but the "integrity of his person" is "inviolable",[57] which means that he is still uncriticizable by anybody(Sony VAIO VGN-FW32J battery).

High administrative and diplomatic posts (including ambassadors, CEOs of state-owned companies, provincial and regional governors), are now appointed by the prime minister and the ministerial council which is presided by the king, previously the latter exclusively held this power.

The prime minister is the head of government and president of the council of government, he has the power to dissolve the parliament(Sony VAIO VGN-FW31E battery).

The prime minister will preside over the council of Government, which prepares the general policy of the state. Previously the king held this position.

The parliament has the power of granting amnesty. Previously this was exclusively held by the king.

The judiciary system is independent from the legislative and executive branch, the king guarantees this independence(Sony VAIO VGN-FW139E battery).

Women are guaranteed "civic and social" equality with men. Previously, only "political" equality was guaranteed, though the 1996 constitution grants all citizens equality in terms of rights and before the law.[56]

The King would retain complete control of the armed forces, foreign policy and the judiciary;[63] authority for choosing and dismissing prime ministers[64] and he would retain control of matters pertaining to religion(Sony VAIO VGN-FW139E/H battery).

All citizens have the freedom of: thought, ideas, artistic expression and creation. Previously only free-speech and the freedom of circulation and association were guaranteed.

On 2 July 2011 some Moroccan protesters said they were undeterred despite a landslide victory for King Mohammed in a referendum on constitutional changes they say do nothing to ease his autocratic grip on power. (Sony VAIO VGN-FW31M battery)

The nation's interior ministry has offered the tentative date of November 11, 2011 for parliamentary elections.[67]

Moroccan Navy Floreal class frigate

A Moroccan soldier trains with United States Marines

Main article: Military of Morocco

Compulsory military service in Morocco has been suppressed since September 2006, and the country’s reserve obligation lasts until age 50. The country’s military consists of the Royal Armed Forces—this includes the army (the largest branch) and a small navy and air force—the National Police Force, the Royal Gendarmerie (mainly responsible for rural security) (Sony VAIO VGN-FW31J battery), and the Auxiliary Forces. Internal security is generally effective, and acts of political violence are rare (with one exception, the 2003 Casablanca bombings which killed 45 people[68]). The UN maintains a small observer force in Western Sahara, where a large number of Morocco’s troops are stationed. The Saharawi group Polisario maintains an active militia of an estimated 5,000 fighters in Western Sahara and has engaged in intermittent warfare with Moroccan forces since the 1980s(Sony VAIO VGN-FW31Z battery).

The military of Morocco is composed of the following main divisions:

Main article: Prefectures and provinces of Morocco

Morocco is divided into 38 provinces and 2 wilayas*: Agadir, Al Hoceima, Azilal, Beni Mellal, Ben Slimane, Boulemane, Casablanca*, Chaouen, El Jadida, El Kelaa des Sraghna, Er Rachidia, Essaouira, Fes, Figuig, Guelmim, Ifrane, Kenitra, Khemisset, Rommani, Khenifra, Khouribga, Laayoune, Larache, Marrakech, Meknes, Nador, Ouarzazate(Sony VGN-NR11Z Battery), Oujda, Rabat-Sale*, Safi, Settat, Sidi Kacem, Tangier, Tan-Tan, Taounate, Taroudannt, Tata, Taza, Tetouan, Tinghir, Tiznit; three additional provinces of Ad Dakhla (Oued Eddahab), Boujdour, and Es Smara as well as parts of Tan-Tan and Laayoune fall within Moroccan-claimed Western Sahara.

Because of the conflict over Western Sahara, the status of both regions of "Saguia el-Hamra" and "Río de Oro" is disputed(Sony VGN-NR11S Battery). The United Nations views Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory, and as a case of unfinished decolonization. Morocco's rule in the territory is not internationally recognized, nor is the independent republic proposed by Polisario, a Saharawi group which fought against the Spanish colonial rule and then for Western Sahara's independence as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (today headquartered in Algeria) (Sony VGN-CR11Z Battery). There is a ceasefire in effect since 1991, and a UN mission (MINURSO) is tasked with organizing a referendum on whether the territory should become independent or recognized as a part of Morocco. At the time, both parties signed an agreement to this effect, but they did not agree on who would be entitled to vote.

The territory is mostly administered as the Southern Provinces by Morocco since Spain handed over the territory to Morocco and Mauritania after the Madrid Accords in 1975–76(Sony VGN-CR11S Battery). Part of the territory, the Free Zone, is a mostly uninhabited area controlled by the Polisario Front as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic with Headquarters at Tindouf in Algeria. A UN-administered cease-fire has been in effect since September 1991. As of 2006, no UN member state has recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. (Sony VGN-CR11M Battery)

Western Sahara War

Main article: Western Sahara War

The Western Sahara War was the armed conflict which saw the Sahrawi rebel national liberation movement Polisario Front (headquartered in Algeria) battling Morocco and Mauritania for the control of the former Spanish colony of Western Sahara from 1976 to 1991. The war resulted in the Spanish retreat in 1976, the Mauritanian retreat in 1979 and a cease fire agreement with Morocco. The bigger part of the territory remained under Moroccan control(Sony VGN-CR11E Battery).

Moroccan Autonomy Initiative

Main article: Moroccan Initiative for Western Sahara

Recently, the government of Morocco has suggested autonomous status for the region, through the Moroccan Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS). The project was presented to the United Nations Security Council in mid-April 2007. The proposal was encouraged by Moroccan allies such as the United States, France and Spain,[72] and the Security Council "takes note of the Moroccan proposal presented on 11 April 2007 to(Sony VGN-CR21E Battery) the Secretary-General and welcoming serious and credible Moroccan efforts to move the process forward towards resolution". The Security Council has called upon the parties to enter into direct and unconditional negotiations to reach a mutually accepted political solution.[73]

Morocco's economy is considered a relatively liberal economy governed by the law of supply and demand(Sony VGN-CR21S Battery). Since 1993, the country has followed a policy of privatization of certain economic sectors which used to be in the hands of the government.[74] Morocco is the world's biggest exporter and third producer of phosphorus. Price fluctuations of phosphates in the international market strongly influence Morocco's economy.

Government reforms and steady yearly growth in the region of 4–5% from 2000 to 2007, including 4.9% year-on-year growth in 2003–2007(Sony VGN-CR21Z Battery) helped the Moroccan economy to become much more robust compared to a few years ago. For 2012 the World Bank forecasts a rate of 4% growth for Morocco and 4.2% for following year, 2013.[75]

Economic growth is far more diversified, with new service and industrial poles, like Casablanca and Tangier, developing. The agriculture sector is being rehabilitated, which in combination with good rainfalls led to a growth of over 20% in 2009(Sony VGN-CR31S Battery).

The services sector accounts for just over half of GDP and industry, made up of mining, construction and manufacturing, is an additional quarter. The industries that recorded the highest growth are tourism, telecoms, information technology, and textile. Morocco, however, still depends to an inordinate degree on agriculture. This economic sector accounts for only around 14% of GDP but employs 40–45% of the Moroccan working population(Sony VGN-CR31E Battery). With a semi-arid climate and an ill-developed irrigation system, it is difficult to assure enough irrigation. Morocco’s economy depends heavily on the weather, a typical characteristic of third-world countries. Fiscal prudence has allowed for consolidation, with both the budget deficit and debt falling as a percentage of GDP.

The economic system of the country presents several facets. It is characterized by a large opening towards the outside world(Sony VGN-CR31Z Battery). France remains the primary trade partner (supplier and customer) of Morocco. France is also the primary creditor and foreign investor in Morocco. In Africa, Morocco has the fifth largest economy and the fastest growing internet usership.

Since the early 1980s the Moroccan government has pursued an economic program toward accelerating real economy growth with the support of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Paris Club of creditors(Sony VGN-CR41Z Battery). The country's currency, the dirham, is now fully convertible for current account transactions[clarification needed]; reforms of the financial sector have been implemented; and state enterprises are being privatized.

The major resources of the Moroccan economy are agriculture, phosphates, and tourism. Sales of fish and seafood are important as well. Industry and mining contribute about one-third of the annual GDP(Sony VGN-CR41S Battery). Morocco is the world's third-largest producer of phosphorus (after China, which is first, and the United States which is second),[76] and the price fluctuations of phosphates on the international market greatly influence Morocco's economy. Tourism and workers' remittances have played a critical role since the Kingdom's independence. The production of textiles and clothing is part of a growing manufacturing sector that accounted for approximately 34% of total exports in 2002(Sony VGN-CR41E Battery), employing 40% of the industrial workforce. The government wishes to increase textile and clothing exports from $1.27 billion in 2001 to $3.29 billion in 2010.

The high cost of imports, especially of petroleum imports, is a major problem. Another chronic problem is unreliable rainfall, which produces drought or sudden floods; in 1995, the country's worst drought in 30 years forced Morocco to import grain and adversely affected the economy. Another drought occurred in 1997(Sony VGN-CR42Z Battery), and one in 1999–2000. Reduced incomes due to drought caused GDP to fall by 7.6% in 1995, by 2.3% in 1997, and by 1.5% in 1999. During the years between drought, good rains brought bumper crops to market. Good rainfall in 2001 led to a 5% GDP growth rate. Morocco suffers both from unemployment (9.6% in 2008), and a large external debt estimated at around $20 billion, or half of GDP in 2002. (Sony VGN-CR42S Battery)

Among the various free trade agreements that Morocco has ratified with its principal economic partners, are The Euro-Mediterranean free trade area agreement with the European Union with the objective of integrating the European Free Trade Association at the horizons of 2012; the Agadir Agreement, signed with Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia, within the framework of the installation of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area(Sony VGN-CR42E Battery); the US-Morocco Free Trade Agreement with United States which came into force on January 1, 2006, and lately the agreement of free exchange with Turkey.

Main article: Agriculture in Morocco

Typical scenery of agricultural lands in the fertile Doukkala region

Argan trees are endemic to Morocco. They produce the Argan oil, valued for its nutritive, cosmetic and numerous medicinal properties

Agriculture in Morocco employs about 40% of the nation's workforce and is the largest employer in the country. Barley, wheat, and other cereals are amongst the main products(Sony Vaio VGN-CR11S/L Battery). On the Atlantic coast, where there are extensive plains, olives, citrus fruits, and grapes are grown.

Below is a table of the agricultural output of Morocco according to estimates of the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation, data is from 2009:

Solar cell panels in eastern Morocco

In 2008, about 56% of the electricity source of Morocco came from coal.[78] However, as forecasts indicate that energy requirements in Morocco will rise 6% per year between 2012 and 2050, (Sony Vaio VGN-CR11S/P Battery) a new law passed encouraging Moroccans to look for ways to diversify the energy supply, including more renewable resources. The Moroccan government has launched a project to build a solar thermal energy power plant[80] and is also in looking into the use of Natural Gas as a potential source of revenue for Morocco’s government. (Sony Vaio VGN-CR11S/W Battery)

Morocco has embarked upon the construction of large solar energy farms to lessen dependence on fossil fuels, and to eventually export electricity to Europe.[81]

Narcotics

Cannabis is cultivated in the Rif Region since the VIIth century.[82] According to the UN 2004 World Drugs Report, Morocco is considered as the largest producer of Cannabis in the world. According to that report, its cultivation and transformation represents 0.57% of the national GDP of Morocco in 2002. (Sony Vaio VGN-CR11Z/R Battery) − Around 88% of the cannabis consumed in Europe comes from the Rif region in Morocco.[84] In addition to that, Morocco is a transit point for cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe.[85]

Marrakesh Railway Station

Main article: Transport in Morocco

The railway network of Morocco consists of 1,907 kilometres (1,185 mi) 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge and 1,003 kilometres (623 mi) electrified with 3 kV DC. There are connections to Algeria, and consecutively Tunisia, but since the 1990s the connections are closed(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13/B Battery). The Gibraltar Tunnel is a rail tunnel link proposed between Tangier, Morocco and Spain under the Strait of Gibraltar to be in operation in 2025.

There are plans for high-speed lines: Work by ONCF could begin in 2007 from Marrakech to Tangier in the north via Marrakesh to Agadir in the south, and from Casablanca on the Atlantic to Oujda on the Algerian border. (Sony Vaio VGN-CR13/L Battery) If the plans are approved, the 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) of track may take until 2030 to complete at a cost of around 25 billion dirhams ($3.37 billion). Casablanca to Marrakesh could be cut to 1 hour and 20 minutes from over three hours, and from the capital Rabat to Tangier to 1 hour and 30 minutes from 4 hours and 30 minutes.

There are around 56,986 kilometres (35,409 mi) of roads (national, regional and provincial) in Morocco.[86] In addition to 610.5 kilometres (379.3 mi) kilometre of highways. (Sony Vaio VGN-CR13/P Battery)

The Tangier-Casablanca high-speed rail link marks the first stage of the ONCF’s high-speed rail master plan, pursuant to which over 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) of new railway lines will be built by 2035 The high speed train -TGV- will carry 8 million passengers per year. It will have a capacity of 500 passengers. the work in the High Speed Train project has started in September 2011[88] and the infrastructure works and railway equipment will end in 2014, and the HST will be operational in December 2015. (Sony Vaio VGN-CR13/R Battery)

Main article: Education in Morocco

See also: Science and technology in Morocco and List of universities in Morocco

Al Akhawayn University in Ifran

Education in Morocco is free and compulsory through primary school. The country's illiteracy rate has been stuck at around 50% for some years, with male literacy at 65.7% and female at 39.6%.[2] On September 2006, UNESCO awarded Morocco amongst other countries such as Cuba, Pakistan, India and Turkey the "UNESCO 2006 Literacy Prize".(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13/W Battery)

Morocco has about 230,000 students enrolled in fourteen public universities. The Mohammed V University in Rabat and Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane (public university) are highly regarded. Al-Akhawayn, founded in 1993 by King Hassan II and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, is an English-language American-style university comprising about 1,780 students. Morocco allocates approximately one fifth of its budget to education. (Sony Vaio VGN-CR13G Battery) Much of this is spent on building schools to accommodate the rapidly growing population. Education is mandatory for children between the ages of 7 and 13 years. In urban areas the majority of children in this age group attend school, though on a national scale the level of participation drops significantly. About three quarters of school age males attend school, but only about half of school age girls; these proportions drop markedly in rural areas(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13G/B Battery). Slightly more than half of the children go on to secondary education, including trade and technical schools. Of these, few seek higher education. Poor school attendance, particularly in rural areas, has meant a low rate of literacy, which is about two fifths of the population.

Morocco has more than four dozen universities, institutes of higher learning, and polytechnics dispersed at urban centres throughout the country(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13G/L Battery). Its leading institutions include Muḥammad V University in Rabat, the country’s largest university, with branches in Casablanca and Fès; the Hassan II Agriculture and Veterinary Institute in Rabat, which conducts leading social science research in addition to its agricultural specialties; and Al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane, the first English-language university in North Africa, (Sony Vaio VGN-CR13G/W Battery) inaugurated in 1995 with contributions from Saudi Arabia and the United States.

The al-Qarawiyin University, founded in the city of Fez in 859 as a madrasa,[92] is considered by some sources, including UNESCO, to be the "oldest university of the world".[93] Some historians though [94] consider it not a "university" before the 13th century, when the teaching became general and it started to form philosophers and thinker, including several non-Muslims(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13G/P Battery). These views, however, are contested by other historians who consider the university to have been a uniquely Christian creation of medieval Europe.[95] The university was established in 1963 and designated University of Al-Karouine in 1965.[96]

Morocco has also some of prestigious Postgraduate Schools like : EMI, ISCAE, INSEA, l'École nationale d'industrie minérale, École Hassania des travaux publics, ENCG (écoles nationales de commerce et de gestion), EST (écoles supérieures de technologie). (Sony Vaio VGN-CR13T/L Battery)

Old Walls of Essaouira

Morocco is an ethnically diverse country with a rich culture and civilization. Through Moroccan history, it has hosted many people coming from East (Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Jews and Arabs), South (Sub-Saharan Africans) and North (Romans, Vandals, Andalusians, Moors and Jews). All those civilizations have had an impact on the social structure of Morocco. It conceived various forms of beliefs, from paganism, Judaism, and Christianity to Islam(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13T/P Battery).

The production of Moroccan literature has continued to grow and diversify. To the traditional genres—poetry, essays, and historiography—have been added forms inspired by Middle Eastern and Western literary models. French is often used in publishing research in the social and natural sciences, and in the fields of literature and literary studies(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13T/R Battery), works are published in both Arabic and French. Moroccan writers, such as Mohamed Choukri, Driss Chraïbi, Abdallah Laroui, Abdelfattah Kilito, and Fatema Mernissi, publish their works in both French and English. Expatriate writers such as Pierre Loti, William S. Burroughs, and Paul Bowles have drawn attention to Moroccan writers as well as to the country itself(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13T/W Battery).

Since independence a veritable blossoming has taken place in painting and sculpture, popular music, amateur theatre, and filmmaking. The Moroccan National Theatre (founded 1956) offers regular productions of Moroccan and French dramatic works. Art and music festivals take place throughout the country during the summer months, among them the World Sacred Music Festival at Fès(Sony Vaio VGN-CR150E/B Battery).

Moroccan music, influenced by Arab, Amazigh, African, and Andalusian traditions, makes use of a number of traditional instruments, such as the flute (nāy), shawm (ghaita), zither (qanūn), and various short necked lutes (including the ʿūd and gimbrī). These are often backed by explosive percussion on the darbūkka (terra-cotta drum). Among the most popular traditional Moroccan artists internationally are the Master Musicians of Jajouka(Sony Vaio VGN-CR21/B Battery), an all-male guild trained from childhood, and Hassan Hakmoun, a master of gnāwa trance music, a popular spiritual style that traces its roots to sub-Saharan Africa. Younger Moroccans enjoy raï, a style of plain-speaking Algerian music that incorporates traditional sounds with those of Western rock, Jamaican reggae, and Egyptian and Moroccan popular music(Sony Vaio VGN-CR21E/L Battery).

Each region possesses its own specificities, thus contributing to the national culture and to the legacy of civilization. Morocco has set among its top priorities the protection of its diverse legacy and the preservation of its cultural heritage.

Culturally speaking, Morocco has always been successful in combining its Berber, Jewish and Arabic cultural heritage with external influences such as the French and the Spanish and, during the last decades, the Anglo-American lifestyles(Sony Vaio VGN-CR21E/P Battery).

Main article: Moroccan cuisine

An array of Moroccan pastries

Moroccan cuisine has long been considered as one of the most diversified cuisines in the world. This is a result of the centuries-long interaction of Morocco with the outside world. The cuisine of Morocco is mainly Berber-Moorish, European, Mediterranean cuisines. The cuisine of Morocco is essentially Berber cuisine (sometimes referred to as the Moorish cuisine) (Sony Vaio VGN-CR21E/W Battery). It is also Influenced by Sephardic cuisine and by the Moriscos when they took refuge in Morocco after the Reconquista. Spices are used extensively in Moroccan food. While spices have been imported to Morocco for thousands of years, many ingredients, like saffron from Tiliouine, mint and olives from Meknes, and oranges and lemons from Fez, are home-grown. Chicken is the most widely eaten meat in Morocco. The most commonly eaten red meat in Morocco is beef(Sony Vaio VGN-CR21S/L Battery); lamb is preferred but is relatively expensive. Couscous is the most famous Moroccan dish along with pastilla, tajine, and harira. The most popular drink is green tea with mint.

Main article: Moroccan literature

Koutoubia Mosque, Marrakech. The name is derived from al-Koutoubiyyin, meaning librarian.

Moroccan literature is written in Arabic, Berber and French. It also contains literature produced in Al-Andalus. Under the Almohad dynasty Morocco experienced a period of prosperity and brilliance of learning. The Almohad built the Marrakech Koutoubia Mosque(Sony Vaio VGN-CR21S/P Battery), which accommodated no fewer than 25,000 people, but was also famed for its books, manuscripts, libraries and book shops, which gave it its name; the first book bazaar in history. The Almohad Caliph Abu Yakub had a great love for collecting books. He founded a great library, which was eventually carried to the Casbah and turned into a public library(Sony Vaio VGN-CR23/B Battery).

Modern Moroccan literature began in the 1930s. Two main factors gave Morocco a pulse toward witnessing the birth of a modern literature. Morocco, as a French and Spanish protectorate left Moroccan intellectuals the opportunity to exchange and to produce literary works freely enjoying the contact of other Arabic literature and Europe(Sony Vaio VGN-CR23/P Battery).

During the 1950s and 1960s, Morocco was a refuge and artistic centre and attracted writers as Paul Bowles, Tennessee Williams and William S. Burroughs. Moroccan literature flourished with novelists such as Mohamed Zafzaf and Mohamed Choukri, who wrote in Arabic, and Driss Chraïbi and Tahar Ben Jelloun who wrote in French. Other important Moroccan authors include, Abdellatif Laabi, Abdelkrim Ghallab, Fouad Laroui(Sony Vaio VGN-CR23/L Battery), Mohammed Berrada and Leila Abouzeid. It should be noted also, that orature (oral literature) is an integral part of Moroccan culture, be it in Moroccan Arabic or Amazigh.

Main article: Music of Morocco

Jewish Wedding in Morocco by Eugène Delacroix, Louvre, Paris

Moroccan music is of Amazigh, Arab and sub-Saharan origins. Rock-influenced chaabi bands are widespread, as is trance music with historical origins in Muslim music.

Morocco is home to Andalusian classical music that is found throughout North Africa. It probably evolved under the Moors in Cordoba, and the Persian-born musician Ziryab is usually credited with its invention(Sony VAIO VGN-NW battery). A genre known as Contemporary Andalusian music and art is the brainchild of Morisco visual artist/composer/ oudist Tarik Banzi founder of the Al-Andalus Ensemble

Chaabi (popular) is a music consisting of numerous varieties which are descended from the multifarious forms of Moroccan folk music. Chaabi was originally performed in markets, but is now found at any celebration or meeting.

Popular Western forms of music are becoming increasingly popular in Morocco, such as fusion, rock, country, metal and particularly hip hop(Sony VAIO VGN-NW21EF/S battery).

Morocco participated in 1980's Eurovision Song Contest, being in penultimate position.

Main article: Sport in Morocco

Marrakech Stadium

Spectator sports in Morocco traditionally centred on the art of horsemanship until European sports—football (soccer), polo, swimming, and tennis—were introduced at the end of the 19th century. Football is the country’s premier sport, popular among the urban youth in particular, and in 1986 Morocco became the first Arab and African country to qualify to the second round in World Cup competition(Sony VAIO VGN-NW21JF battery). Many football players with Moroccan roots hold dual citizenship and play for European league teams. Examples include Ibrahim Afellay (FC Barcelona/Netherlands national side), Marouane Fellaini (Everton/Belgium national side), and Adil Rami (Valencia/French national side). Morocco will be hosting the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. The host cities will include Tangier, Casablanca, Rabat, Agadir and Marrakech(Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF battery).

Hicham El Guerrouj (left), double Olympic champion.

At the 1984 Olympic Games, two Moroccans won gold medals in track and field events. Nawal El Moutawakel won in the 400 metres hurdles; she was the first woman from an Arab or Islamic country to win an Olympic gold medal. Saïd Aouita won the 5000 metres at the same games. Hicham El Guerrouj won gold medals in the 1500 metres and 5000 metres for Morocco at the 2004 Summer Olympics and holds several 1.609 km (1.000 mi) (Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/W battery) List of world records in athletics|world records. Morocco is identified by the abbreviation MAR at the Olympics.

Tennis and golf have become popular. Several Moroccan professional players have competed in international competition, and the country fielded its first Davis Cup team in 1999.

Kickboxing is also popular in Morocco. Badr Hari, heavyweight kickboxer and martial artist, is a former K-1 heavyweight champion and K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 and 2009 finalist(Sony VAIO VGN-NW31EF/W battery).

Morocco first participated at the Olympic Games in 1960, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then, except when they participated in the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. Morocco also boycotted the 1976 Games, withdrawing after having initially sent a delegation. In doing so, Morocco joined the boycott of the Games by most African countries(Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF battery), in protest against New Zealand's participation following an All Blacks rugby match, unrelated to the Olympics, against an apartheid team from South Africa.[1] Only one Moroccon representative had time to compete before his country's withdrawal: Abderahim Najim took part in the Men's Light Flyweight event in boxing, and lost his first and only match(Sony VAIO VGN-NW31JF battery).

Morocco has also participated in the Winter Olympic Games on four occasions since 1968, but not since 1992. Moroccan athletes have won a total of twenty one medals, eighteen in athletics and three in boxing. Hicham El Guerrouj, with two gold medals and one silver medal, and Saïd Aouita, with one gold and one silver, are Morocco's two multiple medal winners. The National Olympic Committee for Morocco was created in 1959(Sony VAIO VGN-NW35e battery).

Rabat (Arabic الرباط; Berber ⵕⴱⴰⵟ, transliterated ar-Rabāṭ or ar-Ribāṭ or (Er-)Rbāṭ, literally "Fortified Place"; French Ville de Rabat; Spanish Ciudad de Rabat), is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000 (2010). It is also the capital of the Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer region(Sony VAIO VGN-NW11S/S battery).

The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the river Bou Regreg. On the facing shore of the river lies Salé, the city's main commuter town. Together with Temara the cities account for a combined metropolitan population of 1.8 million. Silting problems have diminished the Rabat's role as a port; however, Rabat and Salé still maintain important textile, food processing and construction industries(Sony VAIO VGN-NW11Z/S battery). In addition, tourism and the presence of all foreign embassies in Morocco serve to make Rabat one of the most important cities in the country.

Rabat is accessible by train through the ONCF system and by plane through the nearby Rabat-Salé Airport.

Rabat has a relatively modern history compared to the ancient city of Sala. In 1146, the Almohad ruler Abd al-Mu'min turned Rabat's ribat into a full scale fortress to use as a launching point for attacks on Spain(Sony VAIO VGN-NW11S/T battery). In 1170, due to its military importance, Rabat acquired the title Ribatu l-Fath, meaning "stronghold of victory," from which it derives its current name.

Yaqub al-Mansur (known as Moulay Yacoub in Morocco), another Almohad Caliph, moved the capital of his empire to Rabat.[4] He built Rabat's city walls, the Kasbah of the Udayas and began construction on what would have been the world's largest mosque. However, Yaqub died and construction stopped(Sony VAIO VGN-NW11Z/T battery). The ruins of the unfinished mosque, along with the Hassan Tower, still stand today.

Yaqub's death initiated a period of decline. The Almohad empire lost control of its possessions in Spain and much of its African territory, eventually leading to its total collapse. In the 13th century, much of Rabat's economic power shifted to Fez. In 1515 a Moorish explorer, El Wassan, reported that Rabat had declined so much that only 100 inhabited houses remained(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ15L battery). An influx of Moriscos, who had been expelled from Spain, in the early 17th century helped boost Rabat's growth.

Corsair republics

Rabat and neighboring Salé united to form the Republic of Bou Regreg in 1627. The republic was run by Barbary pirates who used the two cities as base ports for launching attacks on shipping. The pirates did not have to contend with any central authority until the Alaouite Dynasty united Morocco in 1666. The latter attempted to establish control over the pirates(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ15M battery), but failed. European and Muslims authorities continued to attempt to control the pirates over many years, but the Republic of Bou Regreg did not collapse until 1818. Even after the republic's collapse, pirates continued to use the port of Rabat, which led to the shelling of the city by Austria in 1829 after an Austrian ship had been lost to a pirate attack.

The French invaded Morocco in 1912 and established a protectorate. The French administrator of Morocco, General Hubert Lyautey, (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ15S battery)decided to relocate the country's capital from Fez to Rabat. Among other factors, rebellious citizens had made Fez an unstable place. Sultan Moulay Youssef followed the decision of the French and moved his residence to Rabat. In 1913, Gen. Lyautey hired Henri Prost who designed the Ville Nouvelle (Rabat's modern quarter) as an administrative sector. When Morocco achieved independence in 1956, Mohammed V, the then King of Morocco, chose to have the capital remain at Rabat(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ160E battery).

Following World War II, the United States established a military presence in Rabat at the former French air base. By the early 1950s, Rabat Salé Air Base was a U.S. Air Force installation hosting the 17th Air Force and the 5th Air Division, which oversaw forward basing for Strategic Air Command (SAC) B-47 Stratojet aircraft in the country. With the destabilization of French government in Morocco(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ17G battery), and Moroccan independence in 1956, the government of Mohammed V wanted the U.S. Air Force to pull out of the SAC bases in Morocco, insisting on such action after American intervention in Lebanon in 1958. The United States agreed to leave as of December 1959, and was fully out of Morocco by 1963. SAC felt the Moroccan bases were much less critical with the long range capability of the B-52 Stratofortresses that were replacing the B-47s and with the completion of the USAF installations in Spain in 1959. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ17L battery)

With the USAF withdrawal from Rabat-Salé in the 1960s, the facility became a primary facility for the Royal Moroccan Air Force known as Air Base Nº 1, a status it continues to hold.

Neighborhoods of Rabat

Rabat is an administrative city, it does not have many shopping districts, but many residential neighborhoods. Geographically spread out neighborhoods as follows:

The heart of the city consists of three parts: the Medina (old town), the Oudayas and Hassan, both located to meet the Bou Regreg and the Atlantic Ocean(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18E battery).

To the west, and along the waterfront, there is a succession of neighborhoods: First, around the ramparts, the old quarters of the ocean and orange (popular and middle class). Beyond that, a succession of mostly popular neighborhoods: Diour Jamaa, Akkari, Yacoub El Mansour, Massira and Hay el Fath are the main parts of this axis. Hay el Fath, which ends this sequence, evolves into a kind of middle class attendance(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18G battery).

To the east, along the Bouregreg,the Youssoufia region Mabella,Taqaddoum, Hay Nahda, Aviation, Rommani (working and middle classes).

Between these two axes, going from north to south, there are 3 main areas (middle class to very weatlhy): Agdal (Ward Building lively mixing residential and commercial functions, predominantly habitants are upper middle classes), Hay Riad (affluent villas which has been a surge of momentum since the 2000s), and Souissi (residential neighborhood ) (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18S battery). On the outskirts of Souissi, as one goes further we get into less dense regions mainly constituted of large private houses to areas that seem out of the city .

Called Rbatis, these families have lived for more than four hundred years many events in common. From the expulsion of the Moriscos to arrive at the foundation of a culture that combines the Arabic and Andalusian cultures(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18T battery), through the Republic of Bouregreg events than other families coming to live in Rabat recently, have not known.

Since its founding, Rabat was inhabited by several families from the High Atlas with Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, who founded the city in 1198, then families from many parts of Morocco have settled. Rabat has around 1240 a few hundred fifty families whose families Chiadmi, Regragui, Loudiyi, etc(SONY Vaio VGN-SR11M Battery).

Since the end of the thirteenth century, the city has an influx of Moriscos expelled from Granada until 1609, year of total expulsion of Muslims from Spain by Philip III. These families include: Bagach (Vargas), Guedira (Gadaira), Mouline (Molina), Sebbata (Zapata), Frej. The said families are considered, until today, such as "Rbati's Families of strain." They are about four hundred families(SONY Vaio VGN-SR12G/B Battery).

Other families in the city, are considered residents of Rabat because they came at the time when Rabat became the capital of the country, either through rural exodus or to work in public administration based in the city since the establishment of the protectorate.

Rabat features a Mediterranean climate with Köppen climate classification of Csa. Located along the Atlantic Ocean, Rabat has a mild, temperate climate(SONY Vaio VGN-SR12G/P Battery), shifting from cool in winter to warm days in the summer months. The nights are always cool (or colder in winter), with daytime temperatures generally rising about +9/10 C° (+15/18 F°). The winter highs typically reach only 17.5 °C (63.5 °F) in December–January.

The biggest place for theatre is the Theatre Mohamed V in the centre of the town. The city also has a few official galleries and an archeological museum. Many organizations are active in cultural and social issues(SONY Vaio VGN-SR12G/S Battery). Orient-Occident Foundation and ONA Foundation are the biggest of these. An independent art scene is active in the city. L'appartement 22, which is the first independent space for visual arts created by Abdellah Karroum, opened in 2002 and introducing both international and local artists. Other independent spaces opened few years after, such as Le Cube, also set up in a private space(Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S battery).

Rabat was selected as a filming location for the war film Black Hawk Down (2001).

Libya (Arabic: ‏ليبيا‎ Lībyā, Berber: ⵍⵉⴱⵢⴰ Libya) is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west. With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometres (700,000 sq mi), Libya is the 17th largest country in the worldDell Latitude E5420 Battery.

The largest city and capital, Tripoli, is home to 1.7 million of Libya's 6.4 million people. The three traditional parts of the country are Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica. In 2009 Libya had the highest HDI in Africa and the fourth highest GDP (PPP) per capita in Africa, behind Seychelles, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Libya has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world and the 17th-highest petroleum production. Dell Latitude E5520 Battery

A civil war in 2011 resulted in the ousting and death of the country's former leader, Muammar Gaddafi, and the collapse of his 34-year-old Jamahiriya state. As a result, Libya is currently undergoing political reconstruction, and is governed under an interim constitution drawn up by the National Transitional Council (NTC). Dell Latitude E6120 Battery Elections to a General National Congress were held on 7 July 2012, and the NTC handed power to the newly elected assembly on 8 August.[10] The assembly has the responsibility of forming a constituent assembly to draft a permanent constitution for Libya, which will then be put to a referendum.

The name Libya (i/ˈlɪbiə/ or /ˈlɪbjə/; Arabic: ليبيا‎ Līb(i)yā [ˈliːb(i)jaː] ( listen); Libyan Arabic) was introduced in 1934 for Italian Libya, after the historical name for Northwest Africa, from the ancient Greek Λιβύη (Libúē) Dell Latitude E6220 Battery.

Italian Libya united the provinces of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica (Barca) and Fezzan under the name, based on earlier use in 1903 by Italian geographer Federico Minutilli,[13] and by the Italian government in its "Regio Decreto di Annessione" (Royal Decree of Annexation) of the Ottoman provinces of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica dating 5 November 1911Dell Latitude E6320 Battery.

Libya gained independence in 1951 as the United Libyan Kingdom (Arabic: المملكة الليبية المتحدة‎ al-Mamlakah al-Lībiyyah al-Muttaḥidah, Italian: Regno Unito di Libia), changing its name to the Kingdom of Libya (Arabic: المملكة الليبية‎ al-Mamlakah al-Lībiyyah, Italian: Regno di Libia) in 1963.[14] Following a coup d'état led by Muammar Gaddafi in 1969, the name of the state was changed to the Libyan Arab RepublicDell Latitude E6420 Battery (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية الليبية‎ al-Jumhūriyyah al-‘Arabiyyah al-Lībiyyah, Italian: Repubblica Araba Libica), with "Republic" translating Gaddafi's term "Jamahiriya".

From 1977 to 2011, Libya was known as the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya at the United Nations. The official name during this period was "Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" from 1977 to 1986, and "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya"[15] (Arabic: الجماهيرية العربية الليبية الشعبية الاشتراكية العظمى‎ al-Jamāhīriyyah al-‘Arabiyyah al-Lībiyyah ash-Sha‘biyyah al-Ishtirākiyyah al-‘Uẓmá  listen (help·info)) from 1986 to 2011Dell Latitude E6520 Battery.

The National Transitional Council, established in 2011, referred to the state as simply "Libya", but there is some evidence that in the beginning they also used the term "Libyan Republic" (Arabic: الجمهورية الليبية‎ al-Jumhūriyyah al-Lībiyyah). In late August 2011, Bosnia and Herzegovina used the term in its formal recognition of the NTC. Dell Latitude D420 Battery

As of September 2011, the United Nations recognized the change of name of the state from "Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" to "Libya",[19] based on a request from the Permanent Mission of Libya citing the Libyan interim Constitutional Declaration of 3 August 2011. In November 2011, the ISO 3166-1 was altered to reflect the new country name "Libya" in English, "Libye (la)" in French.[20]

HistoryDell Latitude D430 Battery

Main article: Prehistoric North Africa

Prehistoric Libyan rock paintings in Tadrart Acacus reveal a Sahara once lush in vegetation and wildlife.

Tens of thousands of years ago, the Sahara Desert, which now covers roughly 90% of Libya, was lush with green vegetation. It was home to lakes, forests, diverse wildlife and a temperate Mediterranean climate. Archaeological evidence indicates that the coastal plain of Ancient Libya was inhabited by Neolithic peoples from as early as 8000 BCDell Studio 1450 Battery. These peoples were perhaps drawn by the climate, which enabled their culture to grow; the Ancient Libyans were skilled in the domestication of cattle and the cultivation of crops.[21]

Rock paintings and carvings at Wadi Mathendous and the mountainous region of Jebel Acacus are the best sources of information about prehistoric Libya, and the pastoralist culture that settled there. The paintings reveal that the Libyan Sahara contained rivers, grassy plateaus and an abundance of wildlife such as giraffes, elephants and crocodiles. Dell Studio 1457 Battery

Pockets of the Berber populations still remain in most of modern Libya. Dispersal in Africa from the Atlantic coast to the Siwa Oasis in Egypt seems to have followed, due to climatic changes which caused increasing desertification. It is thought that the indigenous Libyan civilization of the Garamantes, based in Germa, originated from this time, or may have done so even earlier when the Sahara was still greenDell Studio 1458 Battery. The Garamantes were a Saharan people of Berber origin who used an elaborate underground irrigation system, and founded a kingdom in the Fezzan area of modern-day Libya. They were probably present as tribal people in the Fezzan by 1000 BC, and were a local power in the Sahara between 500 BC and 500 AD. By the time of contact with the Phoenicians, the first of the Semitic civilizations to arrive in Libya from the East, the LebuDell Latitude D410 Battery, Garamantes, Bebers and other tribes that lived in the Sahara were already well established.[citation needed]

The onset of the 5.9 kiloyear event's intense aridification resulted in the "green Sahara" rapidly transforming into the Sahara Desert.

Phoenician and Greek Libya

Further information: Ancient Libya, Carthage, Phoenicians, and Ancient Greece

The temple of Zeus in the ancient Greek city of Cyrene. Libya has a number of World Heritage Sites from the ancient Greek eraDell Inspiron 9100 Battery.

The Phoenicians were the first to establish trading posts in Libya, when the merchants of Tyre (in present-day Lebanon) developed commercial relations with the Berber tribes and made treaties with them to ensure their cooperation in the exploitation of raw materials.[23][24] By the 5th century BC, the greatest of the Phoenician colonies, Carthage, had extended its hegemony across much of North Africa, where a distinctive civilizationDell Inspiron 1320 Battery, known as Punic, came into being. Punic settlements on the Libyan coast included Oea (later Tripoli), Libdah (later Leptis Magna) and Sabratha. These cities were in an area that was later called Tripolis, or "Three Cities", from which Libya's modern capital Tripoli takes its name.

In 630 BC, the Ancient Greeks colonized Eastern Libya and founded the city of Cyrene.[25] Within 200 years, four more important Greek cities were established in the area that became known as Cyrenaica: Barce (later Marj) Dell Inspiron 1470 Battery; Euhesperides (later Berenice, present-day Benghazi); Taucheira (later Arsinoe, present-day Taucheria); Balagrae (later Bayda and Beda Littoria under Italian occupation, present-day Bayda); and Apollonia (later Susa), the port of Cyrene.[26] Together with Cyrene, they were known as the Pentapolis (Five Cities). Cyrene became one of the greatest intellectual and artistic centers of the Greek world, and was famous for its medical school, learned academies, and architectureDell Inspiron 1570 Battery. The Greeks of the Pentapolis resisted encroachments by the Ancient Egyptians from the East, as well as by the Carthaginians from the West, but in 525 BC the Persian army of Cambyses II overran Cyrenaica, which for the next two centuries remained under Persian or Egyptian rule. Alexander the Great was greeted by the Greeks when he entered Cyrenaica in 331 BCdell inspiron 500M battery, and Eastern Libya again fell under the control of the Greeks, this time as part of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. Later, a federation of the Pentapolis was formed that was customarily ruled by a king drawn from the Ptolemaic royal house.

Roman Libya

Main articles: Africa province and Creta et Cyrenaica

Further information: Ancient Libya, North Africa during Antiquity, Praetorian prefecture of Italy, and Praetorian prefecture of the Eastdell inspiron 600M battery

The Arch of Septimius Severus at Leptis Magna. The patronage of Roman emperor Septimus Severus allowed the city to become one of the most prominent in Roman Africa.

After the fall of Carthage the Romans did not occupy immediately Tripolitania (the region around Tripoli), but left it under control of the kings of Numidia, until the coastal cities asked and obtained its protection. dell inspiron 630M battery Ptolemy Apion, the last Greek ruler, bequeathed Cyrenaica to Rome, which formally annexed the region in 74 BC and joined it to Crete as a Roman province. During the Roman civil wars Tripolitania (still not formally annexed) and Cyrenaica sustained Pompey and Marc Antony against respectively Caesar and Octavian. The Romans completed the conquest of the region under Augustus, occupying northern Fezzan ("Fasania") with Cornelius Balbus Minor. dell inspiron 640M battery As part of the Africa Nova province, Tripolitania was prosperous,[27] and reached a golden age in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, when the city of Leptis Magna, home to the Severan dynasty, was at its height.[27] On the other side, Cyrenaica's first Christian communities were established by the time of the Emperor Claudius[28] but was heavily devastated during the Kitos War[30] and almost depopulated of Greeks and Jews alike,[31] and, although repopulated by Trajan with military colonies,[30] from then started its decadence. dell inspiron 6000 battery

Regardless, for more than 400 years Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were part of a cosmopolitan state whose citizens shared a common language, legal system, and Roman identity. Roman ruins like those of Leptis Magna and Sabratha, extant in present-day Libya, attest to the vitality of the region, where populous cities and even smaller towns enjoyed the amenities of urban lifedell inspiron 6400 battery—the forum, markets, public entertainments, and baths—found in every corner of the Roman Empire. Merchants and artisans from many parts of the Roman world established themselves in North Africa, but the character of the cities of Tripolitania remained decidedly Punic and, in Cyrenaica, Greek. Tripolitania was a major exporter of olive oil,[32] as well as a center for the trade of ivory and wild animals[32] conveyed to the coast by the Garamantesdell inspiron 9200 battery, while Cyrenaica remained an important source of wines, drugs, and horses. The bulk of the population in the countryside consisted of Berber farmers, who in the west were thoroughly "romanized" in language and customs.[33] Until the 10th century the African Romance remained in use in some Tripolitanian areas, mainly near the Tunisian border. dell inspiron 9300 battery

The decline of the Roman Empire saw the classical cities fall into ruin, a process hastened by the Vandals' destructive sweep though North Africa in the 5th century. The region's prosperity had shrunk under Vandal domination, and the old Roman political and social order, disrupted by the Vandals, could not be restored. In outlying areas neglected by the Vandalsdell inspiron 9400 battery, the inhabitants had sought the protection of tribal chieftains and, having grown accustomed to their autonomy, resisted re-assimilation into the imperial system.[citation needed]

When the Empire returned (now as East Romans) as part of Justinian's reconquests of the 6th century, efforts were made to strengthen the old cities, but it was only a last gasp before they collapsed into disusedell inspiron e1505 battery. Cyrenaica, which had remained an outpost of the Byzantine Empire during the Vandal period, also took on the characteristics of an armed camp. Unpopular Byzantine governors imposed burdensome taxation to meet military costs, while the towns and public services—including the water system—were left to decay. Byzantine rule in Africa did prolong the Roman ideal of imperial unity there for another century and a half howeverdell inspiron e1705 battery, and prevented the ascendancy of the Berber nomads in the coastal region. By the beginning of the 7th century, Byzantine control over the region was weak, Berber rebellions were becoming more frequent, and there was little to oppose Muslim invasion.[35]

Islamic Libya

Main article: History of Islamic Tripolitania and Cyrenaica

The Atiq Mosque in Awjila is the oldest mosque in the Saharadell latitude d820 battery.

Tenuous Byzantine control over Libya was restricted to a few poorly defended coastal strongholds, and as such, the Arab horsemen who first crossed into the Pentapolis of Cyrenaica in September 642 AD encountered little resistance. Under the command of 'Amr ibn al-'As, the armies of Islam conquered Cyrenaica, and renamed the Pentapolis, Barqa. They took also Tripolidell latitude d830 battery, but after destroying the Roman walls of the city and getting a tribute they withdrew.[36] In 647 an army of 40,000 Arabs, led by Abdullah ibn Saad, the foster-brother of Caliph Uthman, penetrated deep into Western Libya and took Tripoli from the Byzantines definitively.[36] From Barqa, the Fezzan (Libya's Southern region) was conquered by Uqba ibn Nafi in 663 and Berber resistance was overcomeDell Latitude E5500 Battery. During the following centuries Libya came under the rule of several Islamic dynasties, under various levels of autonomy from Ummayad, Abbasid and Fatimid caliphates of the time. Arab rule was easily imposed in the coastal farming areas and on the towns, which prospered again under Arab patronage. Townsmen valued the security that permitted them to practice their commerce and trade in peaceDell Latitude E5400 Battery, while the Punicized farmers recognized their affinity with the Semitic Arabs to whom they looked to protect their lands.[citation needed] In Cyrenaica, Monophysite adherents of the Coptic Church had welcomed the Muslim Arabs as liberators from Byzantine oppression. The Berber tribes of the hinterland accepted Islam, however they resisted Arab political rule. DELL Latitude E5410 Battery

For the next several decades, Libya was under the purview of the Ummayad Caliph of Damascus until the Abbasids overthrew the Ummayads in 750, and Libya came under the rule of Baghdad. When Caliph Harun al-Rashid appointed Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab as his governor of Ifriqiya in 800, Libya enjoyed considerable local autonomy under the Aghlabid dynastyDELL Latitude E5510 Battery. The Aghlabids were amongst the most attentive Islamic rulers of Libya; they brought about a measure of order to the region, and restored Roman irrigation systems, which brought prosperity to the area from the agricultural surplus. By the end of the 9th century, the Shiite Fatimids controlled Western Libya from their capital in Mahdia, before they ruled the entire region from their new capital of Cairo in 972 and appointed Bologhine ibn Ziri as governor. dell latitude e6400 battery During Fatimid rule, Tripoli thrived on the trade in slaves and gold brought from the Sudan and on the sale of wool, leather, and salt shipped from its docks to Italy in exchange for wood and iron goods. Ibn Ziri's Berber Zirid dynasty ultimately broke away from the Shiite Fatimids, and recognised the Sunni Abbasids of Baghdad as rightful Caliphs. In retaliationdell latitude e6500 battery, the Fatimids brought about the migration of thousands from two troublesome Arab Bedouin tribes, the Banu Sulaym and Banu Hilal to North Africa. This act drastically altered the fabric of the Libyan countryside, and cemented the cultural and linguistic Arabisation of the region. Ibn Khaldun noted that the lands ravaged by Banu Hilal invaders had become completely arid desertDELL Latitude E6510 Battery.

King Roger II of Sicily was the first Norman King to rule Tripoli when he captured it in 1146.

Zirid rule in Tripolitania was short-lived though, and already in 1001 the Berbers of the Banu Khazrun broke away. Tripolitania remained under their control until 1146, when the region was overtaken by the Normans of Sicily.[39] It was not until 1159 that the Moroccan Almohad leader Abd al-Mu'min reconquered Tripoli from European rule. For the next 50 yearsDELL Precision M2400 Battery, Tripolitania was the scene of numerous battles between the Almohad rulers and insurgents of the Banu Ghaniya. Later, a general of the Almohads, Muhammad ibn Abu Hafs, ruled Libya from 1207 to 1221 before the later establishment of a Tunisian Hafsid dynasty[39] independent from the Almohads. The Hafsids ruled Tripolitania for nearly 300 years, and established significant trade with the city-states of EuropeDELL Precision M4400 Battery. Hafsid rulers also encouraged art, literature, architecture and scholarship. Ahmad Zarruq was one of the most famous Islamic scholars to settle in Libya, and did so during this time. By the 16th century however, the Hafsids became increasingly caught up in the power struggle between Spain and the Ottoman Empire. After a successful invasion of Tripoli by Habsburg Spain in 1510,[39] and its handover to the Knights of St. JohnDELL Precision M4500 Battery, the Ottoman admiral Sinan Pasha finally took control of Libya in 1551.

Ottoman Libya

Main article: Ottoman Libya

The Siege of Tripoli in 1551 allowed the Ottomans to capture the city from the Knights of St. John.

