May 18 - Independence Day in Somaliland

Posted on May 18, 2019

No nation in the world formally recognizes Somaliland as an independent country!

But on this date in 1991, the local authorities in a part of the
African nation of Somalia declared independence from Somalia!

That's a long time for an independent nation to go unrecognized!

Don't I mean that that's a long time for a region to pretend that it's independent, when it's not?

Actually, apparently the State of Somaliland is de facto independent. That means that, in reality, it is a separate, independent country - just not officially.

Does it surprise you to know that Somaliland is more stable than Somalia is? Its government is more democratic, and its economy is better as well!

Does it surprise you to know that another region of Somalia, Puntland, also considers itself separate and independent - but Somalia and the rest of the world consider both Puntland and Somaliland to be autonomous regions of Somalia!

Check out some info about all three political entities:

Location of Somaliland, Puntland, and Somalia:

Flag of Somaliland:

Flag of Puntland:

Flag of Somalia:

Capital of Somaliland, Hargeisa:

Capital of Puntland, Garowe:

Capital of Somalia, Mogadishu:

Beaches of Somaliland:

Beaches of Puntland:

Beaches of Somalia:

Landscapes of Somaliland:

Landscapes of Puntland:

Landscapes of Somalia:

It's actually not so easy to find landscape photos of Somalia
(the southern part of the nation that are NOT Somaliland
nor Puntland). First, most pretty pix seem to be of the
northern break-away "nations." Second, most photos of
the southern part depict refugees, soldiers, and war damage.

In other words, for every lovely landscape (above), there
are maybe five or ten photos of problems caused by
civil war, suicide bombings, and other violence (below).