Somalia

Somalia sits on one of Africa's oldest trading coasts, once called the Land of Punt by the ancient Egyptians. Islam reached the region in the 7th century through Zeila and Mogadishu, and city-states such as Mogadishu, Merca and Barawa became key Indian Ocean ports. In the 19th century Britain, Italy and France partitioned the Somali-inhabited Horn. Independence in 1960 united the British and Italian territories, but the collapse of Siad Barre's military government in 1991 opened decades of civil conflict. Since 2012 a federal government has slowly rebuilt institutions in Mogadishu.