After a successful invasion by the Habsburgs of Spain in the early 16th century, Charles V entrusted its defense to the Knights of St. John in Malta. Lured by the piracy that spread through the Maghreb coastlineDELL Precision M6400 Battery, adventurers such as Barbarossa and his successors consolidated Ottoman control in the central Maghreb. The Ottoman Turks conquered Tripoli in 1551 under the command of Sinan Pasha. In the next year his successor Turgut Reis was named the Bey of Tripoli and later Pasha of Tripoli in 1556. As Pasha, he adorned and built up Tripoli, making it one of the most impressive cities along the North African coast. DELL Precision M6500 Battery By 1565, administrative authority as regent in Tripoli was vested in a pasha appointed directly by the sultan in Constantinople. In the 1580s, the rulers of Fezzan gave their allegiance to the sultan, and although Ottoman authority was absent in Cyrenaica, a bey was stationed in Benghazi late in the next century to act as agent of the government in Tripoli. dell xps m1210 battery

In time, real power came to rest with the pasha’s corps of janissaries, a self-governing military guild, and in time the pasha’s role was reduced to that of ceremonial head of state.[39] Mutinies and coups were frequent, and in 1611 the deys staged a coup against the pasha, and Dey Sulayman Safar was appointed as head of government. For the next hundred yearsdell xps m1330 battery, a series of deys effectively ruled Tripolitania, some for only a few weeks, and at various times the dey was also pasha-regent. The regency governed by the dey was autonomous in internal affairs and, although dependent on the sultan for fresh recruits to the corps of janissaries, his government was left to pursue a virtually independent foreign policy as well. The two most important Deys were Mehmed Saqizli (r. 1631–49) dell xps m1530 battery and Osman Saqizli (r. 1649–72), both also Pasha, who ruled effectively the region.[41] The latter conquered also Cyrenaica.[41]

Tripoli was the only city of size in Ottoman Libya (then known as Tripolitania Eyalet) at the end of the 17th century and had a population of about 30,000. The bulk of its residents were Moors, as city-dwelling Arabs were then knowndell xps m1710 battery. Several hundred Turks and renegades formed a governing elite, a large portion of which were kouloughlis (lit. sons of servants—offspring of Turkish soldiers and Arab women); they identified with local interests and were respected by locals. Jews and Moriscos were active as merchants and craftsmen and a small number of European traders also frequented the citydell xps m1730 battery. European slaves and large numbers of enslaved blacks transported from Sudan were also a feature of everyday life in Tripoli. In 1551, Turgut Reis enslaved almost the entire population of the Maltese island of Gozo, some 6,300 people, sending them to Libya.[42] The most pronounced slavery activity involved the enslavement of black Africans who were brought via trans-Saharan trade routesDell Vostro 1710 Battery. Even though the slave trade was officially abolished in Tripoli in 1853, in practice it continued until the 1890s.[43]

USS Enterprise of the Mediterranean Squadron capturing Tripolitan Corsair during the First Barbary War, 1801

Lacking direction from the Ottoman government, Tripoli lapsed into a period of military anarchy during which coup followed coup and few deys survived in office more than a year. One such coup was led by Turkish officer Ahmed Karamanli. Dell Vostro 1720 BatteryThe Karamanlis ruled from 1711 until 1835 mainly in Tripolitania, but had influence in Cyrenaica and Fezzan as well by the mid 18th century. Ahmed was a Janissary and popular cavalry officer.[41] He murdered the Ottoman Dey of Tripolitania and seized the throne in 1711. After persuading Sultan Ahmed III to recognize him as governor, Ahmed established himself as pasha and made his post hereditarydell studio xps 1340 battery. Though Tripolitania continued to pay nominal tribute to the Ottoman padishah, it otherwise acted as an independent kingdom. Ahmed greatly expanded his city's economy, particularly through the employment of corsairs (pirates) on crucial Mediterranean shipping routes; nations that wished to protect their ships from the corsairs were forced to pay tribute to the pashadell studio xps 13 battery. Ahmad's successors proved to be less capable than himself, however, the region's delicate balance of power allowed the Karamanli to survive several dynastic crises without invasion. The Libyan Civil War of 1791–1795 occurred in those years. In 1793, Turkish officer Ali Benghul deposed Hamet Karamanli and briefly restored Tripolitania to Ottoman rule. However, Hamet's brother Yusuf (r. 1795–1832) reestablished Tripolitania's independencedell Studio XPS 16 battery.

In the early 19th century war broke out between the United States and Tripolitania, and a series of battles ensued in what came to be known as the Barbary Wars. By 1819, the various treaties of the Napoleonic Wars had forced the Barbary states to give up piracy almost entirely, and Tripolitania's economy began to crumbledell Studio XPS 1640 battery. As Yusuf weakened, factions sprung up around his three sons; though Yusuf abdicated in 1832 in favor of his son Ali II, civil war soon resulted. Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II sent in troops ostensibly to restore order, but instead deposed and exiled Ali II, marking the end of both the Karamanli dynasty and an independent Tripolitania.[44] Anyway, order was not recovered easily, and the revolt of the Libyan under Abd-El-Gelil and Gûma ben Khalifa lasted until the death of the latter in 1858. dell Studio XPS 1645 battery

The second period of direct Ottoman rule saw administrative changes, and what seemed as greater order in the governance of the three provinces of Libya. It would not be long before the Scramble for Africa and European colonial interests set their eyes on the marginal Turkish provinces of Libya. Reunification came about through the unlikely route of an invasion (Italo-Turkish Wardell Studio XPS 1647 battery, 1911–1912) and occupation starting from 1911 when Italy simultaneously turned the three regions into colonies.

Italian Libya

Main article: Italian Libya

Australian infantry at Tobruk during World War II. Beginning on 10 April 1941, the Siege of Tobruk lasted for 240 days.

From 1912 to 1927, the territory of Libya was known as Italian North Africa. From 1927 to 1934, the territory was split into two colonies, Italian Cyrenaica and Italian Tripolitania, run by Italian governors. Some 150,000 Italians settled in Libya, constituting roughly 20% of the total population. dell Studio 17 battery

Omar Mukhtar was the leader of Libyan resistance in Cyrenaica against the Italian colonization.

In 1934, Italy adopted the name "Libya" (used by the Greeks for all of North Africa, except Egypt) as the official name of the colony (made up of the three provinces of Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan). Idris al-Mahdi as-Senussi (later King Idris I) dell Studio 1749 battery, Emir of Cyrenaica, led Libyan resistance to Italian occupation between the two world wars. Ilan Pappé estimates that between 1928 and 1932 the Italian military "killed half the Bedouin population (directly or through disease and starvation in camps)." Italian historian Emilio Gentile sets to about 50,000 the number of victims of the repressiondell Studio 1745 battery.

From 1943 to 1951, Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were under British administration, while the French controlled Fezzan. In 1944, Idris returned from exile in Cairo but declined to resume permanent residence in Cyrenaica until the removal of some aspects of foreign control in 1947. Under the terms of the 1947 peace treaty with the Allies, Italy relinquished all claims to Libya. dell Studio 1747 battery

King Idris I announced Libya's independence on 24 December 1951, and was King until the 1969 coup that overthrew his government.

On 21 November 1949, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent before 1 January 1952. Idris represented Libya in the subsequent UN negotiations. On 24 December 1951, Libya declared its independence as the United Kingdom of Libya, a constitutional and hereditary monarchy under King Idris, Libya's only monarchDell Inspiron 1440 Battery.

1951 also saw the enactment of the Libyan Constitution. The Libyan National Assembly drafted the Constitution and passed a resolution accepting it in a meeting held in the city of Benghazi on Sunday, 6th Muharram, Hegiras 1371: 7 October 1951. Mohamed Abulas’ad El-Alem, President of the National Assembly and the two Vice-Presidents of the National AssemblyDell Inspiron 1750 Battery, Omar Faiek Shennib and Abu Baker Ahmed Abu Baker executed and submitted the Constitution to King Idris following which it was published in the Official Gazette of Libya.[50]

The enactment of the Libyan Constitution was significant in that it was the first piece of legislation to formally entrench the rights of Libyan citizens following the post-war creation of the Libyan nation stateDell Inspiron 14 Battery. Following on from the intense UN debates during which Idris had argued that the creation of a single Libyan state would be of benefit to the regions of Tripolitania, Fezzan, and Cyrenaica, the Libyan government was keen to formulate a constitution which contained many of the entrenched rights common to European and North American nation statesDell Inspiron 1464 Battery. Though, not creating a secular state - Article 5 proclaims Islam the religion of the State - the Libyan Constitution did formally set out rights such as equality before the law as well as equal civil and political rights, equal opportunities, and an equal responsibility for public duties and obligations, "without distinction of religion, belief, race, language, wealth, kinship or political or social opinions" (Article 11) Dell Inspiron 15 Battery.

The discovery of significant oil reserves in 1959 and the subsequent income from petroleum sales enabled one of the world's poorest nations to establish an extremely wealthy state. Although oil drastically improved the Libyan government's finances, resentment among some factions began to build over the increased concentration of the nation's wealth in the hands of King IdrisDell Inspiron 1564 Battery. This discontent mounted with the rise of Nasserism and Arab nationalism throughout North Africa and the Middle East, so while the continued presence of Americans, Italians and British in Libya aided in the increased levels of wealth and tourism following WWII, it was seen by some as a threat.[citation needed]

During this period, Britain was involved in extensive engineering projects in Libya and was also the country's biggest supplier of armsDell Inspiron 17 Battery. The United States also maintained the large Wheelus Air Base in Libya.

Arab Republic and Jamahiriya

Main article: History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi

See also: Mukhabarat el-Jamahiriya

On 1 September 1969, a small group of military officers led by 27-year-old army officer Muammar Gaddafi staged a coup d'état against King Idris, launching the Libyan Revolution.[52] Gaddafi was referred to as the "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution" in government statements and the official Libyan press. Dell Inspiron 1764 Battery

Muammar Gaddafi, former leader of Libya, in 2009.

On the birthday of Muhammad in 1973, Gaddafi delivered a "Five-Point Address". He announced the suspension of all existing laws and the implementation of Sharia. He said that the country would be purged of the "politically sick". A "people's militia" would "protect the revolution". There would be an administrative revolution, and a cultural revolution. Gaddafi set up an extensive surveillance systemDell Studio 1440 Battery. 10 to 20 percent of Libyans worked in surveillance for the Revolutionary committees, which monitored place in government, in factories, and in the education sector.[54] Gaddafi executed dissidents publicly and the executions were often rebroadcast on state television channels. Gaddafi employed his network of diplomats and recruits to assassinate dozens of critical refugees around the world. Amnesty International listed at least 25 assassinations between 1980 and 1987Dell Studio 1535 Battery.

Flag of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (lasting from 1977 to 2011), the national anthem of which was "الله أكبر" (English: Allahu Akbar)

In 1977, Libya officially became the "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya". Gaddafi officially passed power to the General People's Committees and henceforth claimed to be no more than a symbolic figurehead,[57] but domestic and international critics claimed the reforms gave him virtually unlimited powerDell Studio 1536 Battery. Dissidents against the new system were not tolerated, with punitive actions including capital punishment authorized by Gaddafi himself.[58] The new "jamahiriya" governance structure he established was officially referred to as a form of direct democracy,[59] though the government refused to publish election results.[60] Later that same year, Libya and Egypt fought a four-day border war that came to be known as the Libyan-Egyptian War, Dell Studio 1537 Batteryboth nations agreed to a ceasefire under the mediation of the Algerian president Houari Boumediène.

In February 1977, Libya started delivering military supplies to Goukouni Oueddei and the People's Armed Forces in Chad. The Chadian–Libyan conflict began in earnest when Libya's support of rebel forces in northern Chad escalated into an invasion. Hundreds of Libyans lost their lives in the war against Tanzania, when Gaddafi tried to save his friend Idi Amin. Gaddafi financed various other groups from anti-nuclear movements to Australian trade unionsDell Studio 1555 Battery.

From 1977 onward, per capita income in the country rose to more than US $11,000, the fifth-highest in Africa,[63] while the Human Development Index became the highest in Africa and greater than that of Saudi Arabia.[64] This was achieved without borrowing any foreign loans, keeping Libya debt-free.[65] In addition, the country's literacy rate rose from 10% to 90%, life expectancy rose from 57 to 77 yearsDell Studio 1557 Battery, equal rights were established for women and black people,[dubious – discuss] employment opportunities were established for migrant workers, and welfare systems were introduced that allowed access to free education, free healthcare, and financial assistance for housing. The Great Manmade River was also built to allow free access to fresh water across large parts of the country. In addition, financial support was provided for university scholarships and employment programsDell Studio 1558 Battery.

Much of the country’s income from oil, which soared in the 1970s, was spent on arms purchases and on sponsoring dozens of paramilitaries and terrorist groups around the world. An airstrike failed to kill Gaddafi in 1986. Libya was finally put under United Nations sanctions after the bombing of a commercial flight killed hundreds of travellers. Dell Studio 1735 Battery

Gaddafi assumed the honorific title of "King of Kings of Africa" in 2008 as part of his campaign for a United States of Africa.[71] By the early 2010s, in addition to attempting to assume a leadership role in the African Union, Libya was also viewed as having formed closer ties with Italy, one of its former colonial rulers, than any other country in the European Union. The eastern parts of the country have been "ruined" due to Gaddafi's economic theories, according to The EconomistDell Studio 1737 Battery.

After popular movements overturned the rulers of Tunisia and Egypt, its immediate neighbors to the west and east, Libya experienced a full-scale revolt beginning on 17 February 2011. By 20 February, the unrest had spread to Tripoli. In the early hours of 21 February 2011, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, oldest son of Muammar Gaddafi, spoke on Libyan television of his fears that the country would fragment and be replaced by "15 Islamic fundamentalist emirates" Dell Inspiron 1210 Batteryif the uprising engulfed the entire state. He admitted that "mistakes had been made" in quelling recent protests and announced plans for a constitutional convention, but warned that the country's economic wealth and recent prosperity was at risk and warned of "rivers of blood" if the protests continuedDell Inspiron Mini 12 Battery.

On 27 February 2011, the National Transitional Council was established under the stewardship of Mustafa Abdul Jalil, Gaddafi's former justice minister, to administer the areas of Libya under rebel control. This marked the first serious effort to organize the broad-based opposition to the Gaddafi regime. While the council was based in Benghazi, it claimed Tripoli as its capital. Dell Latitude E4300 BatteryHafiz Ghoga, a human rights lawyer, later assumed the role of spokesman for the council.[79] On 10 March 2011, France became the first state to officially recognise the council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.

By early March 2011, some parts of Libya had tipped out of Gaddafi's control, coming under the control of a coalition of opposition forces, including soldiers who decided to support the rebels. Eastern Libya, centred on the port city of BenghaziDell Latitude E4310 Battery, was said to be firmly in the hands of the opposition, while Tripoli and its environs remained in dispute. Pro-Gaddafi forces were able to respond militarily to rebel pushes in Western Libya and launched a counterattack along the coast toward Benghazi, the de facto centre of the uprising.[85] The town of Zawiya, 48 kilometres (30 mi) from Tripoli, was bombarded by air force planes and army tanks and seized by Jamahiriya troops, "exercising a level of brutality not yet seen in the conflict." Dell Vostro 1310 Battery

In several public appearances, Gaddafi threatened to destroy the protest movement,[87] and Al Jazeera and other agencies reported his government was arming pro-Gaddafi militiamen to kill protesters and defectors against the regime in Tripoli.[88] Organs of the United Nations, including United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon[89] and the United Nations Human Rights CouncilDell Vostro 1320 Battery, condemned the crackdown as violating international law, with the latter body expelling Libya outright in an unprecedented action urged by Libya's own delegation to the UN. The United States imposed economic sanctions against Libya, followed shortly by Australia,[93] Canada[94] and the United Nations Security Council, which also voted to refer Gaddafi and other government officials to the International Criminal Court for investigationDell Vostro 1510 Battery.

On 17 March 2011 the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1973 with a 10–0 vote and five abstentions. The resolution sanctioned the establishment of a no-fly zone and the use of "all means necessary" to protect civilians within Libya.

Shortly afterwards, Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa stated that "Libya has decided an immediate ceasefire and an immediate halt to all military operations".Dell Vostro 1520 Battery

On 19 March, the first Allied act to secure the no-fly zone began when French military jets entered Libyan airspace on a reconnaissance mission heralding attacks on enemy targets.[99] Allied military action to enforce the ceasefire commenced the same day when a French aircraft opened fire and destroyed a vehicle on the ground. French jets also destroyed five tanks belonging to the Gaddafi regime. Dell Vostro 2510 Battery The United States and United Kingdom launched attacks on over 20 "integrated air defense systems" using more than 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles during operations Odyssey Dawn and Ellamy.

On 27 June 2011, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Gaddafi, alleging that Gaddafi had been personally involved in planning and implementing "a policy of widespread and systematic attacks against civilians and demonstrators and dissidents".Dell Inspiron 1410 Battery

An effigy of Muammar Gaddafi hangs from a scaffold in Tripoli's Martyrs' Square, 29 August 2011

By 22 August 2011, rebel fighters had entered Tripoli and occupied Green Square,[102] which they renamed Martyrs' Square in honour of those killed since 17 February 2011. Meanwhile, Gaddafi asserted that he was still in Libya and would not concede power to the rebels. Dell Vostro 1014 Battery

On 16 September 2011, the U.N. General Assembly approved a request from the National Transitional Council to accredit envoys of the country’s interim controlling body as Tripoli’s sole representatives at the UN, effectively recognising the National Transitional Council as the legitimate holder of that country’s UN seat. Dell Vostro 1015 Battery

The National Transitional Council had been plagued by internal divisions during its tenure as Libya's interim governing authority. It postponed the formation of a caretaker, or "interim" government on several occasions during the period prior to the death of Muammar Gaddafi in his hometown of Sirte on 20 October 2011Dell Vostro 1088 Battery. Mustafa Abdul Jalil led the National Transitional Council and was generally considered to be the principal leadership figure. Mahmoud Jibril served as the NTC's de facto head of government from 5 March 2011 through the end of the war, but he announced he would resign after Libya was declared to have been "liberated" from Gaddafi's ruleDell XPS M2010 Battery.

The "liberation" of Libya was celebrated on 23 October 2011, and Jibril announced that consultations were under way to form an interim government within one month, followed by elections for a constitutional assembly within eight months and parliamentary and presidential elections to be held within a year after that.[107] He stepped down as expected the same day and was succeeded by Ali Tarhouni. At least 30,000 Libyans died in the civil war. Dell Inspiron 1520 Battery

On 7 July 2012, Libyans voted in their first parliamentary elections since the end of Gaddafi's rule. The election, in which more than 100 political parties registered, formed an interim 200-member national assembly. This will replace the unelected National Transitional Council, name a prime minister, and form a committee to draft a constitution. The vote was postponed several times to resolve logistical and technical problemsDell Inspiron 1521 Battery, and to give more time to register to vote, and to investigate candidates.

On 8 August 2012, the National Transitional Council officially handed power to the wholly elected General National Congress, which is tasked with the formation of an interim government and the drafting of a new Libyan Constitution to be approved in a general referendum.[10]

On 25 August 2012, in what "appears to be the most blatant sectarian attack" since the end of the civil war, Dell Inspiron 1720 Battery unnamed organized assailants bulldozed a Sufi mosque with graves, in broad daylight in the center of the Libyan capital Tripoli. It was the second such razing of a Sufi site in two days.

On 7 October 2012, Libya's Prime Minister-elect Mustafa A.G. Abushagur stepped down[114] after failing a second time to win parliamentary approval for a new cabinet. On 14 October 2012, the General National Congress elected former GNC member and human rights lawyer Ali Zeidan as prime minister-designate. Dell Inspiron 1721 BatteryZeidan will be sworn in after his cabinet has been approved by the GNC.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Libya

Libya extends over 1,759,540 square kilometres (679,362 sq mi), making it the 17th largest nation in the world by size. Libya is somewhat smaller than Indonesia in land area, and roughly the size of the US state of Alaska. It is bound to the north by the Mediterranean Sea, the west by Tunisia and Algeria, the southwest by Niger, the south by Chad and Sudan and to the east by Egypt. Libya lies between latitudes 19° and 34°N, and longitudes 9° and 26°EDell Vostro 1500 Battery.

At 1,770 kilometres (1,100 mi), Libya's coastline is the longest of any African country bordering the Mediterranean. The portion of the Mediterranean Sea north of Libya is often called the Libyan Sea. The climate is mostly dry and desertlike in nature. However, the northern regions enjoy a milder Mediterranean climate. Dell Vostro 1700 Battery

Natural hazards come in the form of hot, dry, dust-laden sirocco (known in Libya as the gibli). This is a southern wind blowing from one to four days in spring and autumn. There are also dust storms and sandstorms. Oases can also be found scattered throughout Libya, the most important of which are Ghadames and KufraDell Inspiron 1420 Battery.

Libyan Desert

The Libyan Desert, which covers much of Libya, is one of the most arid places on earth.[52] In places, decades may pass without rain, and even in the highlands rainfall seldom happens, once every 5–10 years. At Uweinat, as of 2006 the last recorded rainfall was in September 1998.[122] There is a large depression, the Qattara Depression, just to the south of the northernmost scarpDell Vostro 1400 Battery, with Siwa Oasis at its western extremity. The depression continues in a shallower form west, to the oases of Jaghbub and Jalu.

Libya is a predominantly desert country. Up to 90% of the land area is covered in desert.

Likewise, the temperature in the Libyan desert can be extreme; on 13 September 1922 the town of 'Aziziya, which is located southwest of Tripoli, recorded an air temperature of 57.8 °C (136.0 °F), considered to be a world record. Dell Latitude 2100 Battery In September 2012, however, the world record figure of 57.8°C was overturned by the World Meteorological Organization.

There are a few scattered uninhabited small oases, usually linked to the major depressions, where water can be found by digging to a few feet in depth. In the west there is a widely dispersed group of oases in unconnected shallow depressionsDell Latitude 2110 Battery, the Kufra group, consisting of Tazerbo, Rebianae and Kufra. Aside from the scarps, the general flatness is only interrupted by a series of plateaus and massifs near the centre of the Libyan Desert, around the convergence of the Egyptian-Sudanese-Libyan borders.

Slightly further to the south are the massifs of Arkenu, Uweinat and Kissu. These granite mountains are ancient, having formed long before the sandstones surrounding themDell Latitude D620 Battery. Arkenu and Western Uweinat are ring complexes very similar to those in the Aïr Mountains. Eastern Uweinat (the highest point in the Libyan Desert) is a raised sandstone plateau adjacent to the granite part further west. The plain to the north of Uweinat is dotted with eroded volcanic features. With the discovery of oil in the 1950s also came the discovery of a massive aquifer underneath much of the countryDell Latitude D630 Battery. The water in this aquifer pre-dates the last ice ages and the Sahara desert itself. The country is also home to the Arkenu craters, double impact craters found in the desert.

Government and politics

Main articles: Politics of Libya, National Transitional Council, and General National Congress

Further information: Libyan interim Constitutional Declaration

Map of the traditional regions of Libya

The National Transitional Council was a political body formed to represent Libya by anti-Gaddafi forces during the Libyan civil warDell Precision M2300 Battery. On 5 March 2011 the council declared itself to be the "sole representative of all Libya". By October 2011 it had become recognized by 100 countries, including France, Qatar, Italy, Germany, Canada, Russia and Turkey.[134] It is also supported by several other Arab and European countries. On 16 September, the United Nations switched its official recognition to the NTCsony vgp-bps2 battery. The council formed an interim governing body, the Executive Board, on 23 March 2011 with Mahmoud Jibril as the Chairman.[137] The United States switched official recognition from the Gaddafi government to the National Transitional Council on 15 July 2011. The United Kingdom followed suit on 27 July 2011, expelling all Libyan government diplomats from the country before accrediting a National Transitional Council envoy to the Libyan Embassy in London. sony vgp-bps3 battery

As the centre of the resistance against Gaddafi during the war, Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, served as the provisional seat for the NTC for the months following its creation. On 25 August 2011, Finance Minister Ali Tarhouni announced that the NTC would move to Tripoli, which it claimed as the de jure capital of Libya, effective immediately.sony vgp-bps4 battery However, as of early September 2011, many of the NTC's offices and ministers, including Chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil, remained in Benghazi due to the eastern city's more stable security situation and established infrastructure.

On 24 October, NTC Chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil announced that existing laws that contradicted the teachings of Islam would be nullified, stating that Sharia law would be the basis of legislation. Abdul Jalil outlined several changes to be made including the lifting of restrictions on the number of wives a man can takesony vgp-bps5 battery. On 1 November, the Libyan National Flag was raised above the court house in Benghazi, the court house being of symbolic importance as "the seat of the revolution."

On 7 July 2012, Libyans voted in their first parliamentary elections since the death of Gaddafi and the end of the civil war. The election, in which more than 100 political parties registered, formed an interim 200-member General National Congress. This will replace the unelected National Transitional Council, name a prime ministersony vgp-bps7 battery, and form a committee to draft a constitution. The vote was postponed several times to resolve logistical and technical problems, and to give more time to register to vote, and to investigate candidates.[112] Early results of the vote showed the National Forces Alliance, led by former interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril, as front runnersony vgp-bpl7 battery.

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Libya

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Libyan Prime Minister Abdurrahim El-Keib conduct a press conference in Tripoli, Libya on 17 December 2011.

Amidst the Libyan civil war, at least 100 countries, as of 18 October 2011, as well as multiple supranational organisations and partially recognised states, had formally switched their diplomatic recognition to the National Transitional Councilsony vgp-bps8 battery.

Officials of the National Transitional Council had asked for foreign aid, including medical supplies, money, and weapons, and promised to pay off these debts to donor countries with oil deals[147] and frozen assets belonging to Gaddafi and his confidantes[148] after the civil war ended. They had also suggested that countries that were early to offer recognition and countries participating sony vgp-bps8a batteryin the international military intervention in Libya may receive more favorable oil contracts and trade deals.

Kingdom of Libya

King Idris with U.S. vice-president Richard Nixon (March 1957). Under Idris' rule, Libya sought cordial relations with the West – a prospect which has been renewed following the 17 February 2011 revolt.

Libya's foreign policies have fluctuated since 1951. As a Kingdom, Libya maintained a definitively pro-Western stancesony vgp-bps8b battery, and was recognized as belonging to the conservative traditionalist bloc in the League of Arab States (the present-day Arab League), of which it became a member in 1953.[150] The government was also friendly towards Western countries such as the United Kingdom, United States, France, Italy, Greece, and established full diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union in 1955. sony vgp-bpl8 battery

Although the government supported Arab causes, including the Moroccan and Algerian independence movements, it took little active part in the Arab-Israeli dispute or the tumultuous inter-Arab politics of the 1950s and early 1960s. The Kingdom was noted for its close association with the West, while it steered a conservative course at home. sony vgp-bps9 battery

Libya under Gaddafi

Main article: Foreign relations of Libya under Gaddafi

After the 1969 coup, Muammar Gaddafi closed American and British bases and partly nationalized foreign oil and commercial interests in Libya.

Gaddafi was known for backing a number of leaders viewed as anathema to Westernization and political liberalism, including Ugandan President Idi Amin,[152] Central African Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa, Ethiopian strongman Haile Mariam Mengistu,[154] Liberian President Charles Taylor,[155] and Yugoslav President Slobodan Miloševićsony vgp-bps9/s battery.

Relations with the West were strained by a series of incidents for most of Gaddafi's rule, including the killing of London policewoman Yvonne Fletcher, the bombing of a West Berlin nightclub frequented by U.S. servicemen, and the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which led to UN sanctions in the 1990s, though by the late 2000s, the United States and other Western powers had normalised relations with Libya. sony vgp-bps9a/s battery

Gaddafi's decision to abandon the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction after the Iraq War saw Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein overthrown and put on trial led to Libya being hailed as a success for Western soft power initiatives in the War on Terror.

Human rights

Main articles: Human rights in Libya and Mukhabarat el-Jamahiriya

According to the US Department of State’s annual human rights report for 2007, Libya’s authoritarian regime continued to have a poor record in the area of human rights. sony vgp-bps9/b battery Some of the numerous and serious abuses on the part of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya government included poor prison conditions, arbitrary arrest and prisoners held incommunicado, and political prisoners held for many years without charge or trial. The judiciary was controlled by the government, and there was no right to a fair public trial. Libyans under the Jamahiriya were lacking a clear and democratic method to change their governmentsony vgp-bps9a/b battery. Freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, and religion were restricted under the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya government. Independent human rights organisations were prohibited. Ethnic and tribal minorities suffered discrimination, and the state continued to restrict the labor rights of imported foreign workers.

In May 2010, Libya was elected by the UN General Assembly to a three-year term on the UN's Human Rights Council.sony vgp-bps9a batteryIt was subsequently suspended from the Human Rights Council in March 2011.[165]

Libya's human rights record was put in the spotlight in February 2011, due to the Jamahiriya's response to pro-democracy protesters, when it killed hundreds of demonstrators.[166]

In 2011, Freedom House rated both political rights and civil liberties in Libya as "7" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating), and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free".sony vgp-bps9b battery

Administrative divisions and cities

Main articles: Subdivisions of Libya and Districts of Libya

See also: List of cities in Libya

Map of Libya

Historically the area of Libya was considered three provinces (or states), Tripolitania in the northwest, Barka (Cyrenaica) in the east, and Fezzan in the southwest. It was the conquest by Italy in the Italo-Turkish War that united them in a single political unit. Under the Italians Libya, in 1934, was divided into four provinces and one territory (in the south): Tripoli, Misrata, Benghazi, Bayda, and the Territory of the Libyan Sahara. sony vgp-bpl9 battery

After independence, Libya was divided into three governorates (muhafazat)[169][dead link] and then in 1963 into ten governorates. The governorates were legally abolished in February 1975, and nine "control bureaus" were set up to deal directly with the nine areas, respectively: education, health, housing, social services, labor, agricultural services, communications, financial services, and economy, each under their own ministry. sony vgp-bps10 battery However, the courts and some other agencies continued to operate as if the governorate structure were still in place.[172] In 1983 Libya was split into forty-six districts (baladiyat), then in 1987 into twenty-five. In 1995, Libya was divided into thirteen districts (shabiyah),[176] in 1998 into twenty-six districts, and in 2001 into thirty-two districts.[177] These were then further rearranged into twenty-two districts in 2007Sony VGP-BPS12 Battery:

Economy

Main article: Economy of Libya

Libya's economy relies heavily on oil. The ENI Oil Bouri DP4 in the Bouri Field is the biggest platform in the Mediterranean sea.

The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which constitute practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of gross domestic product (GDP). The discovery of the oil and natural gas reserves in the country in 1959 led to the transformation of Libya's economy from a poor country to (then) Africa's richestSony VGP-BPL12 Battery. The World Bank defines Libya as an 'Upper Middle Income Economy', along with only seven other African countries.[181] In the early 1980s, Libya was one of the wealthiest countries in the world; its GDP per capita was higher than that of developed countries such as Italy, Singapore, South Korea, Spain and New Zealand. Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery

High oil revenues and a small population gave Libya one of the highest GDPs per capita in Africa and have allowed the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya state to provide an extensive level of social security, particularly in the fields of housing and education.[183] Many problems still beset Libya's economy however; unemployment is the highest in the region at 21%, according to the latest census figures. Sony VGP-BPS13B/Q battery

Compared to its neighbors, Libya has enjoyed a low level of both absolute and relative poverty. In the first six years of the new millennium officials of the Jamahiriya era carried out economic reforms as part of a broader campaign to reintegrate Libya into the global capitalist economy.[185] This effort picked up steam after UN sanctions were lifted in September 2003Sony VGP-BPS13/Q battery, and as Libya announced in December 2003 that it would abandon programs to build weapons of mass destruction.[186]

Libya has begun some market-oriented reforms. Initial steps have included applying for membership of the World Trade Organization, reducing subsidies, and announcing plans for privatization.[187] Authorities privatized more than 100 government owned companies after 2003 in industries including oil refiningSony VGP-BPS13A/B battery, tourism and real estate, of which 29 were 100% foreign owned.[188] The non-oil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel and aluminumSony VGP-BPS13/S battery.

Pivot irrigation in Kufra, southeast Cyrenaica. Oil wealth has enabled Libya to pursue projects such as agriculture development and the Great Manmade River in the Sahara desert.

Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food.[185] Water is also a problem, with some 28% of the population not having access to safe drinking water in 2000. Sony VGP-BPS13/B battery The Great Manmade River project is tapping into vast underground aquifers of fresh water discovered during the quest for oil, and is intended to improve the country's agricultural output.[citation needed]

Under former Jamahiriya prime ministers Shukri Ghanem and Baghdadi Mahmudi, Libya underwent a business boom, with initiatives to privatize many government-run industries. Many international oil companies returned to the country, including oil giants Shell and ExxonMobil. Sony VGP-BPS13B/S battery

Tourism was on the rise, bringing increased demand for hotel accommodation and for capacity at airports such as Tripoli International. A multi-million dollar renovation of Libyan airports was approved in 2006 by the government to help meet such demands.[191] Previously, 130,000 people visited the country annually; the Jamahiriya government hoped to increase this figure to 10,000,000 touristsSony VGP-BPS13A battery. Libya had long been a notoriously difficult country for Western tourists to visit due to stringent visa requirements.[192] Since the overthrow of Gaddafi's government, there has been revived hope that an open society will encourage the return of tourists.[citation needed] Prior to the uprising, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the second-eldest son of Muammar Gaddafi, was involved in a green development project called the Green Mountain Sustainable Development AreaSony VGP-BPS13A/S battery, which sought to bring tourism to Cyrene and to preserve Greek ruins in the area.[193]

In August 2011, Ahmed Jehani, head of the Libyan Stabilisation Team appointed by the rebel National Transition Council, estimated it would take at least 10 years to rebuild Libya's infrastructure. He also noted that Libya's infrastructure was in a poor state, even before the 2011 civil war due to "utter neglect" by Gaddafi's administration.Sony VGP-BPS13S battery

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Libya

See also: Libyan people

A map indicating the ethnic composition of Libya

Fareed Zakaria said in 2011 that "[t]he unusual thing about Libya is that it's a very large country with a very small population, but the population is actually concentrated very narrowly along the coast."[195] Population density is about 50 persons per km² (130/sq. mi.) in the two northern regions of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, but falls to less than one person per km² (2.6/sq. mi.) elsewhereSony VGP-BPS13A/Q battery. Ninety percent of the people live in less than 10% of the area, primarily along the coast. About 88% of the population is urban, mostly concentrated in the three largest cities, Tripoli, Benghazi and Misrata. Libya has a population of about 6.5 million, around half of whom are under the age of 15. In 1984 the population reached 3.6 million and was growing at about 4% a year, one of the highest rates in the world. The 1984 population total was an increase from the 1.54 million reported in 1964. Sony VGP-BPS13A/R battery

The people of Libya are predominantly of the nomadic Arab-Berber race;[? clarification needed] however, the long series of foreign invaders have had a profound and lasting influence on Libya's demographics – namely, by the Arabs and the Turks.[197] Hence, Libyans are primarily Arab or a mixture of Arab and Berber ethnicities, or a mixture of Arab and Turkish ethnicities. Sony VGP-BPS13AB battery The Turkish minority are often called "Kouloughlis" and are concentrated in and around villages and towns.[199] Other ethnic minorities include Libyan blacks, the Tuaregs, and the Tebou.[198] Among foreign residents, the largest groups are citizens of other African nations – including North Africans (primarily Egyptians) – and Sub-Saharan Africans.[200] In 2011, there were also an estimated 60,000 Bangladeshis, 30,000 Chinese and 30,000 Filipinos in Libya. Sony VGP-BPS13B battery Libya is home to a large illegal population which numbers more than one million, mostly Egyptians and Sub-Saharan Africans.[202] Libya has a small Italian minority. Previously, there was a visible presence of Italian settlers, but many left after independence in 1947 and many more left in 1970 after the accession of Muammar Gaddafi. Sony VGP-BPS13B/B battery

The main language spoken in Libya is Arabic (the Libyan dialect) by 95% of Libyans, and Modern Standard Arabic is also the official language; the Berber languages spoken by 5% (i.e. Berber and Tuareg languages), which do not have official status, are spoken by Berbers and Tuaregs in the south part of the country beside the Arabic languageSony VGP-BPL21 battery. Berber speakers live above all in the Jebel Nafusa region (Tripolitania), the town of Zuwara on the coast, and the small city-oases of Ghadames and Awjila. In addition, Tuaregs speak Tamahaq, the only known Northern Tamasheq language such as Ghat, also Toubou is spoken in some pockets in Qatrun and Kufra. Italian and English are sometimes spoken in the big cities, although Italian speakers are mainly among the older generationSony VGP-BPS21 battery.

There are about 140 tribes and clans in Libya.[205] Family life is important for Libyan families, the majority of which live in apartment blocks and other independent housing units, with precise modes of housing depending on their income and wealth. Although the Libyan Arabs traditionally lived nomadic lifestyles in tents, they have now settled in various towns and cities. Sony VGP-BPS21A battery Because of this, their old ways of life are gradually fading out. An unknown small number of Libyans still live in the desert as their families have done for centuries. Most of the population has occupations in industry and services, and a small percentage is in agriculture.

According to the World Refugee Survey 2008, published by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, Libya hosted a population of refugees and asylum seekers numbering approximately 16,000 in 2007Sony VGP-BPS21B battery. Of this group, approximately 9,000 persons were from Palestine, 3,200 from Sudan, 2,500 from Somalia and 1,100 from Iraq.[207] Libya reportedly deported thousands of illegal entrants in 2007 without giving them the opportunity to apply for asylum. Refugees faced discrimination from Libyan officials when moving in the country and seeking employmentSony VGP-BPS26 Battery.

Libya's population includes 1.7 million students, over 270,000 of whom study at the tertiary level.[208] Basic education in Libya is free for all citizens,[209] and is compulsory up to the secondary level. Libya's literacy rate is the highest in North Africa; over 82% of the population can read and write. Sony VGP-BPS26A Battery

After Libya's independence in 1951, its first university – the University of Libya – was established in Benghazi by royal decree.[211] In the 1975–76 academic year the number of university students was estimated to be 13,418. As of 2004, this number has increased to more than 200,000, with an extra 70,000 enrolled in the higher technical and vocational sector. Sony VGP-BPS13 battery(without CD) The rapid increase in the number of students in the higher education sector has been mirrored by an increase in the number of institutions of higher education.

Since 1975 the number of universities has grown from two to nine and after their introduction in 1980, the number of higher technical and vocational institutes currently stands at 84 (with 12 public universities). Since 2011 some new private universities such as the Libyan International Medical University have been establishedSony VGP-BPS13B/Q battery(without CD). Although before 2011 a small number of private institutions were given accreditation, the majority of Libya's higher education has always been financed by the public budget. In 1998 the budget allocation for education represented 38.2% of the Jamahiriya's total national budget.[211]

By far the predominant religion in Libya is Islam with 97% of the population associating with the faith. Sony VGP-BPS13/Q battery(without CD) The vast majority of Libyan Muslims adhere to Sunni Islam, which provides both a spiritual guide for individuals and a keystone for government policy, but a minority (between 5 and 10%) adhere to Ibadism (a branch of Kharijism), above all in the Jebel Nafusa and the town of Zuwara, west of Tripoli. A Libyan form of Sufism is also common in parts of the country. Sony VGP-BPS14/B Battery

Mosque in Ghadames, close to the Tunisian and Algerian border. About 97% of Libyans are followers of Islam.

Before the 1930s, the Senussi Movement was the primary Islamic movement in Libya. This was a religious revival adapted to desert life. Its zawaaya (lodges) were found in Tripolitania and Fezzan, but Senussi influence was strongest in Cyrenaica. Rescuing the region from unrest and anarchy, the Senussi movement gave the Cyrenaican tribal people a religious attachment and feelings of unity and purpose. Sony VGP-BPS14B Battery

This Islamic movement, which was eventually destroyed by both Italian invasion and later the Gaddafi government,[214] was very conservative and somewhat different from the Islam that exists in Libya today. Gaddafi asserted that he was a devout Muslim, and his government was taking a role in supporting Islamic institutions and in worldwide proselytising on behalf of Islam. Sony VGP-BPS14/S Battery

Other than the majority of Sunni Muslims, there are also small foreign communities of Christians. Coptic Orthodox Christianity, which is the Christian Church of Egypt, is the largest and most historical Christian denomination in Libya. There are over 60,000 Egyptian Copts in Libya, as they comprise over 1% of the population.[216] There are an estimated 40,000 Roman Catholics in Libya who are served by two BishopsSony VGP-BPL14/B Battery, one in Tripoli (serving the Italian community) and one in Benghazi (serving the Maltese community). There is also a small Anglican community, made up mostly of African immigrant workers in Tripoli; it is part of the Anglican Diocese of Egypt.

Libya was until recent times the home of one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world, dating back to at least 300 BC.[217] In 1942 the Italian Fascist authorities set up forced labor camps south of Tripoli for the Jews, including Giado (about 3,000 Jews) Sony VGP-BPL14 Battery and Gharyan, Jeren, and Tigrinna. In Giado some 500 Jews died of weakness, hunger, and disease. In 1942, Jews who were not in the concentration camps were heavily restricted in their economic activity and all men between 18 and 45 years were drafted for forced labor. In August 1942, Jews from Tripolitania were interned in a concentration camp at Sidi Azaz. In the three years after November 1945, more than 140 Jews were murdered, and hundreds more woundedSony VGP-BPL14B Battery, in a series of pogroms.[218] By 1948, about 38,000 Jews remained in the country. Upon Libya's independence in 1951, most of the Jewish community emigrated.

Main article: Culture of Libya

Further information: Music of Libya and Libyan literature

A busy city beach in the Libyan capital Tripoli in the summer. The Mediterranean Sea plays an important role in Libyan culture, both historically and today.

Libya is culturally similar to its neighboring Maghrebian states. Libyans consider themselves very much a part of a wider Arab community. This is strengthened by Arabic being the only official language of the statSony VGP-BPL14/S Batterye. Under dictatorship the teaching of foreign languages previously taught in academic institutions was forbidden, along with even the use of the Berber language, leaving entire generations of Libyans with limitations in their comprehension of the English language.

Libyan Arabs have a heritage in the traditions of the previously nomadic Bedouin tribes and most Libyans will associate themselves with a particular family name originating from tribal or conquest based, typically from Ottoman forefathers, heritage. Sony VGP-BPS14 Battery

There are few theaters or art galleries due to cultural repression and lack of infrastructure development under the regime of dictatorship. For many years there have been no public theaters, and only very few cinemas showing foreign films. The tradition of folk culture is still alive and well, with troupes performing music and dance at frequent festivals, both in Libya and abroad. Sony VGP-BPL15/B Battery

A large number of Libyan television stations are devoted to political review, Islamic topics and cultural phenomena. A number of TV stations air various styles of traditional Libyan music.[? clarification needed] Tuareg music and dance are popular in Ghadames and the south. Libyan television broadcasts air programs mostly in Arabic though usually have time slots for English and French programs. Sony VGP-BPS15/B BatteryA 1996 analysis by the Committee to Protect Journalists found Libya’s media was the most tightly controlled in the Arab world during the country's dictatorship.[222] However as of 2012 hundreds of TV stations have begun to air due to the collapse of censorship from the old regime and the initiation of "free media"Sony VGP-BPL15/S Battery.

Traditional dancing in Bayda in 1976.

Many Libyans frequent the country's beach and they also visit Libya's archaeological sites—especially Leptis Magna, which is widely considered to be one of the best preserved Roman archaeological sites in the world.[223] The most common form of public transport between cities is the bus, though many people travel by automobile.[224] There are no railway services in LibyaSony VGP-BPS15/S Battery, but these are planned for construction in the near future (see rail transport in Libya).[224] The nation's capital, Tripoli, boasts many museums and archives; these include the Government Library, the Ethnographic Museum, the Archaeological Museum, the National Archives, the Epigraphy Museum and the Islamic Museum. The Red Castle Museum located in the capital near the coast and right in the city center, built in consultation with UNESCO, may be the country's most famous. Sony VGP-BPS15 Battery

Libyan cuisine

Libyan cuisine is culturally diverse and ranges from the generally simple dishes to the vibrant fusions between different culinary traditions be it Italian or Bedouin / traditional Arab Libyan food (similar to Sahara cuisine).[226] Pasta is a staple diet of the Western side of Libya whereas rice is generally the food staple of the eastSony VGP-BPS18 battery. Some common Libyan foods include several variations of, sometimes hot or spicy, red (tomato) sauce based pasta (cut short of left long) dishes (similar to the Italian Sugo all'arrabbiata dish) or rice, usually with lamb or chicken (typically stewed, fried, grilled, or boiled in-sauce), couscous which is steam cooked whilst held over boiling red (tomato) sauce and meat (sometimes also containing courgettes and chickpeas) which is typically served with it along with cucumber slicesSony VGP-BPS22 Battery, lettuce and olives. Bazeen (a dish which is similar to a type of unsweetened cake, made from barley flower, served with red tomato sauce and customarily eaten communally with several others sharing the same dish usually by hand - this dish is commonly served at traditional weddings or festivities), Ousba`an (a sweet version of Bazeen, made from white flower and served with a mix of honeySONY VGN-FZ11E battery, ghee or butter) and shurba, which is a red tomato sauce based soup usually served with small grains of pasta.[226] A very common snack eaten by Libyan is known as 'khubs bi' tun' literally meaning bread with tuna fish, served as usually a baked baguette or pita bread stuffed with tuna fish that has been mixed with Harissa (chili sauce) and usually olive oil, many snack vendors prepare these sandwiches and can be found all over LibyaSONY VGN-FZ11L battery. Libyan restaurants may serve international cuisine, or may serve simpler fare such as lamb, chicken, vegetable stew, potatoes and macaroni.[226] Due to severe lack of infrastructure, many under-developed areas and small towns do not have restaurants and instead food stores may be the only source to obtain food products.[226] Alcohol consumption is illegal in the entire country. SONY VGN-FZ11M battery

There are four main ingredients of traditional Libyan food: olives (and olive oil), palm dates, grains and milk.[228] Grains are roasted, ground, sieved and used for making bread, cakes, soups and bazeen. Dates are harvested, dried and can be eaten as they are, made into syrup or slightly fried and eaten with bsisa and milk. After eating, Libyans often drink black tea. This is normally repeated a second time (for the second glass of tea) SONY VGN-FZ11S battery, and in the third round the tea is served with roasted peanuts or roasted almonds known as 'shahi bil louse' (mixed with the tea in the same glass).

Tripoli is the capital city and the largest city of Libya. As of 2011, the Tripoli metropolitan area (district area) had a population of 2.2 million people. The city is located in the northwestern part of Libya on the edge of the desert, on a point of rocky land projecting into the Mediterranean and forming a baySONY VGN-FZ11Z battery.

Tripoli includes the Port of Tripoli and the country's largest commercial and manufacturing centre. It is also the site of the University of Tripoli. The vast Bab al-Azizia barracks, which includes the former family plantation of Muammar Gaddafi, is also located in the city. Colonel Gaddafi largely ruled the country from his residence in this barracksSONY VGN-FZ15G battery.

Tripoli was founded in the 7th century BC by the Phoenicians, who named it Oea.[2] Due to the city's long history, there are many sites of archaeological significance in Tripoli. "Tripoli" may also refer to the shabiyah (top-level administrative division in the current Libyan system), the Tripoli DistrictSONY VGN-FZ15L battery.

Tripoli is also known as Tripoli-of-the-West (Arabic: طرابلس الغرب‎ Ṭarābulus al-Gharb), to distinguish it from its older Phoenician sister city Tripoli, Lebanon known in Arabic as Ṭarābulus al-Sham (طرابلس الشام) meaning "Levantine Tripoli". It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean (Arabic: عروسة البحر‎ ʼarūsat el-baḥr; lit: "bride of the sea"),SONY VGN-FZ15M battery describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli (English pronunciation: /ˈtrɪpɵli/) is a Greek name that means "Three Cities", introduced in Western European languages through the Italian Tripoli. In Arabic: طرابلس‎ it is called Ṭarābulus ( pronunciation (help·info), Libyan Arabic: Ṭrābləs  pronunciation (help·info), Berber: Ṭrables, from Ancient Greek: Τρίπολις Trípolis) SONY VGN-FZ15S battery.

