---
title: "Somalia — capital, area, population and currency"
description: "Somalia: capital Mogadishu, area 637,657 km², population 19,654,739 (2025), currency Somali shilling. Languages, time zones and calling code."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country/somalia/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Somalia

**Somalia: Capital Mogadishu**

637,657 km² · 19,654,739 people (2025) · Somali shilling

Somalia has the longest mainland coastline in Africa, roughly 3,300 km along the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. The Laas Geel rock shelters hold cave paintings thought to be 5,000 to 11,000 years old, among the best preserved in Africa.

## The facts

- **Capital:** Mogadishu
- **Area:** 637,657 km² — 246,201 sq mi
- **Population:** 19,654,739 (2025)
- **Density:** 30.8 people per km²
- **Currency:** Somali shilling (SOS, Sh)
- **Official languages:** Arabic, Somali
- **Time zone:** UTC+03:00
- **Calling code:** +252
- **Drives on the:** right
- **ISO codes:** SO · SOM
- **Continent:** Africa

## How it compares

- **By area:** 45 of 200
- **By population:** 67 of 200

> Population is the only figure on this page that dates — it is a 2025 estimate and will drift. Area, capital, currency, languages, calling code and driving side change rarely or never.

## Countries of a similar size

| Country | Area (km²) | Population |
| --- | --- | --- |
| South Sudan | 644,329 | 12,188,788 |
| France | 643,801 | 68,720,337 |
| Somalia ← | 637,657 | 19,654,739 |
| Central African Republic | 622,984 | 5,513,282 |
| Ukraine | 603,550 | 38,980,376 |

## Common questions

### What is the capital of Somalia?

Mogadishu

### What currency does Somalia use?

The Somali shilling (SOS).

### How big is Somalia?

637,657 km², or 246,201 square miles — 45 of 200 by area.

### Which side of the road does Somalia drive on?

The right.

## Related pages

- [South Sudan](https://atoneplace.net/country/south-sudan/)
- [France](https://atoneplace.net/country/france/)
- [Central African Republic](https://atoneplace.net/country/central-african-republic/)
- [Ukraine](https://atoneplace.net/country/ukraine/)
- [Nigeria](https://atoneplace.net/country/nigeria/)
- [Ethiopia](https://atoneplace.net/country/ethiopia/)
- [Egypt](https://atoneplace.net/country/egypt/)
- [Democratic Republic of the Congo](https://atoneplace.net/country/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/)
- [Tanzania](https://atoneplace.net/country/tanzania/)
- [South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/country/south-africa/)
- [Kenya](https://atoneplace.net/country/kenya/)
- [Sudan](https://atoneplace.net/country/sudan/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]