Somaliland (; , ), officially the Republic of Somaliland (, is a territory that covers the former protectorate British Somaliland. De facto, .Somaliland It is next to Djibouti to the west, the Federal Republic of Ethiopia to the south and Somalia to the east.
The area used to be the Somaliland area which was part of the British empire along with Jubaland, which was called Trans-juba. It was called the British Somaliland Coast Protectorate before 26 June 1960. called the "Somaliland Republic". In May of 1991, after a war, Somaliland regained independence.
Currently, Somaliland international organization views Somaliland as an independent country. Instead, they see Somaliland as a part of Somalia.
Somaliland has a republican government with free elections. The capital is Hargeisa. Berbera is a beautiful city on the coast. About 55% of the people of Somalilands are nomads. Most Somalis are Sunni Muslims. Some people are part of Sufi orders.
A territory in the west, called Khatumo State has been disputed between Somaliland and Puntland.
Demographics
Language
Most people in Somaliland speak Somali and Arabic. Article 6 of the Constitution of 2001 says the official language of Somaliland is Somali, but Arabic is a mandatory subject in school. English is also spoken and taught in schools.
The main Somali dialect is Standard Somali. Standard Somali is spoken in most of Somalia and in countries that are next to it. Standard Somali is used by almost all of the media in the Somaliland region.
Religion
Almost all Somalilanders are Muslims. This is because Islam is the state religion, and practicing a religion other than Islam is against the law. Small amounts of non-Islamic traditions exist in Somaliland, but Islam is very important to the Somali sense of national identity.