The city was founded in the 7th century BC, by the Phoenicians, who gave it the Libyco-Berber name Oea (or Wy't),[3] suggesting that the city may have been built upon an existing native town. The Phoenicians were probably attracted to the site by its natural harbor, flanked on the western shore by the small, easily defensible peninsula, on which they established their colonySONY VGN-FZ15T battery. The city then passed into the hands of the rulers of Cyrenaica (a Greek colony on the North African shore, east of Tripoli, halfway to Egypt), although the Carthaginians later wrested it from the Greeks. The Lebanese Arabic name Tarabulus is derived from the Greek Tripolis meaning three towns, hence TripoliSONY VGN-FZ17 battery.

By the later half of the 2nd century BC it belonged to the Romans, who included it in their province of Africa, and gave it the name of Regio Syrtica. Around the beginning of the 3rd century AD, it became known as the Regio Tripolitana, meaning "region of the three cities", namely Oea (i.e., modern Tripoli), Sabratha and Leptis Magna. It was probably raised to the rank of a separate province by Septimius Severus, who was a native of Leptis MagnaSONY VGN-FZ17G battery.

Roman Arch of Marcus Aurelius

In spite of centuries of Roman habitation, the only visible Roman remains, apart from scattered columns and capitals (usually integrated in later buildings), is the Arch of Marcus Aurelius from the 2nd century AD. The fact that Tripoli has been continuously inhabited, unlike e.g., Sabratha and Leptis Magna, has meant that the inhabitants have either quarried material from older buildings (destroying them in the process), or built on top of themSONY VGN-FZ17L battery, burying them beneath the streets, where they remain largely unexcavated.

There is evidence to suggest that the Tripolitania region was in some economic decline during the 5th and 6th centuries, in part due to the political unrest spreading across the Mediterranean world in the wake of the collapse of the western Roman empire, as well as pressure from the invading VandalsSONY VGN-FZ18 battery.

According to al-Baladhuri, Tripoli was, unlike Western North Africa, taken by the Muslims very early after Alexandria, in the 22nd year of the Hijra, that is between 30 November 642 and 18 November 643. Following the conquest, Tripoli was ruled by dynasties based in Cairo, Egypt (first the Fatimids, and later the Mamluks). For some time it was a part of the Berber Almohad empire and of the Hafsids kingdomSONY VGN-FZ18E battery. It was part of the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 19th centuries.

16th to 19th centuries

In 1510, it was taken by Don Pedro Navarro, Count of Oliveto for Spain, and, in 1523, it was assigned to the Knights of St. John, who had lately been expelled by the Ottoman Turks from their stronghold on the island of Rhodes. Finding themselves in very hostile territory, the Knights enhanced the city's walls and other defensesSONY VGN-FZ18G battery. Though built on top of a number of older buildings (possibly including a Roman public bath), much of the earliest defensive structures of the Tripoli castle (or "Assaraya al-Hamra", i.e., the "Red Castle") are attributed to the Knights of St John.

Having previously combated piracy from their base on Rhodes, the reason that the Knights were given charge of the city was to prevent it from relapsing into the nest of Barbary pirates as it had been prior to the Spanish occupationSONY VGN-FZ18M battery. The disruption the pirates caused to the Christian shipping lanes in the Mediterranean had been one of the main incentives for the Spanish conquest of the city.

Historic map of Tripoli by Piri Reis

The knights kept the city with some trouble until 1551, when they were compelled to surrender to the Ottomans, led by Muslim Turk Turgut Reis.[4] Turgut Reis served as pasha of Tripoli, during his rule he adorned and built up the city, making it one of the most impressive cities along the North African Coast.[5] Turgut was also buried in Tripoli after his death in 1565SONY VGN-FZ18S battery. His body was taken from Malta, where he had fallen during the Ottoman siege of the island, to a tomb in the mosque he had established close to his palace in Tripoli. The palace has since disappeared (supposedly it was situated between the so-called "Ottoman prison" and the arch of Marcus Aurelius), but the mosque, along with his tomb, still stands, close to the Bab Al-Bahr gateSONY VGN-FZ18T battery.

After the capture by the Ottoman Turks, Tripoli once again became a base of operation for Barbary pirates. One of several Western attempts to dislodge them again was a Royal Navy attack under John Narborough in 1675, of which a vivid eye-witness account has survived.[6] Effective Ottoman rule during this period (1551–1711) was often hampered by the local Janissary corpsSONY VGN-FZ190 battery. Intended to function as enforcers of local administration, the captain of the Janissaries and his cronies were often the de facto rulers.

In 1711, Ahmed Karamanli, a Janissary officer of Turkish origin, killed the Ottoman governor, the "Pasha", and established himself as ruler of the Tripolitania region. By 1714, he had asserted a sort of semi-independence from the Ottoman Sultan, heralding in the Karamanli dynastySONY VGN-FZ19L battery. The Pashas of Tripoli were expected to pay a regular tributary tax to the Sultan, but were in all other aspects rulers of an independent kingdom. This order of things continued under the rule of his descendants, accompanied by the brazen piracy and blackmailing until 1835, when the Ottoman Empire took advantage of an internal struggle and re-established its authoritySONY VGN-FZ19VN battery.

The Ottoman province (vilayet) of Tripoli (including the dependent sanjak of Cyrenaica) lay along the southern shore of the Mediterranean between Tunisia in the west and Egypt in the east. Besides the city itself, the area included Cyrenaica (the Barca plateau), the chain of oases in the Aujila depression, Fezzan and the oases of Ghadames and Ghat, separated by sandy and stony wastelandsSONY VGN-FZ210CE battery.

Main article: Barbary Wars

The USS Philadelphia burning at the Second Battle of Tripoli Harbor during the First Barbary War in 1804

In the early part of the 19th century, the regency at Tripoli, owing to its piratical practices, was twice involved in war with the United States. In May 1801, the pasha demanded an increase in the tribute ($83,000) which the US government had been paying since 1796SONY VGN-FZ21E battery for the protection of their commerce from piracy under the 1796 Treaty with Tripoli. The demand was refused, and a naval force was sent from the United States to blockade Tripoli.

The First Barbary War dragged on for four years. In 1803, Tripolitan fighters captured the US frigate Philadelphia and took its commander, Captain William Bainbridge, and the entire crew as prisonersSONY VGN-FZ21J battery. This was after the Philadelphia was run aground when the captain tried to navigate too close to the port of Tripoli. After several hours aground and Tripolitan gun boats firing upon the Philadelphia, though none ever struck the Philadelphia, Captain Bainbridge made the decision to surrender. The Philadelphia was later turned against the Americans and anchored in Tripoli Harbor as a gun battery while her officers and crew were held prisoners in TripoliSONY VGN-FZ21M battery. The following year, US Navy Lieutenant Stephen Decatur led a successful nighttime raid to retake and burn the ship. Decatur's men set fire to the Philadelphia and escaped.

The most colorful incident in the war was the expedition undertaken by William Eaton with the object of replacing the pasha with an elder brother living in exile, who had promised to accede to all the wishes of the United States. Eaton, at the head of a crew of 500 US Marines, Greek, Arab and Turkish MercenariesSONY VGN-FZ21S battery, marched across the desert from Alexandria, Egypt and with the aid of American ships, succeeded in capturing Derna. Soon afterward, on 3 June 1805, peace was concluded. The pasha ended his demands and received $60,000 as ransom for the Philadelphia prisoners under the 1805 Treaty with Tripoli.

In 1815, in consequence of further outrages and due to the humiliation of the earlier defeat, Captains Bainbridge and Stephen Decatur, SONY VGN-FZ21Z battery at the head of an American squadron, again visited Tripoli and forced the pasha to comply with the demands of the United States. See Second Barbary War.

Late Ottoman era

Ottoman Clock tower in Tripoli's old town medina

In 1835, the Ottomans took advantage of a local civil war to reassert their direct authority. After that date, Tripoli was under the direct control of the Sublime Porte. Rebellions in 1842 and 1844 were unsuccessful. After the French occupation of Tunisia (1881), the Ottomans increased their garrison in Tripoli considerablySONY VGN-FZ31B battery.

Italy had long claimed that Tripoli fell within its zone of influence and that Italy had the right to preserve order within the state.[7] Under the pretext of protecting its own citizens living in Tripoli from the Ottoman Government, it declared war against the Ottomans on 29 September 1911, and announced its intention of annexing Tripoli. On 1 October 1911, a naval battle was fought at Prevesa, Greece, and three Ottoman vessels were destroyedSONY VGN-FZ31E battery.

By the Treaty of Lausanne, Italian sovereignty was acknowledged by the Ottomans, although the Caliph was permitted to exercise religious authority. Italy officially granted autonomy after the war, but gradually occupied the region. Originally administered as part of a single colony, Tripoli and its surrounding province were a separate colony from 26 June 1927 to 3 December 1934, when all Italian possessions in North Africa were merged into one colonySONY VGN-FZ31J battery. By 1938, Tripoli had 108,240 inhabitants, including 39,096 Italians.[8]

Tripoli underwent a huge architectural and urbanistic improvement under Italian rule[9]: the first thing the Italians did was to create in the early 1920s a sewage system (that until then lacked) and a modern hospital.

In the coast of the province was built in 1937-1938 a section of the Litoranea Balbia, a road that went from Tripoli and Tunisia's frontier to the border of Egypt. The car tag for the Italian province of Tripoli was "TL"SONY VGN-FZ31M battery.

Fiera internazionale di Tripoli (Tripoli International Fair) in 1939

Furthermore the Italians -in order to promote Tripoli's economy- founded in 1927 the Tripoli International Fair, that is considered to be the oldest Trade Fair in Africa.[11] The so-called Fiera internazionale di Tripoli was one of the main international "Fairs" in the colonial world in the 1930s, and was internationally promoted together with the Tripoli Grand Prix as a showcase of Italian LibyaSONY VGN-FZ31Z battery. Italians even created the Tripoli Grand Prix, an international motor racing event first held in 1925 on a racing circuit outside Tripoli (it lasted until 1940).[13] The first airport in Libya, the Mellaha Air Base was built by the Italian Air Force in 1923 near the Tripoli racing circuit (actually is called Mitiga International Airport).

Tripoli had even a railway station with some small railway connections to nearby cities, when in August 1941 the Italians started to build a new 1040 km railway (with a 1435 mm. gaugeSony VAIO VGN-CR11H/B battery, like the one used in Egypt and Tunisia) between Tripoli and Benghazi. But the war (with the defeat of the Italian Army) stopped the construction the next year.

Tripoli was controlled by Italy until 1943 when the provinces of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were captured by Allied forces and placed under British administration. The city was governed by the British until independence in 1951. Under the terms of the 1947 peace treaty with the Allies, Italy relinquished all claims to Libya. Sony VAIO VGN-CR11S/L battery

[edit]Gaddafi era

On 15 April 1986, U.S. President Ronald Reagan ordered major bombing raids, dubbed Operation El Dorado Canyon, against Tripoli and Benghazi, killing 45 Libyan military and government personnel as well as 15 civilians. This strike followed US interception of telex messages from Libya's East Berlin embassy suggesting the involvement of Libyan leader Muammar Sony VAIO VGN-CR11S/P batteryGaddafi in a bomb explosion on 5 April in West Berlin's La Belle discotheque, a nightclub frequented by US servicemen. Among the alleged fatalities of the 15 April retaliatory attack by the United States was Gaddafi's adopted daughter, Hannah.

United Nations sanctions against Libya were lifted in 2003, which increased traffic through the Port of Tripoli and had a positive impact on the city's economy.

Front lines during the Battle of Tripoli (20th - 28th of August 2011) Sony VAIO VGN-CR11S/W battery

See also: Libyan civil war, Timeline of the 2011 Libyan civil war, and Battle of Tripoli (2011)

In February and March 2011, Tripoli witnessed intense anti-government protests and violent government responses resulting in hundreds killed and wounded. The city's Green Square was the scene of some of the protests. The anti-Gaddafi protests were eventually crushed, and Tripoli was the site of pro-Gaddafi rallies. Sony VAIO VGN-CR11Z/R battery

The city defenses loyal to Gaddafi included the military headquarters at Bab al-Aziziyah (where Gaddafi's main residence was located) and the Mitiga International Airport. At the latter, on 13 March, Ali Atiyya, a colonel of the Libyan Air Force, defected and joined the revolution.[16]

In late February, rebel forces took control of Zawiya, a city approximately 50 kilometres (31 miles) to the west of TripoliSony VAIO VGN-CR131E battery, thus increasing the threat to pro-Gaddafi forces in the capital. During the subsequent battle of Zawiya, loyalist forces besieged the city and eventually recaptured it by 10 March.

As the 2011 military intervention in Libya commenced on 19 March to enforce a U.N. no-fly zone over the country, the city once again came under air attack. It was the second time that Tripoli was bombed since the 1986 U.S. airstrikes, and the second time since the 1986 airstrike that bombed Bab al-Azizia, Gaddafi's heavily fortified compoundSony VAIO VGN-CR13G battery.

In July and August, Libyan online revolutionary communities posted tweets and updates on attacks of rebel fighters on loyalist vehicles and checkpoints. In one such attack, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah Senussi were targets. The regime, however, denied revolutionary activity inside the capitalSony VAIO VGN-CR13G/B battery.

Several months after the initial uprising, rebel forces in the Nafusa Mountains advanced towards the coast, retaking Zawiya and reaching Tripoli on 21 August. On 21 August, the symbolic Green Square, immediately renamed Martyrs' Square by the rebels, was taken under rebel control and Gaddafi propaganda posters were torn down and burned.Sony VAIO VGN-CR13G/L battery

During a radio address on 1 September, Gaddafi declared that the capital of Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya was moved from Tripoli to Sirte, after rebels had taken control of Tripoli.

Law and government

Tripoli and its surrounding suburbs all lie within the Tripoli sha'biyah (district). In accordance with Libya's former Jamahiriya political system, Tripoli comprises Local People's Congresses where, in theory, the city's population discuss different matters and elect their own people's committeeSony VAIO VGN-CR13G/P battery; at present[when?] there are 29 Local People's Congresses. In reality, the former revolutionary committees severely limited the democratic process by closely supervising committee and congress elections at the branch and district levels of governments, Tripoli being no exception.

Tripoli is sometimes referred to as "the de jure capital of Libya" because none of the country's ministries are actually located in the capitalSony VAIO VGN-CR13/L battery. Even the former National General People's Congress was held annually in the city of Sirte rather than in Tripoli. As part of a radical decentralization programme undertaken by Gaddafi in September 1988, all General People's Committee secretariats (ministries), except those responsible for foreign liaison (foreign affairs) and information, were moved outside of TripoliSony VAIO VGN-CR13/P battery. According to diplomatic sources, the former Secretariat for Economy and Trade was moved to Benghazi; the Secretariat for Health to Kufra; and the remainder, excepting one, to Sirte, Muammar Gaddafi's birthplace. In early 1993 it was announced that the Secretariat for Foreign Liaison and International Co-operation was to be moved to Ra's Lanuf. In October 2011, Libya fell to The National Transitional Council (N.T.C.) Sony VAIO VGN-CR13/R battery, which took full control, abolishing the Gaddafi-era system of national and local government.

Astronaut View of Tripoli

Tripoli lies at the western extremity of Libya close to the Tunisian border, on the continent of Africa. Over a thousand kilometres separates Tripoli from Libya's second largest city, Benghazi. Coastal oases alternate with sandy areas and lagoons along the shores of Tripolitania for more than 300 kilometres (190 mi) Sony VAIO VGN-CR13T/L battery.

Until 2007, the "Sha'biyah" included the city, its suburbs and their immediate surroundings. In older administrative systems and throughout history, there existed a province ("muhafazah"), state ("wilayah") or city-state with a much larger area (though not constant boundaries), which is sometimes mistakenly referred to as Tripoli but more appropriately should be called Tripolitania.

As a District, Tripoli borders the following districtSony VAIO VGN-CR13T/P battery:

Most of the residents of the city are primary ethnic Arabs and black Africans from Sub-Saharan Africa. 95% of the city's population speaks Arabic.

Tripoli has a hot subtropical semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh)[17] with long, hot and dry summers with relatively wet and mild winters with a Mediterranean (dry-summer) rainfall pattern. Its summers are hot with temperatures that often exceed 38 °C (100 °F) Sony VAIO VGN-CR13T/R battery; average July temperatures are between 22 °C (72 °F) and 33 °C (91 °F). In December, temperatures have reached as low as −5 °C (23 °F), but the average remains at between 9 °C (48 °F) and 18 °C (64 °F). The average annual rainfall is less than 400 millimetres (16 inches), and can be very erratic. But snowfall has occurred in past years.[18]

For example, epic floods in 1945 left Tripoli under water for several days, but two years later an unprecedented drought caused the loss of thousands of head of cattleSony VAIO VGN-CR13T/W battery. Deficiency in rainfall is no doubt reflected in an absence of permanent rivers or streams in the city as is indeed true throughout the entire country. The allocation of limited water is considered of sufficient importance to warrant the existence of the Secretariat of Dams and Water Resources, and damaging a source of water can be penalized by a heavy fine or imprisonment. Sony VAIO VGN-CR13/W battery

The Great Manmade River, a network of pipelines that transport water from the desert to the coastal cities, supplies Tripoli with its water.[19] The grand scheme was initiated by Gaddafi in 1982 and has had a positive impact on the city's inhabitants.

Tripoli is dotted with public spaces, but none fit under the category of large city parks. Martyrs' Square, located near the waterfront is scattered with palm trees, the most abundant plant used for landscaping in the citySony PCG-5G2L battery. The Tripoli Zoo, located south of the city centre, is a large reserve of plants, trees and open green spaces and is the country's biggest zoo.[citation needed]It has, however, been closed since 2009.

Tripoli is one of the main hubs of Libya's economy along with Misrata. It is the leading centre of banking, finance and communication in the country and is one of the leading commercial and manufacturing cities in LibyaSony PCG-5G3L battery. Many of the country's largest corporations locate their headquarters and home offices in Tripoli as well as the majority of international companies.[citation needed]

Major manufactured goods include processed food, textiles, construction materials, clothing and tobacco products. Since the lifting of sanctions against Libya in 1999 and again in 2003, Tripoli has seen a rise in foreign investment as well as an increase in tourism. Increased traffic has also been recorded in the city's port as well as Libya's main international airport, Tripoli InternationalSony PCG-5J1L battery.

The city is home to the Tripoli International Fair, an international industrial, agricultural and commercial event located on Omar Muktar Avenue. One of the active members of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), located in the French capital Paris, the international fair is organized annually and takes place from 2–12 April. Participation averages around 30 countries as well as more than 2000 companies and organizations. Sony PCG-5J2L battery

Since the rise in tourism and influx of foreign visitors, there has been an increased demand for hotels in the city. To cater for these increased demands, the Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel located in the central business district was constructed in 2003 and is the largest hotel in Libya. Other high end hotels in Tripoli include the Al Waddan Intercontinental and the Tripoli Radisson Blu Hotel as well as others. Sony PCG-5K1L battery

Companies with head offices in Tripoli include Afriqiyah Airways and Libyan Airlines.[21][22] Buraq Air has its head office on the grounds of Mitiga International Airport.[23]

Tripoli's Old City (El-Madina El-Kadima), situated in the city centre, is one of the classical sites of the Mediterranean and an important tourist attraction.

The city's old town, the Medina, is still unspoiled by mass-tourism, though it was increasingly exposed to more and more visitors from abroadSony PCG-5K2L battery, following the lifting of the UN embargo in 2003. However, the walled Medina retains much of its serene old-world ambiance. The Red Castle Museum (Assaraya al-Hamra), a vast palace complex with numerous courtyards, dominates the city skyline and is located on the outskirts of the Medina. There are some classical statues and fountains from the Ottoman period scattered around the castle. An Ottoman serail now houses the Traveler's LibrarySony PCG-5L1L battery.

Three gates provided access to the old town: Bab Zanata in the west, Bab Hawara in the southeast and Bab Al-Bahr in the north wall. The city walls are still standing and can be climbed for good views of the city. The bazaar is also known for its traditional ware; fine jewellery and clothes can be found in the local marketsSony PCG-6S2L battery.

There are a number of buildings that were constructed by the Italian colonial rulers and later demolished under Gaddafi. They included the Royal Miramare Theatre, next to the Red Castle, and Tripoli Railway Central Station.Tripoli Cathedral, constructed by the Italian colonial authorities during the 1920s, was converted into a mosque in the early 1970s. The building was extensively remodelled at this timeSony PCG-6S3L battery.

Colleges and universities

The largest university in Tripoli, the University of Tripoli, is a public university providing free education to the city's inhabitants. Private universities and colleges have also begun to crop up in the last few years.

Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia[1] (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya, Arabic: جمهورية الصومال الفدرالية‎ Jumhūriyyat aṣ-Ṣūmāl al-Fiderāliyya), is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the eastSony PCG-71313M battery, and Kenya to the southwest. Somalia has the longest coastline on the continent,[6] and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands.[7] Hot conditions prevail year-round, along with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall.[8]

Somalia has a population of around 10 million inhabitants. About 85% of local residents are ethnic Somalis,[3] who have historically inhabited the northern part of the countrySony PCG-71212M battery. Ethnic minority groups make up the remainder of the nation's population, and are largely concentrated in the southern regions.[9] Somali and Arabic are the official languages of Somalia, both of which belong to the Afro-Asiatic family.[3] Most people in the territory are Muslims,[10] the majority being Sunni. Sony PCG-71311M battery

In antiquity, Somalia was an important centre for commerce with the rest of the ancient world, and according to most scholars, it is among the most probable locations of the fabled ancient Land of Punt. During the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade, including the Ajuuraan State, the Adal SultanateSony PCG-71213M battery, the Warsangali Sultanate and the Geledi Sultanate. In the late nineteenth century, through a succession of treaties with these kingdoms, the British and Italians gained control of parts of the coast, and established British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland. In the interior, Muhammad Abdullah Hassan's Dervish State successfully repulsed the British Empire four times and forced it to retreat to the coastal region, Sony PCG-61211M battery but the Dervishes were finally defeated in 1920 by British airpower.[21] Italy acquired full control of the northeastern and southern parts of the territory after successfully waging a Campaign of the Sultanates against the ruling Somali kingdoms.[19] This occupation lasted until 1941, when it was replaced by a British military administration. Northern Somalia would remain a protectorate, while southern Somalia became a United Nations TrusteeshipSONY VAIO PCG-21212M battery. In 1960, the two regions united to form the independent Somali Republic under a civilian government.[22] Mohamed Siad Barre seized power in 1969 and established the Somali Democratic Republic. In 1991, Barre's government collapsed as the Somali Civil War broke out.

In the absence of a central government, Somalia's residents reverted to local forms of conflict resolution, consisting of civil law, religious law and customary lawSONY VAIO PCG-21211M battery. A few autonomous regions, including the Somaliland, Puntland and Galmudug administrations, emerged in the north in the ensuing process of decentralization. The early 2000s saw the creation of fledgling interim federal administrations. The Transitional National Government (TNG) was established in 2000 followed by the formation of its successor the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in 2004SONY VAIO PCG-51212M battery, which reestablished national institutions such as the Military of Somalia. In 2006, the TFG, assisted by Ethiopian troops, assumed control of most of the nation's southern conflict zones from the newly formed Islamic Courts Union (ICU). The ICU subsequently splintered into more radical groups such as Al-Shabaab, which battled the TFG and its AMISOM allies for control of the region, SONY VAIO PCG-51211M batterywith the insurgents losing most of the territory that they had seized by mid-2012. In 2011-2012, a Roadmap political process providing clear benchmarks leading toward the establishment of permanent democratic institutions was launched.[25] Within this administrative framework, a new Provisional Constitution was passed in August 2012, which designates Somalia as a federation.[28] Following the end of the TFG's interim mandate the same month, the Federal Government of SomaliaSONY VAIO PCG-51112M battery, the first permanent central government in the country since the start of the civil war, was also formed.[29] The nation has concurrently experienced a period of intense reconstruction, particularly in the capital, Mogadishu.[25][30] Through the years, Somalia has maintained an informal economy, based mainly on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies, and telecommunicationsSONY VAIO PCG-51111M battery.

Somalia has been inhabited since the Palaeolithic period. Cave paintings said to date back to 9000 BC have been found in the northern part of the country.[32] The most famous of these is the Laas Gaal cultural complex, which contains some of the earliest known rock art on the African continent. Undeciphered inscriptions have also been discovered beneath each of the cave paintings.[33] During the Stone Age, the Doian and the Hargeisan cultures flourished here.SONY VAIO PCG-81212M battery

The oldest evidence of burial customs in the Horn of Africa comes from cemeteries in Somalia dating back to the 4th millennium BC.[35] The stone implements from the Jalelo site in northern Somalia were characterized in 1909 as "the most important link in evidence of the universality in palaeolithic times between the East and the West".Sony VAIO PCG-81112M battery

[edit]Antiquity and classical era

Main article: Architecture of Somalia

The Silk Road extending from southern Europe through Arabia, Somalia, Egypt, Persia, India and Java until it reaches China.

Ancient pyramidal structures, tombs, ruined cities and stone walls found in Somalia, such as the Wargaade Wall, are evidence of an ancient sophisticated civilization that once thrived in the Somali peninsula. SONY VAIO PCG-71111M battery The findings of archaeological excavations and research in the area show that this civilization had an ancient writing system that remains undeciphered,[38] and enjoyed a lucrative trading relationship with Ancient Egypt and Mycenaean Greece since at least the 2nd millennium BC. This supports evidence of Somalia being the ancient Land of Punt.[39] The Puntites "traded not only in their own produce of incense, ebony and short-horned cattleSONY VAIO PCG-7196M battery, but also in goods from other neighboring regions, including gold, ivory and animal skins."[40] According to the temple reliefs at Deir el-Bahari, the Land of Punt was ruled at that time by King Parahu and Queen Ati.[41]

Ancient Somalis domesticated the camel somewhere between the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC from where it spread to Ancient Egypt and North Africa.[42] In the classical period, the city states of MossylonSONY VAIO PCG-7195M battery, Opone, Malao, Mundus and Tabae in Somalia developed a lucrative trade network connecting with merchants from Phoenicia, Ptolemaic Egypt, Greece, Parthian Persia, Saba, Nabataea and the Roman Empire. They used the ancient Somali maritime vessel known as the beden to transport their cargo.

Ruins of Qa’ableh.

After the Roman conquest of the Nabataean Empire and the Roman naval presence at Aden to curb piracySONY VAIO PCG-7194M battery, Arab and Somali merchants by agreement barred Indian ships from trading in the free port cities of the Arabian peninsula[43] to protect the interests of Somali and Arab merchants in the extremely lucrative ancient Red Sea–Mediterranean Sea commerce.[44] However, Indian merchants continued to trade in the port cities of the Somali peninsula, which was free from Roman interference. SONY VAIO PCG-7192M battery

The Indian merchants for centuries brought large quantities of cinnamon from Sri Lanka and Indonesia to Somalia and Arabia. This is said to have been the best kept secret of the Arab and Somali merchants in their trade with the Roman and Greek world. The Romans and Greeks believed the source of cinnamon to have been the Somali peninsula, but in reality, the highly valued product was brought to Somalia by way of Indian ships. SONY PCG-8113M battery Through collusive agreement by Somali and Arab traders, Indian/Chinese cinnamon was also exported for far higher prices to North Africa, the Near East and Europe, which made the cinnamon trade a very profitable revenue generator, especially for the Somali merchants through whose hands large quantities were shipped across ancient sea and land routes. SONY PCG-8112M battery

[edit]Birth of Islam and the Middle Ages

Main articles: Somali aristocratic and court titles, Ifat Sultanate, Walashma dynasty, Sultanate of Mogadishu, Adal Sultanate, Ajuuraan state, and Warsangali Sultanate

Ruins of the Adal Sultanate in Zeila.

Islam was introduced to the area early on from the Arabian peninsula, shortly after the hijra. In the late 800s, Al-Yaqubi wrote that Muslims were living along the northern Somali seaboard.[47] He also mentioned that the Adal kingdom had its capital in the city, SONY PCG-7134M battery  suggesting that the Adal Sultanate with Zeila as its headquarters dates back to at least the 9th or 10th centuries. According to I.M. Lewis, the polity was governed by local dynasties consisting of Somalized Arabs or Arabized Somalis, who also ruled over the similarly-established Sultanate of Mogadishu in the Benadir region to the south. Adal's history from this founding period forth would be characterized by a succession of battles with neighbouring Abyssinia. SONY PCG-7131M battery  At its height, the Adal kingdom controlled large parts of modern-day Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea.

13th century Fakr ad-Din mosque built by Fakr ad-Din, the first Sultan of the Mogadishu Sultanate.

In 1332, the Zeila-based King of Adal was slain in a military campaign aimed at halting the Abyssinian Emperor Amda Seyon's march toward the city. SONY PCG-7122M battery When the last Sultan of Ifat, Sa'ad ad-Din II, was also killed by Emperor Dawit I in Zeila in 1410, his children escaped to Yemen, before later returning in 1415.[50] In the early 15th century, Adal's capital was moved further inland to the town of Dakkar, where Sabr ad-Din II, the eldest son of Sa'ad ad-Din II, established a new base after his return from Yemen. SONY PCG-7121M battery

Adal's headquarters were again relocated the following century, this time to Harar. From this new capital, Adal organised an effective army led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi (Ahmad "Gurey" or "Gran") that invaded the Abyssinian empire.[52] This 16th century campaign is historically known as the Conquest of Abyssinia (Futuh al-Habash). SONY PCG-7113M battery During the war, Imam Ahmad pioneered the use of cannons supplied by the Ottoman Empire, which he imported through Zeila and deployed against Abyssinian forces and their Portuguese allies led by Cristóvão da Gama.[53] Some scholars argue that this conflict proved, through their use on both sides, the value of firearms like the matchlock musket, cannons and the arquebus over traditional weapons. SONY PCG-7112M battery

Flag of the medieval Ajuuraan State.

During the Ajuuraan period, the sultanates and republics of Merca, Mogadishu, Barawa, Hobyo and their respective ports flourished and had a lucrative foreign commerce, with ships sailing to and coming from Arabia, India, Venetia,[55] Persia, Egypt, Portugal and as far away as China. Vasco da Gama, who passed by Mogadishu in the 15th century, noted that it was a large city with houses several storeys high and large palaces in its centreSONY PCG-8Z3M battery, in addition to many mosques with cylindrical minarets.[56]

In the 16th century, Duarte Barbosa noted that many ships from the Kingdom of Cambaya in modern-day India sailed to Mogadishu with cloth and spices, for which they in return received gold, wax and ivory. Barbosa also highlighted the abundance of meat, wheat, barley, horses, and fruit on the coastal markets, which generated enormous wealth for the merchants. SONY PCG-8Z2M battery Mogadishu, the center of a thriving textile industry known as toob benadir (specialized for the markets in Egypt, among other places[58]), together with Merca and Barawa, also served as a transit stop for Swahili merchants from Mombasa and Malindi and for the gold trade from Kilwa.[59] Jewish merchants from the Hormuz brought their Indian textile and fruit to the Somali coast in exchange for grain and wood.SONY PCG-8Z1M battery

Trading relations were established with Malacca in the 15th century,[61] with cloth, ambergris and porcelain being the main commodities of the trade.[62] Giraffes, zebras and incense were exported to the Ming Empire of China, which established Somali merchants as leaders in the commerce between the Asia and Africa[63] and influenced the Chinese language with the Somali language in the processSONY PCG-8Y3M battery. Hindu merchants from Surat and Southeast African merchants from Pate, seeking to bypass both the Portuguese blockade and Omani interference, used the Somali ports of Merca and Barawa (which were out of the two powers' jurisdiction) to conduct their trade in safety and without interference.[64]

Early Modern Era and the Scramble for Africa

Main articles: Geledi sultanate, Majeerteen Sultanate, Sultanate of Hobyo, and Dervish state

Mohamoud Ali Shire, the 26th Sultan of the Warsangali SultanateSONY PCG-8Y2M battery.

In the early modern period, successor states of the Adal and Ajuuraan empires began to flourish in Somalia. These included the Warsangali Sultanate, the Bari Dynasties, the Geledi sultanate (Gobroon dynasty), the Majeerteen Sultanate (Migiurtinia) and the Sultanate of Hobyo (Obbia). They continued the tradition of castle-building and seaborne trade established by previous Somali empiresSONY PCG-7Z1M battery.

Sultan Yusuf Mahamud Ibrahim, the third Sultan of the House of Gobroon, started the golden age of the Gobroon Dynasty. His army came out victorious during the Bardheere Jihad, which restored stability in the region and revitalized the East African ivory trade. He also received presents from and had cordial relations with the rulers of neighboring and distant kingdoms such as the Omani, Witu and Yemeni SultansSONY PCG-6W2M battery.

Sultan Ibrahim's son Ahmed Yusuf succeeded him and was one of the most important figures in 19th century East Africa, receiving tribute from Omani governors and creating alliances with important Muslim families on the East African coast. In northern Somalia, the Gerad Dynasty conducted trade with Yemen and Persia and competed with the merchants of the Bari DynastySONY PCG-5J5M battery. The Gerads and the Bari Sultans built impressive palaces and fortresses and had close relations with many different empires in the Near East.

One of the forts of the Majeerteen Sultanate (Migiurtinia) in Hafun.

In the late 19th century, after the Berlin Conference (1884), European powers began the Scramble for Africa, which inspired the Dervish leader Muhammad Abdullah Hassan to rally support from across the Horn of Africa and begin one of the longest colonial resistance wars ever. In several of his poems and speechesSONY PCG-5K2M battery , Hassan emphasized that the British "have destroyed our religion and made our children their children" and that the Christian Ethiopians in league with the British were bent upon plundering the political and religious freedom of the Somali nation.[65] He soon emerged as "a champion of his country's political and religious freedom, defending it against all Christian invaders." SONY PCG-5K1M battery

Hassan issued a religious ordinance stipulating that any Somali national who did not accept the goal of unity of Somalia and would not fight under his leadership would be considered as kafir or gaal. He soon acquired weapons from the Ottoman Empire, Sudan, and other Islamic and/or Arabian countries, and appointed ministers and advisers to administer different areas or sectors of SomaliaSONY PCG-5J4M battery. In addition, he gave a clarion call for Somali unity and independence, in the process organizing his forces.

Hassan's Dervish movement had an essentially military character, and the Dervish state was fashioned on the model of a Salihiya brotherhood. It was characterized by a rigid hierarchy and centralization. Though Hassan threatened to drive the Christians into the sea, he executed the first attack by launching his first major military offensive with his 1500 Dervish equipped with 20 modern rifles on the British soldiers stationed in the regionSONY PCG-5J1M battery.

Taleex was the capital of the Dervish State.

He repulsed the British in four expeditions and had relations with the Central Powers of the Ottomans and the Germans. In 1920, the Dervish state collapsed after intensive aerial bombardments by Britain, and Dervish territories were subsequently turned into a protectorate.

The dawn of fascism in the early 1920s heralded a change of strategy for ItalySONY PCG-5G2M battery , as the north-eastern sultanates were soon to be forced within the boundaries of La Grande Somalia according to the plan of Fascist Italy. With the arrival of Governor Cesare Maria De Vecchi on 15 December 1923, things began to change for that part of Somaliland known as Italian Somaliland. Italy had access to these areas under the successive protection treaties, but not direct ruleSony VAIO PCG-8131M battery.

The Fascist government had direct rule only over the Benadir territory. Fascist Italy, under Benito Mussolini, attacked Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935, with an aim to colonize it. The invasion was condemned by the League of Nations, but little was done to stop it or to liberate occupied Ethiopia. On 3 August 1940, Italian troops, including Somali colonial units, crossed from Ethiopia to invade British Somaliland, and by 14 August, succeeded in taking Berbera from the BritishSony VAIO PCG-8152M battery.

A British force, including troops from several African countries, launched the campaign in January 1941 from Kenya to liberate British Somaliland and Italian-occupied Ethiopia and conquer Italian Somaliland. By February, most of Italian Somaliland was captured and in March, British Somaliland was retaken from the sea. The British Empire forces operating in Somaliland comprised three divisions of South African, West and East African troopsSony VAIO PCG-31311M battery. They were assisted by Somali forces led by Abdulahi Hassan with Somalis of the Isaaq, Dhulbahante, and Warsangali clans prominently participating. After World War II, the number of the Italian colonists started to decrease; their numbers had dwindled to less than 10,000 in 1960.[67]

[edit]Independence

Main articles: Greater Somalia and Somali Youth League

An avenue in downtown Mogadishu in 1963.

Following World War II, Britain retained control of both British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland as protectoratesSony VAIO PCG-31111M battery. In 1945, during the Potsdam Conference, the United Nations granted Italy trusteeship of Italian Somaliland, but only under close supervision and on the condition—first proposed by the Somali Youth League (SYL) and other nascent Somalian political organizations, such as Hizbia Digil Mirifle Somali (HDMS) and the Somali National League (SNL)—that Somalia achieve independence within ten years. British Somaliland remained a protectorate of Britain until 1960. Sony VAIO PCG-8112M battery

To the extent that Italy held the territory by UN mandate, the trusteeship provisions gave the Somalis the opportunity to gain experience in political education and self-government. These were advantages that British Somaliland, which was to be incorporated into the new Somali state, did not have. Although in the 1950s British colonial officials attemptedSony VAIO PCG-7186M battery, through various administrative development efforts, to make up for past neglect, the protectorate stagnated. The disparity between the two territories in economic development and political experience would cause serious difficulties when it came time to integrate the two parts.[70] Meanwhile, in 1948, under pressure from their World War II allies and to the dismay of the Somalis,[71] the British "returned" the HaudSony VAIO PCG-7171M battery (an important Somali grazing area that was presumably 'protected' by British treaties with the Somalis in 1884 and 1886) and the Ogaden to Ethiopia, based on a treaty they signed in 1897 in which the British ceded Somali territory to the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik in exchange for his help against plundering by Somali clans. Sony VAIO PCG-9Z1M battery

Aden Abdullah Osman Daar, the first President of Somalia.

Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, Somalia's first Prime Minister and second President.

Britain included the proviso that the Somali nomads would retain their autonomy, but Ethiopia immediately claimed sovereignty over them.[68] This prompted an unsuccessful bid by Britain in 1956 to buy back the Somali lands it had turned over. Sony VAIO PCG-5S1M battery Britain also granted administration of the almost exclusively Somali-inhabited[73] Northern Frontier District (NFD) to Kenyan nationalists despite an informal plebiscite demonstrating the overwhelming desire of the region's population to join the newly formed Somali Republic.[74]

A referendum was held in neighboring Djibouti (then known as French Somaliland) in 1958Sony VAIO PCG-5P1M battery, on the eve of Somalia's independence in 1960, to decide whether or not to join the Somali Republic or to remain with France. The referendum turned out in favour of a continued association with France, largely due to a combined yes vote by the sizable Afar ethnic group and resident Europeans. There was also widespread vote rigging, with the French expelling thousands of Somalis before the referendum reached the polls. Sony VAIO PCG-5N2M battery The majority of those who voted no were Somalis who were strongly in favour of joining a united Somalia, as had been proposed by Mahmoud Harbi, Vice President of the Government Council. Harbi was killed in a plane crash two years later.[75] Djibouti finally gained its independence from France in 1977, and Hassan Gouled Aptidon, a Somali who had campaigned for a yes vote in the referendum of 1958, eventually wound up as Djibouti's first president (1977–1991) Sony VAIO PCG-3C2M battery.

British Somaliland became independent on 26 June 1960 as the State of Somaliland, and the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somaliland) followed suit five days later.[77] On July 1, 1960, the two territories united to form the Somali Republic, albeit within boundaries drawn up by Italy and Britain. A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa and other members of the trusteeship and protectorate governmentsSony VAIO PCG-8161M battery, with Haji Bashir Ismail Yusuf as President of the Somali National Assembly, Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as President of the Somali Republic and Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as Prime Minister (later to become President from 1967–1969). On 20 July 1961 and through a popular referendum, the people of Somalia ratified a new constitution, which was first drafted in 1960. Sony VAIO PCG-8141M battery In 1967, Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal became Prime Minister, a position to which he was appointed by Shermarke. Egal would later become the President of the autonomous Somaliland region in northwestern Somalia.

On 15 October 1969, while paying a visit to the northern town of Las Anod, Somalia's then President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was shot dead by one of his own bodyguards. His assassination was quickly followed by a military coup d'état on 21 October 1969 Sony VAIO PCG-3J1M battery (the day after his funeral), in which the Somali Army seized power without encountering armed opposition — essentially a bloodless takeover. The putsch was spearheaded by Major General Mohamed Siad Barre, who at the time commanded the army.[81]

[edit]Communist rule

Main article: Somali Democratic Republic

Lieutenant Colonel Salaad Gabeyre Kediye, the "Father of the Revolution" that succeeded Somalia's civilian administrationSony VAIO PCG-3H1M battery.

Alongside Barre, the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) that assumed power after President Sharmarke's assassination was led by Lieutenant Colonel Salaad Gabeyre Kediye and Chief of Police Jama Korshel. Kediye officially held the title of "Father of the Revolution," and Barre shortly afterwards became the head of the SRC.[82] The SRC subsequently renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic, dissolved the parliament and the Supreme Court, and suspended the constitution. Sony VAIO PCG-3F1M battery

The revolutionary army established large-scale public works programs and successfully implemented an urban and rural literacy campaign, which helped dramatically increase the literacy rate. In addition to a nationalization program of industry and land, the new regime's foreign policy placed an emphasis on Somalia's traditional and religious links with the Arab world
Sony VAIO PCG-3C1M battery, eventually joining the Arab League (AL) in 1974.[86] That same year, Barre also served as chairman of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the predecessor of the African Union (AU).[87]

In July 1976, Barre's SRC disbanded itself and established in its place the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP), a one-party government based on scientific socialism and Islamic tenets. The SRSP was an attempt to reconcile the official state ideology with the official state religion by adapting Marxist precepts to local circumstancesSony VAIO PCG-9Z2L battery. Emphasis was placed on the Muslim principles of social progress, equality and justice, which the government argued formed the core of scientific socialism and its own accent on self-sufficiency, public participation and popular control, as well as direct ownership of the means of production. While the SRSP encouraged private investment on a limited scale, the administration's overall direction was essentially communist. Sony VAIO PCG-9Z1L battery

In July 1977, the Ogaden War broke out after Barre's government sought to incorporate the predominantly Somali-inhabited Ogaden region into a Pan-Somali Greater Somalia. In the first week of the conflict, Somali armed forces took southern and central Ogaden and for most of the war, the Somali army scored continuous victories on the Ethiopian army and followed them as far as SidamoSony VAIO PCG-9131L battery. By September 1977, Somalia controlled 90 percent of the Ogaden and captured strategic cities such as Jijiga and put heavy pressure on Dire Dawa, threatening the train route from the latter city to Djibouti. After the siege of Harar, a massive unprecedented Soviet intervention consisting of 20,000 Cuban forces and several thousand Soviet experts came to the aid of Ethiopia's communist Derg regimeSony VAIO PCG-8161L battery. By 1978, the Somali troops were ultimately pushed out of the Ogaden. This shift in support by the Soviet Union motivated the Barre government to seek allies elsewhere. It eventually settled on the Soviets' Cold War arch-rival, the United States, which had been courting the Somali government for some time. All in all, Somalia's initial friendship with the Soviet Union and later partnership with the United States enabled it to build the largest army in Africa. Sony VAIO PCG-8152L battery

Major General Mohamed Siad Barre, Chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Council.

A new constitution was promulgated in 1979 under which elections for a People's Assembly were held. However, Barre's Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party politburo continued to rule.[84] In October 1980, the SRSP was disbanded, and the Supreme Revolutionary Council was re-established in its place. Sony VAIO PCG-8141L battery By that time, the moral authority of Barre's government had collapsed. Many Somalis had become disillusioned with life under military dictatorship. The regime was weakened further in the 1980s as the Cold War drew to a close and Somalia's strategic importance was diminished. The government became increasingly totalitarian, and resistance movements, encouraged by EthiopiaSony VAIO PCG-8131L battery, sprang up across the country, eventually leading to the Somali Civil War. Among the militia groups were the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF), United Somali Congress (USC), Somali National Movement (SNM) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), together with the non-violent political oppositions of the Somali Democratic Movement (SDM), the Somali Democratic Alliance (SDA) and the Somali Manifesto Group (SMG) Sony VAIO PCG-81312L battery.

During 1990, in the capital city of Mogadishu, the residents were prohibited from gathering publicly in groups greater than three or four. Fuel shortages caused long lines of cars at petrol stations. Inflation had driven the price of pasta, (ordinary dry Italian noodles, a staple at that time), to five U.S. dollars per kilogram. The price of khat, imported daily from Kenya, was also five U.S. dollars per standard bunchSony VAIO PCG-81214L battery. Paper currency notes were of such low value that several bundles were needed to pay for simple restaurant meals.

A thriving black market existed in the centre of the city as banks experienced shortages of local currency for exchange. At night, the city of Mogadishu lay in darkness. Close monitoring of all visiting foreigners was in effect. Harsh exchange control regulations were introduced to prevent export of foreign currency. Although no travel restrictions were placed on foreignersSony VAIO PCG-81115L battery, photographing many locations was banned. During the day in Mogadishu, the appearance of any government military force was extremely rare. Alleged late-night operations by government authorities, however, included "disappearances" of individuals from their homes.[89]

[edit]Somali Civil War

Main article: Somali Civil War

1991 was a time of great change for Somalia. The Barre administration was ousted that year by a coalition of clan-based opposition groupsSony VAIO PCG-81114L battery, backed by Ethiopia's then-ruling Derg regime and Libya.[90] Following a meeting of the Somali National Movement and northern clans' elders, the northern former British portion of the country declared its independence as Somaliland in May 1991. Although de facto independent and relatively stable compared to the tumultuous south, it has not been recognized by any foreign governmentSony VAIO PCG-81113L battery.

Prior to the civil war, Mogadishu was known as the "White pearl of the Indian Ocean".[93]

In January 1991, President Ali Mahdi Muhammad was selected by the Somali Manifesto Group as an interim state president until a conference between all stakeholders to be held in Djibouti the following month to select a national leader. However, United Somali Congress military leader General Mohamed Farrah AididSony VAIO PCG-7142L battery, the Somali National Movement leader Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur and the Somali Patriotic Movement leader Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess refused to recognize Mahdi as president.

This caused a split between the SNM, USC and SPM and the armed groups Manifesto, Somali Democratic Movement (SDM) and Somali National Alliance (SNA) and within the USC forces. This led to efforts to remove Barre who still claimed to be the legitimate president of SomaliaSony VAIO PCG-7141L battery. He and his armed supporters remained in the south of the country until mid 1992, causing further escalation in violence, especially in the Gedo, Bay, Bakool, Lower Shabelle, Lower Juba, and Middle Juba regions. The armed conflict within the USC devastated the Mogadishu area.

The civil war disrupted agriculture and food distribution in southern Somalia. The basis of most of the conflicts was clan allegiances and competition for resources between the warring clansSony VAIO PCG-71111L battery. James Bishop, the United States's last ambassador to Somalia, explained that there is "competition for water, pasturage, and... cattle. It is a competition that used to be fought out with arrows and sabers... Now it is fought out with AK-47s."[94] The resulting famine (about 300,000 dead) caused the United Nations Security Council in 1992 to authorise the limited peacekeeping operation United Nations Operation in Somalia I Sony VAIO PCG-61411L battery (UNOSOM I).[95] UNOSOM's use of force was limited to self-defense and, although originally welcomed by both sides,[96] it was soon disregarded by the warring factions.

In reaction to the continued violence and the humanitarian disaster, the United States organized a military coalition with the purpose of creating a secure environment in southern Somalia for the conduct of humanitarian operationsSony VAIO PCG-61112L battery. This coalition, (Unified Task Force or UNITAF) entered Somalia in December 1992 on Operation Restore Hope and was successful in restoring order and alleviating the famine. In May 1993, most of the United States troops withdrew and UNITAF was replaced by the United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II).

Propaganda leaflet depicting a white dove of peace being crushed by a fist labeled "USC/SNA" ("United Somali Congress/Somali National Alliance")Sony VAIO PCG-61111L battery.

However, Mohamed Farrah Aidid saw UNOSOM II as a threat to his power and in June 1993 his militia attacked Pakistan Army troops, attached to UNOSOM II, (see Somalia (March 1992 to February 1996)) in Mogadishu inflicting over 80 casualties. Fighting escalated until 19 American troops and more than 1,000 civilians and militia were killed in a raid in Mogadishu during October 1993Sony VAIO PCG-5T4L battery. The UN withdrew Operation United Shield in 3 March 1995, having suffered significant casualties, and with the rule of government still not restored. In August 1996, Aidid was killed in Mogadishu.

