The East African city possesses the nation’s largest harbor, which serves as a major Somali seaport along the Indian Ocean. However, the nearby Gulf of Aden is plagued by pirate attacks, murders and sabotage.
Most Western nations including the United States have issued warnings advising citizens to avoid all travel to Mogadishu. One root cause for these travel advisories is ongoing terrorist activity perpetrated by al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabaab, including many suicide bombings, kidnappings and general chaos in the Somalian capital.
Research website numbeo lacks sufficient data to rank the Somalian capital on its comprehensive global quality of life rating which benchmarks 250 cities worldwide. Numbeo does evaluate Mogadishu on several individual factors. For instance, Mogadishu’s safety score ranks in the bottom 15% confirming its reputation as a dangerous city in which to live. Ranking in the lowest 10%, Mogadishu has severe pollution levels while lagging via the second-lowest health care score. On the positive side, Mogadishu did relatively well for fast traffic commute time (top 6%) and its climate (top 16%).
From an international trade perspective, Somalia shipped an estimated US$204.3 million worth of goods around the globe in 2019. Its most valuable exports include live sheep (19.3% of Somalia’s global total), live goats (also 19.3%), natural gums and resins (17.6%), sesamum seeds (17.3%), frozen cuttle fish and squid (7.8%), miscellaneous frozen fish (3.1%), primary cell and battery waste and scrap (2%), prefabricated buildings (1.7%), fish-liver oils (1.5%), lemons (1.2%) then raw hides and skins (1.1%) and shark fins (0.8%) according to the International Trade Centre.
Somalia finished dead last in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2019 as the world’s mostly highly corrupt nation ahead of South Sudan, Syria, Yemen and Venezuela.
Capital Facts for Mogadishu, Somalia: Quick Reference
Geography
Capital landmarks: Mogadishu Stadium, National Theatre of Somalia, Garesa Museum, Villa Somalia palace and Arba’a Rukun Mosque
s
People
Demonym for a Mogadishu resident: Mogadishan
Population: 2,282,010 (Mogadishu) at July 24, 2020
Density: 65,200 people per square mile (25,077 per square kilometer)
Population: 15,923,625 (Somalia)
Density: 66 people per square mile (25 per square kilometer)
Median age for all Somalia: 16.7 years old
Financial
GDP: US$12.66 billion for 2019 (Somalia)
GDP per person: $795
Note: The above country-level GDP metrics are on a Purchasing Power Parity basis and are in U.S. dollars. Credible city GDP statistics for Mogadishu were unavailable.
Official currency used in Mogadishu: Somali shilling
Note: The above GDP metrics are on a Purchasing Power Parity basis and are in U.S. dollars.
Research
Research Sources:
Brookings Institution, Global Metro Monitor Report (includes GDP data).
Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, Africa: Somalia.
Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, Field Listing: Major Urban Areas.
CityMetric, Where are largest cities in the world? 2015 edition.
Demographia, World Urban Area, 12th Annual Edition.
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Databases.
International Trade Centre, Trade Map.
Numbeo, Quality of Life Index by City.
Official Government Website, , Mogadishu City.
Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index 2016.
Wikimedia Commons, City Flags.
Note: Some city flags were unavailable. If so, attribution belongs to Wikimedia Commons for pertinent country flags.
Wikipedia, Mogadishu.
Wikipedia, Piracy off the coast of Somalia.
Wikipedia, Somalia.
WorldOMeter, Somalia Population.
Residents celebrate the Foundation of the Somali Republic each July 1.
Mogadishu’s population was 2.3 million people at July 24, 2020. The city’s land area measures 35 square miles (91 square kilometers).
Somalia’s overall land area extends 242,217 square miles (627,340 square kilometers), home to an estimated 15.9 million residents during 2019.
Population density is much higher within Somalia’s capital city, averaging 65,200 Mogadishans per square mile (25,077 per square kilometer).
Zooming out to the East African country’s overall land boundaries, density dilutes to an average 66 people per square mile (25 per square kilometer).