Following the outbreak of the civil war, many of Somalia's residents left the country in search of asylum. At the end of 2009, about 678,000 were under the responsibility of the UNHCR, constituting the third largest refugee group after war-afflicted Iraq and AfghanistanSony VAIO PCG-5T3L battery, respectively. Due to renewed fighting in the southern half of the country, an estimated 132,000 people left in 2009, and another 300,000 were displaced internally.[99] Former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali[100] and Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, UN special envoy to Somalia[101] have referred to the killing of civilians in the Somalian Civil War as a "genocide"Sony VAIO PCG-5T2L battery.

In mid-2011, two consecutive missed rainy seasons precipitated the worst drought in East Africa seen in 60 years. Belated and sub-average harvests, high food, water and fuel prices, and depleted grazing and farm lands caused by an estimated 25 percent drop in rainfall led to a large movement of people from the conflict-stricken parts of southern Somalia to relief centers in neighboring countriesSony VAIO PCG-5S3L battery. In July 2011, the United Nations officially declared a famine in several regions of southern Somalia, a situation reportedly exacerbated by a temporary ban on relief supplies imposed by Islamist militants. In response, the Transitional Federal Government set up a national committee consisting of several federal-level ministers tasked with assessing and addressing the needs of the drought-impacted segments of the population.[104] According to the Lutheran World FederationSony VAIO PCG-5S2L battery, military activities in the country's southern conflict zones had by early December 2011 greatly reduced the movement of migrants.[105] In February 2012, the UN announced that the food crisis in southern Somalia was over due to a scaling up of relief efforts and a bumper harvest, but warned that general conditions were still fragile.[106] Aid agencies have now shifted their emphasis to recovery efforts, including digging irrigation canals and distributing plant seeds. Sony VAIO PCG-5S1L batteryLong-term strategies by the national government in conjunction with development agencies are believed to offer the most sustainable results.[103]

A reconstituted Somali National Army (SNA) and Somali Police Force (SPF) have worked toward expanding their influence.

A consequence of the collapse of governmental authority that accompanied the civil war has been the emergence of a significant problem with piracy in the waters off of the coast of SomaliaSony VAIO PCG-5R2L battery. Piracy arose as a response by local fishermen from littoral towns such as Eyl, Kismayo and Harardhere to illegal fishing by foreign trawlers. An upsurge in piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean has also been attributed to the effects of the 26 December 2004 tsunami that devastated local fishing fleets and washed ashore containers filled with toxic waste that had been dumped by European fishing vesselsSony VAIO PCG-5R1L battery. In August 2008, a multinational coalition took on the task of combating the piracy by establishing a Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA) within the Gulf of Aden.[113] Additionally, the regional Puntland government in northeastern Somalia committed itself to eradicating piracy and has so far made progress in its campaign, having apprehended numerous pirates in 2010, including a prominent leader. Sony VAIO PCG-5P4L battery The autonomous region's security forces also reportedly managed to force out the pirate gangs from their traditional safe havens such as Eyl and Gar'ad, with the pirates now primarily operating from Hobyo, El Danaan and Harardhere in the neighboring Galmudug region.[115] By the first half of 2010, these increased policing efforts by Puntland government authorities on land along with international naval vessels at sea reportedly contributed to a drop in pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden from 86 a year prior to 33Sony VAIO PCG-5P2L battery, forcing pirates to shift attention to other areas such as the Somali Basin and the wider Indian Ocean.

In October 2011, a coordinated operation between the Somali military and the Kenyan military began against the Al-Shabaab group of insurgents in southern Somalia. The mission was officially led by the Somali army, with the Kenyan forces providing a support role.[119] In early June 2012, Kenyan forces were formally integrated into AMISOM.[120] By September 2012Sony VAIO PCG-5N4L battery, the Somali National Army and allied AU and Raskamboni forces had managed to capture Al-Shabaab's last major stronghold, the southern port of Kismayo. Currently, three European Union operations are engaging with Somalia: EU NAVFOR Atalanta off the Horn of Africa, EUTM Somalia training troops in Uganda and EUCAP Nestor (launched on 16 July 2012).

Main article: Politics of SomaliaSony VAIO PCG-5N2L battery

Political map of Somalia (as of 25 October 2012).

[edit]Transitional Federal Institutions

Main articles: Transitional Federal Institutions, Transitional Federal Government, and Transitional Federal Parliament

The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was the internationally recognised government of Somalia until 20 August 2012, when its tenure officially ended.[29] It was established as one of the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) of government as defined in the Transitional Federal Charter (TFC) adopted in November 2004 by the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP) Sony VAIO PCG-51513L battery.

The Transitional Federal Government officially comprised the executive branch of government, with the TFP serving as the legislative branch. The government was headed by the President of Somalia, to whom the cabinet reported through the Prime Minister. However, it was also used as a general term to refer to all three branches collectivelySony VAIO PCG-51511L battery.

[edit]Islamic Courts Union and Ethiopian intervention

See also: Battle of Mogadishu (2006), Rise of the Islamic Courts Union (2006), and War in Somalia (2006–2009)

Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, one of the founders of the Transitional Federal Government.

In 2006, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), an Islamist organization, assumed control of much of the southern part of the country and promptly imposed Shari'a law. The Transitional Federal Government sought to reestablish its authority, and, with the assistance of Ethiopian troops, African Union peacekeepers and air support by the United States, managed to drive out the rival ICU and solidify its rule. Sony VAIO PCG-51412L battery

On 8 January 2007, as the Battle of Ras Kamboni raged, TFG President and founder Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, a former colonel in the Somali Army and decorated war hero, entered Mogadishu for the first time since being elected to office. The government then relocated to Villa Somalia in the capital from its interim location in Baidoa. This marked the first time since the fall of the Siad Barre regime in 1991 that the federal government controlled most of the country. Sony VAIO PCG-51411L battery

Following this defeat, the Islamic Courts Union splintered into several different factions. Some of the more radical elements, including Al-Shabaab, regrouped to continue their insurgency against the TFG and oppose the Ethiopian military's presence in Somalia. Throughout 2007 and 2008, Al-Shabaab scored military victoriesSony VAIO PCG-51312L battery, seizing control of key towns and ports in both central and southern Somalia. At the end of 2008, the group had captured Baidoa but not Mogadishu. By January 2009, Al-Shabaab and other militias had managed to force the Ethiopian troops to retreat, leaving behind an under-equipped African Union peacekeeping force to assist the Transitional Federal Government's troops. Sony VAIO PCG-51311L battery

Due to a lack of funding and human resources, an arms embargo that made it difficult to re-establish a national security force, and general indifference on the part of the international community, President Yusuf found himself obliged to deploy thousands of troops from Puntland to Mogadishu to sustain the battle against insurgent elements in the southern part of the countrySony VAIO PCG-51211L battery. Financial support for this effort was provided by the autonomous region's government. This left little revenue for Puntland's own security forces and civil service employees, leaving the territory vulnerable to piracy and terrorist attacks.

On 29 December 2008, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed announced before a united parliament in Baidoa his resignation as President of Somalia. In his speech, which was broadcast on national radio, Yusuf expressed regret at failing to end the country's seventeen year conflict as his government had mandated to do. Sony VAIO PCG-41112L battery He also blamed the international community for its failure to support the government, and said that the speaker of parliament would succeed him in office per the Charter of the Transitional Federal Government.[129]

Coalition government

See also: Al-Shabaab, Hizbul Islam, Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a, Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia, War in Somalia (2009–), and 2009 timeline of the War in Somalia

The battle flag of Al-Shabaab, an Islamist group waging war against the federal governmentSony VAIO PCG-3A4L battery.

Between 31 May and 9 June 2008, representatives of Somalia's federal government and the moderate Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) group of Islamist rebels participated in peace talks in Djibouti brokered by the former United Nations Special Envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah. The conference ended with a signed agreement calling for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops in exchange for the cessation of armed confrontationSony VAIO PCG-3A3L battery. Parliament was subsequently expanded to 550 seats to accommodate ARS members, which then elected Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the former ARS chairman, to office. President Sharif shortly afterwards appointed Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, the son of slain former President Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, as the nation's new Prime Minister. Sony VAIO PCG-3A2L battery

Embassy of Somalia in Paris, France.

With the help of a small team of African Union troops, the coalition government also began a counteroffensive in February 2009 to assume full control of the southern half of the country. To solidify its rule, the TFG formed an alliance with the Islamic Courts Union, other members of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia, and Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a, a moderate Sufi militia. Sony VAIO PCG-3A1L battery Furthermore, Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam, the two main Islamist groups in opposition, began to fight amongst themselves in mid-2009.[131]

As a truce, in March 2009, Somalia's coalition government announced that it would re-implement Shari'a as the nation's official judicial system.[132] However, conflict continued in the southern and central parts of the country. Within months, the coalition government had gone from holding about 70% of south-central Somalia's conflict zonesSony VAIO PCG-394L battery, territory which it had inherited from the previous Yusuf administration, to losing control of over 80% of the disputed territory to the Islamist insurgents.[124]

During the coalition government's brief tenure, Somalia topped the Fund For Peace's Failed States Index for three consecutive years. In 2009, Transparency International ranked the nation in last place on its annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI),[133] a metric that purports to show the prevalence of corruption in a country's public sectorSony VAIO PCG-393L battery. In mid-2010, the Institute for Economics and Peace also ranked Somalia in the next-to-last position, in between war-afflicted Iraq and Afghanistan, on its Global Peace Index. During the same period, the UN International Monitoring Group (IMG) published a report claiming that the Somali government's security forces were ineffective and corrupt, and that up to half of the food aid that was destined for the conflict-stricken parts of the country was being misdirectedSony VAIO PCG-391L battery. It also accused Somali officials of collaborating with pirates, UN contractors of helping insurgents, and the Eritrean government of still supporting rebel groups in southern Somalia despite earlier sanctions imposed on the former. Somalia's government and local businessmen, as well as United Nations officials and the Eritrean government all emphatically rejected the report's claimsSony VAIO PCG-384L battery.

Flag of Somaliland, an unrecognised self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia.

In 2010, reports surfaced linking the secessionist government of the northwestern Somaliland region with the Islamist extremists that are currently waging war against the Transitional Federal Government and its African Union alliesSony VAIO PCG-383L battery. Garowe Online reported in October that Mohamed Said Atom, an arms-smuggler believed to be allied with Al-Shabaab and who is on U.S. and U.N. security watch-lists, was hiding out in Somaliland after being pursued by the neighboring Puntland region's authorities for his role in targeted assassination attempts against Puntland officials as well as bomb plotsSony VAIO PCG-382L battery. Several of Atom's followers were also reportedly receiving medical attention in the region, after having been wounded in a counter-terrorism raid in the Galgala hills by Puntland security personnel.[136]

According to Puntland government documents, the Somaliland region's Riyale government in 2006 both financed and offered military assistance to Atom's men as part of a campaign to destabilize the autonomous territory via proxy agents and Sony VAIO PCG-381L batteryto distract attention away from the Somaliland government's own attempts at occupying the disputed Sool province. The Puntland Intelligence Agency (PIA), a covert organization supported and trained by U.S. counter-terrorism agencies based in Djibouti, also indicated that over 70 salaried Somaliland soldiers had fought alongside Atom's militiamen during the Galgala operation, including one known Somaliland intelligence official who died in the ensuing battle. Sony VAIO PCG-7185L batteryThe following month, the Puntland government issued a press release accusing the incumbent Somaliland administration of providing a safe haven for Atom and of attempting to revive remnants of his militia.[139] Several top commanders in the Al-Shabaab group, including former leader Ahmed Abdi Godane ("Moktar Ali Zubeyr"), are also reported to hail from the Somaliland region, with Godane quoted as saying that Al Shabaab insurgents "should not interfere in Somaliland until Puntland is destabilized firstSony VAIO PCG-7184L battery."

Somalia's coalition government enacted numerous political reforms since taking office in 2009, with an emphasis on transparency and accountability. One of its first changes involved ensuring that all government institutions, which had previously been spread out in various areas throughout the country, were now based in Mogadishu, the nation's capitalSony VAIO PCG-7183L battery. The Central Bank of Somalia was also re-established, and a national plan as well as an effective anti-corruption commission were put into place.[141] In July 2009, Somalia's Transitional Federal Government hired global professional services firm Pricewaterhousecoopers to monitor development funding and serving as a trustee of an account in Mogadishu for the security, healthcare and education sectors. Sony VAIO PCG-7182L batteryThis was followed in November of that year with a $2 million agreement between the government and the African Development Bank (AfDB), which saw Somalia re-engage with the AfDB after nearly two decades of interruption. The grant is aimed at providing financial and technical assistance; specifically, to develop a sound legal framework for monetary and fiscal institutions and human and institutional capacity building, as well as to establish public financial systems that are transparent. Sony VAIO PCG-7181L battery

Similarly, the autonomous Puntland region's new administration, which took office in early 2009, has also implemented numerous reforms such as the expansion and improvement of its security and judicial sectors. According to Garowe Online, to bolster the region's justice system, numerous new prosecutors, judges and other court personnel as well as additional prison guards were hired and trainedSony VAIO PCG-7174L battery. In July 2010, the Puntland Council of Ministers unanimously approved a new anti-terrorism law to more efficiently handle terror suspects and their accomplices; a special court is also expected to be established within the region's existing criminal courts system to facilitate the task.[143] Fiscally, a transparent, budget-based public finance system was established, which has reportedly helped increase public confidence in governmentSony VAIO PCG-7173L battery. In addition, a new regional constitution was drafted and later passed on 15 June 2009, which is believed to represent a significant step toward the eventual introduction of a multi-party political system to the region for the first time;[144] such a system already exists in the adjacent Somaliland region.[145] More modest reforms were also put into motion in the social sector, particularly in the education and healthcare fieldsSony VAIO PCG-7172L battery. The regional government has hired more healthcare workers and teachers, with major plans underway for school and hospital renovations.[144] One of the most significant new reforms enacted by the incumbent Puntland administration is the launching in May 2009 of the Puntland Agency for Social Welfare (PASWE), the first organization of its kind in Somali history. The agency provides medical, educational and counseling support to vulnerable groups and individuals such as orphans, the disabled and the blindSony VAIO PCG-7171L battery. PASWE is overseen by a Board of Directors, which consists of religious scholars (ulema), businesspeople, intellectuals and traditional elders.[146]

2010-2012 government

On 14 October 2010, diplomat Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmajo) was appointed the new Prime Minister of Somalia. The former Premier Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke resigned the month before following a protracted dispute with President Sharif over a proposed draft constitutionSony VAIO PCG-7162L battery.

Foreign Minister of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Omaar in a meeting with UNDP Administrator Helen Clark and other diplomats at the UN headquarters in New York.

Per the Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic,[148] Prime Minister Mohamed named a new Cabinet on 12 November 2010, which was lauded by the international community. As had been expectedSony VAIO PCG-7161L battery, the allotted ministerial positions were significantly reduced in numbers from 39 to 18. Only two Ministers from the previous Cabinet were reappointed: Hussein Abdi Halane, the former Minister of Finance (Finance and Treasury) and Mohamud Abdi Ibrahim (Commerce and Industry).[153] Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a, a moderate Sufi group and an important military ally of the TFG, became Minister of the Interior and Labour ministries. The remaining ministerial positions were largely assigned to technocrats new to the Somali political arenaSony VAIO PCG-7154L battery.

Additional members of the Independent Constitutional Commission were also appointed to engage Somali constitutional lawyers, religious scholars and experts in Somali culture over the nation's upcoming new constitution, a key part of the government's Transitional Federal Tasks. In addition, high level federal delegations were dispatched to defuse clan-related tensions in several regionsSony VAIO PCG-7153L battery. According to the prime minister of Somalia, to improve transparency, Cabinet ministers fully disclosed their assets and signed a code of ethics.[155]

An Anti-Corruption Commission with the power to carry out formal investigations and to review government decisions and protocols was also established to more closely monitor all activities by public officials. Furthermore, unnecessary trips abroad by members of government were prohibitedSony VAIO PCG-7152L battery, and all travel by ministers required the Premier’s consent. A budget outlining 2011’s federal expenditures was also put before and approved by members of parliament, with the payment of civil service employees prioritized. In addition, a full audit of government property and vehicles is being put into place. On the war front, the new government and its AMISOM allies also managed to secure control of Mogadishu by August 2011. Sony VAIO PCG-7151L batteryAccording to the African Union and Prime Minister Mohamed, with increasing troop strength the pace of territorial gains is expected to greatly accelerate.

On 19 June 2011, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed resigned from his position as Prime Minister of Somalia. Part of the controversial Kampala Accord's conditions, the agreement saw the mandates of the President, the Parliament Speaker and Deputies extended until August 2012.[159] Abdiweli Mohamed AliSony VAIO PCG-7148L battery, Mohamed's former Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, was later named permanent Prime Minister.[23]

Post-transition Roadmap

Speaker Mohamed Osman Jawari voting during the Federal Parliament's inaugural speakership elections.

As part of the official "Roadmap for the End of Transition", a political process which provides clear benchmarks leading toward the establishment of permanent democratic institutions in Somalia by late August 2012, Sony VAIO VGN-CS13T/W battery Somali government officials met in the northeastern town of Garowe in February 2012 to discuss post-transition arrangements. After extensive deliberations attended by regional actors and international observers, the conference ended in a signed agreement between TFG President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, Speaker of Parliament Sharif Adan Sharif Hassan, Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed FaroleSony VAIO VGN-CS13H/W battery, Galmudug President Mohamed Ahmed Alim and Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama'a representative Khalif Abdulkadir Noor stipulating that: a) a new 225 member bicameral parliament would be formed, consisting of an upper house seating 54 Senators as well as a lower house; b) 30% of the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) is earmarked for women; c) the President is to be appointed via a constitutional electionSony VAIO VGN-CS13H/R battery; and d) the Prime Minister is selected by the President and he/she then names his/her Cabinet. On June 23, 2012, the Somali federal and regional leaders met again and approved a draft constitution after several days of deliberation.[26] The National Constituent Assembly overwhelmingly passed the new constitution on August 1, with 96% of the 645 delegates present voting for it, 2% against it, and 2% abstaining. To come into effect, it must be ratified by the new parliament. Sony VAIO VGN-CS13H/Q battery

Concurrent with the end of the TFG's interim mandate on August 20, 2012, the Federal Parliament of Somalia was inaugurated, ushering in the Federal Government of Somalia, the first permanent central government in the country since the start of the civil war.[29] On September 10, 2012, parliament also elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the new President of Somalia. Sony VAIO VGN-CS13H/P battery President Mohamud later appointed Abdi Farah Shirdon as the new Prime Minister on October 6, 2012.[164] On November 4, 2012, Shirdon named a new Cabinet,[165] which was later endorsed by the legislature on November 13, 2012.[166]

Following the outbreak of the civil war and the ensuing collapse of the central government, Somalia's residents reverted to local forms of conflict resolution, either secular, traditional or Islamic law, with a provision for appeal of all sentencesSony VAIO VGN-CS11Z/T battery. The legal structure in Somalia is thus divided along three lines: civil law, religious law and customary law.[3]

While Somalia's formal judicial system was largely destroyed after the fall of the Siad Barre regime, it has been rebuilt and is now administered under different regional governments such as the autonomous Puntland and Somaliland macro-regions. In the case of the Transitional Federal GovernmentSony VAIO VGN-CS11Z/R battery, a new interim judicial structure was formed through various international conferences.

Despite some significant political differences between them, all of these administrations share similar legal structures, much of which are predicated on the judicial systems of previous Somali administrations. These similarities in civil law include: a) a charter which affirms the primacy of Muslim shari'a or religious lawSony VAIO VGN-CS11S/W battery, although in practice shari'a is applied mainly to matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and civil issues. The charter guarantees respect for universal standards of human rights to all subjects of the law. It also assures the independence of the judiciary, which in turn is protected by a judicial committee; b) a three-tier judicial system including a supreme court, a court of appeals, and courts of first instance (either divided between district and regional courts, or a single court per region) Sony VAIO VGN-CS11S/Q battery; and c) the laws of the civilian government which were in effect prior to the military coup d'état that saw the Barre regime into power remain in force until the laws are amended.[167]

Islamic shari'a has traditionally played a significant part in Somali society. In theory, it has played a role in all national legislation in every Somali constitution. In practice, however, it only applied to common civil cases such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and family mattersSony VAIO VGN-CS11S/P battery. This changed after the start of the civil war, when a number of new shari'a courts began to spring up in many different cities and towns across the country. These new shari'a courts serve three functions; namely, to pass rulings in both criminal and civil cases, to organize a militia capable of arresting criminals, and to keep convicted prisoners incarcerated. (Sony VAIO VGN-AW11M/H battery)

The shari'a courts, though structured along simple lines, feature a conventional hierarchy of a chairman, vice-chairman and four judges. A police force that reports to the court enforces the judges' rulings, but also helps settle community disputes and apprehend suspected criminals. In addition, the courts manage detention centers where criminals are kept(Sony VAIO VGN-AW11S/B battery). An independent finance committee is also assigned the task of collecting and managing tax revenue levied on regional merchants by the local authorities.[167]

In March 2009, Somalia's newly established coalition government announced that it would implement shari'a as the nation's official judicial system.[132]

Main article: Xeer

Somalis have for centuries practiced a form of customary law, which they call Xeer. Xeer is a polycentric legal system where there is no monopolistic institution or agent that determines what the law should be or how it should be interpreted(Sony VAIO VGN-AW11Z/B battery).

The Xeer legal system is assumed to have developed exclusively in the Horn of Africa since approximately the 7th century. There is no evidence that it developed elsewhere or was greatly influenced by any foreign legal system. Its legal terminology is practically devoid of loan words from foreign languages, suggesting that it is truly indigenous.(Sony VAIO VGN-AW170C battery)

The Xeer legal system also requires a certain amount of specialization of different functions within the legal framework. Thus, one can find odayaal (judges), xeerbogeyaal (jurists), guurtiyaal (detectives), garxajiyaal (attorneys), markhaatiyal (witnesses) and waranle (police officers) to enforce the law.[169]

Xeer is defined by a few fundamental tenets that are immutable and which closely approximate the principle of jus cogens in international law: These precepts include(Sony VAIO VGN-AW19/Q battery):

Payment of blood money (locally referred to as diya) for libel, theft, physical harm, rape and death, as well as supplying assistance to relatives.

Assuring good inter-clan relations by treating women justly, negotiating with "peace emissaries" in good faith, and sparing the lives of socially protected groups "Birr Magaydo," (e.g. children, women, the pious, poets, messengers, sheikhs, and guests).

Family obligations such as the payment of dowry, and sanctions for eloping.

Rules pertaining to the management of resources such as the use of pasture land, water, and other natural resources(Sony VAIO VGN-AW19 battery).

Providing financial support to married female relatives and newlyweds.

Donating livestock and other assets to the poor.[167]

Regions and districts

On a de facto basis, northern Somalia is now divided up among the autonomous regions of Puntland (which considers itself an autonomous state) and Somaliland (a self-declared but unrecognized sovereign state). In central Somalia, Galmudug is another regional entity that emerged just south of Puntland. (Sony VAIO VGN-AW21M/H battery)

The Cal Madow mountain range in northern Somalia features the nation's highest peak, Shimbiris.

Somalia is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west. It lies between latitudes 2°S and 12°N, and longitudes 41° and 52°E. Strategically located at the mouth of the Bab el Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, the country occupies the tip of a region that(Sony VAIO VGN-AW21S/B battery), due to its resemblance on the map to a rhinoceros' horn, is commonly referred to as the Horn of Africa.

Somalia has the longest coastline on the continent,[6] with a seaboard that stretches 3,025 kilometres (1,880 mi). Its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. The nation has a total area of 637,657 square kilometres (246,201 sq mi) of which constitutes land, with 10,320 square kilometres (3,980 sq mi) of water. (Sony VAIO VGN-AW21VY/Q battery)Somalia's land boundaries extend to about 2,340 kilometres (1,450 mi); 58 kilometres (36 mi) of that is shared with Djibouti, 682 kilometres (424 mi) with Kenya, and 1,626 kilometres (1,010 mi) with Ethiopia. Its maritime claims include territorial waters of 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi).[3]

The Jubba River(Sony VAIO VGN-AW21XY/Q battery)

In the north, a scrub-covered, semi-desert plain referred as the Guban lies parallel to the Gulf of Aden littoral. With a width of twelve kilometres in the west to as little as two kilometres in the east, the plain is bisected by watercourses that are essentially beds of dry sand except during the rainy seasons. When the rains arrive, the Guban's low bushes and grass clumps transform into lush vegetation. (Sony VAIO VGN-AW21Z/B battery)This coastal strip is part of the Ethiopian xeric grasslands and shrublands ecoregion.

Cal Madow is a mountain range in the northeastern part of the country. Extending from several kilometres west of the city of Bosaso to the northwest of Erigavo, it features Somalia's highest peak, Shimbiris, which sits at an elevation of about 2,416 metres (7,927 ft).[3] The rugged east-west ranges of the Karkaar Mountains also lie to the interior of the Gulf of Aden littoral. (Sony VAIO VGN-AW230J/H battery)In the central regions, the country's northern mountain ranges give way to shallow plateaus and typically dry watercourses that are referred to locally as the Ogo. The Ogo's western plateau, in turn, gradually merges into the Haud, an important grazing area for livestock.[170]

Somalia has only two permanent rivers, the Jubba and the Shabele, both of which begin in the Ethiopian Highlands. These rivers mainly flow southwards, with the Jubba River entering the Indian Ocean at Kismayo(SONY Vaio VGN-NS38M Battery). The Shabele River at one time apparently used to enter the sea near Merca, but now reaches a point just southwest of Mogadishu. After that, it consists of swamps and dry reaches before finally disappearing in the desert terrain east of Jilib, near the Jubba River.[170]

Somalia's coral reefs, ecological parks and protected areas.

Somalia is a semi-arid country with about 1.64% arable land.[3] The first local environmental organizations were Ecoterra Somalia and the Somali Ecological Society(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31S Battery), both of which helped promote awareness about ecological concerns and mobilized environmental programs in all governmental sectors as well as in civil society. From 1971 onwards, a massive tree-planting campaign on a nationwide scale was introduced by the Siad Barre government to halt the advance of thousands of acres of wind-driven sand dunes that threatened to engulf towns, roads and farm land. By 1988, 265 hectares of a projected 336 hectares had been treated(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31M Battery), with 39 range reserve sites and 36 forestry plantation sites established.[170] In 1986, the Wildlife Rescue, Research and Monitoring Centre was established by Ecoterra Intl., with the goal of sensitizing the public to ecological issues. This educational effort led in 1989 to the so-called "Somalia proposal" and a decision by the Somali government to adhere to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) (SONY Vaio VGN-NS31Z Battery), which established for the first time a worldwide ban on the trade of elephant ivory.

Later, Fatima Jibrell, a prominent Somali environmental activist, mounted a successful campaign to salvage old-growth forests of acacia trees in the northeastern part of Somalia.[172] These trees, which can grow up to 500 years old, were being cut down to make charcoal since this so-called "black gold" is highly in demand in the Arabian Peninsula(SONY Vaio VGN-NS21Z Battery), where the region's Bedouin tribes believe the acacia to be sacred. However, while being a relatively inexpensive fuel that meets a user's needs, the production of charcoal often leads to deforestation and desertification.[174] As a way of addressing this problem, Jibrell and the Horn of Africa Relief and Development Organization (Horn Relief), an organization of which she is a co-founder and Executive Director(SONY Vaio VGN-NS21M Battery), trained a group of adolescents to educate the public on the permanent damage that producing charcoal can create. In 1999, Horn Relief coordinated a peace march in the northeastern Puntland region of Somalia to put an end to the so-called "charcoal wars." As a result of Jibrell's lobbying and education efforts, the Puntland government in 2000 prohibited the exportation of charcoal(SONY Vaio VGN-NS21S Battery). The government has also since enforced the ban, which has reportedly led to an 80% drop in exports of the product.[175] Jibrell was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2002 for her efforts against environmental degradation and desertification.[175] In 2008, she also won the National Geographic Society/Buffett Foundation Award for Leadership in Conservation. (SONY Vaio VGN-NS12S Battery)

The Lamadaya waterfalls in Sanaag.

Following the massive tsunami of December 2004, there have also emerged allegations that after the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in the late 1980s, Somalia's long, remote shoreline was used as a dump site for the disposal of toxic waste. The huge waves which battered northern Somalia after the tsunami are believed to have stirred up tons of nuclear and toxic waste that might have been dumped illegally in the country by foreign firms. (SONY Vaio VGN-NS12M Battery)

The European Green Party followed up these revelations by presenting before the press and the European Parliament in Strasbourg copies of contracts signed by two European companies — the Italian Swiss firm, Achair Partners, and an Italian waste broker, Progresso — and representatives of the then "President" of Somalia, the faction leader Ali Mahdi Mohamed, to accept 10 million tonnes of toxic waste in exchange for $80 million (then about £60 million). (SONY Vaio VGN-NS11Z Battery)

According to reports by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the waste has resulted in far higher than normal cases of respiratory infections, mouth ulcers and bleeding, abdominal haemorrhages and unusual skin infections among many inhabitants of the areas around the northeastern towns of Hobyo and Benadir on the Indian Ocean coast(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11M Battery) — diseases consistent with radiation sickness. UNEP adds that the current situation along the Somali coastline poses a very serious environmental hazard not only in Somalia, but also in the eastern Africa sub-region.[177]

Arabian horses, referred to as faras, seen here in the arid plains of Dhahar.

Due to Somalia's proximity to the equator, there is not much seasonal variation in its climate. Hot conditions prevail year-round along with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11L Battery). Mean daily maximum temperatures range from 30 to 40 °C (86 to 104 °F), except at higher elevations along the eastern seaboard, where the effects of a cold offshore current can be felt. In Mogadishu, for instance, average afternoon highs range from 28 °C (82 °F) to 32 °C (90 °F) in April. Some of the highest mean annual temperatures in the world have been recorded in the country; Berbera on the northwestern coast has an afternoon high that averages more than 38 °C (SONY Vaio VGN-NS11J Battery) (100 °F) from June through September. Nationally, mean daily minimums usually vary from about 15 to 30 °C (59 to 86 °F).[170] The greatest range in climate occurs in northern Somalia, where temperatures sometimes surpass 45 °C (113 °F) in July on the littoral plains and drop below the freezing point during December in the highlands. In this region, relative humidity ranges from about 40% in the mid-afternoon to 85% at night, changing somewhat according to the season. (SONY Vaio VGN-NS11E Battery)

Unlike the climates of most other countries at this latitude, conditions in Somalia range from arid in the northeastern and central regions to semiarid in the northwest and south. In the northeast, annual rainfall is less than 4 inches (100 mm); in the central plateaus, it is about 8 to 12 inches (200 to 300 mm). The northwestern and southwestern parts of the nation, however, receive considerably more rain(SONY Vaio VGN-NS10L Battery), with an average of 20 to 24 inches (510 to 610 mm) falling per year. Although the coastal regions are hot and humid throughout the year, the hinterland is typically dry and hot.[170]

There are four main seasons around which pastoral and agricultural life revolve, and these are dictated by shifts in the wind patterns. From December to March is the Jilal, the harshest dry season of the year. The main rainy season, referred to as the Gu(SONY Vaio VGN-NS10J Battery), lasts from April to June. This period is characterized by the southwest monsoons, which rejuvenate the pasture land, especially the central plateau, and briefly transform the desert into lush vegetation. From July to September is the second dry season, the Xagaa (pronounced "Hagaa"). The Dayr, which is the shortest rainy season, lasts from October to December. (SONY Vaio VGN-NS10E Battery) The tangambili periods that intervene between the two monsoons (October–November and March–May) are hot and humid.

Health

Until the collapse of the federal government in 1991, the organizational and administrative structure of Somalia's healthcare sector was overseen by the Ministry of Health. Regional medical officials enjoyed some authority, but healthcare was largely centralized. The socialist government of former President of Somalia Siad Barre had put an end to private medical practice in 1972. (SONY Vaio VGN-NS38M/W Battery) Much of the national budget was devoted to military expenditure, leaving few resources for healthcare, among other services.[181]

Edna Adan Maternity Hospital in Hargeisa, one of Somalia's many new private healthcare facilities.

Somalia's public healthcare system was largely destroyed during the ensuing civil war. As with other previously nationalized sectors, informal providers have filled the vacuum and replaced the former government monopoly over healthcare(SONY Vaio VGN-NS38M/P Battery), with access to facilities witnessing a significant increase.[182] Many new healthcare centers, clinics, hospitals and pharmacies have in the process been established through home-grown Somali initiatives.[182] The cost of medical consultations and treatment in these facilities is low, at $5.72 per visit in health centers (with a population coverage of 95%), and between $1.89–$3.97 per outpatient visit and $7.83–$13.95 per bed day in primary through tertiary hospitals(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31Z/W Battery).

Comparing the 2005–2010 period with the half-decade just prior to the outbreak of the conflict (1985–1990), life expectancy actually increased from an average of 47 years for men and women to 48.2 years for men and 51.0 years for women. Similarly, the number of one-year-olds fully immunized against measles rose from 30% in 1985–1990 to 40% in 2000–2005(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31Z/S Battery), and for tuberculosis, it grew nearly 20% from 31% to 50% over the same period. In keeping with the trend, the number of infants with low birth weight fell from 16 per 1000 to 0.3, a 15% drop in total over the same timeframe. Between 2005–2010 as compared to the 1985–1990 period, infant mortality per 1,000 births also fell from 152 to 109.6. Significantly, maternal mortality per 100,000 births fell from 1,600 in the pre-war 1985–1990 half-decade to 1,100 in the 2000–2005 period(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31Z/P Battery). The number of physicians per 100,000 people also rose from 3.4 to 4 over the same timeframe, as did the percentage of the population with access to sanitation services, which increased from 18% to 26%.

According to United Nations Population Fund data on the midwifery workforce, there is a total of 429 midwives (including nurse-midwives) in Somalia, with a density of 1 midwife per 1,000 live births. Eight midwifery institutions presently exist in the country(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31S/S Battery), two of which are private. Midwifery education programs on average last from 12 to 18 months, and operate on a sequential basis. The number of student admissions per total available student places is a maximum 100%, with 180 students enrolled as of 2009. Midwifery is regulated by the government, and a license is required to practice professionally. A live registry is also in place to keep track of licensed midwives(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31M/W Battery). In addition, midwives in the country are officially represented by a local midwives association, with 350 registered members.[189]

A Somali boy receiving a polio vaccination.

According to a 2005 World Health Organization estimate, about 97.9% of Somalia's women and girls have undergone female circumcision,[190] a pre-marital custom mainly endemic to Northeast Africa and parts of the Near East. Encouraged by women in the community, it is primarily intended to deter promiscuity and to offer protection from assault. (SONY Vaio VGN-NS31M/P Battery)About 93% of Somalia's male population is also reportedly circumcised.[194]

Somalia has one of the lowest HIV infection rates on the continent. This is attributed to the Muslim nature of Somali society and adherence of Somalis to Islamic morals.[195] While the estimated HIV prevalence rate in Somalia in 1987 (the first case report year) was 1% of adults,[195] a more recent estimate from 2007 now places it at only 0.5% of the nation's adult population despite the ongoing civil strife. (SONY Vaio VGN-NS21Z/S Battery)

Although healthcare is now largely concentrated in the private sector, the country's public healthcare system is in the process of being rebuilt, and is overseen by the Ministry of Health. The current Minister of Health is Qamar Adan Ali.[196] The autonomous Puntland region maintains its own Ministry of Health, which is headed by Dr. Mohamed Bashir Ali Bihi, (SONY Vaio VGN-NS21S/W Battery) as does the Somaliland region in northwestern Somalia, with its Ministry of Health led by Osman Bile Ali.[198]

Some of the prominent healthcare facilities in the country are East Bardera Mothers and Children's Hospital, Abudwak Maternity and Children's Hospital, Edna Adan Maternity Hospital and West Bardera Maternity Unit.

Main article: Education in Somalia

New Mogadishu University campus

Following the outbreak of the civil war in 1991, the task of running schools in Somalia was initially taken up by community education committees established in 94% of the local schools. (SONY Vaio VGN-NS21S/S Battery)Numerous problems had arisen with regard to access to education in rural areas and along gender lines, quality of educational provisions, responsiveness of school curricula, educational standards and controls, management and planning capacity, and financing. To address these concerns, educational policies are being developed which are aimed at guiding the scholastic process. (SONY Vaio VGN-NS21M/W Battery) In the autonomous Puntland region, the latter includes a gender sensitive national education policy compliant with world standards, such as those outlined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).[200] Examples of this and other educational measures at work are the regional government's enactment of legislation aimed at securing the educational interests of girls,[201] promoting the growth of an Early Childhood Development (ECD) (SONY Vaio VGN-NS21M/P Battery) program designed to reach parents and care-givers in their homes as well as in the ECD centers for 0–5 year old children, and introducing incentive packages to encourage teachers to work in remote rural areas.[203]

The Hammar Jab Jab School in Mogadishu

The Ministry of Education is officially responsible for education in Somalia, and oversees the nation's primary, secondary, technical and vocational schools, as well as primary and technical teacher training and non-formal education(SONY Vaio VGN-NS12S/S Battery). About 15% of the government's budget is allocated toward scholastic instruction.[204] The autonomous Puntland and Somaliland macro-regions maintain their own Ministries of Education.

In 2006, Puntland was the second territory in Somalia after Somaliland to introduce free primary schools, with teachers now receiving their salaries from the Puntland administration.[205] From 2005/2006 to 2006/2007, there was a significant increase in the number of schools in Puntland(SONY Vaio VGN-NS12M/W Battery), up 137 institutions from just one year prior. During the same period, the number of classes in the region increased by 504, with 762 more teachers also offering their services.[206] Total student enrollment increased by 27% over the previous year, with girls lagging only slightly behind boys in attendance in most regions. The highest class enrollment was observed in the northernmost Bari region, and the lowest was observed in the under-populated Ayn region(SONY Vaio VGN-NS12M/S Battery). The distribution of classrooms was almost evenly split between urban and rural areas, with marginally more pupils attending and instructors teaching classes in urban areas.[206]

Entrance to Amoud University in Borama.

Higher education in Somalia is now largely private. Several universities in the country, including Mogadishu University, have been scored among the 100 best universities in Africa in spite of the harsh environment, which has been hailed as a triumph for grass-roots initiatives. (SONY Vaio VGN-NS11Z/S Battery) Other universities also offering higher education in the south include Benadir University, the Somalia National University, Kismayo University and the University of Gedo. In Puntland, higher education is provided by the Puntland State University and East Africa University. In Somaliland, it is provided by Amoud University, the University of Hargeisa, Somaliland University of Technology and Burao University(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11ZR/S Battery).

Qu'ranic schools (also known as duqsi) remain the basic system of traditional religious instruction in Somalia. They provide Islamic education for children, thereby filling a clear religious and social role in the country. Known as the most stable local, non-formal system of education providing basic religious and moral instruction, their strength rests on community support and their use of locally made and widely available teaching materials(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11S/S Battery). The Qu'ranic system, which teaches the greatest number of students relative to other educational sub-sectors, is often the only system accessible to Somalis in nomadic as compared to urban areas. A study from 1993 found, among other things, that about 40% of pupils in Qur'anic schools were girls. To address shortcomings in religious instruction, the Somali government on its own part also subsequently established the Ministry of Endowment and Islamic Affairs(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11M/S Battery), under which Qur'anic education is now regulated.[208]

Main article: Economy of Somalia

Air Somalia Tupolev Tu-154 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Somalia today has a thriving private airline industry.

According to the CIA and the Central Bank of Somalia, despite experiencing civil unrest, Somalia has maintained a healthy informal economy, based mainly on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies and telecommunications(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11L/S Battery). Due to a dearth of formal government statistics and the recent civil war, it is difficult to gauge the size or growth of the economy. For 1994, the CIA estimated the GDP at $3.3 billion.[209] In 2001, it was estimated to be $4.1 billion.[210] By 2009, the CIA estimated that the GDP had grown to $5.731 billion, with a projected real growth rate of 2.6%.[3] According to a 2007 British Chambers of Commerce report, the private sector also grew, particularly in the service sector(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11J/S Battery). Unlike the pre-civil war period when most services and the industrial sector were government-run, there has been substantial, albeit unmeasured, private investment in commercial activities; this has been largely financed by the Somali diaspora, and includes trade and marketing, money transfer services, transportation, communications, fishery equipment, airlines, telecommunications, education, health, construction and hotels. (SONY Vaio VGN-NS11E/S Battery) Libertarian economist Peter T. Leeson attributes this increased economic activity to the Somali customary law (referred to as Xeer), which he suggests provides a stable environment to conduct business in.[181]

The Central Bank of Somalia indicates that the country's GDP per capita is $333, which is lower than that of Kenya at $350, but better than that of Tanzania at $280 as well as Eritrea at $190 and Ethiopia at $100. (SONY Vaio VGN-NS110E/L Battery) However, the CIA puts Somalia's GDP per capita at $600.[3] About 43% of the population live on less than 1 US dollar a day, with about 24% of those found in urban areas and 54% living in rural areas.[31]

Cans of Las Qoray brand tuna fish made in Las Khorey.

As with neighboring countries, Somalia's economy consists of both traditional and modern production, with a gradual shift in favor of modern industrial techniques taking root(SONY Vaio VGN-NS10L/S Battery). According to the Central Bank of Somalia, about 80% of the population are nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists, who keep goats, sheep, camels and cattle. The nomads also gather resins and gums to supplement their income.[31]

Agriculture is the most important economic sector. It accounts for about 65% of the GDP and employs 65% of the workforce.[211] Livestock contributes about 40% to GDP and more than 50% of export earnings. (SONY Vaio VGN-NS10J/S Battery) Other principal exports include fish, charcoal and bananas; sugar, sorghum and corn are products for the domestic market.[212] According to the Central Bank of Somalia, imports of goods total about $460 million per year, surpassing aggregate imports prior to the start of the civil war in 1991. Exports, which total about $270 million annually, have also surpassed pre-war aggregate export levels. Somalia has a trade deficit of about $190 million per year(SONY Vaio VGN-NS10E/S Battery), but this is exceeded by remittances sent by Somalis in the diaspora, estimated to be about $1 billion.[31]

With the advantage of being located near the Arabian Peninsula, Somali traders have increasingly begun to challenge Australia's traditional dominance over the Gulf Arab livestock and meat market, offering quality animals at very low prices. In response, Gulf Arab states have started to make strategic investments in the country(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45H battery), with Saudi Arabia building livestock export infrastructure and the United Arab Emirates purchasing large farmlands.[213] Somalia is also a major world supplier of frankincense and myrrh.

Bosaso port.

The modest industrial sector, based on the processing of agricultural products, accounts for 10% of Somalia's GDP. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR45H/P battery) Up to 14 private airline firms operating 62 aircraft now also offer commercial flights to international locations, including Daallo Airlines. With competitively priced flight tickets, these companies have helped buttress Somalia's bustling trade networks. In 2008, the Puntland government signed a multi-million dollar deal with Dubai's Lootah Group, a regional industrial group operating in the Middle East and Africa(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45H/N battery). According to the agreement, the first phase of the investment is worth Dhs 170 m and will see a set of new companies established to operate, manage and build Bosaso's free trade zone and sea and airport facilities. The Bosaso Airport Company is slated to develop the airport complex to meet international standards, including a new 3.4 km runway, main and auxiliary buildings, taxi and apron areas, and security perimeters. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR45H/B battery)

Prior to the outbreak of the civil war in 1991, the roughly 53 state-owned small, medium and large manufacturing firms were foundering, with the ensuing conflict destroying many of the remaining industries. However, primarily as a result of substantial local investment by the Somali diaspora, many of these small-scale plants have re-opened and newer ones have been created. The latter include fish-canning and meat-processing plants in the northern regions(Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/S battery), as well as about 25 factories in the Mogadishu area, which manufacture pasta, mineral water, confections, plastic bags, fabric, hides and skins, detergent and soap, aluminum, foam mattresses and pillows, fishing boats, carry out packaging, and stone processing.[207] In 2004, an $8.3 million Coca-Cola bottling plant also opened in the city, with investors hailing from various constituencies in Somalia.[216] Foreign investment also included multinationals like General Motors and Dole Fruit. Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/P battery)

Airspace over Somalia is controlled by the UN, with the $275 per plane going to the UN rather than the Somali government. The TFG is trying to obtain control of the airspace, but it is not known if they will be able to maintain it effectively.[218]

[edit]Payment system

Main articles: Central Bank of Somalia and Somali shilling

The Central Bank of Somalia is the official monetary authority of Somalia.[31] In terms of financial management, it is in the process of assuming the task of both formulating and implementing monetary policy. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR35M/B battery)

A Dahabshiil franchise outlet in Columbus, Ohio

Owing to a lack of confidence in the local currency, the US dollar is widely accepted as a medium of exchange alongside the Somali shilling. Dollarization notwithstanding, the large issuance of the Somali shilling has increasingly fueled price hikes, especially for low value transactions. According to the central bank: "This inflationary environment(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35G/S battery), however, is expected to come to an end as soon as the Central Bank assumes full control of monetary policy and replaces the presently circulating currency introduced by the private sector."[219]

Although Somalia has had no central monetary authority for more than 15 years between the outbreak of the civil war in 1991 and the subsequent re-establishment of the Central Bank of Somalia in 2009(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35G/P battery), the nation's payment system is fairly advanced primarily due to the widespread existence of private money transfer operators (MTO) that have acted as informal banking networks.[220]

These remittance firms (hawalas) have become a large industry in Somalia, with an estimated $1.6 billion USD annually remitted to the region by Somalis in the diaspora via money transfer companies.[3] Most are members of the Somali Money Transfer Association (SOMTA) (Sony VAIO VGN-SR35G/B battery), an umbrella organization that regulates the community's money transfer sector, or its predecessor, the Somali Financial Services Association (SFSA). The largest of the Somali MTOs is Dahabshiil, a Somali-owned firm employing more than 2000 people across 144 countries with branches in London and Dubai.

As the reconstituted Central Bank of Somalia fully assumes its monetary policy responsibilities, some of the existing money transfer companies are expected in the near future to seek licenses so as to develop into full-fledged commercial banks(Sony VAIO VGN-SR33H battery). This will serve to expand the national payments system to include formal cheques, which in turn is expected to reinforce the efficacy of the use of monetary policy in domestic macroeconomic management.[220]

The World Bank reports that electricity is now in large part supplied by local businesses, using generators purchased abroad. By dividing Somalia's cities into specific quarters, the private sector has found a manageable method of providing cities with electricity(Sony VAIO VGN-SR33H/S battery). A customer is given a menu of choices for electricity tailored to his or her needs, such as evenings only, daytime only, 24 hour-supply or charge per lightbulb.[211]

Oil blocks in Puntland.

Somalia has untapped reserves of numerous natural resources, including uranium, iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt and natural gas.[3] Due to its proximity to the oil-rich Gulf Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the nation is also believed to contain substantial unexploited reserves of oil. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR33H/P battery) A survey of Northeast Africa by the World Bank and UN ranked Somalia second only to Sudan as the top prospective producer.[224] American, Australian and Chinese oil companies, in particular, are excited about the prospect of finding petroleum and other natural resources in the country. An oil group listed in Sydney, Range Resources, anticipates that the Puntland province in the north has the potential to produce 5 billion barrels (790×106 m3) to 10 billion barrels (1.6×109 m3) of oil. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR33H/B battery) As a result of these developments, the Somali Petroleum Company was created by the federal government.

According to surveys, uranium is also found in large quantities in the Buurhakaba region. A Brazilian company in the 1980s had invested $300 million for a uranium mine in central Somalia, but no long-term mining took place.

Additionally, the Puntland region under the Farole administration has since sought to refine the province's existing oil deal with Range Resources(Sony VAIO VGN-SR31M/S battery). The Australian oil firm, for its part, indicated that it looked forward to establishing a mutually beneficial and profitable working relationship with the region's new government.

In mid-2010, Somalia's business community also pledged to invest $1 billion in the national gas and electricity industries over the following five years. Abdullahi Hussein, the director of the just-formed Trans-National Industrial Electricity and Gas Company(Sony VAIO VGN-SR29XN/S battery), predicted that the investment strategy would create 100,000 jobs, with the net effect of stimulating the local economy and discouraging unemployed youngsters from turning to vice. The new firm was established through the merger of five Somali companies from the trade, finance, security and telecommunications sectors. The first phase of the project is scheduled to start within six months of the establishment of the company(Sony VAIO VGN-SR29VN/S battery), and will train youth to supply electricity to economic areas and communities. The second phase, which is slated to begin in mid-to-late 2011, will see the construction of factories in specially designated economic zones for the fishing, agriculture, livestock and mining industries.

According to the Central Bank of Somalia, as the nation embarks on the path of reconstruction, the economy is expected to not only match its pre-civil war levels, but also to accelerate in growth and development due to Somalia's untapped natural resources. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR28/Q battery)

Telecommunications and media

The Hormuud Telecom building in Mogadishu

Somalia now offers some of the most technologically advanced and competitively priced telecommunications and Internet services in the world.[223] After the start of the civil war, various new telecommunications companies began to spring up and compete to provide missing infrastructure. Funded by Somali entrepreneurs and backed by expertise from China(Sony VAIO VGN-SR28/J battery), Korea and Europe, these nascent telecommunications firms offer affordable mobile phone and Internet services that are not available in many other parts of the continent. Customers can conduct money transfers (such as through the popular Dahabshiil) and other banking activities via mobile phones, as well as easily gain wireless Internet access.[231]

After forming partnerships with multinational corporations such as Sprint, ITT and Telenor, these firms now offer the cheapest and clearest phone calls in Africa. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR28/B battery) These Somali telecommunication companies also provide services to every city, town and hamlet in Somalia. There are presently around 25 mainlines per 1,000 persons, and the local availability of telephone lines (tele-density) is higher than in neighboring countries; three times greater than in adjacent Ethiopia.[207] Prominent Somali telecommunications companies include Golis Telecom Group(Sony VAIO VGN-SR26/S battery), Hormuud Telecom, Somafone, Nationlink, Netco, Telcom and Somali Telecom Group. Hormuud Telecom alone grosses about $40 million a year. Despite their rivalry, several of these companies signed an interconnectivity deal in 2005 that allows them to set prices, maintain and expand their networks, and ensure that competition does not get out of control. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR26/P battery)

"Investment in the telecom industry is one of the clearest signs that Somalia's economy has continued to grow despite the ongoing civil strife in parts of the southern half of the country".[231] The sector provides important communication services, and in the process thus facilitates job creation and income generation. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR26/B battery)

Somalia also has several private television and radio networks.[233] Prominent media organizations in the country include the state-run Radio Mogadishu, as well as the privately owned Horseed Media, Garowe Online and Radio Laascaanood.

Main article: Military of Somalia

A Spoon Rest A (P-12) early warning radar unit, part of radar installation operated by Somali troops at the Berbera airport(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25T/S battery).

Prior to the outbreak of the civil war in 1991 and the subsequent disintegration of the Armed Forces, Somalia's friendship with the Soviet Union and later partnership with the United States enabled it to build the largest army in Africa.[88] The creation of the Transitional Federal Government in 2004 saw the re-establishment of the military of Somalia, which now maintains a force of 10,000 troops. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for the Armed Forces(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25T/P battery).

After almost 2 decades of absence, 500 marines were being trained in 2010 as a first start to re-establish the Somali Navy.[234] In addition, there are plans for the re-establishment of the Somali Air Force, with six combat and six transport planes already purchased.[citation needed] A new police force was also formed, with the first police academy to be built in Somalia for several years opening on 20 December 2005 at Armo(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25S/B battery), 100 kilometres south of Bosaso, the commercial capital of the northeastern Puntland region.[235] Additionally, construction began in May 2010 on a new naval base in the town of Bandar Siyada, located 25 km west of Bosaso. The new naval base is funded by the Puntland administration in conjunction with Saracen International, a UK-based security company. It will include a center for training recruits, and a command post for the naval force. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR25M/B battery)

Somalia has a population of around 10 million inhabitants;[3] the total population according to the 1975 census was 3.3 million.[237] About 85% of local residents are ethnic Somalis,[3] who have historically inhabited the northern part of the country.[238] They have traditionally been organized into nomadic pastoral clans, loose empires, sultanates and city-states. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR25G/S battery) Civil strife in the early 1990s greatly increased the size of the Somali diaspora, as many of the best educated Somalis left the country.[240]

Non-Somali ethnic minority groups make up the remainder of the nation's population, and are largely concentrated in the southern regions.[9] They include Benadiri, Bravanese, Bantus, Bajuni, Ethiopians, Indians, Persians, Italians and Britons. Most Europeans left after independence(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25G/P battery).

The country's population is expanding at a growth rate of 2.809% per annum and a birth rate of 43.33 births/1,000 people.[3] Most local residents are young, with a median age of 17.6 years; about 45% of the population is between the ages of 0–14 years, 52.5% is between the ages of 15–64 years, and only 2.5% is 65 years of age or older.[3] The gender ratio is roughly balanced, with proportionally about as many men as women. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR25G/B battery)

There is little reliable statistical information on urbanization in Somalia. However, rough estimates have been made indicating a rate of urbanization of 4.2% per annum (2005–10 est.), with many towns quickly growing into cities.[3] Many ethnic minorities have also moved from rural areas to urban centers since the onset of the civil war, particularly to Mogadishu and Kismayo. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S battery) As of 2008, 37% of the nation's population live in towns and cities, with the percentage rapidly increasing.

Somali and Arabic are the official languages of Somalia.[2] The Somali language is the mother tongue of the Somali people, the nation's most populous ethnic group.[3] It is a member of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family, and its nearest relatives are the Afar and Saho languages.[247] Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages,[248] with academic studies of it dating from before 1900(Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN battery).

The Osmanya writing script

Somali dialects are divided into three main groups: Northern, Benadir and Maay. Northern Somali (or Northern-Central Somali) forms the basis for Standard Somali. Benadir (also known as Coastal Somali) is spoken on the Benadir coast, from Adale to south of Merca including Mogadishu, as well as in the immediate hinterland. The coastal dialects have additional phonemes which do not exist in Standard Somali. Maay is principally spoken by the Digil and Mirifle (Rahanweyn) clans in the southern areas of Somalia. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN battery)

Since Somali had long lost its ancient script,[250] a number of writing systems have been used over the years for transcribing the language. Of these, the Somali alphabet is the most widely used, and has been the official writing script in Somalia since the government of former President of Somalia Siad Barre formally introduced it in October 1972(SONY Vaio VGN-SR12G/S Battery).

The script was developed by the Somali linguist Shire Jama Ahmed specifically for the Somali language, and uses all letters of the English Latin alphabet except p, v and z. Besides Ahmed's Latin script, other orthographies that have been used for centuries for writing Somali include the long-established Arabic script and Wadaad's writing. Indigenous writing systems developed in the 20th century include the Osmanya(SONY Vaio VGN-SR12G/P Battery), Borama and Kaddare scripts, which were invented by Osman Yusuf Kenadid, Sheikh Abdurahman Sheikh Nuur and Hussein Sheikh Ahmed Kaddare, respectively.[252]

In addition to Somali, Arabic, which is also an Afro-Asiatic tongue,[253] is an official national language in Somalia.[2] Many Somalis speak it due to centuries-old ties with the Arab world, the far-reaching influence of the Arabic media, and religious education(SONY Vaio VGN-SR12G/B Battery).

English is widely used and taught. Italian used to be a major language, but its influence significantly diminished following independence. It is now most frequently heard among older generations.[253] Other minority languages include Bravanese, a variant of the Bantu Swahili language that is spoken along the coast by the Bravanese people, as well as Kibajuni, another Swahili dialect that is the mother tongue of the Bajuni minority ethnic group(SONY Vaio VGN-SR11M Battery).

Main articles: Islam in Somalia and Christianity in Somalia

The Mosque of Islamic Solidarity in Mogadishu is the largest masjid in the Horn region.

Most Somalis are Muslims,[256] the majority belonging to the Sunni branch of Islam and the Shafi'i school of Islamic jurisprudence, although some are adherents of the Shia Muslim denomination.[11] Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam, is also well-established, with many local jama'a (zawiya) or congregations of the various tariiqa or Sufi orders. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ38 battery)The constitution of Somalia likewise defines Islam as the state religion of the Federal Republic of Somalia, and Islamic sharia as the basic source for national legislation. It also stipulates that no law that is inconsistent with the basic tenets of Shari'a can be enacted.[2]

Islam entered the region very early on, as a group of persecuted Muslims had, at Prophet Muhammad's urging, sought refuge across the Red Sea in the Horn of Africa. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18T battery) Islam may thus have been introduced into Somalia well before the faith even took root in its place of origin.[259]

In addition, the Somali community has produced numerous important Islamic figures over the centuries, many of whom have significantly shaped the course of Muslim learning and practice in the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and well beyond. Among these Islamic scholars is the 14th century Somali theologian and jurist Uthman bin Ali Zayla'i of Zeila(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18S battery), who wrote the single most authoritative text on the Hanafi school of Islam, consisting of four volumes known as the Tabayin al-Haqa’iq li Sharh Kanz al-Daqa’iq.

Christianity is a minority religion in Somalia, with no more than 1,000 practitioners (about 0.01% of the population).[260] According to estimates of the Diocese of Mogadishu (the territory of which coincides with the country) there were only about 100 Catholic practitioners in Somalia in 2004. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18G battery)

In 1913, during the early part of the colonial era, there were virtually no Christians in the Somali territories, with only about 100–200 followers coming from the schools and orphanages of the few Catholic missions in the British Somaliland protectorate.[262] There were also no known Catholic missions in Italian Somaliland during the same period.[263] In the 1970s, during the reign of Somalia's then Marxist government, church-run schools were closed and missionaries sent home(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18E battery). There has been no archbishop in the country since 1989, and the cathedral in Mogadishu was severely damaged during the civil war.

Some non-Somali ethnic minority groups also practice animism, which represents (in the case of the Bantu) religious traditions inherited from their ancestors in southeastern Africa.[264]

Main article: Culture of Somalia

Main article: Somali cuisine

Various types of popular Somali dishes.

The cuisine of Somalia varies from region to region and consists of an exotic mixture of diverse culinary influences(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ15S battery). It is the product of Somalia's rich tradition of trade and commerce. Despite the variety, there remains one thing that unites the various regional cuisines: all food is served halal. There are therefore no pork dishes, alcohol is not served, nothing that died on its own is eaten, and no blood is incorporated. Qaddo or lunch is often elaborate(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ15M battery).

Varieties of bariis (rice), the most popular probably being basmati, usually serve as the main dish. Spices like cumin, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and sage are used to aromatize these different rice dishes. Somalis serve dinner as late as 9 pm. During Ramadan, dinner is often served after Tarawih prayers – sometimes as late as 11 pm(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ15L battery).

Xalwo (halva) is a popular confection reserved for special occasions, such as Eid celebrations or wedding receptions. It is made from sugar, corn starch, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder and ghee. Peanuts are also sometimes added to enhance texture and flavor.[265] After meals, homes are traditionally perfumed using frankincense (lubaan) or incense (cuunsi), which is prepared inside an incense burner referred to as a dabqaad(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ15 battery).

Main article: Music of Somalia

Somali singer Aar Maanta performing with his band.

Somalia has a rich musical heritage centered on traditional Somali folklore. Most Somali songs are pentatonic; that is, they only use five pitches per octave in contrast to a heptatonic (seven note) scale like the major scale. At first listen, Somali music might be mistaken for the sounds of nearby regions such as Ethiopia, Sudan or the Arabian Peninsula, but it is ultimately recognizable by its own unique tunes and styles(Sony VAIO VGN-NW11Z/T battery). Somali songs are usually the product of collaboration between lyricists (midho), songwriters (laxan) and singers (codka or "voice").[266]

Main article: Literature of Somalia

Somali scholars have for centuries produced many notable examples of Islamic literature ranging from poetry to Hadith. With the adoption of the Latin alphabet in 1972 as the nation's standard orthography, numerous contemporary Somali authors have also released novels, some of which have gone on to receive worldwide acclaim(Sony VAIO VGN-NW11S/T battery). Of these modern writers, Nuruddin Farah is probably the most celebrated. Books such as From a Crooked Rib and Links are considered important literary achievements, works which have earned Farah, among other accolades, the 1998 Neustadt International Prize for Literature.[267] Faarax M.J. Cawl is another prominent Somali writer who is perhaps best known for his Dervish era novel, Ignorance is the enemy of love(Sony VAIO VGN-NW11Z/S battery).

[edit]Architecture

Main article: Architecture of Somalia

Somali architecture is a rich and diverse tradition of engineering and designing multiple different construction types such as stone cities, castles, citadels, fortresses, mosques, temples, aqueducts, lighthouses, towers and tombs during the ancient, medieval and early modern periods in Somalia, as well as the fusion of Somalo-Islamic architecture with Occidental designs in contemporary times(Sony VAIO VGN-NW11S/S battery).

In ancient Somalia, pyramidical structures known in Somali as taalo were a popular burial style, with hundreds of these drystone monuments scattered around the country today. Houses were built of dressed stone similar to the ones in Ancient Egypt,[268] and there are examples of courtyards and large stone walls enclosing settlements, such as the Wargaade Wall(Sony VAIO VGN-NW31EF/W battery).

The adoption of Islam in the early medieval era of Somalia's history brought Islamic architectural influences from Arabia and Persia, which stimulated a shift from drystone and other related materials in construction to coral stone, sundried bricks, and the widespread use of limestone in Somali architecture. Many of the new architectural designs such as mosques were built on the ruins of older structures(Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/W battery), a practice that would continue over and over again throughout the following centuries.

Cairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa. Its metropolitan area is the 16th largest in the world. Located near the Nile Delta, it was founded in 969 AD. Nicknamed "the city of a thousand minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life(SONY PCG-5G2L battery). Cairo was founded by the Fatimid dynasty in the 10th century AD, but the land composing the present-day city was the site of national capitals whose remnants remain visible in parts of Old Cairo. Cairo is also associated with Ancient Egypt due to its proximity to the ancient cities of Memphis, Giza and Fustat which are near the Great Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza(SONY PCG-5G3L battery).

Egyptians today often refer to Cairo as Maṣr ([mɑsˤɾ], مصر), the Egyptian Arabic pronunciation of the name for Egypt itself, emphasizing the city's continued role in Egyptian influence.[3][4] Its official name is القاهرة al-Qāhirah , means literally "the Vanquisher" or "the Conqueror"; Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [elqɑ(ː)ˈheɾˤɑ], sometimes it is informally also referred to as كايرو Kayro [ˈkæjɾo]. (SONY PCG-F305 battery) Cairo has the oldest and largest film and music industries in the Arab world, as well as the world's second-oldest institution of higher learning, al-Azhar University. Many international media, businesses, and organizations have regional headquarters in the city; the Arab League has had its headquarters in Cairo for most of its existence.

With a population of 6.76 million[6] spread over 453 square kilometers (175 sq mi) (SONY PCG-5J1L battery), Cairo is by far the largest city in Egypt. With an additional 10 million inhabitants just outside the city, Cairo resides at the centre of the largest metropolitan area in Africa and the Arab World as well as the tenth-largest urban area in the world.[7] Cairo, like many other mega-cities, suffers from high levels of pollution and traffic, but its metro — one of only two metros on the African continent (the other the Algiers Metro) (SONY PCG-5J2L battery) — ranks among the fifteen busiest in the world,[8][better source needed] with over 1 billion[9] annual passenger rides. The economy of Cairo was ranked first in the Middle East[10] and 43rd globally by Foreign Policy's 2010 Global Cities Index.

Initial settlements

A rendition of Fustat from A. S. Rappoport's History of Egypt

The area around present-day Cairo, especially Memphis, had long been a focal point of Ancient Egypt due to its strategic location just upstream from the Nile Delta(SONY PCG-5K2L battery). However, the origins of the modern city is generally traced back to a series of settlements in the first millennium. Around the turn of the 4th century,[12] as Memphis was continuing to decline in importance,[13] the Romans established a fortress town along the east bank of the Nile. This fortress, known as Babylon, remains the oldest structure in the city. It is also situated at the nucleus of Coptic Orthodox community, which separated from the Roman and Byzantine church in the late 4th century(SONY PCG-5L1L battery). Many of Cairo's oldest Coptic churches, including the Hanging Church, are located along the fortress walls in a section of the city known as Coptic Cairo.

Foundation and expansion

Further information: Egypt in the Middle Ages

Cairo map 1847

In 969 the Fatimids were led by General Gawhar al-Siqilli with his Kutama army, under the moral flagship of Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi, the Shiite Ismaili Imam of that time and ancestor of the current Aga Khan,[14] to establish a new capital for the Fatimid dynasty. Egypt was conquered from their base in Ifriqiya and a new fortified city northeast of Fustat was established(SONY PCG-6S2L battery). It took four years for Gawhar to build the city, initially known as al-Manṣūriyyah,[15] which was to serve as the new capital of the caliphate. During that time, Jawhar also commissioned the construction of al-Azhar Mosque, which developed into the third-oldest university in the world. Cairo would eventually become a centre of learning, with the library of Cairo containing hundreds of thousands of books. (SONY PCG-6S3L battery) When Caliph al-Mu'izz li Din Allah finally arrived from the old Fatimid capital of Mahdia in Tunisia in 973, he gave the city its present name, al-Qahira ("The Victorious").[15]

The Cairo Citadel, seen above in the late 19th century, was commissioned by Saladin between 1176 and 1183

For nearly 200 years after Cairo was established, the administrative centre of Egypt remained in Fustat. However, in 1168 the Fatimids under the leadership of Vizier Shawar set fire to Fustat to prevent Cairo's capture by the Crusaders. (SONY PCG-6V1L battery) Egypt's capital was permanently moved to Cairo, which was eventually expanded to include the ruins of Fustat and the previous capitals of al-Askar and al-Qatta'i. While the Fustat fire successfully protected the city of Cairo, a continuing power struggle between Shawar, King Amalric I of Jerusalem, and Zengid general Shirkuh led to the downfall of the Fatimid establishment. (SONY PCG-6W1L battery)

In 1169 Saladin was appointed as the new vizier of Egypt by the Fatimids and two years later he would seize power from the family of the last Fatimid caliph, al-'Āḍid.[19] As the first Sultan of Egypt, Saladin established the Ayyubid dynasty, based in Cairo, and aligned Egypt with the Abbasids, who were based in Baghdad.[20] During his reign, Saladin also constructed the Cairo Citadel, which served as the seat of the Egyptian government until the mid-19th century(SONY PCG-7111L battery).

In 1250 slave soldiers, known as the Mamluks, seized control of Egypt and like many of their predecessors established Cairo as the capital of their new dynasty. Continuing a practice started by the Ayyubids, much of the land occupied by former Fatimid palaces was sold and replaced by newer buildings. (SONY PCG-71511M battery) Construction projects initiated by the Mamluks pushed the city outward while also bringing new infrastructure to the centre of the city.[22] Meanwhile, Cairo flourished as a centre of Islamic scholarship and a crossroads on the spice trade route among the civilizations in Afro-Eurasia. By 1340, Cairo had a population of close to half a million, making it the largest city west of China. (SONY PCG-6W3L battery)

Ottoman rule

Further information: History of Ottoman Egypt

See also: Muhammad Ali's seizure of power

Although Cairo avoided Europe's stagnation during the Late Middle Ages, it could not escape the Black Death, which struck the city more than fifty times between 1348 and 1517.[24] During its initial, and most deadly waves, approximately 200,000 people were killed by the plague,[25] and, by the 15th century, Cairo's population had been reduced to between 150,000 and 300,000. (SONY PCG-7113L battery) The city's status was further diminished after Vasco da Gama discovered a sea route around the Cape of Good Hope, thereby allowing spice traders to avoid Cairo.[23]

Cairo in the 19th century

Cairo's political influence diminished significantly after the Ottomans supplanted Mamluk power over Egypt in 1517. Ruling from Constantinople, Sultan Selim I relegated Egypt to a mere province, with Cairo as its capital.[27] For this reason, the history of Cairo during Ottoman times is often described as inconsequential(SONY PCG-7133L battery), especially in comparison to other time periods.[23][28][29] However, during the 16th and 17th centuries, Cairo remained an important economic and cultural centre. Although no longer on the spice route, the city facilitated the transportation of Yemeni coffee and Indian textiles, primarily to Anatolia, North Africa, and the Balkans. Cairene merchants were instrumental in bringing goods to the barren Hejaz, especially during the annual hajj to Mecca(SONY PCG-7Z1L battery). It was during this same period that al-Azhar University reached the predominance among Islamic schools that it continues to hold today; pilgrims on their way to hajj often attested to the superiority of the institution, which had become associated with Egypt's body of Islamic scholars.[33] By the 16th century, Cairo also had high-rise apartment buildings where the two lower floors were for commercial and storage purposes (SONY PCG-7Z2L battery)     and the multiple stories above them were rented out to tenants.[34]

Under the Ottomans, Cairo expanded south and west from its nucleus around the Citadel.[35] The city was the second-largest in the empire, behind only Constantinople, and, although migration was not the primary source of Cairo's growth, twenty percent of its population at the end of the 18th century consisted of religious minorities and foreigners from around the Mediterranean. (SONY PCG-8Y1L battery) Still, when Napoleon arrived in Cairo in 1798, the city's population was less than 300,000, forty percent lower than it was at the height of Mamluk—and Cairene—influence in the mid-14th century.

The French occupation was short-lived as British and Ottoman forces, including a sizable Albanian contingent, recaptured the country in 1801.[37] The British vacated Egypt two years later, leaving the Ottomans, the Albanians, and the long-weakened Mamluks jostling for control of the country. (SONY PCG-8Y2L battery)Continued civil war allowed an Albanian named Muhammad Ali Pasha to ascend to the role of commander and eventually, with the approval of the religious establishment, viceroy of Egypt in 1805.[40]

Further information: History of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty and History of modern Egypt

Until his death in 1848, Muhammad Ali Pasha instituted a number of social and economic reforms that earned him the title of founder of modern Egypt. (SONY PCG-8Z2L battery) However, while Muhammad Ali initiated the construction of public buildings in the city,[43] those reforms had minimal effect on Cairo's landscape.[44] Bigger changes came to Cairo under Isma'il Pasha (r. 1863–1879), who continued the modernization processes started by his grandfather. Drawing inspiration from Paris, Isma'il environs a city of maidans and wide avenues(SONY PCG-8Z1L battery); due to financial constraints, only some of them, in the area now composing Downtown Cairo, came to fruition.[45] Isma'il also sought to modernize the city, which was merging with neighboring settlements, by establishing a public works ministry, bringing gas and lighting to the city, and opening a theater and opera house.

Cairo - the world's sixteenth most populous city(SONY PCG-7112L battery)

Four Seasons Hotel in Cairo

The immense debt resulting from Isma'il's projects provided a pretext for increasing European control, which culminated with the British invasion in 1882.[23] The city's economic centre quickly moved west toward the Nile, away from the historic Islamic Cairo section and toward the contemporary, European-style areas built by Isma'il. (SONY PCG-6W2L battery)Europeans accounted for five percent of Cairo's population at the end of the 19th century, by which point they held most top governmental positions.[50]

Nile view of Grand Hyatt Cairo at night

The British occupation was intended to be temporary, but it lasted well into the 20th century. Nationalists staged large-scale demonstrations in Cairo in 1919,[23] five years after Egypt had been declared a British protectorate.[51] Nevertheless, while this led to Egypt's independence in 1922, British troops remained in the country until 1956(SONY PCG-5K1L battery). During this time, urban Cairo, spurred by new bridges and transport links, continued to expand to include the upscale neighborhoods of Garden City, Zamalek, and Heliopolis.[52] Between 1882 and 1937, the population of Cairo more than tripled – from 347,000 to 1.3 million[53] – and its area increased from 10 square kilometres (4 sq mi) to 163 square kilometres (63 sq mi). (SONY VGP-BPS9/S battery)

The city was devastated during the 1952 Cairo Fire, also known as Black Saturday, which saw the destruction of nearly 700 shops, movie theatres, casinos and hotels in Downtown Cairo.[55] The British departed Cairo following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, but the city's rapid growth showed no signs of abating. Seeking to accommodate the increasing population, President Gamal Abdel Nasser redeveloped Midan Tahrir and the Nile Corniche(SONY VGP-BPS9A battery), and improved the city's network of bridges and highways.[56] Meanwhile, additional controls of the Nile fostered development within Gezira Island and along the city's waterfront. The metropolis began to encroach on the fertile Nile Delta, prompting the government to build desert satellite towns and devise incentives for city-dwellers to move to them. (SONY VGP-BPS9A/B battery)

Despite these efforts, Cairo's population has doubled since the 1960s, reaching close to seven million (with an additional ten million in its urban area). Concurrently, Cairo has established itself as a political and economic hub for North Africa and the Arab World, with many multinational businesses and organizations, including the Arab League, operating out of the city(SONY VGP-BPS9/B battery).

In 1992, Cairo was hit by a damaging earthquake, that caused 545 deaths, 6512 injuries and left 50,000 people homeless.[58]

Cairo during 2011 Egyptian revolution

Main article: 2011 Egyptian Revolution

A protester holding an Egyptian flag during the protests that started on 25 January 2011

Demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square on 8 February 2011

Cairo's Tahrir Square was the focal point of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution against former president Hosni Mubarak.[59] Over 2 million protesters at Cairo's Tahrir square(SONY VGP-BPS9A/S battery). More than 50,000 protesters first occupied the square on 25 January, during which the area's wireless services were reported to be impaired.[60] In the following days Tahrir Square continued to be the primary destination for protests in Cairo.[61] as it took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of February 2012(SONY VGP-BPL9 battery). The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil disobedience, and labour strikes. Millions of protesters from a variety of socio-economic and religious backgrounds demanded the overthrow of the regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Despite being predominantly peaceful in nature(SONY VGP-BPS10 battery), the revolution was not without violent clashes between security forces and protesters, with at least 846 people killed and 6,000 injured. The uprising took place in Cairo, Alexandria, and in other cities in Egypt, following the Tunisian revolution that resulted in the overthrow of the long-time Tunisian president. On 11 February, following weeks of determined popular protest and pressure, Mubarak resigned from office(SONY VGP-BPL10 battery).

Satellite cities

6th of October City, west of Cairo, and New Cairo, east of Cairo, are major urban developments which have been built to accommodate additional growth and development of the Cairo area.[62] New development includes several high-end residential developments.[63]

Astronaut view of Cairo

Cairo's focal point, the Nile, adjacent to the European-inspired districts near the city's centre

The river Nile flows through Cairo, here contrasting ancient customs of daily life with the modern city of today(SONY VGP-BPS11 battery)

Cairo is located in northern Egypt, known as Lower Egypt, 165 kilometres (100 mi) south of the Mediterranean Sea and 120 kilometres (75 mi) west of the Gulf of Suez and Suez Canal.[64] The city is along the Nile River, immediately south of the point where the river leaves its desert-bound valley and branches into the low-lying Nile Delta region(SONY VGP-BPL11 battery). Although the Cairo metropolis extends away from the Nile in all directions, the city of Cairo resides only on the east bank of the river and two islands within it on a total area of 453 square kilometres (175 sq mi).

Until the mid-19th century, when the river was tamed by dams, levees, and other controls, the Nile in the vicinity of Cairo was highly susceptible to changes in course and surface level(SONY VGP-BPL12 battery). Over the years, the Nile gradually shifted westward, providing the site between the eastern edge of the river and the Mokattam highlands on which the city now stands. The land on which Cairo was established in 969 (present-day Islamic Cairo) was located underwater just over three hundred years earlier, when Fustat was first built.[67]

Low periods of the Nile during the 11th century continued to add to the landscape of Cairo; a new island, known as Geziret al-Fil(SONY VGP-BPS12 battery), first appeared in 1174, but eventually became connected to the mainland. Today, the site of Geziret al-Fil is occupied by the Shubra district. The low periods created another island at the turn of the 14th century that now composes Zamalek and Gezira. Land reclamation efforts by the Mamluks and Ottomans further contributed to expansion on the east bank of the river. (SONY VGP-BPS13 battery)

The streets of Islamic Cairo, adorned by Islamic architecture, are narrower and older than those in the city centre

Because of the Nile's movement, the newer parts of the city – Garden City, Downtown Cairo, and Zamalek – are located closest to the riverbank.[69] The areas, which are home to most of Cairo's embassies, are surrounded on the north, east, and south by the older parts of the city(SONY VGP-BPS13Q battery). Old Cairo, located south of the centre, holds the remnants of Fustat and the heart of Egypt's Coptic Christian community, Coptic Cairo. The Boulaq district, which lies in the northern part of the city, was born out of a major 16th-century port and is now a major industrial centrer. The Citadel is located east of the city centre around Islamic Cairo, which dates back to the Fatimid era and the foundation of Cairo(SONY VGP-BPS13A/Q battery). While western Cairo is dominated by wide boulevards, open spaces, and modern architecture of European influence, the eastern half, having grown haphazardly over the centuries, is dominated by small lanes, crowded tenements, and Islamic architecture.

Northern and extreme eastern parts of Cairo, which include satellite towns, are among the most recent additions to the city, as they developed in the late-20th and early-21st centuries to accommodate the city's rapid growth(SONY VGP-BPS13B/Q battery). The western bank of the Nile is commonly included within the urban area of Cairo, but it composes the city of Giza and the Giza Governorate. Giza has also undergone significant expansion over recent years, and today the city, although still a suburb of Cairo, has a population of 2.7 million.[66] The Cairo Governorate was just north of the Helwan Governorate from 2008 when some Cairo's southern districts(SONY VGP-BPS13/B battery), including Maadi and New Cairo, were split off and annexed into the new governorate,[70] to 2011 when the Helwan Governorate was reincorporated into the Cairo Governorate.

A panorama of the Nile showing Cairo tower in the middle and two major bridges on the far right and left

In Cairo, and along the Nile River Valley, the climate is a desert climate (BWh according to the Köppen climate classification system[71]) (SONY VGP-BPS13B/B battery), but often with high humidity due to the river valley's effects. Wind storms can be frequent, bringing Saharan dust into the city during the months of March and April. High temperatures in winter range from 19 °C (66 °F) to 29 °C (84 °F), while night-time lows drop to below 11 °C (52 °F), often to 5 °C (41 °F). In summer, the highs rarely surpass 40 °C (104 °F), and lows drop to about 20 °C (68 °F) (SONY VGP-BPS13A/S battery). Rainfall is sparse, but sudden showers do cause harsh flooding. In New Cairo, a place of higher elevation than Downtown Cairo, the temperatures often drop below zero during winter causing morning frost.

See also: List of hospitals in Egypt

Cairo, as well as neighboring, has been established as Egypt's main center for medical treatment, and despite some exceptions, has the most advanced level of medical care in the country(SONY VGP-BPS21A/B battery). Cairo's hospitals include the JCI-accredited As-Salaam International Hospital - Corniche El Nile, Maadi (Egypt's largest private hospital with 350 beds), Ain Shams University Hospital, Dar El Fouad Hospital, as well as Kasr El Aini Hospital.

[edit]Education

Cairo has long been the hub of education and educational services for Egypt and the region. Today, Cairo is the centre for many government offices governing the Egyptian educational system, has the largest number of educational schools(SONY VGP-BPS21B battery), and higher learning institutes among other cities and governorates of Egypt.

Cairo has an extensive road network, rail system, subway system, and maritime services. Road transport is facilitated by personal vehicles, taxi cabs, privately owned public buses, and Cairo microbuses. Cairo, specifically Ramses Square, is the centre of almost the entire Egyptian transportation network. (SONY VGP-BPS21 battery)

The subway system, officially called "Metro (مترو)", is a fast and efficient way of getting around Cairo. It can get very crowded during rush hour. Two train cars (the fourth and fifth ones) are reserved for women only, although women may ride in any car they want.

An extensive road network connects Cairo with other Egyptian cities and villages. There is a new Ring Road that surrounds the outskirts of the city(SONY VGP-BPS21/S battery), with exits that reach outer Cairo districts. There are flyovers and bridges, such as the Sixth of October bridge that, when the traffic is not heavy, allow fast [74] means of transportation from one side of the city to the other.

Cairo traffic is known to be overwhelming and overcrowded.[75] Traffic moves at a relatively fluid pace. Drivers tend to be aggressive, but are more courteous at intersections, taking turns going, with police aiding in traffic control of some congested areas. (SONY VGP-BPS13AS battery)

On 25 October 2009 a passenger train ran into another one near Giza, just outside Cairo.[76] Local news agencies reported at least 25 people dead.[77] A local resident, Samhi Saleh Abdel Al, told reporters that "the first train stopped after hitting a cow and 10 minutes later the second train arrived at full speed."[78] One of the two trains was travelling from Cairo to Assiut, while the other was said to have been en-route to Fayoum from Giza. (SONY VGP-BPS13S battery)Around 55 people were injured.

Cairo International Stadium with 75,100 seats

Real Football Soccer is the most popular sport in Egypt, and Cairo has a number of sporting teams that compete in national and regional leagues. The best known teams are Al-Ahly and El Zamalek, whose annual football tournament is perhaps the most watched sports event in Egypt as well as the African-Arab region(SONY VGP-BPS13B/S battery). Both teams are known as the "rivals" of Egyptian football, and are the first and the second champions in Africa and the Arab World. They play their home games at Cairo International Stadium or Naser Stadium, which is Egypt's 2nd largest stadium, Cairo's largest one and one of the largest stadiums in the world.

The Cairo International Stadium was built in 1960 and its multi-purpose sports complex that houses the main football stadium, an indoor stadium(SONY VGP-BPS13B/G battery), several satellite fields that held several regional, continental and global games, including the African Games, U17 Football World Championship and was one of the stadiums scheduled that hosted the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations which was played in January 2006. Egypt later won the competition and went on to win the next edition In Ghana (2008) making the Egyptian and Ghanaian national teams the only teams to win the African Nations (SONY VGP-BPS14 battery)Cup Back to back which resulted in Egypt winning the title for a record number of six times in the history of African Continental Competition. This was followed by a third consecutive win in Angola 2010, making Egypt the only country with a record 3-consecutive and 7-total Continental Football Competition winner. This achievement had also placed the Egyptian football team as the #12 best team in the world's FIFA rankings(SONY VGP-BPL14 battery).

Cairo failed at the applicant stage when bidding for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, which was hosted in Beijing, China. However, Cairo did host the 2007 Pan Arab Games.

There are several other sports teams in the city that participate in several sports including el Gezira Sporting Club, el Shams Club, el Seid Club, Heliopolis Club and several smaller clubs, but the biggest clubs in Egypt (not in area but in sports) are Al Ahly and Al Zamalek. They have the two biggest football teams in Egypt(SONY VGP-BPS14/B battery).

Most of the sports federations of the country are also located in the city suburbs, including the Egyptian Football Association. The headquarters of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) was previously located in Cairo, before relocating to its new headquarters in 6 October City, a small city away from Cairo's crowded districts(SONY VGP-BPS14/S battery).

On October 2008, the Egyptian Rugby Federation was officially formed and granted membership into the International Rugby Board.

Egypt is internationally known for the excellence of its squash players who excel in both professional and junior divisions. Gizira Club in Zamalek is where former world #1 Amr Shabana and former world #1 Karim Darwish practice. The Heliopolis Club in Heliopolis is the home of current world #1 Ramy Ashour and his brother, world #24, Hisham Ashour(SONY VGP-BPS14B battery). Other major squash-playing venues are The Shooting Club (Nadi el Seid) in Dokki, The Maadi Club in Maadi and Wadi Degla in Degla.

Over the ages, and as far back as four thousand years, Egypt stood as the land where many civilizations have met. The Pharaohs together with the Greeks, Babylonians and the Romans have left their imprints here(SONY VGP-BPS22 battery). Muslims from the Arabian Peninsula, led by Amr ibn al-A'as, introduced Islam into Egypt. Khedive Mohammad Ali, with his Albanian family roots, put Egypt on the road to modernity. The cultural mixture in this city is only natural, considering its heritage. Egypt can be likened to an open museum with monuments of the different historical periods on display everywhere(SONY VGP-BPS22 battery).

Cairo Opera House

Main article: Cairo Opera House

President Mubarak inaugurated the new Cairo Opera House of the Egyptian National Cultural Centres on 10 October 1988, 17 years after the Royal Opera House had been destroyed by fire. The National Cultural Centre was built with the help of JICA, the Japan International Co-operation Agency and stands as a prominent feature for the Japanese-Egyptian co-operation and the friendship between these two nations(SONY VGP-BPS18 battery). Arigiculture is an important encinomic activity in Egypt's Nile Valley and Dela region.

Khedivial Opera House

Main article: Khedivial Opera House

Khedivial Opera House 1869

The Khedivial Opera House or Royal Opera House was the original opera house in Cairo, Egypt. It was dedicated on 1 November 1869 and burned down on 28 October 1971. After the original opera house was destroyed, Cairo was without an opera house for nearly two decades until the opening of the new Cairo Opera House in 1988(SONY VGP-BPS22/A battery).

[edit]Cairo International Film Festival

Main article: Cairo International Film Festival

Egypt's love of the arts in general can be traced back to the rich heritage bequeathed by the Pharaohs. In modern times, Egypt has enjoyed a strong cinematic tradition since the art of filmmaking was first developed, early in the 20th century. A natural progression from the active theatre scene of the time, cinema rapidly evolved into a vast motion picture industry(SONY VGP-BPS22A battery). This together with the much older music tradition, raised Egypt to become Hollywood Middle East and the cultural capital of the Arab world.

For more than 500 years of recorded history, Egypt has fascinated the West and inspired its creative talents from play writer William Shakespeare, poet and dramatist John Dryden, and novelist and poet Lawrence Durrell to film producer Cecil B. DeMille(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11S battery). Since the silent movies Hollywood has been capitalising on the box-office returns that come from combining Egyptian stories with visual effects.

Egypt has also been a fount of Arabic literature, producing some of the 20th century's greatest Arab writers such as Taha Hussein and Tawfiq al-Hakim to Nobel Laureate, novelist Naguib Mahfouz. Each of them has written for the cinema(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ15T battery).

With these credentials, it was clear that Cairo should aim to hold an international film festival. This dream came true on Monday 16 August 1976, when the first Cairo International Film Festival was launched by the Egyptian Association of Film Writers and Critics, headed by Kamal El-Mallakh. The Association ran the festival for seven years until 1983(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ15G battery).

This achievement lead to the President of the Festival again contacting the FIAPF with the request that a competition should be included at the 1991 Festival. The request was granted.

In 1998, the Festival took place under the presidency of one of Egypt's leading actors, Hussein Fahmy, who was appointed by the Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, after the death of Saad El-Din Wahba(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ4000 battery).

Four years later, the journalist and writer Cherif El-Shoubashy became president.

For 33 years The International Festival has awarded dozens of international superstars, including John Malkovich, Nicolas Cage, Morgan Freeman, Bud Spencer, Gina Lollobrigida, Ornella Muti, Sophia Loren, Claudia Cardinale, Victoria Abril, Elizabeth Taylor, Shashi Kapoor, Alain Delon, Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Susan Sarandon, Greta Scacchi, Catherine Deneuve(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ460E battery), Peter O'Toole, Charlize Theron, Julia Ormond, Mira Sorvino, Stuart Townsend, Alicia Silverstone, Priscilla Presley, Christopher Lee, Irene Papas, Marcello Mastroianni, Salma Hayek, Lucy Liu, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Berenger and Omar Sharif, as well as directors like Robert Wise, Elia Kazan, Vanessa Redgrave, Oliver Stone, Roland Joffé, Carlos Saura, Ismail Merchant and Michelangelo Antonioni(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ440N battery), in an annual celebration and examination of the state of cinema in the world today. The presidents of the Festival since it was founded in 1976 are Saad El-Din Wahba, Hussein Fahmy and Sherif El Shoubashy. This year the festival a milestone of 30 years in an annual celebration and examination of the state of cinema in the world today(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ440E battery).

Main article: Cairo Geniza

Solomon Schechter studying documents from the Cairo Geniza, c. 1895

The Cairo Geniza is an accumulation of almost 200,000 Jewish manuscripts that were found in the genizah of the Ben Ezra synagogue (built 882) of Fostat, Egypt (now Old Cairo), the Basatin cemetery east of Old Cairo, and a number of old documents that were bought in Cairo in the later 19th century. These documents were written from about 870 to as late as 1880 AD(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11L battery) and have now been archived in various American and European libraries. The Taylor-Schechter collection in the University of Cambridge runs to 140,000 manuscripts, a further 40,000 manuscripts are at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

Most residents are Sunni Muslim. Al-Azhar University is the leading authority of Sunni Islam. The number of mosques in the city is growing. Most Christians are Copts(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11Z battery). Until his death in March 2012, Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria was the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, whose residence is in Cairo. Cairo has several synagogues, but only few Jews remain after Israel was established, and persecution intensified. Tension between members of different religions has increased recently.[81]

Old buildings in Downtown Cairo. In the centre is the statue of Talaat Pasha Harb, the father of the modern Egyptian economy(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11M battery)

Cairo is also in every respect the centre of Egypt, as it has been almost since its founding in 969 AD. The majority of the nation's commerce is generated there, or passes through the city. The great majority of publishing houses and media outlets and nearly all film studios are there, as are half of the nation's hospital beds and universities. This has fueled rapid construction in the city—one building in five is less than 15 years old(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18M battery).

This astonishing growth until recently surged well ahead of city services. Homes, roads, electricity, telephone and sewer services were all suddenly in short supply. Analysts trying to grasp the magnitude of the change coined terms like "hyper-urbanization".

Main sights

For a complete list, see Visitor attractions in Cairo, list of mosques

[edit]Tahrir Square(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18 battery)

Main article: Tahrir Square

Tahrir Square was founded during the mid 19th century with the establishment of modern downtown Cairo. It was first named Ismailia Square, after the 19th-century ruler Khedive Ismail, who commissioned the new downtown district's 'Paris on the Nile' design. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1919 the square became widely known as Tahrir (Liberation) Square(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ210CE battery). Several notable buildings surround the square including, the American University in Cairo's downtown campus, the Mogamma governmental administrative Building, the headquarters of the Arab League, the Nile Ritz Carlton Hotel, and the Egyptian Museum. Being at the heart of Cairo, the square witnessed several major protests over the years. However, the most notable event in the square was being the focal point of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution against former president Hosni Mubarak(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31S battery).

Tahrir Square was not renamed after the 1919 Egyptian Revolution but was renamed after the 1952 Revolution by Nasser.

The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum, is home to the most extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities in the world. It has 136,000 items on display, with many more hundreds of thousands in its basement storerooms(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31Z battery).

[edit]Khan El-Khalili

Main article: Khan El-Khalili

Khan el-Khalili is an ancient bazaar, or marketplace. It dates back to 1382, when Emir Djaharks el-Khalili built a large caravanserai, or khan. A caravanserai is a hotel for traders, and usually the focal point for any surrounding area. The caravanserai remains today.

Main article: Old Cairo(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31E battery)

The part of Cairo that contains Coptic Cairo and Fustat, where the Coptic Museum, Babylon Fortress, Hanging Church, the Greek Church of St. George, the Ben Ezra Synagogue, the Amr ibn al-'As Mosque, etc. are located.

Main article: Cairo Tower

The Cairo Tower is a free-standing concrete TV tower in Cairo. It stands in the Zamalek district on Gezira Island in the Nile River, in the city centre. At 187 meters, it is 43 meters higher than the Great Pyramid of Giza, which stands some 15 km to the southwest(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31J battery).

Al Qahira Fatimia Mosques

Al-Azhar Mosque

Main article: Al-Azhar Mosque

Established in 972, Al-Azhar mosque was historically the site of the renowned Al-Azhar University, until the university's move in the late 20th century to a new campus in Nasr City.

Pollution

Cairo is an expanding city, which has led to many environmental problems. The air pollution in Cairo is a matter of serious concern. Greater Cairo's volatile aromatic hydrocarbon levels are higher than many other similar cities. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31M battery) Air quality measurements in Cairo have also been recording dangerous levels of lead, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and suspended particulate matter concentrations due to decades of unregulated vehicle emissions, urban industrial operations, and chaff and trash burning. There are over 4,500,000 cars on the streets of Cairo, 60% of which are over 10 years old(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31B battery), and therefore lack modern emission cutting features like catalytic converters. Cairo has a very poor dispersion factor because of lack of rain and its layout of tall buildings and narrow streets, which create a bowl effect. In recent years, a mysterious black cloud (as Egyptians refer to it) appeared over Cairo every fall and causes serious respiratory diseases and eye irritations for the city's citizens. Tourists who are not familiar with such high levels of pollution must take extra care. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ32 battery)

Cairo also has many unregistered lead and copper smelters which heavily pollute the city. The results of this has been a permanent haze over the city with particulate matter in the air reaching over three times normal levels. It is estimated that 10,000 to 25,000 people a year in Cairo die due to air pollution-related diseases. Lead has been shown to cause harm to the central nervous system and neurotoxicity particularly in children. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21 battery) In 1995, the first environmental acts were introduced and the situation has seen some improvement with 36 air monitoring stations and emissions tests on cars. 20,000 buses have also been commissioned to the city to improve congestion levels, which are very high.

The city also suffers from a high level of land pollution. Cairo produces 10,000 tons of waste material each day, 4,000 tons of which is not collected or managed(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21S battery). This once again is a huge health hazard and the Egyptian Government is looking for ways to combat this. The Cairo Cleaning and Beautification Agency was founded to collect and recycle the waste; however, they also work with the Zabbaleen (or Zabaleen), a community that has been collecting and recycling Cairo's waste since the turn of the 20th century and live in an area known locally as Manshiyat naser.[92] Both are working together to pick up as much waste as possible within the city limits, though it remains a pressing problem(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21M battery).

The city also suffers from water pollution as the sewer system tends to fail and overflow. On occasion, sewage has escaped onto the streets to create a health hazard. This problem is hoped to be solved by a new sewer system funded by the European Union, which could cope with the demand of the city. The dangerously high levels of mercury in the city's water system has global health officials concerned over related health risks(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ38M battery). There is also more concern about environmental issues among Egyptians than before. There is now general awareness and some projects are laid down to help make the public aware of the importance of a clean environment.

Mogadishu ( /ˌmɒɡəˈdɪʃuː/; Somali: Muqdisho; Arabic: مقديشو‎ Maqadīshū; literally "The Seat of the Shah"), popularly known as Xamar,[1] is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries(Sony VGN-NR11S/S Battery).

Tradition and old records assert that southern Somalia, including the Mogadishu area, was historically inhabited by hunter-gatherers of Bushman physical stock. These were later joined by Cushitic agro-pastoralists, who would go on to establish local aristocracies.[4][5] Starting in the late 9th or 10th centuries, Arab and Persian traders also began to settle in the region. (Sony VGN-NR11M/S Battery)

During its medieval Golden Age, Mogadishu was ruled by the Somali-Arab Muzaffar dynasty, a vassal of the Ajuuraan State.[7] It subsequently fell under the control of an assortment of local Sultanates and polities, most notably the Gobroon Dynasty.[8] The city later became the capital of Italian Somaliland in the colonial period(Sony VGN-NR260E/S Battery).

After the ousting of the Siad Barre regime and the ensuing civil war, various militias fought for control of the city, later to be replaced by the Islamic Courts Union. The ICU subsequently splintered into more radical groups, notably Al Shabaab, which have since been fighting the Transitional Federal Government and its AMISOM allies. With a change in administration in late 2010(Sony VGN-NR11Z/S Battery), federal control of Mogadishu steadily expanded. The pace of territorial gains also greatly accelerated, as more trained government and AMISOM troops entered the city. In early August 2011, government troops and their AMISOM partners had reportedly succeeded in forcing out Al-Shabaab from the parts of the city that the group had previously controlled.[9] Mogadishu has subsequently experienced a period of intense reconstruction(Sony VGN-NR11Z/T Battery).

The name Mogadishu is held to be derived from the Persian مقعد شاه Maq'ad-i-Shah ("The seat of the Shah"), a reflection of the city's early Persian influence.[11]

Main article: History of Mogadishu

Engraving of the 13th century Fakr ad-Din Mosque built by Fakr ad-Din, the first Sultan of the Sultanate of Mogadishu.

Tradition and old records assert that southern Somalia, including the Mogadishu area, was inhabited in early historic times by hunter-gatherers of Bushman stock(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21E battery). Although most of these early inhabitants are believed to have been either overwhelmed, driven away or, in some cases, assimilated by later migrants to the area, physical traces of their occupation survive in certain ethnic minority groups inhabiting modern-day Jubaland and other parts of the south. The latter descendants include relict populations such as the Eile, the Wa-Ribi, and especially the Wa-Boni(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21Z battery). By the time of the arrival of peoples from the Cushitic Rahanweyn or Digil and Mirifle clan confederacy, who would go on to establish a local aristocracy, other Cushitic groups affiliated with the Oromo (Wardai) and Ajuuraan (Ma'adanle) had already formed settlements of their own in the sub-region(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21J battery).

According to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a Greek travel document dating from the turn of the Common Era, maritime trade already connected peoples in the Mogadishu area with other communities along the Indian Ocean coast.

Flag of the Ajuuraan State, a Somali empire of which medieval Mogadishu was an important vassal(Sony VAIO VGN-FW11 battery).

The Sultanate of Mogadishu later developed with the immigration of Emozeidi Arabs, a community whose earliest presence dates back to the 9th or 10th century.[6] This evolved into the Muzaffar dynasty, a joint Somali-Arab federation of rulers, and Mogadishu became closely linked with the powerful Somali Ajuuraan State. (Sony VAIO VGN-FW11M battery)

Following his visit to the city, the 12th century Syrian historian Yaqut al-Hamawi wrote that it was inhabited by dark-skinned Berbers, the ancestors of the modern Somalis.[12][13]

For many years, Mogadishu stood as the pre-eminent city in the بلاد البربر Bilad-ul-Barbar ("Land of the Berbers"), which was the medieval Arabic term for the Horn of Africa.

By the time of the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta's appearance on the Somali coast in 1331, the city was at the zenith of its prosperity(Sony VAIO VGN-FW11S battery). He described Mogadishu as "an exceedingly large city" with many rich merchants, which was famous for its high quality fabric that it exported to Egypt, among other places.[17][18] He added that the city was ruled by a Somali Sultan originally from Berbera in northern Somalia who spoke both Somali (referred to by Battuta as Mogadishan, the Benadir dialect of Somali) and Arabic with equal fluency.[19][20] The Sultan also had a retinue of wazirs (ministers) (Sony VAIO VGN-FW21E battery), legal experts, commanders, royal eunuchs, and other officials at his beck and call.[19]

The Portuguese would later attempt to occupy the city, but never managed to take it. The Hawiye Somali, however, were successful in defeating the Ajuuraan State and bringing about the end of Muzaffar rule.[7]

1800s–1950s

Downtown Mogadishu in 1936. Arba Rucun mosque to the centre right(Sony VAIO VGN-FW21J battery).

By 1892, Mogadishu was under the joint control of the Somali Geledi Sultanate (which, also holding sway over the Shebelle region in the interior, was at the height of its power) and the Arab Sultan of Zanzibar.[8]

In 1892, Ali bin Said leased the city to Italy. Italy purchased the city in 1905 and made Mogadishu the capital of the newly established Italian Somaliland. After World War I, the surrounding territory came under Italian control with some resistance(Sony VAIO VGN-FW21L battery).

Thousands of Italian colonists moved to live in Mogadishu and founded small manufacturing companies. They also developed some agricultural areas around the capital such as the Villaggio duca degli Abruzzi and the Genale.[21]

In the 1930s, new buildings and avenues were built. A 114 km narrow-gauge railway was laid from Mogadishu to Jowhar, then called "Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi". An asphalted road, the Strada Imperiale, was also constructed, intended to link Mogadishu to Addis Ababa(Sony VAIO VGN-FW41M battery).

Mogadishu would remain the capital of Italian Somaliland throughout its existence.

An avenue in Mogadishu in 1963.

British Somaliland became independent on 26 June 1960 as the State of Somaliland, and the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somaliland) followed suit five days later.[22] On July 1, 1960, the two territories united to form the Somali Republic, with Mogadishu serving as the nation's capital(Sony VAIO VGN-FW41M/H battery). A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa and other members of the trusteeship and protectorate governments, with Haji Bashir Ismail Yusuf as President of the Somali National Assembly, Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as President of the Somali Republic and Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as Prime Minister (later to become President from 1967–1969). On 20 July 1961 and through a popular referendum, the people of Somalia ratified a new constitution, which was first drafted in 1960. (Sony VAIO VGN-FW21M battery) In 1967, Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal became Prime Minister, a position to which he was appointed by Shermarke.

On 15 October 1969, while paying a visit to the northern town of Las Anod, Somalia's then President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was shot dead by one of his own bodyguards. His assassination was quickly followed by a military coup d'état on 21 October 1969 (the day after his funeral), in which the Somali Army seized power without encountering armed opposition(Sony VAIO VGN-FW21Z battery) — essentially a bloodless takeover. The putsch was spearheaded by Major General Mohamed Siad Barre, who at the time commanded the army.[24]

Metropolitan Mogadishu in the 1980s.

Alongside Barre, the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) that assumed power after President Sharmarke's assassination was led by Lieutenant Colonel Salaad Gabeyre Kediye and Chief of Police Jama Korshel. Kediye officially held the title of "Father of the Revolution," and Barre shortly afterwards became the head of the SRC. (Sony VAIO VGN-FW32J battery) The SRC subsequently renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic,[26][27] arrested members of the former civilian government, banned political parties,[28] dissolved the parliament and the Supreme Court, and suspended the constitution.[29]

The revolutionary army established various large-scale public works programs, including the Mogadishu Stadium. In addition to a nationalization program of industry and land(Sony VAIO VGN-FW17W battery), the Mogadishu-based new regime's foreign policy placed an emphasis on Somalia's traditional and religious links with the Arab world, eventually joining the Arab League (AL) in 1974.[30]

After fallout from the unsuccessful Ogaden campaign of the late 1970s, the Barre administration began arresting government and military officials under suspicion of participation in the abortive 1978 coup d'état(Sony VAIO VGN-FW31E battery). Most of the people who had allegedly helped plot the putsch were summarily executed.[33] However, several officials managed to escape abroad and started to form the first of various dissident groups dedicated to ousting Barre's regime by force.[34]

Main article: Somali Civil War

By the late 1980s, the moral authority of Barre's regime had collapsed. The authorities became increasingly totalitarian, and resistance movements, encouraged by Ethiopia's communist Derg administration, sprang up across the country(Sony VAIO VGN-FW139E battery). This eventually led in 1991 to the outbreak of the civil war, the toppling of Barre's government, and the disbandment of the Somali National Army (SNA). Many of the opposition groups subsequently began competing for influence in the power vacuum that followed the ouster of Barre's regime. Armed factions led by USC commanders General Mohamed Farah Aidid (Sony VAIO VGN-FW139E/H battery)and Ali Mahdi Mohamed, in particular, clashed as each sought to exert authority over the capital.[35]

A residential area of Mogadishu, with a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter in the foreground (1992).

UN Security Council Resolution 733 and UN Security Council Resolution 746 led to the creation of UNOSOM I, the first stabilization mission in Somalia after the dissolution of the central government. United Nations Security Council Resolution 794(Sony VAIO VGN-FW31M battery) was unanimously passed on December 3, 1992, which approved a coalition of United Nations peacekeepers led by the United States. Forming the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the alliance was tasked with assuring security until humanitarian efforts were transferred to the UN. Landing in 1993, the UN peacekeeping coalition started the two-year United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II) primarily in the south. (Sony VAIO VGN-FW31J battery)

Some of the militias that were then competing for power interpreted the UN troops' presence as a threat to their hegemony. Consequently, several gun battles took place in Mogadishu between local gunmen and peacekeepers. Among these was the Battle of Mogadishu of 1993, an unsuccessful attempt by US troops to apprehend faction leader Aidid. The UN soldiers eventually withdrew altogether from the country on March 3, 1995(Sony VAIO VGN-FW31Z battery), having incurred more significant casualties.

In 2006, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), an Islamist organization, assumed control of much of the southern part of the country and promptly imposed Shari'a law. The new Transitional Federal Government (TFG), established two years earlier, sought to re-establish its authority. With the assistance of Ethiopian troops, AMISOM peacekeepers and air support by the United States(Sony VGN-NR11Z Battery), it managed to drive out the rival ICU and solidify its rule.[37] On 8 January 2007, as the Battle of Ras Kamboni raged, TFG President and founder Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, a former colonel in the Somali Army, entered Mogadishu for the first time since being elected to office. The government then relocated to Villa Somalia in Mogadishu from its interim location in Baidoa, marking the first time since the fall of the Barre regime in 1991 that the federal government controlled most of the country. (Sony VGN-NR11S Battery)

Former Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmajo), head of the technocratic administration credited with having started the city's pacification, a process completed by his successor Abdiweli Mohamed Ali.

Following this defeat, the Islamic Courts Union splintered into several different factions. Some of the more radical elements, including Al-Shabaab, regrouped to continue their insurgency against the TFG and oppose the Ethiopian military's presence in Somalia(Sony VGN-NR110E Battery). Throughout 2007 and 2008, Al-Shabaab scored military victories, seizing control of key towns and ports in both central and southern Somalia. At the end of 2008, the group had captured Baidoa but not Mogadishu. By January 2009, Al-Shabaab and other militias had managed to force the Ethiopian troops to retreat, leaving behind an under-equipped African Union peacekeeping force to assist the Transitional Federal Government's troops. (Sony VGN-NR110E/T Battery)

Between May 31 and June 9, 2008, representatives of Somalia's federal government and the moderate Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) group of Islamist rebels participated in peace talks in Djibouti brokered by the UN. The conference ended with a signed agreement calling for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops in exchange for the cessation of armed confrontation(Sony VGN-NR110E/S Battery). Parliament was subsequently expanded to 550 seats to accommodate ARS members, which then elected a new president.[40] With the help of a small team of African Union troops, the coalition government also began a counteroffensive in February 2009 to retake control of the southern half of the country. To solidify its control of southern Somalia, the TFG formed an alliance with the Islamic Courts Union, other members of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia, and Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a, a moderate Sufi militia. (Sony VGN-CR11Z Battery)

In November 2010, a new technocratic government was elected to office, which enacted numerous reforms, especially in the security sector.[42] By August 2011, the new administration and its AMISOM allies had managed to capture all of Mogadishu from the Al-Shabaab militants.[9] Mogadishu has subsequently experienced a period of intense reconstruction spearheaded by the Somali diaspora, the municipal authorities and Turkey, an historic ally of Somalia. (Sony VGN-CR11S Battery)

Mogadishu is a multi-ethnic city. Its original core population consisted of Bushmen aboriginals, and later Cushitic, Arab and Persian migrants.[5][6] During the Arab slave trade, many Bantu peoples were brought in for agricultural work from the market in Zanzibar. The mixture of these various groups produced the Benadiri or Reer Xamar (“People of Mogadishu”) (Sony VGN-CR11M Battery), a composite population unique to the larger Benadir region.[44] In the colonial period, European expatriates, primarily Italians, would also contribute to the city's cosmopolitan populace.

The main area of inhabitation of Bantu ethnic minorities in Somalia has historically been in village enclaves in the south; particularly between the Jubba and Shebelle river valleys as well as the Bakool and Bay regions. Beginning in the 1970s, more Bantus began moving to urban centers such as Mogadishu and Kismayo. (Sony VGN-CR11E Battery) By the late 1980s, over 40 percent of Mogadishu's population consisted of individuals from ethnic minority groups.[46] The displacement caused by the onset of the civil war in the 1990s further increased the number of rural minorities migrating to urban areas. As a consequence of these movements, Mogadishu's traditional demographic makeup has changed significantly over the years. (Sony VGN-CR21E Battery)

Mogadishu as seen from the International Space Station

Mogadishu is located at 2°4′N 45°22′E. The Shebelle River (Webiga Shabelle) rises in central Ethiopia and comes within 30 kilometers (19 mi) of the Indian Ocean near Mogadishu before turning southwestward. Usually dry during February and March, the river provides water essential for the cultivation of sugarcane, cotton, and bananas(Sony VGN-CR21S Battery).

Features of the city include the Hamarwein old town, the Bakaara Market, and the former resort of Gezira Beach. The sandy beaches of Mogadishu are reported by the few Western travelers to be among the most beautiful in the world, offering easy access to vibrant coral reefs.[47]

Administrative divisions

Location of the Banaadir administrative region (red).

Mogadishu is situated in Banaadir, an administrative region (gobolka) in southeastern Somalia.[48] The region itself is coextensive with the city and is much smaller than the historical province of Benadir(Sony VGN-CR21Z Battery).

Mogadishu is thus officially divided into the following administrative districts:

For a city situated so near the equator, Mogadishu has a dry climate. It is classified as hot and semi-arid (Köppen climate classification BSh). Much of the land the city lies upon is desert terrain. The city has a low annual rainfall of 427 millimetres (16.8 in), most which falls in the wet season. The rains are very variable from year to year, and drought is a constant problem for the people living in Somalia(Sony VGN-CR31S Battery).

Sunshine is abundant in the city, averaging eight to ten hours a day year-round. It is lowest during the wet season, when there is some coastal fog and greater cloud coverage as warm air passes over the cool sea surface.

A Coca-Cola bottling plant in Mogadishu.

Mogadishu traditionally served as a commercial and financial center. Before the introduction of mass-produced cloth from Europe and America(Sony VGN-CR31E Battery), the textiles of Mogadishu were forwarded far and wide throughout the interior of the continent, as well as to Arabia and even as far as the Persian coast.[52]

The economy has recovered somewhat from the civil unrest, faring relatively better than other Somali cities,[53] although the Somali Civil War still presents many problems. Hotels and other businesses have hired private security militias to provide protection and ensure the normal course of business. (Sony VGN-CR31Z Battery)

Principal industries include food and beverage processing and textiles, especially cotton ginning. The main market offers goods from food to electronic gadgets.

Hormuud Telecom, the largest telecommunications company in southern and central Somalia, has its headquarters in Mogadishu. Telcom is another telecommunications service provider based in the city(Sony VGN-CR41Z Battery).

Jubba Airways has its head office in Mogadishu.[54]

Roads leading out of Mogadishu connect the city to other localities in Somalia and to Ethiopia and Kenya. The city itself is cut into a several grid layouts by an extensive road network. Due to neglect brought on by the protracted civil war, there are few paved roads, but numerous unpaved and back streets throughout the city. (Sony VGN-CR41S Battery) The roads support the flow of both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. With the ouster of the Al-Shabaab rebels from the city in mid 2011, large-scale rehabilitation of roads and general infrastructure has begun.[56]

A Somali Airlines Boeing 707-338C in flight (1984). The Mogadishu-based national carrier is set to be relaunched.

During the post-independence period, Mogadishu International Airport offered flights to numerous global destinations. (Sony VGN-CR41E Battery)In the mid-1960s, the airport was enlarged to accommodate more international carriers, with the state-owned Somali Airlines providing regular trips to all major cities.[58] By 1969, the airport's many landing grounds could also host small jets and DC 6B-type aircraft.[57]

The facility grew considerably in size in the post-independence period after numerous successive renovation projects. With the outbreak of the civil war in the early 1990s(Sony VGN-CR42Z Battery), Mogadishu International Airport's flight services experienced routine disruptions and its grounds and equipment were largely destroyed. In the late 2000s, the K50 Airport, situated 50 kilometers south of the capital, served as the capital's main airport while Mogadishu International Airport, now renamed Aden Adde International Airport, briefly shut down.[59] However, in the late 2010 period, the security situation in Mogadishu had significantly improved, with the federal government eventually managing to assume full control of the city by August of the following year. (Sony VGN-CR42S Battery)

In late 2010, SKA Air and Logistics, a Dubai-based aviation firm that specializes in conflict zones, was contracted by Somalia's Transitional Federal Government to manage operations over a period of ten years at the re-opened Aden Adde International Airport. With concurrent activities in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other complex areas, the company is expected to run security screening, passenger security and terminals(Sony VGN-CR42E Battery). SKA staff has also begun re-training Somalian airport personnel for the purpose. Although flights and other airport operations are presently limited to daylight hours, the firm is working on expanding activities once runway lighting and other features have been restored.[60]

The Port of Mogadishu serves as a major national seaport.

As of 2012, the largest services using Aden Adde International Airport include the Somali-owned private carriers Jubba Airways and Daallo Airlines, in addition to UN charter planes(Sony Vaio VGN-CR11S/L Battery), African Express Airways,[60] and Turkish Airlines.[61] The airport also offers flights to other Somalian cities such as Galkacyo, Berbera and Hargeisa, as well as international destinations like Djibouti, Jeddah,[62] and Istanbul.[61] In December 2011, the Turkish government unveiled plans to modernize the airport as part of Turkey's broader engagement in the local post-conflict reconstruction process(Sony Vaio VGN-CR11S/P Battery). Among the scheduled renovations are new systems and infrastructure, including a modern control tower to monitor the airspace.[61] In July 2012, Mohammed Osman Ali (Dhagah-tur), the General Director of the Ministry of Aviation and Transport, also announced that the Somali government had begun preparations to revive the Mogadishu-based national carrier, Somali Airlines. (Sony Vaio VGN-CR11S/W Battery)

Mogadishu leads Somalia in port traffic and still serves as a major seaport. While daily shipments bring in vehicles, foodstuffs and electronic goods, among other items, the port's monthly tax revenue never exceeded $900,000 due to kickbacks. In 2010, a new government was appointed to office, which then re-shuffled the port authority's staff. Monthly revenue from the city's port subsequently rose to a record $2.5 million. (Sony Vaio VGN-CR11Z/R Battery)

There were projects during the 1980s to reactivate the 114 km railway between Mogadishu and Jowhar, built by the Italians in 1926 but dismantled in World War II by British troops. The Mogadishu-Villabruzzi Railway was planned in 1939 to reach Addis Ababa.

The Federal Government of Somalia has its seat in Mogadishu, the nation's capital.

Main article: Federal Government of Somalia(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13/B Battery)

The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was the internationally recognized central government of Somalia between 2004 and 2012. Based in Mogadishu, it constituted the executive branch of government.

The Federal Government of Somalia was established on August 20, 2012, concurrent with the end of the TFG's interim mandate.[65] It represents the first permanent central government in the country since the start of the civil war. (Sony Vaio VGN-CR13/L Battery) The Federal Parliament of Somalia serves as the government's legislative branch.[66]

Mogadishu's municipal government is currently led by Mayor Mohamed Nur, a former Labour Party member and business advisor to Islington Council in London. Since taking office in 2010, Nur's administration has enacted a number of reforms in a bid to improve the city's security and service delivery, including starting a garbage collection program(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13/P Battery), erecting proper streetlights and providing around-the-clock electricity, sacking corrupt public officials, and offering formal police protection. The municipal government has also firmed up on traffic safety, fining motorists who drive without lights, in the wrong street lanes or carrying excessive loads.[67]

The Hamar Jajab School in Mogadishu

Despite the civil unrest, Mogadishu counts several institutions of higher learning(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13/R Battery). Mogadishu University (MU) is a non-governmental university that is governed by a Board of Trustees and a University Council. It is the brainchild of a number of professors from the Somali National University as well as other Somali intellectuals who sought to find ways to provide post-secondary education in the wake of the civil war. Financed by the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13/W Battery), Saudi Arabia, as well as other donor institutions, the university counts hundreds of young Somali graduates from its seven faculties, some of whom continue on to pursue Master's degrees abroad thanks to a scholarship program. Mogadishu University has established partnerships with several other academic institutions, including the University of Aalborg in Denmark(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13G Battery), three universities in Egypt, seven universities in Sudan, the University of Djibouti, and two universities in Yemen. It has also been scored among the 100 best universities in Africa in spite of the harsh environment, which has been hailed as a triumph for grass-roots initiatives.[68]

New Mogadishu University campus

The Somali National University, founded in 1954 during the "Italian Trust Administration of Somalia" (AFIS), has been closed indefinitely due to extensive damage(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13G/B Battery).

Benadir University (BU) was established in 2002 with the intention of training doctors. It has since expanded into other fields.

Due to human capital shortage in the country's private sector management, the Somali Institute of Management and Administration Development (SIMAD) has given priority to the fields of business administration, information technology and accountancy(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13G/L Battery).

Mogadishu has long been a center of media. The first forms of public film display in the city and Somalia at large were newsreels of key events during the early colonial period. These pioneering works were followed by military-themed productions. After independence in 1960, a growing number of privately-owned production and distribution companies as well as actual projection theaters sprang up(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13G/W Battery). The first few feature-length Somali films and cinematic festivals also emerged during this period.[69] After the 1969 coup, the production, distribution and importation of films in the country were nationalized by the newly-established Supreme Revolutionary Council.[69][70] Privately-owned movie theaters were subsequently replaced with government-controlled film houses,[69] and about 500 films were projected annually.[70] In 1975, the Somali Film Agency (SFA) (Sony Vaio VGN-CR13G/P Battery), the nation's film regulatory body, was established in Mogadishu.[71] The SFA also organized the annual Mogadishu Pan-African and Arab Film Symposium (Mogpaafis), which brought together an array of prominent filmmakers and movie experts from across the globe, including other parts of Northeast Africa and the Arab world, as well as Asia and Europe.

In addition, there are a number of radio news agencies based in Mogadishu. Established during the colonial period(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13G/R Battery), Radio Mogadishu initially broadcasted news items in both Somali and Italian.[72] The station was modernized with Russian assistance following independence in 1960, and began offering home service in Somali, Amharic and Oromo.[73] After closing down operations in the early 1990s due to the civil war, the station was officially re-opened in the early 2000s by the Transitional National Government. (Sony Vaio VGN-CR13T/L Battery)In the late 2000s, Radio Mogadishu also launched a complementary website of the same name, with news items in Somali, Arabic and English.[75] Other radio stations in the city include HornAfrik and the Shabelle Media Network, the latter of which was in 2010 awarded the Media of the Year prize by the Paris-based journalism organisation, Reporters Without Borders (RSF). (Sony Vaio VGN-CR13T/P Battery)

The Mogadishu-based Somali National Television is the principal national public service broadcaster. On March 18th, 2011, the Ministry of Information of the Transitional Federal Government began experimental broadcasts of the new TV channel. After a 20 year hiatus, the station was shortly thereafter officially re-launched on April 4th, 2011.[77] SNTV broadcasts 24 hours a day, and can be viewed both within Somalia and abroad via terrestrial and satellite platforms. (Sony Vaio VGN-CR13T/R Battery)

The city is home to Mogadishu Stadium, which plays host to the Somalia Cup and to football teams from the Somalia League. The New Somali Youth League grassroots organization based in Mogadishu has also started the Swap Gun for Job and Sports Campaign aimed at discouraging youngsters in the city from engaging in vice by offering them employment opportunities and sporting activities. (Sony Vaio VGN-CR13T/W Battery)

Somali popular music enjoys a large audience in Mogadishu, and was widely sold prior to the civil war.[80] With the government managing to secure the city in mid-2011, radios once again play music. On March 19, 2012, an open concert was also held in the city, which was broadcast live on local television. (Sony Vaio VGN-CR150E/B Battery)

Cape Verde, officially the Republic of Cape Verde, is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres (350 miles) off the coast of Western Africa. The islands, covering a combined area of slightly over 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), are of volcanic origin and while three of themsony vgp-bps2 battery (Sal, Boa Vista and Maio) are fairly flat, sandy and dry, the remaining ones are generally rockier and have more vegetation. However, because of infrequent rainfall, the islands are not particularly green.

The name of the country stems from the nearby Cap Vert, on the Senegalese coast,[5] which in its turn was originally named "Cabo Verde" when it was sighted by Portuguese explorers in 1444, a few years before the islands were discovered (verde is Portuguese for "green")sony vgp-bps3 battery.

The previously uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th Century, and became important in the Atlantic slave trade for their location. The islands' prosperity often attracted privateers and pirates, including Sir Francis Drake, a corsair (privateer) under the authority of the British crown, who twice sacked the (then) capital Ribeira Grandesony vgp-bps4 battery, in the 1580s. The islands were also visited by Charles Darwin's expedition in 1832. The decline in the slave trade in the 19th century resulted in an economic crisis for the islands. With few natural resources, and without strong sustainable investment from the Portuguese, the citizens grew increasingly discontent with the colonial masters, who nevertheless refused to provide the local authorities with more autonomysony vgp-bps5 battery. A budding independence movement culminated in 1975, when a movement originally led by Amílcar Cabral (who was assassinated on 20 January 1973) then passed onto his half-brother Luís Cabral, achieved independence for the archipelago.

The country has an estimated population (most of creole ethnicity) of about 500,000, with its capital city Praia accounting for a quarter of its citizens. Nearly 38% of the population lives in rural areas according to the 2010 Cape Verdean censussony vgp-bps7 battery; about 10.6% lives below the poverty threshold, according to the world bank data |2011|, and the literacy rate is around 85%. Politically, the country is a very stable democracy, with notable economic growth and improvements of living conditions despite its lack of natural resources, and has garnered international recognition by other countries and international organizations, which often provide development aid. Since 2007, Cape Verde has been classified as a developing nationsony vgp-bpl7 battery.

Tough economic times during the last decades of its colonization and the first years of Cape Verde's independence led many to migrate to Europe, the Americas and other African countries. This migration was so significant that the number of Cape Verdeans and their descendants living abroad currently exceeds the population of Cape Verde itselfsony vgp-bps8 battery. Historically, the influx of remittances from these immigrant communities to their families has provided a substantial contribution to help strengthen the country's economy. Currently, the Cape Verdean economy is mostly service-oriented with a growing focus on tourism and foreign investment, which benefits from the islands' warm climate throughout the year, diverse landscape, welcoming people[citation needed] and cultural wealth, especially in musicsony vgp-bps8a battery.

Before the arrival of Europeans, the Cape Verde Islands were uninhabited. The islands of the Cape Verde archipelago were discovered by Italian and Portuguese navigators around 1456. According to Portuguese official records [6] the first discoveries were made by Genoese born Antonio de Noli, who was afterwards appointed governor of Cape Verde by Portuguese King Afonso V. sony vgp-bps8b battery Other navigators mentioned as contributing with discoveries in the Cape Verde archipelago are Diogo Gomes, Diogo Dias, Diogo Afonso and the Italian Alvise Cadamosto.

In 1462, Portuguese settlers arrived at Santiago and founded a settlement they called Ribeira Grande (now called Cidade Velha, to avoid being confused with the town of Ribeira Grande on the Santo Antão island) sony vgp-bpl8 battery. Ribeira Grande was the first permanent European settlement in the tropics.[7]

In the 16th century, the archipelago prospered from the transatlantic slave trade.[7] Pirates occasionally attacked the Portuguese settlements. Sir Francis Drake, a British corsair, sacked Ribeira Grande in 1585.[7] After a French attack in 1712, the town declined in importance relative to nearby Praia, which became the capital in 1770. sony vgp-bps9 battery

With the decline in the slave trade, Cape Verde's early prosperity slowly vanished. However, the islands' position astride mid-Atlantic shipping lanes made Cape Verde an ideal location for re-supplying ships. Because of its excellent harbour, Mindelo (on the island of São Vicente) became an important commercial centre during the 19th century. sony vgp-bps9/s battery

In 1951, Portugal changed Cape Verde's status from a colony to an overseas province in an attempt to blunt growing nationalism. In 1956, Amilcar Cabral, and a group of fellow Cape Verdeans and Guineans organised (in Portuguese Guinea) the clandestine African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), which demanded improvement in economicsony vgp-bps9a/s battery, social and political conditions in Cape Verde and Portuguese Guinea and formed the basis of the two nations' independence movement. Moving its headquarters to Conakry, Guinea in 1960, the PAIGC began an armed rebellion against Portugal in 1961. Acts of sabotage eventually grew into a war in Portuguese Guinea that pitted 10,000 Soviet bloc-supported PAIGC soldiers against 35,000 Portuguese and African troops. sony vgp-bps9/b battery

By 1972, the PAIGC controlled much of Portuguese Guinea despite the presence of the Portuguese troops, but the organization did not attempt to disrupt Portuguese control in Cape Verde. Portuguese Guinea declared independence in 1973 and was granted de jure independence in 1974. Following the April 1974 revolution in Portugalsony vgp-bps9a/b battery, the PAIGC became an active political movement in Cape Verde. In December 1974, the PAIGC and Portugal signed an agreement providing for a transitional government composed of Portuguese and Cape Verdeans. On June 30, 1975, Cape Verdeans elected a National Assembly which received the instruments of independence from Portugal on July 5, 1975.[7] In the late 1970s and 1980ssony vgp-bps9a battery, most African countries prohibted South African Airways from overflights but Cape Verde allowed them and became a center of activity for the airline's flights to Europe and the United States.

Immediately following the November 1980 coup in Guinea-Bissau, relations between Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau became strained. Cape Verde abandoned its hope for unity with Guinea-Bissau and formed the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) sony vgp-bps9b battery. Problems have since been resolved and relations between the countries are good. The PAICV and its predecessor established a one-party system and ruled Cape Verde from independence until 1990.[7]

Responding to growing pressure for pluralistic democracy, the PAICV called an emergency congress in February 1990 to discuss proposed constitutional changes to end one-party rule. Opposition groups came together to form the Movement for Democracy (MPD) sony vgp-bpl9 battery in Praia in April 1990. Together, they campaigned for the right to contest the presidential election scheduled for December 1990.

The one-party state was abolished September 28, 1990, and the first multi-party elections were held in January 1991. The MPD won a majority of the seats in the National Assembly, and MPD presidential candidate António Mascarenhas Monteiro defeated the PAICV's candidate with 73.5% of the votessony vgp-bps10 battery. Legislative elections in December 1995 increased the MPD majority in the National Assembly. The party won 50 of the National Assembly's 72 seats.

A February 1996 presidential election returned President Monteiro to office. Legislative elections in January 2001 returned power to the PAICV, with the PAICV holding 40 of the National Assembly seats, MPD 30, and Party for Democratic Convergence (PCD) Sony VGP-BPS12 Battery and Party for Labor and Solidarity (PTS) 1 each. In February 2001, the PAICV-supported presidential candidate Pedro Pires defeated former MPD leader Carlos Veiga by only 13 votes.[7]

[edit]Geography

The Cape Verde archipelago is located in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 570 kilometres (350 mi) off the coast of West Africa, near Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania, and is part of the Macaronesia ecoregion. It lies between latitudes 14° and 18°N, and longitudes 22° and 26°WSony VGP-BPL12 Battery.

The country is a horseshoe-shaped cluster of ten islands (nine inhabited) and eight islets,[9] that constitute an area of 4033 km².[9]

The islands are spatially divided into two groups:

The Ilhas de Barlavento (English:  windward islands): Santo Antão, São Vicente, Santa Luzia, São Nicolau, Sal, Boa Vista;[9] and

The Ilhas de Sotavento (English:  leeward islands): Maio, Santiago, Fogo, Brava.[9]

The largest island, both in size and population, is Santiago, which hosts the nation's capital, Praia, the principal agglomeration in the archipelago. Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery

[edit]Physical geography

Magnetic anomalies identified in the vicinity of the archipelago indicate that the structures forming the islands date back 125-150 million years: the islands themselves date from 8 million (in the west) to 20 million years (in the east).[10] The oldest exposed rocks occurred on Maio and northern peninsula of Santiago and are 128-131 million year old pillow lavasSony VGP-BPS13B/Q battery. The first stage of volcanism in the islands began in the early Miocene, and reached its peak at the end of this period, when the islands reached their maximum sizes. Historical volcanism (within human settlement) has been restricted to the island of Fogo.

The origin of the islands' volcanism has been attributed to a hotspot, associated with bathymetric swell that formed the Cape Verde Rise. Sony VGP-BPS13/Q batteryThe Rise is one of the largest protuberances in the world's oceans, rising 2.2 kilometers in a semi-circular region of 1200 km², associated with a rise of the geoid and elevated surface heat flow.[10]

Though Cape Verde's islands are all volcanic in origin, they vary widely in terrain.[9]

Most recently erupting in 1995, Pico do Fogo is the largest active volcano in the region. It has a 8 km (5 mi) diameter calderaSony VGP-BPS13A/B battery, whose rim is 1,600 m (5,249 ft) altitude and an interior cone that rises to 2,829 m (9,281 ft) above sea level. The caldera resulted from subsidence, following the partial evacuation (eruption) of the magma chamber, along a cylindrical column from within magma chamber (at a depth of 8 km (5 mi)).

Geologically, the islands are principally composed of igneous rocks, with volcanic structures and pyroclastic debris comprising the majority of the archipelago's total volumeSony VGP-BPS13/S battery. The volcanic and plutonic rocks are distinctly basic; the archipelago is a soda-alkaline petrographic province, with a petrologic succession which is similar to that found in other Macaronesian islands.

Extensive salt flats are found on Sal and Maio.[9] On Santiago, Santo Antão, and São Nicolau, arid slopes give way in places to sugarcane fields or banana plantations spread along the base of towering mountains. Sony VGP-BPS13/B battery

Ocean cliffs have been formed by catastrophic debris avalanches.[12]

According to the president of Nauru, Cape Verde has been ranked the eighth most endangered nation due to flooding from climate change.[13]

Main article: Climate of Cape Verde

Cape Verde's climate is milder than that of the African mainland because the surrounding sea moderates temperatures on the islands.[9] Average daily high temperatures range from 23 °C (73 °F) in January to 29 °C (84.2 °F) in September.Sony VGP-BPS13B/S battery Cape Verde is part of the Sahelian arid belt, with nothing like the rainfall levels of nearby West Africa.[9] It does rain irregularly between August and October, with frequent brief-but-heavy downpours.[9] A desert is usually defined as terrain which receives less than 250 mm (9.8 in) of annual rainfall. Cape Verde's total (265 mm/10.4 in) is slightly above this criterion, which makes the area climate semi-desertSony VGP-BPS13A battery.

The islands, covering a combined area of slightly over 4,033 square kilometres (1,557 sq mi), are of volcanic origin and while three of them (Sal, Boa Vista and Maio) are fairly flat, sandy and dry, the remaining ones are generally rockier and have more vegetation. However, because of the infrequent occurrence of rainfall the overall landscape is not particularly greenSony VGP-BPS13A/S battery. The archipelago can be divided into four broad ecological zones: arid, semiarid, subhumid and humid, according to altitude and average annual rainfall ranging from 200 mm in the arid areas of the coast to more than 1000 mm in the humid mountain. Mostly rainfall precipitation is due to condensation of the ocean mistSony VGP-BPS13S battery.

In some islands, as Santiago, the wetter climate of the interior and the eastern coast contrasts with the dryer one in the south/southwest coast. Praia, located on the southeast coast, is the largest city of the island, and also the largest city and capital of the country.

Because of their proximity to the Sahara, most of the Cape Verde islands are dry, but on islands with high mountains and farther away from the coast, by orographySony VGP-BPS13A/Q battery, the humidity is much higher, providing a rainforest habitat, although much affected by the human presence. Northeastern slopes of high mountains often receive a lot of rain while southwest slopes do not. This umbria areas are identified with cool and moisture. Some islands, with steep mountains, are covered with vegetation where the dense ocean moisture condenses and soaks the plants, rocks, soil, logs, moss etcSony VGP-BPS13A/R battery.

Hurricanes that form near the Cape Verde Islands are sometimes referred to as Cape Verde-type hurricanes. These hurricanes can become very intense as they cross warm Atlantic waters.

Cape Verde's isolation has resulted in the islands having a number of endemic species, particularly bird and reptiles, many of which are endangered by human development. Endemic birds include Alexander's Swift (Apus alexandri) Sony VGP-BPS13B battery, Bourne's Heron (Ardea purpurea bournei), the Raso Lark (Alauda razae), the Cape Verde Warbler (Acrocephalus brevipennis), and the Iago Sparrow (Passer iagoensis).[14] The islands are also an important breeding area for seabirds including the Cape Verde Shearwater. Reptiles include the Cape Verde Giant Gecko (Tarentola gigas) Sony VGP-BPS13B/B battery.

[edit]Human geography

Main article: Administrative divisions of Cape Verde

Aerial view of the capital of the archipelago, Praia, on the island of Santiago

Vista of Nova Sintra, the municipal seat of Brava

Cape Verde is divided into 22 municipalities (concelhos) and subdivided into 32 parishes (freguesias), based on the religious parishes that existed during the colonial period:

The majority of the population is creole (mixed African and European descent). A genetic study revealed that the ancestry of the population in Cape Verde is 15.9% African and 84.1% European-Middle Eastern in the male line and more than 90% West African in the female lineSony VGP-BPL21 battery; counted together the percentage is 57% African and 43% European.[16]

Around 95% of the population is Christian (more than 85 percent of the population is nominally Roman Catholic,[17] though for a minority of the population Catholicism is syncretized with African influences).[2] The largest Protestant denomination is the Church of the Nazarene; other groups include the Seventh-day Adventist ChurchSony VGP-BPS21 battery, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Assemblies of God, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, and various other Pentecostal and evangelical groups.)[17] There are a small Muslim community.[17] The number of atheists is estimated at less than 1 percent of the population.[17]

Cape Verde's official language is Portuguese. It is the language of instruction and governmentSony VGP-BPS21A battery. However, the Cape Verdean Creole is used colloquially and is the mother tongue of virtually all Cape Verdeans. Cape Verdean Creole or Kriolu is a dialect continuum of a Portuguese-based creole, which varies from island to island. There is a substantial body of literature in Creole, especially in the Santiago Creole and the São Vicente Creole. Creole has been gaining prestige since the nation's independence from PortugalSony VGP-BPS21B battery. However, the differences between the varied forms of the language within the islands have been a major obstacle in the way of standardization of the language. Some people have advocated the development of two standards: a North (Barlavento) standard, centered on the São Vicente Creole, and a South (Sotavento) standard, centered on the Santiago Creole. Manuel VeigaSony VGP-BPS26 Battery, PhD, a linguist by training, and Minister of Culture of Cape Verde, is the premier proponent of Kriolu's officialization and standardization. The demographic statistics site ESA says Cape Verde has a population of 567,000 in 2010.

[edit]Emigration

Main article: Cape Verdean diaspora

Local women on the island of Santiago

Today, more Cape Verdeans live abroad than in Cape Verde itself, with significant emigrant[18] Cape Verdean communities in the United States (500,000 Cape Verdeans descent, with a major concentration on the New England coast from ProvidenceSony VGP-BPS26A Battery, Rhode Island, to New Bedford, Massachusetts). There are also significant Cape Verde populations in Portugal (150,000), Angola (45,000), São Tomé and Príncipe (25,000), Senegal (25,000), the Netherlands (20,000, of which 15,000 are concentrated in Rotterdam), France (25,000), Scandinavia (7,000), Italy (10,000) and Spain (12,500) Sony VGP-BPS14/B Battery. There is also a Cape Verdean community in Argentina numbering 8,000. A large number of Cape Verdeans and people of Cape Verdean descent that emigrated before 1975 are not included in these statistics, because all the Cape Verdeans had Portuguese passports before 1975.

There are approximately 3,000 Chinese immigrants in Cape Verde, as well as citizens of the African mainland, approx. 72% of total (most of these immigrants hail from West Africa) Sony VGP-BPS14B Battery, there are also a significant number of citizens of Europe, approx. 17% of total, and South America (Brazil) residing in the country. There are an estimated 25,196 immigrants in Cape Verde of which 15,373 are legal residents as of July, 2012.

In the USA, the children and grandchildren of the first immigrant waves became involved in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. This led them to make links with other US black groups. Cape-Verdean Americans have also been involved in the US Army for centuriesSony VGP-BPS14/S Battery; in the Revolutionary War, Civil War, the First and Second World Wars, as well as the Korean and Vietnam Wars.[19] Cape Verdeans moved to places all over the world, from Macau to Haiti to Argentina to northern Europe.[20]

Main article: Politics of Cape Verde

Former President of Cape Verde, Pedro Pires, meeting with the then Brazilian president Lula da SilvaSony VGP-BPL14/B Battery

Cape Verde is a stable representative Parliamentary republic.[21] The constitution —adopted in 1980 and revised in 1992, 1995 and 1999— defines the basic principles of its government. The president is the head of state and is elected by popular vote for a 5-year term. The prime minister is the head of government and proposes other ministers and secretaries of stateSony VGP-BPL14 Battery. The prime minister is nominated by the National Assembly and appointed by the president. Members of the National Assembly are elected by popular vote for 5-year terms. Three parties now hold seats in the National Assembly—PAICV 40, MPD 30, and Cape Verdean Independent Democratic Union (UCID) 2.[7]

The judicial system consists of a Supreme Court of Justice — whose members are appointed by the president, the National AssemblySony VGP-BPL14B Battery, and the Board of the Judiciary — and regional courts. Separate courts hear civil, constitutional, and criminal cases. Appeal is to the Supreme Court.[7]

Cape Verde follows a policy of nonalignment and seeks cooperative relations with all friendly states.[7] Angola, Brazil, the People's Republic of China, Cuba, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Senegal, Russia, Luxembourg, and the United States maintain embassies in Praia.[7] Cape Verde is actively interested in foreign affairs, especially in Africa. Sony VGP-BPL14/S Battery It has bilateral relations with some Lusophone nations and holds membership in a number of international organisations.[7] It also participates in most international conferences on economic and political issues.[7] Since 2007, Cape Verde has a special partnership status[22] with the EU, under the Cotonou Agreement, and might apply for special membership. Sony VGP-BPS14 Battery

The military of Cape Verde consists of a coast guard and an army; 0.7% of the country's GDP was spent on the military in 2005.

[edit]International recognition

Cape Verde is often praised as an example among African nations, for its stability and developmental growth despite its lack of natural resources. Among others, it has been recognized with the following assessmentsSony VGP-BPL15/B Battery:

Main article: Economy of Cape Verde

Municipal market in S. Vicente

Cape Verde has few natural resources,Only four of the ten main islands (Santiago, Santo Antão, Fogo, and Brava) normally support significant agricultural production,[32] and over 90% of all food consumed in Cape Verde is imported. Mineral resources include salt, pozzolana (a volcanic rock used in cement production), and limestone. Sony VGP-BPS15/B Battery Its small number of wineries making Portuguese-style wines have traditionally focused on the domestic market, but have recently met with some international acclaim. A number of wine tours of Cape Verde's various microclimates began to be offered in spring 2010 and can be arranged through the tourism office. Sony VGP-BPL15/S Battery

The economy of Cape Verde is service-oriented, with commerce, transport, and public services accounting for more than 70% of GDP.[citation needed] Although nearly 38% of the population lives in rural areas, agriculture and fishing contribute only about 9% of GDP. Light manufacturing accounts for most of the remainder. Fish and shellfish are plentiful, and small quantities are exportedSony VGP-BPS15/S Battery. Cape Verde has cold storage and freezing facilities and fish processing plants in Mindelo, Praia, and on Sal. Expatriate Cape Verdeans contribute an amount estimated at about 20% of GDP to the domestic economy through remittances.[7]

Graphical depiction of Cape Verde's product exports in 28 color coded categories.

Since 1991, the government has pursued market-oriented economic policies, including an open welcome to foreign investors and a far-reaching privatization programmeSony VGP-BPS15 Battery. It established as top development priorities the promotion of a market economy and of the private sector; the development of tourism, light manufacturing industries, and fisheries; and the development of transport, communications, and energy facilities. From 1994 to 2000 about $407 million in foreign investments were made or planned, of which 58% were in tourism,[34] 17% in industry, 4% in infrastructure, and 21% in fisheries and services. Sony VGP-BPS18 battery

In 2011, on 4 islands a windfarm was built, that in total supplies about 25% of the electricity of the country. With this amount it is one of the top countries for renewable energy.[35]

Between 2000 and 2009, real GDP increased on average by over 7 percent a year, well above the average for Sub-Saharan countries and faster than most small island economies in the region. Strong economic performance was bolstered by one of the fastest growing tourism industries in the worldSony VGP-BPS22 Battery, as well as by substantial capital inflows that allowed Cape Verde to build up national currency reserves to the current 3.5 months of imports. Unemployment has been falling rapidly, and the country is on track to achieve most of the UN Millenium Development Goals – including halving its 1990 poverty level.

In 2007, Cape Verde joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) and in 2008 the country graduated from Least Developed Country (LDC) SONY VGN-FZ11E battery to Middle Income Country (MIC) status.[36][37]

Cape Verde has significant cooperation with Portugal at every level of the economy, which has led it to link its currency first to the Portuguese escudo and, in 1999, to the euro. On June 23, 2008 Cape Verde became the 153rd member of the WTO.[38]

[edit]Development

The European Commission's total allocation for the period of 2008–2013 foreseen for Cape Verde to address "poverty reduction, in particular in rural and periurban areas where women are heading the households, as well as good governance" amounts to €54.1 million. SONY VGN-FZ11L battery

Main article: Wildlife of Cape Verde

Main article: Tourism in Cape Verde

The collection of sailing ships in Porto Grande, Mindelo on the island of São Vicente: tourism is a growing source of income on the islands

Cape Verde's strategic location at the crossroads of mid-Atlantic air and sea lanes has been enhanced by significant improvements at Mindelo's harbour (Porto Grande) and at Sal's and Praia's international airportsSONY VGN-FZ11M battery. A new international airport was opened in Boa Vista in December 2007, and on the island of Sao Vicente, the newest international airport (Sao Pedro Airport) in Cape Verde, was opened in late 2009. Ship repair facilities at Mindelo were opened in 1983. The major ports are Mindelo and Praia, but all other islands have smaller port facilities. In addition to the international airport on Sal, airports have been built on all of the inhabited islandsSONY VGN-FZ11S battery. All but the airport on Brava enjoy scheduled air service. The archipelago has 3,050 km (1,895 mi) of roads, of which 1,010 km (628 mi) are paved, most using cobblestone.[7]

The country's future economic prospects depend heavily on the maintenance of aid flows, the encouragement of tourism, remittances, outsourcing labour to neighbouring African countries, and the momentum of the government's development programme. SONY VGN-FZ11Z battery

Tourism has increased in recent years. Large hotels have been built across the country in an effort to boost tourism. In particular, on the islands of Boa Vista (Club Hotel Riu Karamboa (750 rooms)), and Sal (Club Hotel Riu Funana/Garopa (1000 rooms)--the largest hotel in all of West Africa). The Cape Verde islands have a relatively low crime rate and beautiful beaches, as well as having engaging local people. Tourists and leisure seekers from across Europe and the world are coming to the country in larger numbersSONY VGN-FZ130E/B battery.

In 2011, about 475,294 tourists visited the archipelago.

Main article: Transport in Cape Verde

Main articles: Culture of Cape Verde and Music of Cape Verde

A group playing morna

Cape Verdean social and cultural patterns are similar to those of rural Portugal and Africa.[9] Football (Futebol) games and church activities are typical sources of social interaction and entertainment.[9] The traditional walk around the praça (town square) to meet friends is practiced regularly in Cape Verde towns.[9] In towns with electricity, television is available on two channels (Cape Verdean and Portuguese). SONY VGN-FZ130E battery

Cape Verde music incorporates Portuguese, Caribbean, African, and Brazilian influences.[40] Cape Verde's quintessential national music is the morna, a melancholy and lyrical song form typically sung in Cape Verdean Creole. The most popular music genre after morna is the coladeira followed by funaná and batuque musicSONY VGN-FZ15 battery. Amongst the most worldwide known Cape Verdean singers, are the singers Ildo Lobo and Cesária Évora whose songs became a hallmark of the country and its culture. There are also well known artists born to Cape Verdean parents who excelled themselves in the international music scene. Amongst these artists are jazz pianist Horace Silver, Duke Ellington's saxophonist Paul Gonsalves, Paul Pena, the Tavares brothers and singer LuraSONY VGN-FZ150E battery.

Dance forms include the soft dance morna, the extreme sensuality of coladeira including the modernized version called passada (similar to the zouk from Guadeloupe), the Funaná (a sensual mixed Portuguese and African dance), and the Batuque dance.

Cape Verdean literature is one of the richest of Lusophone Africa. Famous poets include Paulino Vieira, Manuel de Novas, Sergio Frusoni, Eugénio TavaresSONY VGN-FZ15G battery, and B. Léza, and famous authors include Baltasar Lopes da Silva, António Aurélio Gonçalves, Manuel Lopes, Orlanda Amarílis, Henrique Teixeira de Sousa, and Germano Almeida.

[edit]Cuisine

The Cape Verde diet is mostly based on fish and staple foods like corn and rice. Vegetables available during most of the year are potatoes, onions, tomatoes, manioc, cabbage, kale, and dried beans. Fruits such as banana and papayas are available year-round, while others like mangos and avocados are seasonal. SONY VGN-FZ15L battery A popular dish served in Cape Verde is Cachupa, a slow cooked stew of corn (hominy), beans, and fish or meat.

Main article: Health in Cape Verde

Health Clinic in a residential area in Praia.

Teachers' Training College in Praia.

The infant mortality rate in Cape Verde is 21 per 1,000 live births, and the maternal mortality rate is 53.7 deaths per 100,000 live births. The AIDS prevalence rate is 0.8%. The mean years of schooling of adults over 25 years is 7. Life expectancy in Cape Verde is (74.1 years), i.e., 70.5 years for males and 77.7 years for females according to the country's official statistics SONY VGN-FZ15M battery. Cape Verde's population is among the healthiest in Africa. Since its independence, it has greatly improved its health indicators, and besides having been promoted to the group of "medium development" countries in 2007, leaving the Least Developed Countries category (which is only the second time it has happened to a country[41]), is currently the 10th best ranked country in Africa in terms of Human Development IndexSONY VGN-FZ15S battery.

Main article: Education in Cape Verde

Kindergarten graduation in Santiago island, Cape Verde

Primary school education in Cape Verde is mandatory between the ages of 6 and 14 years and free for children ages 6 to 12.[42] In 2008, the net enrollment ratio for primary school was 84%.[43] While enrollment rates indicate a level of commitment to education, they do not always reflect children's participation in school. SONY VGN-FZ15T batteryApproximately 85% of the total population over 15 years of age is literate.[44] Textbooks have been made available to 90 percent of school children, and 83 percent of the teachers have attended in-service teacher training.[42] Although most children have access to education, some problems remain.[42] For example, many students and some teachers speak Creole at home and have a poor command of Portuguese (the language of instruction) SONY VGN-FZ160E/B battery; there is insufficient spending on school materials, lunches, and books; and there is a high repetition rate for certain grades.[42]

Although the Cape Verde national football team represents Cape Verde abroad, many internationally known football players were born in Cape Verde, or were descendants of Cape Verdeans, and play for other nation's teams. Several currently play, or have played, in the Portuguese league or national team, such as Nani (Manchester United) SONY VGN-FZ160E battery, Cristiano Ronaldo (Sporting Lisbon, Real Madrid), Jorge Andrade (Porto, Juventus) Rolando (Porto) and Nélson Marcos (Benfica, Real Betis, Osasuna).

Henrik Larsson (whose father is Cape Verdean) played for Sweden, Patrick Vieira (whose mother is Cape Verdean) played for France, Luc Castaignos (whose mother is Cape Verdean) plays for Netherlands, while Gelson Fernandes (who was born in Praia) plays for SwitzerlandSONY VGN-FZ17 battery. On Sunday, October 14 2012, the team qualified for their first ever Africa Cup of Nations with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Cameroon.

Cape Verde is famous for wavesailing (a type of windsurfing) and kiteboarding. Josh Angulo, a Hawaiian and 2009 PWA Wave World Champion, has done much to promote the archipelago as a windsurfing destination. Cape Verde is now his adopted country.

Mitu Monteiro, a local kitesurferSONY VGN-FZ17G battery, was the 2008 Kite Surfing World Champion in the wave discipline. The lives of Mitu and his 2 lifelong friends Titik and Djo and their unique exposure to windsurfing and kitesurfing is chronicled in a short film by Thierry Albert and Marcus Werner Hed called "The Boys from Ponta Preta

Uganda ( /juːˈɡændə/ yew-gan-də or /juːˈɡɑːndə/ yew-gahn-də), officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is bordered on the east by KenyaSONY VGN-FZ17L battery, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, shared with Kenya and Tanzania.

Uganda takes its name from the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a large portion of the south of the country including the capital KampalaSONY VGN-FZ18 battery. The people of Uganda were hunter-gatherers until 1,700 to 2,300 years ago, when Bantu-speaking populations migrated to the southern parts of the country.[4] The area was ruled by the British beginning in the late 1800s. Uganda gained independence from Britain on 9 October 1962. The period since then has been marked by intermittent conflicts, most recently a civil war against the Lord's Resistance ArmySONY VGN-FZ180E/B battery.

The official languages are English and Swahili, although multiple other languages are spoken in the country. The current president is Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.

The Ugandans were hunter-gatherers until 1,700 to 2,300 years ago. Bantu-speaking populations, who were probably from central Africa, migrated to the southern parts of the country.[4][5] These groups brought and developed ironworking skills and new ideas of social and political organizationSONY VGN-FZ180E battery. The Empire of Kitara covered most of the great lakes area, from Lake Albert, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, to Lake Kyoga. Its leadership headquarters were mainly in what became Ankole, believed to have been run by the Bachwezi dynasty in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, who may have followed a semi-legendary dynasty known as the Batembuzi. Bunyoro-Kitara is claimed as the antecedent of later kingdomsSONY VGN-FZ18E battery; Buganda, Toro, Ankole and Busoga.[6] The Nilotic Luo invasion is believed to have led to the collapse of the Chwezi Empire. The twins Rukidi Mpuuga and Kato Kintu are believed to be the first kings of Bunyonro and Buganda after the Chwezi Empire collapsed, creating the Babiito and Bambejja Dynasty. Nilotic people including Luo and Ateker entered the area from the northSONY VGN-FZ18G battery, probably beginning about A.D. 120. They were cattle herders and subsistence farmers who settled mainly in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some Luo invaded the area of Bunyoro and assimilated with the Bantu there, establishing the Babiito dynasty of the current Omukama (ruler) of Bunyoro-Kitara.[7] Luo migration continued until the 16th century, with some Luo settling amid Bantu people in Eastern Uganda, with others proceeding to the western shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya and TanzaniaSONY VGN-FZ18M battery. The Ateker (Karimojong and Iteso) settled in the northeastern and eastern parts of the country, and some fused with the Luo in the area north of Lake Kyoga.

Arab traders moved inland from the Indian Ocean coast of East Africa in the 1830s. They were followed in the 1860s by British explorers searching for the source of the Nile. Protestant missionaries entered the country in 1877, followed by Catholic missionaries in 1879. SONY VGN-FZ18S battery The United Kingdom placed the area under the charter of the British East Africa Company in 1888, and ruled it as a protectorate from 1894.

In the 1890s, 32,000 labourers from British India were brought to East Africa under indentured labour contracts to work on the construction of the Uganda Railway. Most of the surviving Indians returned homeSONY VGN-FZ18T battery, but 6,724 decided to remain in East Africa after the line's completion.

As several other territories and chiefdoms were integrated, the final protectorate called Uganda took shape in 1914. From 1900 to 1920, a sleeping sickness epidemic killed more than 250,000 people,[9] about two-thirds of the population in the affected lake-shore areas.[10]

Uganda gained independence from Britain in 1962, maintaining its Commonwealth membershipSONY VGN-FZ190 battery. The first post-independence election, held in 1962, was won by an alliance between the Uganda People's Congress (UPC) and Kabaka Yekka (KY). UPC and KY formed the first post-independence government with Milton Obote as executive Prime Minister, the Buganda Kabaka (King) Edward Muteesa II holding the largely ceremonial position of President[11][12] and William Wilberforce Nadiope, the Kyabazinga (paramount chief) of Busoga, as Vice President. SONY VGN-FZ19L battery

In 1966, following a power struggle between the Obote-led government and King Muteesa, the UPC-dominated Parliament changed the constitution and removed the ceremonial president and vice president. In 1967, a new constitution proclaimed Uganda a republic and abolished the traditional kingdoms. Without first calling elections, Obote was declared the executive President. SONY VGN-FZ19VN battery

After a military coup in 1971, Obote was deposed from power and the dictator Idi Amin seized control of the country. Amin ruled Uganda with the military for the next eight years[14] and carried out mass killings within the country to maintain his rule. An estimated 300,000 Ugandans lost their lives at the hands of his regime. SONY VGN-FZ20 batteryAside from his brutalities, he forcibly removed the entrepreneurial South Asian minority from Uganda, which left the country's economy in ruins.[16] Amin's atrocities were graphically accounted in the 1977 book, "A State of Blood," which was written by one of his former ministers after he fled the country.

Amin's reign was ended after the Uganda-Tanzania War in 1979 in which Tanzanian forces aided by Ugandan exiles invaded UgandaSONY VGN-FZ210CE battery. This led to the return of Obote, who was deposed once more in 1985 by General Tito Okello. Okello ruled for six months until he was deposed after the so-called "bush war" by the National Resistance Army (NRA) operating under the leadership of the current president, Yoweri Museveni, and various rebel groups, including the Federal Democratic Movement of Andrew Kayiira, and another belonging to John NkwaangaSONY VGN-FZ21E battery.

Museveni has been in power since 1986. In the mid- to late 1990s, he was lauded by the West as part of a new generation of African leaders.[17] His presidency has included involvement in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other conflicts in the Great Lakes region, as well as the civil war against the Lord's Resistance ArmySONY VGN-FZ21J battery, which has been guilty of numerous crimes against humanity including child slavery and mass murder. Conflict in northern Uganda has killed thousands and displaced millions.[18]

Government and politics

Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda

Main article: Politics of Uganda

The President of Uganda, currently Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, is both head of state and head of government. The President appoints a Vice President, currently Edward Ssekandi, and a prime minister, currently Amama Mbabazi, who aid him in governingSONY VGN-FZ21M battery. The parliament is formed by the National Assembly, which has 332 members. 104 of these members are nominated by interest groups, including women and the army. The remaining members are elected for five-year terms during general elections.[19]

Political parties were restricted in their activities beginning in 1986, in a measure ostensibly designed to reduce sectarian violence. In the non-party "Movement" system instituted by Museveni, political parties continued to exist, but they could only operate a headquarters officeSONY VGN-FZ21S battery. They could not open branches, hold rallies, or field candidates directly (although electoral candidates could belong to political parties). A constitutional referendum canceled this nineteen-year ban on multi-party politics in July 2005. Additionally, the constitutional term limit for the presidency was changed from the previous two-term limit, in order to enable the current president to continue in active politicsSONY VGN-FZ21Z battery.

Presidential elections were held in February 2006. Yoweri Museveni ran against several candidates, the most prominent of them being Dr. Kizza Besigye.

On Sunday, 20 February 2011, the Uganda Electoral Commission declared the 24-year reigning president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni the winning candidate of the 2011 elections that were held on the 18th of February 2011. The opposition were, however, not satisfied with the results, condemning them as full of sham and riggingSONY VGN-FZ220E/B battery. According to the results released, Museveni won with 68% of the votes, easily topping his nearest challenger Kizza Besigye. Besigye, who was formerly Museveni's physician, told reporters that he and his supporters 'downrightly snub' the outcome as well as the unremitting rule of Museveni or any person he may appoint. Besigye added that the rigged elections would definitely lead to an illegitimate lead and that it is up to Ugandans to critically analyse thisSONY VGN-FZ220E battery.

The EU Election Observation Mission reported on improvements and flaws of the Ugandan electoral process: "The electoral campaign and polling day were conducted in a peaceful manner [...] However, the electoral process was marred by avoidable administrative and logistical failures that led to an unacceptable number of Ugandan citizens being disfranchised." SONY VGN-FZ31B battery Since August 2012, hacktivist group Anonymous has threatened Ugandan officials and hacked official government websites over its anti-gay bills.[21] Some international donors have threatened to cut financial aid to the country if anti-gay bills continue.[22]

Museveni will be heading Uganda for another 4 years, with the next elections anticipated to be held in 2016.

Uganda is rated among countries perceived as very corrupt by Transparency International. It is rated at 2.4 on a scale from 0 (perceived as most corrupt) to 10 (perceived as clean). SONY VGN-FZ31E battery

Main article: Geography of Uganda

The country is located on the East African plateau, lying mostly between latitudes 4°N and 2°S (a small area is north of 4°), and longitudes 29° and 35°E. It averages about 1,100 metres (3,609 ft) above sea level, and this slopes very steadily downwards to the Sudanese Plain to the north. However, much of the south is poorly drained, while the centre is dominated by Lake KyogaSONY VGN-FZ31J battery, which is also surrounded by extensive marshy areas. Uganda lies almost completely within the Nile basin. The Victoria Nile drains from the lake into Lake Kyoga and thence into Lake Albert on the Congolese border. It then runs northwards into South Sudan. One small area on the eastern edge of Uganda is drained by the Turkwel River, part of the internal drainage basin of Lake TurkanaSONY VGN-FZ31M battery.

Lake Kyoga serves as a rough boundary between Bantu speakers in the south and Nilotic and Central Sudanic language speakers in the north. Despite the division between north and south in political affairs, this linguistic boundary runs roughly from northwest to southeast, near the course of the Nile. However, many Ugandans live among people who speak different languagesSONY VGN-FZ31Z battery, especially in rural areas. Some sources describe regional variation in terms of physical characteristics, clothing, bodily adornment, and mannerisms, but others claim that those differences are disappearing.

Mount Kadam, Uganda

Although generally equatorial, the climate is not uniform as the altitude modifies the climate. Southern Uganda is wetter with rain generally spread throughout the year. At Entebbe on the northern shore of Lake VictoriaSony VAIO VGN-CR110 battery, most rain falls from March to June and in the November/December period. Further to the north a dry season gradually emerges; at Gulu about 120 km from the South Sudanese border, November to February is much drier than the rest of the year.

The northeastern Karamoja region has the driest climate and is prone to droughts in some years. Rwenzori, a snowy peaked mountainous region on the southwest border with Congo (DRC), receives heavy rain all year round and is the source of the NileSony VAIO VGN-CR11H/B battery. The south of the country is heavily influenced by one of the world's biggest lakes, Lake Victoria, which contains many islands. It prevents temperatures from varying significantly and increases cloudiness and rainfall. Most important cities are located in the south, near Lake Victoria, including the capital Kampala and the nearby city of EntebbeSony VAIO VGN-CR11S/L battery.

Although landlocked, Uganda contains many large lakes; besides Lake Victoria and Lake Kyoga, there are Lake Albert, Lake Edward and the smaller Lake George.

Districts, counties and kingdoms

Uganda is divided into districts, spread across four administrative regions: Northern, Eastern, Central (Kingdom of Buganda) and Western. The districts are subdivided into counties. A number of districts have been added in the past few yearsSony VAIO VGN-CR11S/P battery, and eight others were added on 1 July 2006 plus others added in 2010. There are now over 100 districts.[24] Most districts are named after their main commercial and administrative towns. Each district is divided into sub-districts, counties, sub-counties, parishes and villages.

Parallel with the state administration, five traditional Bantu kingdoms have remained, enjoying some degrees of mainly cultural autonomySony VAIO VGN-CR11S/W battery. The kingdoms are Toro, Busoga, Bunyoro, Buganda and Rwenzururu. Furthermore, some groups attempt to restore Ankole as one of the officially recognized traditional kingdoms, to no avail yet.[25]

For decades, Uganda's economy suffered from devastating economic policies and instability, leaving Uganda as one of the world's poorest countries. The country has commenced economic reforms and growth has been robustSony VAIO VGN-CR11Z/R battery. In 2008, Uganda recorded 7% growth despite the global downturn and regional instability.[26]

Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt. The country has largely untapped reserves of both crude oil and natural gas.[27] While agriculture accounted for 56% of the economy in 1986, with coffee as its main export, it has now been surpassed by the services sectorSony VAIO VGN-CR120 battery, which accounted for 52% of percent GDP in 2007.[28] In the 1950s the British Colonial regime encouraged some 500,000 subsistence farmers to join co-operatives.[29] Since 1986, the government (with the support of foreign countries and international agencies) has acted to rehabilitate an economy devastated during the regime of Idi Amin and the subsequent civil war.[2] Inflation ran at 240% in 1987 and 42% in June 1992, and was 5.1% in 2003Sony VAIO VGN-CR120E battery.

Suburban Kampala

Graphical depiction of Uganda's product exports in 28 color coded categories.

Between 1990 and 2001, the economy grew because of continued investment in the rehabilitation of infrastructure, improved incentives for production and exports, reduced inflation and gradually improved domestic security. Ugandan involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, corruption within the governmentSony VAIO VGN-CR120E/L battery, and slippage in the government's determination to press reforms raise doubts about the continuation of strong growth.

In 2000, Uganda was included in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief initiative worth $1.3 billion and Paris Club debt relief worth $145 million. These amounts combined with the original HIPC debt relief added up to about $2 billion. In 2006 the Ugandan Government successfully paid all their debts to the Paris ClubSony VAIO VGN-CR120E/P battery, which meant that it was no longer in the (HIPC) list. Growth for 2001–2002 was solid despite continued decline in the price of coffee, Uganda's principal export.[2] According to IMF statistics, in 2004 Uganda's GDP per capita reached $300, a much higher level than in the 1980s but still at half the Sub-Saharan African average income of $600 per year. Total GDP crossed the 8 billion dollar mark in the same yearSony VAIO VGN-CR13/B battery.

An advertisement for a mobile phone carrier on a van in Kampala

Economic growth has not always led to poverty reduction. Despite an average annual growth of 2.5% between 2000 and 2003, poverty levels increased by 3.8% during that time.[30] This has highlighted the importance of avoiding jobless growth and is part of the rising awareness in development circles of the need for equitable growth not just in Uganda, but across the developing world. Sony VAIO VGN-CR13G battery

With the Uganda securities exchanges established in 1996, several equities have been listed. The Government has used the stock market as an avenue for privatisation. All Government treasury issues are listed on the securities exchange. The Capital Markets Authority has licensed 18 brokers, asset managers and investment advisors including names likeSony VAIO VGN-CR13G/B battery: African Alliance Investment Bank, Baroda Capital Markets Uganda Limited, Crane Financial Services Uganda Limited, Crested Stocks and Securities Limited, Dyer & Blair Investment Bank, Equity Stock Brokers Uganda Limited, Renaissance Capital Investment Bank and UAP Financial Services Limited.[31] As one of the ways of increasing formal domestic savings, pension sector reform is the centre of attention (2007) Sony VAIO VGN-CR13G/L battery.

Uganda traditionally depends on Kenya for access to the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa. Recently, efforts have intensified to establish a second access route to the sea via the lakeside ports of Bukasa in Uganda, and Musoma in Tanzania, connected by railway to Arusha in the Tanzanian interior and to the port of Tanga on the Indian Ocean.[34] Uganda is a member of the East African Community and a potential member of the planned East African FederationSony VAIO VGN-CR13G/P battery.

Uganda has a large diaspora – residing mainly in the United States and the United Kingdom. This diaspora has contributed enormously to Uganda’s economic growth through remittances and other investments (especially property). According to the World Bank, in 2010/2011 Uganda got $694 million in remittances from Ugandans abroad, the highest foreign exchange earner for the country. Sony VAIO VGN-CR13G/R battery Uganda also serves as an economic hub for a number of neighbouring countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo,[36] South Sudan[37] and Rwanda.[38]

Main article: Tourism in Uganda

Environment and Conservation

Main article: Conservation in Uganda

Uganda is one of the poorest nations in the world, with 37.7 percent of the population living on less than $1.25 a day.[39] Despite making enormous progress in reducing the countrywide poverty incidence from 56 percent of the population in 1992 to 31 per cent in 2005,[40] poverty remains deep-rooted in the country’s rural areas, which are home to more than 85 per cent of UgandansSony VAIO VGN-CR13G/W battery.

Women's poverty

People in rural areas of Uganda depend on farming as the main source of income and 90 per cent of all rural women work in the agricultural sector.[41] In addition to agricultural work, rural women also have the responsibility of caretaking within their families. The average Ugandan woman spends 9 hours a day on domestic tasks, such as preparing food and clothingSony VAIO VGN-CR13/L battery, fetching water and firewood, and caring for the elderly, the sick as well as orphans. As such, women on average work longer hours than men, between 12 and 18 hours per day, with a mean of 15 hours, as compared to men, who work between 8 and 10 hours a day.[42]

To supplement their income, rural women may engage in small-scale entrepreneurial activities such as rearing and selling local breeds of animalsSony VAIO VGN-CR13/P battery. Nonetheless, because of their heavy workload, they have little time for these income-generating activities. The poor cannot support their children at school and in most cases, girls drop out of school to help out in domestic work or to get married. Other girls engage in sex work. As a result, young women tend to have older and more sexually experienced partners and this puts women at a disproportionate risk of getting affected by HIVSony VAIO VGN-CR13/R battery, accounting for about 57 per cent of all adults living with HIV.[43] Maternal health in rural Uganda lags behind national policy targets and the Millennium Development Goals, with geographical inaccessibility, lack of transport and financial burdens identified as key demand-side constraints to accessing maternal health services;[44] as such, interventions like intermediate transport mechanisms have been adopted as a means to improve women's access to maternal health care services in rural regions of the country. Sony VAIO VGN-CR13T/L battery

Gender inequality is a main hindrance to reducing women’s poverty. Women must submit to an overall lower social status than men. For many women, this reduces their power to act independently, participate in community life, become educated and escape reliance upon abusive men. Sony VAIO VGN-CR13T/P battery

Uganda has realized that the lack of women’s rights is part of the major causes of poverty in the country. Results of the 1998/99 Uganda Participatory Poverty Assessment (UPPAP) – on which the revised Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) is based – and the UPPAP2 (2001/2002) demonstrate strong linkage between gender and poverty. Sony VAIO VGN-CR13T/R battery Key policies such as the National Gender Policy in 1997 have also been enacted to mainstream gender in the national development process to improve the social, legal/civic, political, economic and cultural conditions of the people, especially of women. Also, the National Action Plan on Women (NAPW) was implemented in 1999 to identify five critical areas for action in order to advance women’s rights: legal and policy framework and leadershipSony VAIO VGN-CR13T/W battery; social and economic empowerment of women; reproductive health, rights and responsibilities; girl child education; peace building conflict resolution and freedom from violence.

[edit]Demographics

Uganda is home to many different ethnic groups, none of whom forms a majority of the population. Around forty different languages are regularly and currently in use in the country. English became the official language of Uganda after independence. Ugandan English is a local variant dialectSony VAIO VGN-CR13/W battery.

The most widely spoken local language in Uganda is Luganda, spoken predominantly by the Ganda people (Baganda) in the urban concentrations of Kampala, the capital city, and in towns and localities in the Buganda region of Uganda which encompasses Kampala. The Lusoga and Runyankore-Rukiga languages follow, spoken predominantly in the southeastern and southwestern parts of Uganda respectivelySony VAIO VGN-CR140 battery.

Swahili, a widely used language throughout eastern and central East Africa, was approved as the country's second official national language in 2005,[48] though this is somewhat politically sensitive. Though the language has not been favoured by the Bantu-speaking populations of the south and southwest of the country, it is an important lingua franca in the northern regionsSony VAIO VGN-CR140E battery. It is also widely used in the police and military forces, which may be a historical result of the disproportionate recruitment of northerners into the security forces during the colonial period. The status of Swahili has thus alternated with the political group in power.[49] For example, Amin, who came from the northwest, declared Swahili to be the national language. Sony VAIO VGN-CR21/B battery

Uganda’s population has grown from 4.8 million people in 1950 to 24.3 million in 2002.[51] The current estimated population of Uganda is 35 million. Uganda has a very young population, with a median age of 15 years.[2]

The population of Uganda consists of: Baganda 16.9%, Banyakole 9.5%, Basoga 8.4%, Bakiga 6.9%, Iteso 6.4%, Langi 6.1%, Acholi 4.7%, Bagisu 4.6%, Lugbara 4.2%, Bunyoro 2.7%, other 29.6%.Sony VAIO VGN-CR21E/L battery Uganda has the second highest total fertility rate in the world, at 6.65 children born/woman (2012 estimates).

According to the census of 2002, Christians made up about 84% of Uganda's population.[53] The Roman Catholic Church has the largest number of adherents (41.9%), followed by the Anglican Church of Uganda (35.9%)Sony VAIO VGN-CR21E/P battery. Evangelical and Pentecostal churches claim the rest of the Christian population. The next most reported religion of Uganda is Islam, with Muslims representing 12% of the population.[53] The Muslim population is primarily Sunni; there is also a minority belonging to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The remainder of the population follow traditional religions (1%), Baha'i (0.1%), other non-Christian religions (0.7%), or have no religious affiliation (0.9%).Sony VAIO VGN-CR21E/W battery

The northern and West Nile regions are predominantly Catholic, while the Iganga District in eastern Uganda has the highest percentage of Muslims. The rest of the country has a mix of religious affiliations.[54]

Traditional indigenous beliefs are practiced in some rural areas and are sometimes blended with or practiced alongside Christianity or Islam. In addition to a small community of Jewish expatriates centered in KampalaSony VAIO VGN-CR21S/L battery, Uganda is home to the Abayudaya, a native Jewish community dating from the early 1900s. One of the world's seven Bahá'í Houses of Worship is located on the outskirts of Kampala. See also Bahá'í Faith in Uganda.

According to the World Refugee Survey 2008, published by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, Uganda hosted a population of refugees and asylum seekers numbering 235,800 in 2007Sony VAIO VGN-CR21S/P battery. The majority of this population came from Sudan (162,100 persons), but also included refugees and asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (41,800), Rwanda (21,200), Somalia (5,700) and Burundi (3,100).[55]

Indian nationals are the most significant immigrant population; members of this community are primarily Ismaili (Shi'a Muslim followers of the Aga Khan) or Hindu. Forty years ago, there were about 80,000 Indians in UgandaSony VAIO VGN-CR21S/W battery. After Idi Amin mandated the expulsion of the Ugandan-Asians (mostly of Indian origin), the population was greatly reduced. Today there are about 15,000.[56]

Main articles: Health in Uganda and HIV/AIDS in Uganda

Uganda has been among the rare HIV success stories, one of the reasons being openness.[57] In the 1980s, more than 30% of Ugandan residents had HIV; this had fallen to 6.4% by the end of 2008, the most effective national response to AIDS of any African country. Sony PCG-5G2L battery This is supported by the findings of a 2006 study that modern contraceptive use in Uganda is low.[59] However, there has been a spike in recent years compared to the mid-nineties,[60] especially after a shift in US Aid Policy toward abstinence only campaigns (starting in 2003 with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief under U.S. President George W. Bush). According to one report by Uganda's Aids commissioner, the number of new HIV infections has almost doubled from 70,000 in 2003 to 130,000 in 2005. Sony PCG-5G3L battery Researchers have found that rates of new infection have stabilized as of 2005 due to a variety of factors, including increased condom use and sexual health awareness. Meanwhile, the practice of abstinence was found to have decreased.[61]

Life expectancy at birth is estimated to be 53.45 years in 2012.[62] The infant mortality rate is approximately 61 deaths per 1,000 children in 2012.[63] There were 8 physicians per 100,000 persons in the early 2000s. Sony PCG-5J1L battery The 2006 Uganda Demographic Health Survey (UDHS) indicates that roughly 6,000 women die each year due to pregnancy-related complications.[64] However, recent pilot studies by Future Health Systems have shown that this rate could be significantly reduced by implementing a voucher scheme for health services and transport to clinics. Sony PCG-5J2L battery

Uganda's elimination of user fees at state health facilities in 2001 has resulted in an 80% increase in visits; over half of this increase is from the poorest 20% of the population.[67] This policy has been cited as a key factor in helping Uganda achieve its Millennium Development Goals and as an example of the importance of equity in achieving those goals. Sony PCG-5K1L battery Despite this policy, many users are denied care if they don't provide their own medical equipment, as happened in the highly publicised case of Jennifer Anguko.[68] Poor communication within hospitals,[69] low satisfaction with health services[70] and distance to health service providers undermine the provision of quality health care to people living in Uganda, and particularly for those in poor and elderly-headed households. Sony PCG-5K2L batteryThe provision of subsidies for poor and rural populations, along with the extension of public private partnerships, have been identified as important provisions to enable vulnerable populations to access health services.[71]

In July 2012, there was Ebola outbreak in the Kibaale District of the country.[72] On 4 October 2012, the Ministry of Health officially declared the end of the Ebola outbreak that killed at least 16 people. Sony PCG-5L1L battery

Culture and sport

Main articles: Culture of Uganda, Music of Uganda, Cuisine of Uganda, List of African writers (by country)#Uganda, and List of Ugandans

Young boys playing football (soccer) in Arua District.

Owing to the large number of communities, culture within Uganda is diverse. Many Asians (mostly from India) who were expelled during the regime of Amin have returned to Uganda.[74]

Football (soccer) is the national sport in Uganda. Games involving the Ugandan national football team usually attract large crowds of Ugandans from all walks of lifeSony PCG-6S2L battery. The Ugandan Super League is the top division of Ugandan football contested by 16 clubs from across the country; it was created in 1968. Football in Uganda is managed by the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA). The association administers the national football team, as well as the Super League. South African broadcaster DStv through its Super Sport network broadcasts the Ugandan League to 46 different countries in sub Saharan AfricaSony PCG-6S3L battery. Football is played all over Uganda especially by children in schools and young people on a variety of pitch surfaces. Uganda's most famous footballers are David Obua of Scottish club Hearts and Ibrahim Sekagya, who is the captain of the national team, Austria's Red Bulls and Nestroy Kizito.[citation needed] Uganda's notable past greats of the game include Denis Obua, Majid Musisi, Fimbo Mukasa and Paul KasuleSony PCG-6V1L battery.

Cricket has experienced rapid growth in Uganda, although football is the national sport.[citation needed] Recently in the Quadrangular Tournament in Kenya, Uganda came in as the underdogs and went on to register a historic win against archrivals Kenya.[citation needed] Uganda also won the World Cricket League (WCL) Division 3 and came in fourth place in the WCL Division 2Sony PCG-6W1L battery. In February 2009, Uganda finished as runner-up in the WCL Division 3 competition held in Argentina, thus gaining a place in the World Cup Qualifier held in South Africa in April 2009.

In 2007, the Uganda national rugby union team were victorious in the 2007 Africa Cup, beating Madagascar in the final.

Rallying is a popular sport in Uganda with the country having successfully staged a round of the African Rally Championship (ARC), Pearl of Africa Rally since 1996Sony PCG-6W2L battery, when it was a candidate event. The country has gone on to produce African rally champions such as Charles Muhangi, who won the 1999 ARC crown. Other notable Ugandans on the African rally scene include the late Riyaz Kurji, who was killed in a fatal accident while leading the 2009 edition, Emma Katto, Karim Hirji, Chipper Adams and Charles Lubega. Ugandans have also featured prominently in the Safari Rally. Sony PCG-6W3L battery

Ugandans have played hockey since the early 1920s. It was originally played by Asians, but now is widely played by people from other racial backgrounds. Hockey is the only Ugandan field sport to date to have qualified for and represented the country at the Olympics; this was at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Uganda has won gold medals at the Olympics in athletics with legendary hurdler John Akii-Bua in 1972 and marathon winner at the London 2012 Olympics Stephen KiprotichSony PCG-7111L battery.

In July 2011 Kampala, Uganda qualified for the 2011 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania for the first time, beating Dharan LL in Saudi Arabia, though due to visa complications they were unable to attend the Series.[75] In 2012, Uganda qualified again for the Little League World Series; and, the team was able to finally make its first appearance at the tournament in WilliamsportSony PCG-7112L battery.

Main articles: Education in Uganda and List of schools in Uganda

Students in Uganda

Illiteracy is common in Uganda, particularly amongst females.[57] Public spending on education was at 5.2% of the 2002–2005 GDP.[57] Much public education in primary and secondary schools focuses upon repetition and memorization. There are also state exams that must be taken at every level of education. Uganda has both private and public universitiesSony PCG-7113L battery. The largest university in Uganda is Makerere University, located outside of Kampala. The system of education in Uganda has a structure of 7 years of primary education, 6 years of secondary education (divided into 4 years of lower secondary and 2 years of upper secondary school), and 3 to 5 years of post-secondary education. The present system has existed since the early 1960sSony PCG-7133L battery. Although some primary education is compulsory under law, in many rural communities this is not observed as many families feel they cannot afford costs such as uniforms and equipment. State schools are usually run by the Church of Uganda and are built on land owned as such. In primary education, children sit exams at the end of each academic year in order to discern whether they are to progress to the next classSony PCG-7Z1L battery; this leads to some classes which include a large range of ages. Upon completing P7 (The final year of primary education), many children from poorer rural communities will return to their families for subsistence farming. Secondary education is focused mainly in larger cities, with boarding optional. Children are usually presented with an equipment list which they are to obtain at the beginning of their time at secondary schoolSony PCG-7Z2L battery. This list classically includes items such as writing equipment, toilet roll and cleaning brushes, all of which the student must have upon admission to school.

Main article: Ugandan cuisine

Uganda Waragi is a common alcoholic beverage in Uganda

Ugandan cuisine consists of traditional cooking with English, Arab, Asian and especially Indian influences.[citation needed] Like the cuisines of most countries, it varies in complexity, from the most basic, a starchy filler with a sauce of beans or meatSony PCG-8Y1L battery, to several-course meals served in upper-class homes and high-end restaurants.[citation needed]

Main dishes are usually centered on a sauce or stew of groundnuts, beans or meat. The starch traditionally comes from ugali (maize meal) or matoke (boiled and mashed green banana) in the South, or an ugali made from millet in the North. CassavaSony PCG-8Y2L battery, yam and African sweet potato[clarification needed – Sweet potatoes are an American Indian crop] are also eaten; the more affluent include white (often called "Irish") potato and rice in their diets. Soybeans were promoted as a healthy food staple in the 1970s and are also used especially for breakfast. Chapati, an Asian flatbread, is also part of Ugandan cuisineSony PCG-8Z1L battery.

Human rights

Main article: Human rights in Uganda

There are many areas which continue to attract concern when it comes to human rights in Uganda.

Conflict in the northern parts of the country continues to generate reports of abuses by both the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), led by Joseph Kony, and the Ugandan Army. A UN official accused the LRA in February 2009 of "appalling brutality" in the Democratic Republic of Congo.[76] The number of internally displaced persons is estimated at 1.4 millionSony PCG-8Z2L battery. Torture continues to be a widespread practice amongst security organisations. Attacks on political freedom in the country, including the arrest and beating of opposition Members of Parliament, have led to international criticism, culminating in May 2005 in a decision by the British government to withhold part of its aid to the country. The arrest of the main opposition leader Kizza Besigye and the siege of the High Court during a hearing of Besigye's case by heavily armed security forces – before the February 2006 elections – led to condemnation. Sony VAIO VGN-CS11S/P battery

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants reported several violations of refugee rights in 2007, including forcible deportations by the Ugandan government and violence directed against refugees.[55]

Homosexuality itself is not technically illegal in Uganda, but sodomy laws from the British colonial era are still on the books and there is a strong social bias against homosexualitySony VAIO VGN-CS11S/Q battery. Gays and lesbians face discrimination and harassment at the hands of the media, police, teachers, and other groups. In 2007, a Ugandan newspaper, The Red Pepper, published a list of allegedly gay men, many of whom suffered harassment as a result.[78] Also on 9 October 2010, the Ugandan newspaper Rolling Stone published a front page article titled "100 Pictures of Uganda's Top Homos Leak" that listed the names, addressesSony VAIO VGN-CS11S/W battery, and photographs of 100 homosexuals alongside a yellow banner that read "Hang Them".[79] The paper also alleged that homosexuals aimed to "recruit" Ugandan children. This publication attracted international attention and criticism from human rights organisations, such as Amnesty International,[80] No Peace Without Justice[81] and the International Lesbian, Gay, BisexualSony VAIO VGN-CS11Z/R battery, Trans and Intersex Association.[82] According to gay rights activists, many Ugandans have been attacked since the publication.[83] On 27 January 2011, gay rights activist David Kato was murdered.[84] Kato was on Rolling Stone's hit list. Also a number of other gays and lesbians are missing and are believed to have been murderedSony VAIO VGN-CS11Z/T battery.

Main article: Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill

In 2009, the Ugandan parliament considered an Anti-Homosexuality Bill which would have broadened the criminalisation of homosexuality by introducing the death penalty for people who have previous convictions, or are HIV-positive, and engage in same-sex sexual acts. The bill also included provisions for Ugandans who engage in same-sex sexual relations outside of UgandaSony VAIO VGN-CS13H/P battery, asserting that they may be extradited back to Uganda for punishment, and included penalties for individuals, companies, media organisations, or non-governmental organisations that support LGBT rights. The private member's bill was submitted by MP David Bahati in Uganda on 14 October 2009, and is believed to have had widespread support in the Uganda parliament. Sony VAIO VGN-CS13H/Q battery Debate of the bill was delayed in response to global condemnation but is now expected to be passed before Christmas 2012.[86] The hacktivist group Anonymous has hacked into Ugandan government websites in protest of homophobic bills.

Lesotho, officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, completely surrounded by its only neighbouring country, the Republic of South Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations(Dell D6400 battery). The name Lesotho translates roughly into the land of the people who speak Sesotho. About 40% of the population live below the international poverty line of US $1.25 a day.

History

Main article: History of Lesotho

The earliest known inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by Wasja-speaking tribes during Bantu migrations. The Sotho-Tswana people colonized the general region of South Africa between the 3rd and 11th centuries(Dell N3010 battery).

The present Lesotho (then called Basutoland) emerged as a single polity under king Moshoeshoe I in 1822. Moshoeshoe, a son of Mokhachane, a minor chief of the Bakoteli lineage, formed his own clan and became a chief around 1804. Between 1821 and 1823, he and his followers settled at the Butha-Buthe Mountain, joining with former adversaries in resistance against the Lifaqane associated with the reign of Shaka Zulu from 1818 to 1828. (Dell Inspiron N4010 battery)

Subsequent evolution of the state hinged on conflicts between British and Dutch colonists leaving the Cape Colony following its seizure from the French-allied Dutch by the British in 1795, and subsequently associated with the Orange River Sovereignty and subsequent Orange Free State. Missionaries invited by Moshoeshoe I(Dell INSPIRON 1100 battery), Thomas Arbousset, Eugène Casalis and Constant Gosselin from the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society, placed at Morija, developed orthography and printed works in the Sotho language between 1837 and 1855. Casalis, acting as translator and providing advice on foreign affairs, helped to set up diplomatic channels and acquire guns for use against the encroaching Europeans and the Griqua people. (Dell Inspiron 1200 battery)

Boer trekkers from the Cape Colony showed up on the western borders of Basutoland and claimed land rights, beginning with Jan de Winnaar, who settled in the Matlakeng area in May–June 1838. As more farmers were moving into the area they tried to colonise the land between the two rivers, even north of the Caledon(Dell Inspiron 1420 battery), claiming that it had been abandoned by the Sotho people. Moshoeshoe subsequently signed a treaty with the British Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir George Thomas Napier that annexed the Orange River Sovereignty that many Boers had settled. These outraged Boers were suppressed in a brief skirmish in 1848. In 1851 a British force was defeated by the Sotho army at Kolonyama(Dell Inspiron 1464 battery), touching off an embarrassing war for the British. After repulsing another British attack in 1852, Moshoeshoe sent an appeal to the British commander that settled the dispute diplomatically, then defeated the Tlokoa in 1853.

In 1854 the British pulled out of the region, and in 1858 Moshoeshoe fought a series of wars with the Boers in the Free State-Basotho War, losing a great portion of the western lowlands(Dell Inspiron 1564 battery). The last war in 1867 ended when Moshoeshoe appealed to Queen Victoria, who agreed to make Basutoland a British protectorate in 1868. In 1869, the British signed a treaty at Aliwal North with the Boers that defined the boundaries of Basutoland and later Lesotho, which by ceding the western territories effectively reduced Moshoeshoe's kingdom to half its previous size. (Dell Inspiron 1764 battery)

Following the cession in 1869, the British initially transferred functions from Moshoeshoe's capital in Thaba Bosiu to a police camp on the northwest border, Maseru, until administration of Basutoland was transferred to the Cape Colony in 1871. Moshoeshoe died on March 11, 1870, marking the end of the traditional era and the beginning of the colonial era(Dell Inspiron 1520 battery), and was buried at Thaba Bosiu. During their rule between 1871 and 1884, Basutoland was treated similarly to territories that had been forcefully annexed, much to the chagrin of the Basotho.[6] This led to the Gun War in 1881.[7] In 1884, Basutoland was restored its status as a Crown colony, with Maseru again its capital, but remained under direct rule by a governor, though effective internal power was wielded by traditional chiefs(Dell Inspiron 1521 battery).

1959 stamps for the Basutoland National Council.

Basutoland gained its independence from Britain and became the Kingdom of Lesotho in 1966.[8]

In January 1970 the ruling Basotho National Party (BNP) lost the first post-independence general elections, with 23 seats to the Basutoland Congress Party's 36. Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan refused to cede power to the Basotho Congress Party (BCP) (Dell inspiron 1525 battery), declared himself Tona Kholo (Sesotho translation of prime minister),[citation needed] and imprisoned the BCP leadership.

BCP began a rebellion and then received training in Libya for its Lesotho Liberation Army (LLA) under the pretense of being Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA) soldiers of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). Deprived of arms and supplies by the Sibeko faction of the PAC in 1978(Dell inspiron 1526 battery), the 178-strong LLA was rescued from their Tanzanian base by the financial assistance of a Maoist PAC officer but launched the guerrilla war with only a handful of old weapons. The main force was defeated in northern Lesotho and later guerrillas launched sporadic but usually ineffectual attacks. The campaign was severely compromised when BCP's leader, Ntsu Mokhehle(Dell Inspiron 1720 battery), went to Pretoria. In the early 1980s, several Basotho who sympathized with the exiled BCP were threatened with death and attacked by the government of Leabua Jonathan. In September 1981 the family of Benjamin Masilo was attacked. A few days later, Edgar Mahlomola Motuba was taken from his home and murdered.

The BNP ruled from 1966 till January 1970(Dell Inspiron 2000 battery). What later ensued was a "de facto" government led by Dr Leabua Jonathan until 1986 when a military coup forced it out of office. The Military Council that came to power granted executive powers to King Moshoeshoe II, who was until then a ceremonial monarch. But in 1987 the King was forced into exile after coming up with a six-page memorandum on how he wanted the Lesotho's constitution to be(Dell INSPIRON 2600 battery), which would have given him more executive powers had the military government agreed. His son was installed as King Letsie III.

The chairman of the military junta, Major General Justin Metsing Lekhanya, was ousted in 1991 and replaced by Major General Elias Phisoana Ramaema, who handed over power to a democratically elected government of the BCP in 1993(Dell INSPIRON 3800 battery). Moshoeshoe II returned from exile in 1992 as an ordinary citizen. After the return to democratic government, King Letsie III tried unsuccessfully to persuade the BCP government to reinstate his father (Moshoeshoe II) as head of state.

Makhaleng River Gorges in the Highlands of Lesotho, 2003.

In August 1994, Letsie III staged a military-backed coup that deposed the BCP government, after the BCP government refused to reinstate his father, Moshoeshoe II, according to Lesotho's constitution. The new government did not receive full international recognition(Dell INSPIRON 4000 battery). Member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) engaged in negotiations to reinstate the BCP government. One of the conditions Letsie III put forward for this was that his father should be re-installed as head of state. After protracted negotiations, the BCP government was reinstated and Letsie III abdicated in favor of his father in 1995(Dell Inspiron 5000 battery), but he ascended the throne again when Moshoeshoe II died at the age of fifty-seven in a supposed road accident, when his car plunged off a mountain road during the early hours of 15 January 1996. According to a government statement, Moshoeshoe had set out at 1 a.m. to visit his cattle at Matsieng and was returning to Maseru through the Maluti Mountains when his car left the road. (Dell INSPIRON 500M battery)

In 1997, the ruling BCP split over leadership disputes. Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle formed a new party, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), and was followed by a majority of Members of Parliament, which enabled him to form a new government. Pakalitha Mosisili succeeded Mokhehle as party leader and the LCD won the general elections in 1998(Dell INSPIRON 5100 battery). Although the elections were pronounced free and fair by local and international observers and a subsequent special commission appointed by SADC, the opposition political parties rejected the results.

Opposition protests in the country intensified, culminating in a peaceful demonstration outside the royal palace in August 1998. Exact details of what followed are greatly disputed, both in Lesotho and South Africa(Dell INSPIRON 510M battery). While the Botswana Defence Force troops were welcomed, tensions with South African National Defence Force troops were high, resulting in fighting. Incidences of sporadic rioting intensified when South African troops hoisted a South African flag over the Royal Palace. By the time the SADC forces withdrew in May 1999, much of Maseru lay in ruins, and the southern provincial capital towns of Mafeteng and Mohale's Hoek had seen the loss of over a third of their commercial real estate(Dell INSPIRON 6000 battery). A number of South Africans and Basotho also died in the fighting.

An Interim Political Authority (IPA), charged with reviewing the electoral structure in the country, was created in December 1998. The IPA devised a proportional electoral system to ensure that the opposition would be represented in the National Assembly. The new system retained the existing 80 elected Assembly seats(Dell INSPIRON 600M battery), but added 40 seats to be filled on a proportional basis. Elections were held under this new system in May 2002, and the LCD won again, gaining 54% of the vote. But for the first time, opposition political parties won significant numbers of seats, and despite some irregularities and threats of violence from Major General Lekhanya, Lesotho experienced its first peaceful election(Dell Inspiron 6400 battery). Nine opposition parties now hold all 40 of the proportional seats, with the BNP having the largest share (21). The LCD has 79 of the 80 constituency-based seats. Although its elected members participate in the National Assembly, the BNP has launched several legal challenges to the elections, including a recount; none have been successful(Dell INSPIRON 7000 battery).

Main article: Politics of Lesotho

The Lesotho Government is a parliamentary or constitutional monarchy. The Prime Minister, Tom Motsoahae Thabane, is head of government and has executive authority. The king serves a largely ceremonial function; he no longer possesses any executive authority and is prohibited from actively participating in political initiatives(Dell INSPIRON 700M battery).

The All Basotho Convention (ABC) leads a coalition government in the National Assembly (the lower house of parliament).

The upper house of parliament, called the Senate, is composed of twenty-two principal chiefs whose membership is hereditary, and eleven appointees of the king, acting on the advice of the prime minister(Dell Inspiron 710m battery).

The constitution provides for an independent judicial system, made up of the High Court, the Court of Appeal, Magistrate's Courts, and traditional courts that exist predominantly in rural areas. All but one of the Justices on the Court of Appeal are South African jurists. There is no trial by jury; rather, judges make rulings alone, or, in the case of criminal trials, with two other judges as observers(Dell INSPIRON 8200 battery).

The constitution also protects basic civil liberties, including freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of the press, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of religion. Lesotho was ranked 12th out of 48 sub-Saharan African countries in the 2008 Ibrahim Index of African Governance. (Dell INSPIRON 8600 battery)

However there is a growing movement, the People's Charter Movement, calling for the practical annexation of the country by South Africa due to the AIDS epidemic which infects a third of the population. The country faces high unemployment, economic collapse, a weak currency and poor travel documents restricting their movement. An African Union report called for economic integration of Lesotho with South Africa but stopped short of suggesting annexation(Dell INSPIRON 9100 battery). In May 2010 the Charter Movement delivered a petition to the South African High Commission requesting integration. South Africa's home affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa rejected the idea that Lesotho should be treated as a special case. "It is a sovereign country like South Africa. We sent envoys to our neighbours – Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Lesotho – before we enforced the passport rule. When you travel from Britain to South Africa, don't you expect to use a passport(Dell INSPIRON 9200 battery)?"

Satellite image of Lesotho

Landscape of Lesotho

Main article: Geography of Lesotho

Lesotho covers 30,355 km2 (11,720 sq mi). It is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 1,000 metres (3,281 ft) in elevation. Its lowest point of 1,400 metres (4,593 ft) is thus the highest in the world. Over 80% of the country lies above 1,800 metres (5,906 ft). Lesotho is also the southernmost landlocked country in the world and is entirely surrounded by the country of South Africa(Dell INSPIRON 9300 battery). It lies between latitudes 28° and 31°S, and longitudes 27° and 30°E.

Main article: Climate of Lesotho

Because of its altitude, Lesotho remains cooler throughout the year than other regions at the same latitude. Most of the rain falls as summer thunderstorms. Maseru and surrounding lowlands often reach 30 °C (86 °F) in summer. Winters can be cold with the lowlands getting down to −7 °C (19 °F) and the highlands to −18 °C (−0 °F) at times(Dell Inspiron 9400 battery). Snow is common in the highlands between May and September; the higher peaks can experience snowfalls year-round.

Main article: Economy of Lesotho

Lesotho is geographically surrounded by South Africa and economically integrated with it as well. The economy of Lesotho is based on agriculture, livestock, manufacturing and mining, and depends heavily on inflows of workers’ remittances and receipts from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) (Dell Inspiron E1505 battery). The majority of households subsist on farming. The formal sector employment consist of mainly the female workers in the apparel sector, the male migrant labor, primarily miners in South Africa for 3 to 9 months and employment in the Government of Lesotho (GOL) . The western lowlands form the main agricultural zone(Dell Inspiron E1705 battery). Almost 50% of the population earn income through informal crop cultivation or animal husbandry with nearly two-thirds of the country's income coming from the agricultural sector. The percentage of the population living below USD Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) US$1.25/day fell from 48 percent to 44 percent between 1995 and 2003.[12] The country is still among the "Low Human Development" countries (Dell Inspiron Mini 9 battery) (rank 160 of 187 on the Human Development Index) as classified by the UNDP, with 48.2 years of life expectancy at birth.[14] However, adult literacy is very high - 82% and children under weight aged under 5 is only 20%.[15]

The Afri-Ski resort in the Maloti Mountains of Lesotho.

Lesotho has taken advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to become the largest exporter of garments to the US from sub-Saharan Africa.[16] American Brands and retailers sourcing from Lesotho include(Dell Latitude D400 battery): Foot Locker, Gap, Gloria Vanderbilt, JCPenny, Levi Strauss, Saks, Sears, Timberland and Wal-Mart.[17] In mid 2004 its employment reached over 50,000 mainly female workers, marking the first time that manufacturing sector workers outnumbered government employees. In 2008 it exported 487 million dollars mainly to the U.S.A. Since 2004 employment in the sector was somehow reduced to about 45,000, in mid 2011(Dell STUDIO 1450 battery), due to intense international competition in the garment sector. It was the largest formal sector employer in Lesotho in 2011.[18] In 2007, the average earnings of an employee in the textile sector were $103 per month, and the official minimum wage for a general textile worker was $93 per month. The average gross national income per capita in 2008 was $83 per month. (Dell Vostro 1400 battery) The sector initiated a major program to fight HIV/AIDS called Apparel Lesotho Alliance to Fight AIDS (ALAFA). It is an industry-wide program providing prevention and treatment for the workers. (see below HIV)[19]

Water and diamonds are Lesotho's significant natural resources.[12] Water is utilized through the 21-year, multi-billion-dollar Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), under the authority of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority(Dell Vostro 1500 battery). The project commenced in 1986.[20] The LHWP is designed to capture, store, and transfer water from the Orange River system to South Africa's Free State and greater Johannesburg area, which features a large concentration of South African industry, population, and agriculture. Completion of the first phase of the project has made Lesotho almost completely self-sufficient in the production of electricity and generated approximately $70 million in 2010 from the sale of electricity and water to South Africa. (Dell XPS M1210 battery) The World Bank, African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, and many other bilateral donors financed the project.

Diamonds are produced in Letseng, Mothae, Liqhobong and Kao mines. The sector suffered a set back in 2008 as the result of the world recession but rebounded in 2010 and 2011. Export of diamonds reached $230 million in 2010/11.[22] In 1957, a South African adventurer, colonel Jack Scott, accompanied by a young man named Keith Whitelock(Dell XPS M1330 battery), set out prospecting for diamonds. They found their diamond mine at 3,100 m altitude, on top of the Maluti Mountains in northeastern Lesotho, some 70 km from Mokhotlong at Letseng. In 1967, a 601-carat (120 g) diamond (Lesotho Brown) was discovered in the mountains by a Mosotho woman. In August 2006, a 603-carat (121 g) white diamond (Lesotho Promise) was discovered at the Letseng-la-Terae mine(Dell XPS 1340 battery). Another 478-carat (96 g) diamond was discovered at the same location in 2008.

Lesotho’s progress in moving from a predominantly subsistence-oriented economy to a lower middle income, diversified[disambiguation needed] economy exporting natural resources and manufacturing goods has brought higher, more secure incomes to a significant portion of the population. (Dell XPS M1530 battery)

The global economic crisis hit the Lesotho economy hard through loss of textile exports and jobs in the sector due largely to the economic slowdown in the United States which is a major export destination, reduced diamond mining and exports, including weak prices for diamonds; drop in SACU revenues due to the economic slowdown in the South African economy(Dell XPS M170 battery), and reduction in worker remittances due to weakening of the South African economy and contraction of the mining sector and related job losses in South Africa. In 2009, GDP growth slowed to 0.9 percent.[12]

The official currency is the loti (plural: maloti), but can be used interchangeably with the South African rand. Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, and South Africa also form a common currency and exchange control area known as the Common Monetary Area (CMA) (Dell XPS M1710 battery). The loti is at par with the rand. One hundred lisente equal one loti.

Lesotho is a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), in which tariffs have been eliminated on the trade of goods between other member countries Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland.

Lesotho has received economic aid from a variety of sources, including the United States, the World Bank, Ireland, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Germany(Dell XPS M1730 battery).

Significant levels of child labor exist in Lesotho, and the country is in the process of formulating an Action Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (APEC). According to the UN, Lesotho has the highest rape rate of any country (91.6 out of 100,000 people).[24]

[edit]Demographics

See also: Demographics of Lesotho

Mosotho horseman.

Lesotho has a population of approximately 2,067,000.[1] The population distribution of Lesotho is 25% urban and 75% rural(Dell XPS M2010 battery). However, it is estimated that annual increase of urban population is 3.5%.[25] Population density is lower in the highlands than in the western lowlands. Although the majority of the population—60.2%—is between 15 and 64 years of age, Lesotho has a substantial youth population numbering around 34.8%.[25]

[edit]Ethnic groups and languages(Dell Latitude E5400 battery)

Lesotho's ethno-linguistic structure consists almost entirely of the Basotho, a Bantu-speaking people: an estimate of 99.7% of the people identify as Basotho. Basotho subgroups include the Bakuena (Kuena), Batloung (the Tlou), Baphuthi (the Phuti), Bafokeng, Bataung (the Tau), Batšoeneng (the Tšoene), Matebele, etc(Dell Latitude E5500 battery).

The main language, Sesotho (or Sotho), is also the first official and administrative language, and it is what Basotho speak on an ordinary basis. English is the other official and administrative language.

Main article: Religion in Lesotho

The population of Lesotho is estimated to be around 90% Christian. Protestants represent 45% of the population (Evangelicals 26%, and Anglican and other Protestant groups an additional 19%), and Roman Catholics represent 45 percent of the population(Dell Latitude E6400 battery). Members of other religions (Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Baha'i, and members of traditional indigenous religions) comprise the remaining 10% of the population.[26]

Education and literacy

Children in class at Ha Nqabeni primary school

An estimated 85% of the population 15 and over is literate, according to recent estimates. As such, Lesotho boasts one of the highest literacy rates in Africa,[25] in part because Lesotho invests over 12% of its GDP in education. (Dell Latitude E6500 battery) Contrary to most countries, in Lesotho female literacy (94.5%) is higher than male literacy. According to a study by the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality in 2000, 37% of grade 6 pupils in Lesotho (average age 14 years) are at or above reading level 4, "Reading for Meaning."[28] A pupil at this level of literacy can read ahead or backwards through various parts of text to link and interpret information(Dell Inspiron Mini 12 battery). Although education is not compulsory, the Government of Lesotho is incrementally implementing a program for free primary education.[29]

Despite having a highly literate population, Lesotho's residents struggle to access vital services, such as healthcare, travel, and educational resources, as according to the International Telecommunication Union, only 3.4% of the population use the Internet(Dell XPS M140 battery). A service from Econet Telecom Lesotho expanded the country’s access to email via entry level, low end mobile phones and consequently improved access to educational information. The African Library Project works to establish school and village libraries in partnership with US Peace Corps Lesotho[30] and the Butha Buthe District of Education.

Infant mortality is at about 8.3%.[31] There are 5 physicians per 100,000 persons. (Dell XPS 13 battery)

Main article: HIV/AIDS in Lesotho

Lesotho is severely afflicted by HIV/AIDS. According to 2009 estimates, the prevalence is about 23.6%, one of the highest in the world.[33] In urban areas, about 50% of women under 40 have HIV. The UNDP stated that in 2006 life expectancy in Lesotho was estimated at 42 years for men and women. (Dell XPS 16 battery)

The country regards HIV as one of its most important development issues, and the Government is addressing the pandemic through its HIV/AIDS National Strategic Plan. Coverage of some key HIV/AIDS interventions has improved, including prevention of mother to child transmission and antiretroviral therapy. Prevention of mother to child transmission coverage increased from about 5 percent in 2005, to 31 percent in 2007(Dell XPS 1640 battery). The roll-out of antiretroviral therapy has made good progress, with 38,586 people receiving treatment by 2008.[12]

The “Know Your Status” campaign boosted the number of people being tested for HIV to 229,092 by the end of 2007, 12 percent of the population and three times the number tested in 2005. The program is funded by the Clinton Foundation and started in June 2006. Bill Clinton and Microsoft chairman Bill Gates visited Lesotho in July 2006 to assess its fight against AIDS. (Dell XPS 1645 battery) As a result, the annual rate at which adults in the population who are HIV-negative become HIV-positive declined from 2.9 percent in 2005 to 2.3 percent in 2007, lowering the estimated annual number of new infections from 26,000 to 21,560. These are the first signs of a decline in the HIV epidemic. (Dell XPS 1647 battery)

The Apparel Lesotho Alliance to Fight AIDS (ALAFA) is an industry-wide program providing prevention and treatment, including ARVs when these are necessary, for the 46,000 mainly women workers in the Lesotho apparel industry. It was launched in May 2006. The program is helping to combat two of the key drivers of the HIV/AIDS epidemic: poverty and gender inequality. Surveys within the industry by ALAFA show that 43% of the employees have HIV. (Dell Latitude 131L battery)

[edit]Foreign relations

The flag used by Lesotho until October 2006.

Main article: Foreign relations of Lesotho

Lesotho's geographic location makes it extremely vulnerable to political and economic developments in South Africa. It is a member of many regional economic organizations, including the Southern African Development Community (SADC),[35] and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).[36] It is also active in the United Nations (UN) (Dell Latitude C400 battery), the African Union, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Commonwealth, and many other international organizations.[citation needed]

Prince Seeiso Hirohr Seeiso is the present High Commissioner of the Kingdom of Lesotho to the Court of St. James's. The UN is represented by a resident mission as well, including UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, FAO, WFP, and UNAIDS(Dell Latitude C500 battery).

Historically, Lesotho has maintained generally close ties with Ireland.[37]

Lesotho also has maintained ties with the United Kingdom (Wales in particular), Germany, the United States and other Western states. Although in 1990 it broke relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and re-established relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan), it later restored ties with the PRC(Dell Latitude C510 battery).

Lesotho also recognizes the State of Palestine.[38]

In the past, it was a strong public opponent of apartheid in South Africa and granted a number of South African refugees political asylum during the apartheid era.[38]

Lesotho does not have a single code containing its laws; it draws them from a variety of sources including: Constitution, Legislation, Common Law, Judicial precedent, Customary Law, and Authoritative texts. (Dell Latitude C540 battery)

The Constitution of Lesotho came into force after the publication of the Commencement Order. Constitutionally, legislation refers to laws that have been passed by both houses of parliament and have been assented to by the King (section 78(1)). Subordinate legislation refers to laws passed by other bodies to which parliament has by virtue of section 70(2) of the Constitution validly delegated such legislative powers(Dell Latitude C600 battery). These include government gazettes, ministerial orders, ministerial regulations and municipal bye-laws.

Although Lesotho shares with South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia and Zimbabwe a mixed general legal system which resulted from the interaction between the Roman-Dutch Civilian law and the English Common Law, its general law operates independently. Lesotho also applies the common law, which refers to unwritten law or law from non-statutory sources(Dell Latitude C610 battery), but excludes customary law. Decisions from South African courts are only persuasive, and courts refer to them in formulating their decisions. Decisions from similar jurisdictions can also be cited for their persuasive value. Magistrates’ courts decisions do not become precedent since these are lower courts. They are however bound by decisions of the High Court and the Court of Appeal(Dell Latitude C640 battery). At the apex of the Lesotho justice system is the Court of Appeal, which is the final appellate forum on all matters. It has a supervisory and review jurisdiction over all the courts of Lesotho.

Lesotho has a dual legal system consisting of customary and general laws operating side by side. Customary law is made up of the customs of the Basotho, written and codified in the Laws of Lerotholi whereas general law consists of Roman Dutch Law imported from the Cape and the Lesotho statutes(Dell Latitude C800 battery). The codification of customary law came about after a council was appointed in 1903 to advise the British Resident Commissioner on what was best for the Basotho in terms of laws that would govern them. Until this time, the Basotho customs and laws were passed down from generation to generation through oral tradition. The council was then given the task of codifying them(Dell Latitude C810 battery), came up with the Laws of Lerotholi which are applied by customary courts today (local courts). Written works of eminent authors have persuasive value in the courts of Lesotho. These include writings of the old authorities as well as contemporary writers from similar jurisdictions.

Retsilisitsoe Nthunya wrapped in a Basotho blanket.

See also: Music of Lesotho and List of African writers (by country)

Traditional musical instruments include lekolulo, a kind of flute used by herding boys, setolo-tolo, played by men using their mouth, and the woman's stringed thomo(Dell Latitude C840 battery).

The national anthem of Lesotho is "Lesotho Fatše La Bo-ntata Rona", which literally translates into "Lesotho, Land Of Our Fore-Fathers".

The traditional style of housing in Lesotho is called a mokhoro. Many older houses, especially in smaller towns and villages, are of this type, with walls usually constructed from large stones cemented together. Baked mud bricks and especially concrete blocks are also used nowadays, with thatched roofs still common, although often replaced by corrugated roofing sheets(Dell Latitude D410 battery).

Traditional attire revolves around the Basotho blanket, a thick covering made primarily of wool. The blankets are ubiquitous throughout the country during all seasons, and worn differently for men and women.

The Morija Arts & Cultural Festival is a prominent Sesotho arts and music festival. It is held annually in the historical town of Morija, where the first missionaries arrived in 1833(Dell Latitude D420 battery).

Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea,[5] is a country located in Middle Africa. It has two parts: a Continental Region (Río Muni), including several small offshore islands including Corisco, Elobey Grande and Elobey Chico; and an insular region containing Annobón island and Bioko island (formerly Fernando Pó) where the capital Malabo is situated(Dell Latitude D430 battery).

Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the east is the mainland region. Equatorial Guinea is bordered by Cameroon on the north, Gabon on the south and east, and the Gulf of Guinea on the west, where the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe is located between Bioko and Annobón(Dell Latitude D500 battery).

Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name is suggestive of its location near both the equator and the Gulf of Guinea. Besides the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla on the Mediterranean coast next to Morocco, it is the only territory in mainland Africa with Spanish as the official language(Dell Latitude D505 battery).

With an area of 28,000 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi) Equatorial Guinea is one of the smallest countries in continental Africa. It is also the richest per capita;[6] however, the wealth is distributed very unevenly. With a population of 650,702, Equatorial Guinea is the third-smallest country in continental Africa.[7] It is also the second smallest United Nations (UN) member from continental Africa(Dell Latitude D510 battery).

The discovery of sizeable petroleum reserves in recent years is altering the economic and political status of the country. Its gross domestic product (GDP) per capita ranks 64th in the world;[8] however, most of the country's considerable oil wealth actually lies in the hands of only a few people(Dell Latitude D520 battery).

Equatorial Guinea has one of the worst human rights records in the world, consistently ranking among the "worst of the worst" in Freedom House's annual survey of political and civil rights[9] and Reporters Without Borders ranks President Obiang among its "predators" of press freedom.[10] Out of 44 sub-Saharan countries, Equatorial Guinea ranks 9th highest in the Human Development Index (HDI) and 115th overall, which is among the medium HDI countries(Dell Latitude D600 battery).

The Trafficking in Persons Report 2012 states "Equatorial Guinea is a source and destination for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking." The report rates Equatorial Guinea as a "Tier 3" country, the lowest (worst) ranking: "Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so(Dell Latitude D610 battery)."

Geography

Main article: Geography of Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea is located in west central Africa. The country consists of a mainland territory, Río Muni, which is bordered by Cameroon to the north and Gabon to the east and south, and five small islands, Bioko, Corisco, Annobón, Small Elobey, and Great Elobey. Bioko, the site of the capital, Malabo, lies about 40 kilometers (25 mi) off the coast of Cameroon(Dell Latitude D620 battery). Annobón Island is about 350 kilometers (220 mi) west-south-west of Cape Lopez in Gabon. Corisco and the two Elobey islands are in Corisco Bay, on the border of Río Muni and Gabon.

Equatorial Guinea lies between latitudes 4°N and 2°S, and longitudes 5° and 12°E. Despite its name, no part of the country's territory lies on the equator—it is entirely in the northern hemisphere, except for the insular Annobón Province, which is about 155 km south of the equator(Dell Latitude D630 battery).

Equatorial Guinea spans several ecoregions. Río Muni region lies within the Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests ecoregion except for patches of Central African mangroves on the coast, especially in the Muni River estuary. The Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests ecoregion covers most of Bioko and as well as the adjacent portions of Cameroon and Nigeria on the African mainland(Dell Latitude D800 battery), and the Mount Cameroon and Bioko montane forests ecoregion covers the highlands of Bioko and nearby Mount Cameroon.

The São Tomé, Príncipe, and Annobón moist lowland forests ecoregion covers all of Annobón, as well as São Tomé and Príncipe.

Equatorial Guinea has a tropical climate with distinct wet and dry seasons. From June to August, Río Muni is dry and Bioko wet; from December to February(Dell Latitude D810 battery), the reverse occurs. In between there is gradual transition. Rain or mist occurs daily on Annobón, where a cloudless day has never been registered. The temperature at Malabo, Bioko, ranges from 16 °C (61 °F) to 33 °C (91 °F), though on the southern Moka Plateau normal high temperatures are only 21 °C (70 °F). In Río Muni, the average temperature is about 27 °C (81 °F) (Dell Latitude D820 battery). Annual rainfall varies from 1,930 mm (76 in) at Malabo to 10,920 mm (430 in) at Ureka, Bioko, but Río Muni is somewhat drier.[12]

Main article: History of Equatorial Guinea

In the continental region that is now Equatorial Guinea there are believed to have been pygmies, of whom only isolated pockets remain in southern Río Muni. Bantu migrations between the 18th and 20th centuries brought the coastal tribes and later the Fang(Dell Latitude D830 battery). Elements of the latter may have generated the Bubi, who emigrated to Bioko from Cameroon and Rio Muni in several waves and succeeded former Neolithic populations. The Annobón population, native to Angola, was introduced by the Portuguese via São Tomé island (São Tomé and Príncipe).

The Portuguese explorer Fernão do Pó, seeking a path to India, is credited as being the first European to discover the island of Bioko in 1472(Dell Latitude 2100 battery). He called it Formosa ("Beautiful"), but it quickly took on the name of its European discoverer. The islands of Fernando Pó and Annobón were colonized by Portugal in 1474.

In 1778, the island, adjacent islets, and commercial rights to the mainland between the Niger and Ogoue Rivers were ceded to Spain in exchange for South America´s territory Sacramento (Treaty of El Pardo, between Queen Maria I of Portugal and King Charles III of Spain) (Dell Latitude 2110 battery). Between 1778 and 1810, the territory of Equatorial Guinea depended administratively on the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, with seat in Buenos Aires.

From 1827 to 1843, the United Kingdom established a base on the island to combat the slave trade,[13] which was then moved to Sierra Leone upon agreement with Spain in 1843. In 1844, on restoration of Spanish sovereignty(Dell Latitude E4300 battery), it became known as the Territorios Españoles del Golfo de Guinea Ecuatorial. The mainland portion, Rio Muni, became a protectorate in 1885 and a colony in 1900. Conflicting claims to the mainland were settled by the Treaty of Paris in 1900, and periodically, the mainland territories were united administratively under Spanish rule. Between 1926 and 1959 they were united as the colony of Spanish Guinea(Dell Vostro 1310 battery).

In September 1968, Francisco Macías Nguema was elected first president of Equatorial Guinea, and independence was recognized on 12 October 1968. In July 1970, Nguema created a single-party state. Nguema’s reign of terror led to the death or exile of up to 1/3 of the country's population. Out of a population of 300,000, an estimated 80,000 had been killed. (Dell Vostro 1320 battery) The economy collapsed, and skilled citizens and foreigners left.[16] Teodoro Obiang deposed Francisco Macías Nguema on 3 August 1979, in a bloody coup d'état.[17]

In 2011 the government announced it was planning a new capital in the country, named Djibloho.

Main article: Politics of Equatorial Guinea

Map of Equatorial Guinea

The current president of Equatorial Guinea is Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. The 1982 constitution of Equatorial Guinea(Dell Vostro 1510 battery), written following the 1979 deposition of dictator Francisco Macías Nguema and with help from the UN, gives the presidency extensive powers, including naming and dismissing members of the cabinet, making laws by decree, dissolving the Chamber of Representatives, negotiating and ratifying treaties and serving as commander in chief of the armed forces(Dell Vostro 1520 battery). The Prime Minister, Ignacio Milam Tang is appointed by the President and operates under powers designated by the President.

On Christmas 1975, Macías had 150 alleged coup plotters executed to the sound of a band playing Mary Hopkin's tune Those Were the Days in a national stadium.[22] It is estimated that 100,000 people (approximately one-third of the population) were killed or fled into exile during Macías' reign. (Dell Vostro 2510 battery)

President Obiang overthrew previous dictator Francisco Macías Nguema on 3 August 1979 in a bloody coup d'état. Since August 1979 some 12 real and perceived unsuccessful coup attempts have occurred. The 'real' coup attempts were often perpetrated in an attempt by rival elites to seize the state's economic resources. (Dell Vostro 1014 battery)

Under President Obiang, the U.S. Agency for International Development entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, in April 2006, to establish a Social Development Fund in the country, implementing projects in the areas of health, education, women's affairs and the environment. (Dell Inspiron 1410 battery)

Since 2005, Military Professional Resources Inc., a U.S. based international private military company, has worked in Equatorial Guinea to train police forces in appropriate human rights practices. In February 2010, Equatorial Guinea signed a contract with the MPRI subsidiary of the US defense corporation, L3 Communications for coastal surveillance and maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea(Dell Vostro 1014N battery).

Although President Obiang signed a national anti-torture decree in 2006 to ban all forms of abuse and improper treatment in Equatorial Guinea and commissioned the renovation and modernization of Black Beach prison in 2007 to ensure the humane treatment of prisoners,[27] human rights abuses continue(Dell Vostro 1015 battery). Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International among other non-governmental organizations have documented severe human rights abuses in prisons, including torture, beatings, unexplained deaths and illegal detention.

US President Obama and Obiang with their wives in 2009

Under President Obiang, the basic infrastructure of Equatorial Guinea has also improved. Asphalt now covers more than 80% of the national roads and ports and airports are being built across the entire country. (SONY PCG-5G2L battery) Progress of this increase in infrastructure was confirmed in October 2011 when a British parliamentary delegation and press entourage toured the country as guests of the president. However, despite all the new infrastructure there were very few of its citizens who seemed to have access to it, with reports of empty three lane highways and many empty buildings during the course of the tour according to a journalist who represented The Guardian newspaper who formed part of the press entourage. (SONY PCG-5G3L battery)

According to a March 2004 BBC profile,[32] politics within the country are currently dominated by tensions between Obiang's son, Teodorin, and other close relatives with powerful positions in the security forces. The tension may be rooted in power shift arising from the dramatic increase in oil production which has occurred since 1997(SONY PCG-F305 battery).

A November 2004 report[33] named Mark Thatcher as a financial backer of a 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt to topple Obiang, organized by Simon Mann. Various accounts also name the United Kingdom's MI6, the United States' CIA, and Spain as having been tacit supporters of the coup attempt.[34] Nevertheless(SONY PCG-5J1L battery), the Amnesty International report released in June 2005[35] on the ensuing trial of those allegedly involved highlighted the prosecution's failure to produce conclusive evidence that a coup attempt had actually taken place.

Simon Mann was released from prison on 3 November 2009 for humanitarian reasons. The presidential decree pardoning Mann from prison cites concerns about his physical health and the need for him to receive ongoing care in his home country. (SONY PCG-5J2L battery)

President Obiang was re-elected to serve an additional term in 2009 in an election deemed by the African Union as “in line with electoral law”.[37] The President reappointed Prime Minister Ignacio Milam Tang and installed a new government in Equatorial Guinea on 12 January 2010.[38]

The new government is dedicated to strengthening the “cooperation and friendship” with the Barack Obama administration(SONY PCG-5K2L battery). During a meeting on the sidelines of the recent United Nations General Assembly, President Obiang urged President Obama to institute a U.S–Africa summit, to strengthen the cooperation between the United States and Africa.[30]

Pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings. On 1 January 1985, the country became the first non-Francophone African member of the franc zone, adopting the CFA as its currency(SONY PCG-5L1L battery). The national currency, the ekwele, was previously linked to the Spanish peseta.[39]

The discovery of large oil reserves in 1996 and its subsequent exploitation have contributed to a dramatic increase in government revenue. As of 2004,[40] Equatorial Guinea is the third-largest oil producer in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its oil production has risen to 360,000 barrels per day (57,000 m3/d), up from 220,000 only two years earlier(SONY PCG-6S2L battery).

Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. The deterioration of the rural economy under successive brutal regimes has diminished any potential for agriculture-led growth.

In July 2004, the United States Senate published an investigation into Riggs Bank, a Washington-based bank into which most of Equatorial Guinea's oil revenues were paid until recently, and which also banked for Chile's Augusto Pinochet(SONY PCG-6S3L battery). The Senate report, as to Equatorial Guinea, showed that at least $35 million were siphoned off by Obiang, his family and senior officials of his regime. The president has denied any wrongdoing. While Riggs Bank in February 2005 paid $9 million as restitution for its banking for Chile's Augusto Pinochet, no restitution was made with regard to Equatorial Guinea, as reported in detail in an Anti-Money Laundering Report from Inner City Press. (SONY PCG-6V1L battery)

Pesetas Ecuatoguineanas (1969)

Equatorial Guinea is a member of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA).[42]

Equatorial Guinea tried to become validated as an Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)–compliant country, working toward transparency in reporting of oil revenues and the prudent use of natural resource wealth(SONY PCG-6W1L battery). The country was one of 30 candidate countries and obtained candidate status 22 February 2008. It was then required to meet a number of obligations to do so, including committing to working with civil society and companies on EITI implementation, appointing a senior individual to lead on EITI implementation, and publishing a fully costed Work Plan with measurable targets(SONY PCG-7111L battery), a timetable for implementation and an assessment of capacity constraints. However, when Equatorial Guinea applied to extend the deadline for completing EITI validation, the EITI Board did not agree to grant Equatorial Guinea an extension.[43]

According to the World Bank, Equatorial Guinea has the highest GNI (Gross National Income) per capita of any other Sub-Saharan country. It is 83 times larger than the GNI per capita of Burundi which is the poorest country. (SONY PCG-71511M battery)

Main article: Demographics of Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinean children of Bubi descent.

The majority of the people of Equatorial Guinea are of Bantu origin.[citation needed] The largest tribe, the Fang, is indigenous to the mainland, but substantial migration to Bioko Island has resulted in the Fang population exceeding that of the earlier Bantu inhabitants. The Fang constitute 80% of the population[45] and comprise 67 clans(SONY PCG-6W3L battery). Those in the northern part of Rio Muni speak Fang-Ntumu, while those in the south speak Fang-Okah; the two dialects have differences but are mutually intelligible. Dialects of Fang are also spoken in parts of neighboring Cameroon (Bulu) and Gabon. These dialects, while still intelligible, are more distinct. The Bulu Fang of Cameroon were traditional rivals of Fang in Rio Muni(SONY PCG-7113L battery). The Bubi, who constitute 15% of the population, are indigenous to Bioko Island. The traditional demarcation line between Fang and beach tribes was the village of Niefang (limit of the Fang) inland from Bata.

In addition, there are coastal tribes, sometimes referred to as Ndowe or "Playeros" (Beach People in Spanish): Combes, Bujebas, Balengues, and Bengas on the mainland and small islands, and Fernandinos, a Krio community on Bioko Island(SONY PCG-7133L battery). Together, these groups compose 5% of the population. Some Europeans (largely of Spanish or Portuguese descent) – among them mixed with African ethnicity – also live in the nation. Most Spaniards left after independence. There is a growing number of foreigners from neighboring Cameroon, Nigeria, and Gabon. Equatorial Guinea received Asians and black Africans from other countries as workers on cocoa and coffee plantations(SONY PCG-7Z1L battery). Other black Africans came from Liberia, Angola, and Mozambique. Most of the Asian population is Chinese, with small numbers of Indians.

Equatorial Guinea also allowed many fortune-seeking European settlers of other nationalities, including British, French and Germans. There is also a group of Israelis, and Moroccans. After independence, thousands of Equatorial Guineans went to Spain(SONY PCG-7Z2L battery). Another 100,000 Equatorial Guineans went to Cameroon, Gabon, and Nigeria because of the dictatorship of Francisco Macías Nguema. Some Equatorial Guinean communities are also to be found in Latin America, the United States, Portugal, and France. Oil extraction has contributed to a doubling of the population in Malabo(SONY PCG-8Y1L battery).

The principal religion in Equatorial Guinea is Christianity which is the faith of 93% of the population. These are predominately Roman Catholic (87%) while a minority are Protestants (5%). Another 5% of the population follow indigenous beliefs and the final 2% comprises Muslims, Bahá'í Faith, and other beliefs. (SONY PCG-8Y2L battery)

The official languages are Spanish (for the local variety see Equatoguinean Spanish), French, and Portuguese. However, the government's official homepage states that: "Spanish is the official administrative language and that of education. French is the second official language and nearly all the ethnic groups speak the languages referred to as Bantu." (SONY PCG-8Z2L battery)

Indigenous languages include Fang, Bube, Benga, Pichinglis, Ndowe, Balengue, Bujeba, Bissio, Gumu, nearly extinct Baseke, and others, as well as Annobonese language (Fá d'Ambô) a Portuguese creole, and Fernando Poo Creole English. English and German are also studied as foreign languages(SONY PCG-8Z1L battery).

Aboriginal languages are recognized as integral parts of the "national culture" (Constitutional Law No. 1/1998 January 21). The great majority of Equatorial Guineans speak Spanish,[48] especially those living in the capital, Malabo. Spanish has been an official language since 1844.

Some media reported that in October 2011, the Constitutional Law that amends article four of the Constitution of Equatorial Guinea was enacted by Chamber of People's Representatives(SONY PCG-7112L battery). This Constitutional Law established the third official language of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea – Portuguese (by that time only the Spanish and French had official status). This was in an effort by the government to improve its communications, trade, and bilateral relations with Portuguese-speaking countries.[49] The adoption of Portuguese followed the announcement on 13 July 2007(SONY PCG-6W2L battery), by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of his government's decision for Portuguese to become Equatorial Guinea's third official language, in order to meet one of the requirements to apply for full membership in the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), the other one being political reforms allowing for effective democracy and the respect for human rights(SONY PCG-5K1L battery). This upgrading from its current Associate Observer condition would result in Equatorial Guinea being able to access several professional and academic exchange programs and the facilitation of cross-border circulation of citizens. Its application for membership of the CPLP is currently being assessed by the organisations' members.[48] According to draft of the Constitutional Law(SONY VGP-BPS13 battery): “This Constitutional Law will go into effect twenty days from its publication in the Official State Gazette”.[50] In October 2011, the national parliament was discussing this law.[51] So far no official confirmation of approving the decree by the Parliament nor published it in the Official State Gazette. Moreover, official Equatorial Guinean sources do not treat Portuguese as an official language yet. (SONY VGP-BPS13Q battery)

In February 2012, Equatorial Guinea's foreign minister signed an agreement with the IILP (Instituto Internacional da Língua Portuguesa) on the promotion of Portuguese in Equatorial Guinea. However, in July 2012 the CPLP again refused Equatorial Guinea full membership, less because of insufficient progress in the introduction of Portuguese, and primarily because of the constant violations of human rights in the country. (SONY VGP-BPS13A/Q battery)

Main articles: Culture of Equatorial Guinea and Music of Equatorial Guinea

Lowland gorilla

In June 1984, the First Hispanic-African Cultural Congress was convened to explore the cultural identity of Equatorial Guinea. The congress constituted the center of integration and the marriage of the Hispanic culture with African cultures.[39]

Under the regime of Francisco Macias, education had been significantly neglected with few children receiving any type of education. Under President Obiang, the illiteracy rate dropped from 73 percent to 13 percent(SONY VGP-BPS13B/Q battery) and the number of primary school students has risen from 65,000 in 1986 to more than 100,000 in 1994. Education is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 14.[39]

The Equatorial Guinea government has also partnered with Hess Corporation and The Academy for Educational Development (AED) to establish a $20 million education program through which primary school teachers participate in a training program to teach modern child development techniques. (SONY VGP-BPS13/B battery) There are now 51 Model Schools, one for every state. It is hoped the active pedagogy in the Model Schools will be a national reform.

In recent years, with change in economic/political climate and government social agendas, several cultural dispersion and literacy organizations are now located in the country, founded chiefly with the financial support of the Spanish government. The country has one university, the Universidad Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial (UNGE) (SONY VGP-BPS13B/B battery) with a campus in Malabo and a Faculty of Medicine located in Bata on the mainland. In 2009 the university produced the first 110 national doctors.[30] The Bata Medical School is supported principally by the government of Cuba and staffed by Cuban medical educators and physicians, however, it is predicted that Equatorial Guinea will have enough national doctors in the country to be self-sufficient within the next five years. (SONY VGP-BPS13A/S battery)

Main article: Health in Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea’s innovative malaria control programs have had a remarkable impact on malaria infection, disease, and mortality in the population.[58] Their program consists of twice-yearly indoor residual spraying (IRS), the introduction of artemisinin combination treatment (ACTs), the use of intermittent preventive treatment in pregnant women (IPTp) and the introduction of very high coverage with long-lasting insecticide treated mosquito nets (LLINs) (SONY VGP-BPS21A/B battery). The result of their efforts resulted in a reduction in all-cause under-five mortality from 152 to 55 deaths per 1,000 live births (down 64%); and the drop occurred rapidly and timed directly with the beginning of the program.[59]

Main article: Transport in Equatorial Guinea

[edit]Air transport

Every airline registered in the country appears on the list of air carriers prohibited in the European Union (EU) which means that they are banned for safety reasons from operating services of any kind within the EU. (SONY VGP-BPS21B battery)

Due to the large oil presence in the country, internationally recognised carriers fly to Malabo (Bioko). The carriers include:

There are only 3 airports in Equatorial Guinea. Malabo International Airport, Bata Airport, and the new Annobon Airport on the island of Annobon. Malabo International Airport is the only international airport in the country. It is very hard to travel around Equatorial Guinea by plane. It's more usual to use a bus, taxi, boat (to travel from one of the islands to Rio Muni), and car(SONY VGP-BPS21 battery).

Main article: Telecommunications in Equatorial Guinea

The principal means of communication within the country are three state-operated FM radio stations; there are also five shortwave radio stations. There are two newspapers and two magazines. Television Nacional, the television network, is state operated.[61][62] The international TV programme RTVGE is available via satellites in Africa, Europa, and the Americas and worldwide via Internet. (SONY VGP-BPS21/S battery)

Most of the media companies practice heavy self-censorship, and are banned by law from criticising public figures. The state-owned media and the main private radio station are under the directorship of Teodorin Nguema Obiang, the president's son.

Landline telephone penetration is low, with only two lines available for every 100 persons.[62] There is one GSM mobile telephone operator, with coverage of Malabo, Bata, and several mainland cities. (SONY VGP-BPS13AS battery) As of 2009, approximately forty percent of the population subscribed to mobile telephone services.[66] The only telephone provider in Equatorial Guinea is Orange.

Equatorial Guinea has nine, As of 2009, Internet service providers, which serve more than 8,000 users.[62]

Further information: Equatorial Guinea national football team and Equatorial Guinea women's national football team(SONY VGP-BPS13S battery)

Equatorial Guinea was chosen to co-host the 2012 African Cup of Nations in partnership with Gabon. The Equatorial Guinea won their first game against Libya 1-0 in group A. The country was also chosen to host the 2008 Women's African Football Championship, which they won. The Women's National Team qualified for the 2011 World Cup in Germany(SONY VGP-BPS13B/S battery).

Equatorial Guinea is famous for the swimmers Eric Moussambani, nicknamed "Eric the Eel",[67] and Paula Barila Bolopa, "Paula the Crawler", who had astoundingly slow times at the 2000 Summer Olympics.[68]

Frederick Forsyth's 1974 novel The Dogs of War is set in the fictional platinum-rich 'Republic of Zangaro', which is based on Equatorial Guinea. There is also a 1981 film adaptation of the book, with the same name(SONY VGP-BPS13B/G battery)

Fernando Po (now Bioko) is featured prominently in the 1975 science fiction work The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. The island (and, in turn, the country) experience a series of coups in the story which lead the world to the verge of nuclear war. The story also hypothesizes that Fernando Po is the last remaining piece of the sunken continent of Atlantis(SONY VGP-BPS14 battery).

Most of the action in the American novelist Robin Cook's book, Chromosome 6, takes place at a primate research facility based in Equatorial Guinea due to the country's permissive laws. The book also discusses some of the geography, history, and peoples of the country.

Episode 2 of the British sitcom Yes Minister, "The Official Visit", takes place in the fictional developing country of Buranda in what is actually Equatorial Guinea(SONY VGP-BPL14 battery).

In the 2009 novel Limit by Frank Schätzing, which takes place in 2025, the country's history (and future history) plays a significant role in the plot.

The 2011 novel "The Informationist" by Taylor Stevens[69] is a missing-person thriller that makes detailed use of Equatorial Guinea's melange of people, economics, and geography.

Malabo ( /məˈlɑːboʊ/) is the capital of Equatorial Guinea, located on the northern coast of Bioko Island (formerly Fernando Pó) on the rim of a sunken volcano. (SONY VGP-BPS14/B battery) With a fast growing population of 155,963 (2005) it is also the second largest city in the country, after Bata in Río Muni on the African mainland.

The city was first founded by the British in 1827, who leased the island from Spain during the colonial period. Named Port Clarence, it was used as a naval station in the effort to suppress the slave trade. Many newly freed slaves were also settled there, prior to the establishment of Liberia as a colony for freed slaves. While many of them later relocated to Sierra Leone(SONY VGP-BPS14/S battery), some of their descendants, called Fernandinos, can still be found in Malabo and the surrounding area, where they constitute a distinct ethnic group, speaking their own Afro-Portuguese pidgin dialect.

When the island reverted to complete Spanish control, Malabo was renamed Santa Isabel. It was chosen to replace the mainland city of Bata as the capital of the country in 1969, and was renamed Malabo in 1973 as part of President Francisco Macías Nguema's campaign to replace European place names with "authentic" African ones(SONY VGP-BPS14B battery).

Despite its location near the equator, Malabo features a tropical wet and dry climate. Malabo sees on average 1,800 mm of rain per year. The city has a pronounced, albeit short dry season from December through February. January is normally driest with just 5 mm (0.2 in) of rain falling on average. It also has a very lengthy wet season that covers the remaining nine months(SONY VGP-BPS22 battery). On average, the months hit hardest by the wet season are from September to October, with 500 millimetres (20 in) of rain falling between them.

Daytime temperatures do not vary at all day to day, and only vary a few degrees throughout the entire year. At night, the average low temperature is 21-22 degrees in every month of the year, apart from January when average low is 19 degrees) (SONY VGP-BPS22 battery). January has cooler nights and hotter days because it has clearer weather. Nonetheless, Malabo, with only 1,180 hours of sunshine per year, is one of the gloomiest capitals in the world and experiences much fog even when it is not raining.

Despite its status as the capital of Equatorial Guinea for several decades, Malabo's street network remains poorly developed. Malabo itself has few paved roads leading into it, and fewer than one hundred paved and developed streets(SONY VGP-BPS18 battery). Many of the street names reflect an African nationalist or anti-colonial theme, with names such as "Independence Avenue" or "Patrice Lumumba Road" being main roads. The few large roads not named for an African nationalist ideal or person are named for cities in Equatorial Guinea or other places or countries in Africa, as well as the road leading to the presidential palace(SONY VGP-BPS22/A battery). The palace and grounds consume a substantial part of the eastern side of Malabo, and are off-limits. The heart of the city is the colonial cathedral at Independence Place. Many buildings in the city from the Spanish colonial era are still standing.

The south of Malabo is bordered by the Rio Consul. Across this lies the hospital to the southeast. To the west is the recently renovated Malabo Airport. The coastal northern region of the city is pierced by headlands and bays(SONY VGP-BPS22A battery). The largest headland is the crescent-shaped Tip of African Unity behind the presidential palace. Encompassing the entire eastern side of Malabo Bay, it is almost as long as Malabo is tall. Malabo is part of a wider bay that represents most of the northern coast of Bioko; it stretches from Europe Point in the west (home to the airport), to barren lands in the east(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11S battery).

Notable buildings in Malabo include Malabo Cathedral, Malabo Government Building and the Malabo Court Building. The city is served by Malabo International Airport, while ferries sail from its port to Douala and Bata. The city contains several notable hotels including Sofitel Malabo President Palace, Hotel Ureka, Hotel Bahia and Hotel Impala(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ15T battery).

EG LNG from the air

Malabo has been significantly affected by Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo's growing co-operation with the oil industry. The country's production has reached 360,000 barrels per day (57,000 m3/d) as of 2004, an increase which led to a doubling of the city's population, but for the vast majority, very little of that wealth has been invested in development(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ15G battery).

Maseru is the capital of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Caledon River, bordering South Africa, Maseru is Lesotho's only sizable city, with a population of approximately 227,880 (2006). The city was established as a police camp and assigned as the capital after the country became a British protectorate in 1869. When the country achieved independence in 1966, Maseru retained its status as capital(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ4000 battery). The name of the city is a Sesotho word meaning "place of the red sandstone".

Maseru was founded by the British as a small police camp in 1869, following the conclusion of the Free State-Basotho Wars when Basutoland became a British protectorate. Maseru is located at the edge of the "conquered territories" relinquished to the Orange Free State (now the Free State province of South Africa) (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ460E battery) as part of the peace terms. It was located 24 kilometres (15 mi) west of Basotho King Moshoeshoe I's stronghold of Thaba Bosiu, the previous de facto capital. A bustling market town soon grew around the area.[4]

Maseru initially functioned as the state's administrative capital between 1869 and 1871, before administration of Basutoland was transferred to the Cape Colony(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ440N battery). During their rule between 1871 and 1884, Basutoland was treated similarly to territories that had been forcefully annexed, much to the chagrin of the Basotho.[5] This led to the Gun War in 1881 and the burning of many buildings in Maseru.[1] In 1884, Basutoland was restored its status as a Crown colony, and Maseru was again made capital(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ440E battery). When Basutoland gained its independence and became the Kingdom of Lesotho in 1966, Maseru remained the country's capital.[3]

Prior to Lesotho's independence, Maseru had remained relatively small; it was contained within well-defined colonial boundaries and had little room for growth, while the British had little interest in developing the city(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ430E battery). After 1966 Maseru experienced rapid expansion: its area increased around sevenfold, from around 20 square kilometres (7.7 sq mi) to the current area of 138 square kilometres (53 sq mi), due to incorporation of nearby peri-urban villages to the city proper.[1][3] The annual population growth rates remained around 7% for several decades, before tapering off to around 3.5% between 1986 and 1996. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ280E battery)

After the 1998 parliamentary elections in Lesotho led to suspicions of vote fraud and a military intervention by South Africa, much of the city was damaged by riots and pillaging. [6] The cost of repairing the damage done to the city was estimated at around two billion rand (350 million $US),[7] and after nearly a decade, the effects of the riots could still be seen within the city. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ190 battery)

Panoramic view of Maseru in 2007

Maseru is located in northwest Lesotho by the South African border, denoted by the Mohokare River. The two countries are connected by a border post at the Maseru Bridge, which crosses the river. On the South African side, Ladybrand is the town closest to Maseru. The city lies in a shallow valley at the foot of the Hlabeng-Sa-Likhama, foothills of the Maloti Mountains.[1] The elevation of the city is listed as 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) above sea level.[9] The city has an area of around 138 square kilometres (53 sq mi). (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ150E battery)

[edit]Climate

Maseru has a subtropical highland climate (Cwb, according to the Köppen climate classification), categorised by warm, rainy summers and cool to chilly, dry winters. The average mean daily temperature during summer — from December to March in the Southern Hemisphere — is 22 °C (72 °F). During winter, between June and September, the average temperature is 9 °C (48 °F) (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11L battery). The hottest month is January, with temperatures between 15 and 33 °C (59 and 91 °F).[10] During the coldest month, July, the temperatures range from -3 to 17 °C (27 to 63 °F).[10] The average rainfall ranges from 3 mm in July to 111 mm (4.4 inches) in January.[10]

Demographics

The latest (2006) census lists the city's population at 227,880, or around a tenth of the entire population of the country, and half of the total urban population.[12][13] This includes 103,520 males and 124,360 females, or around 100 women for every 83 men. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11Z battery) The population of the city was at 28,000 by the 1966 census, and 110,000 by the 1986 census, demonstrating the early rapid expansion of the city after independence.[1]

View from the main road south in Maseru

A railway line, built in 1905, bridges the Mohokare River to connect Maseru with Marseilles on South Africa's Bloemfontein–Bethlehem main line(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11M battery).

Kingsway, the road joining the former Leabua Jonathan Airport, now Mejametalana Airport and the Royal Palace in Maseru, was the first paved road in Lesotho. Having previously been just a dirt path, it was renovated in 1947 for the visit of members of the British Royal Family.[14] It remained the only paved road in the country until Lesotho's independence in 1966. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18M battery) Two main roads lead outside of Maseru, Main North 1 to the northeast and Main South 1 to the southeast toward Mazenod and Roma. The South African N8 road leads from the Maseru Bridge border post west towards Ladybrand and Bloemfontein.

An international airport called the Moshoeshoe International Airport is nearby, at Thoteng-ea-Moli, Mazenod. The National University of Lesotho is located in Roma, 32 kilometres (20 mi) from Maseru(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18 battery).

The commerce in the city is centered around two neighboring central business districts, which have developed around Kingsway and serve as major employment centres. The western business district holds larger office buildings, department stores and several banks. The eastern business district hosts mainly smaller businesses, markets and street vendors.[1] The central business districts are the largest employment centers within the city. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ210CE battery)

Maseru's economy is one that is growing at a very rapid speed which is notable particularly in terms of foreign investment and tourism since independence from Britain and economic ruin when political violence broke out in 1998. Since then the people of the city have been working hard to undo the damage caused(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31S battery).

Maseru's industry is split into two main areas. The one to the north of the central business districts along Moshoeshoe Road holds flour mills and other major companies. The other industrial sector lies to the south of the central business districts, at the Thetsane district, and houses mainly textile and footwear companies. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31Z battery)

Up until 2004 Maseru had a growing textile industry supported by and invested in by Chinese manufactures. Since the expiration of the Multi Fibre Arrangement the textile industry in Lesotho has rather diminished .[15] The city's manufactures once included candles, carpets and mohair products but these have been overshadowed by South African industry(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31E battery).

Maseru at night—view to the south. The city center is to the right

Most of the traditional thatched-roof mud-brick houses, called rondavels, have been replaced with modern housing and office blocks which have a tint of traditional architecture. There have recently been some new buildings in the center of the city, particularly the building across LNDC center which now houses Good times cafe, a Vodacom shop, and offices and the new building of the Ministry of Health which was completed in late 2007(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31J battery).

Buildings destroyed in the 1998 political uprising have been rebuilt and have shops like Fruits and Veg City, Woolworths and Mr Price to name a few. The New Lehakoe National sports center, which is in between the central Bank of Lesotho and the colonial parliament building is equipped with tennis courts, swimming pools, conference centers, bars and gymnasiums(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31M battery). In November 2009 Pioneer Mall opened, providing Maseru with a South African style shopping mall, with many stores, a four-screen cinema and restaurants. Further such malls are under construction in Maseru.

There are some colonial era buildings around the center of the city, most notably the Cathedral of Our Lady of Victories of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Maseru, and the Anglican St. John's Church.[1] Other sights include the Royal Palace, the Parliament building and the State House(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31B battery).

Basotho Hat Shop

Maseru has a total of six hotels, two of which, the Lesotho Sun and the Maseru Sun, have casinos. During the 1960s, prior to the relaxation of South Africa's gambling laws, the casinos were popular attractions among South African visitors, but the interest in them has since waned.[18] The Basotho Hat shop at the city's entrance is a popular source for souvenirs. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ32 battery)

The main tourist attractions of Lesotho, Lancer's Gap, Sani Pass, Afri-Ski resort, Katse dam, Thaba Bosiu and the Maluti Mountains are located a short distance from Maseru. However, distances are deceiving in Lesotho as even a 120 km trip can take over 3 hours due to the rugged terrain.

Lesotho's national stadium, the multi-purpose Setsoto Stadium, is located in Maseru. It has a capacity of between 20,000 and 25,000 people(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21 battery). The stadium is mostly used for football matches and houses the Lesotho national football team, but also holds events in athletics.[19]

12 out of 16 of the teams currently playing in the Lesotho Premier League reside in Maseru.[20] As of 2008, 32 out of the 38 championships contested in the league have gone to Maseru-based teams. Most successful of these have been Matlama FC and the football team of the Royal Lesotho Defense Force, with eight championships each(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21S battery).