Banaadir

Banaadir (Somali: Banaadir, Arabic: بنادر, Italian: Benadir) is an administrative region (gobol) in southeastern Somalia.^[4] It covers the same area as the city of Mogadishu, which serves as the capital. It is the only region in the country not belonging to any of the six states. It is bordered to the northwest by the Shabelle river, and to the southeast by the Indian Ocean.^[5] Although by far the smallest administrative region in Somalia, it has the largest population, estimated at 1,650,227 (including 369,288 internally displaced persons) in 2014.^[6]

Banadir Banaadir Benadir
Mogadishu street scene
Flag Coat of arms
Location in Somalia
Coordinates: 2°2′59″N 45°15′44″E
Country	Somalia
Capital	Mogadishu
Government
• Type	Federal
• Governor	Dr. Mahammed Ahmed Amiir
Area
• Total	370 km2 (140 sq mi)
Population  (2019[1])
• Total	2,330,700
• Density	6,300/km2 (16,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)
ISO 3166 code	SO-BN[2]
HDI (2017)	0.459[3] low · 1st

The territorial extent and scope of the term Benaadir has varied in definition throughout its history, with medieval usage extending Benaadir to huge swaths of coast adjacent to Mogadishu stretching as far as hundreds of miles, from Hobyo in the north. The early modern period which extended the meaning of Benaadir to the interior midway towards the Hirshabelle region, to the contemporary period wherein sometimes the nonstandard misnomer of usage being interchangeable with the city of Mogadishu. This Banaadir municipality is bordered to the north by Hirshabelle and to the southwest by South West, and is the only Somali gobol (administrative region) which is both a municipality and a gobol known as a region.

Overview

The Banaadir region is bordered by the Middle Shebelle (Shabeellaha Dhexe) and Lower Shebelle (Shabeellaha Hoose), as well as the Indian Ocean.

"Benaadir" is derived from the Somali banaadir, which means "coast", in reference to the southern Somali coastal cities Mogadishu, Merka and Barawa. The place name reflects the region's medieval position as a key trade center with Persia, Arabian Peninsula and the Swahili coast.^[7]

The name derives from the Persian bandar (بندر) meaning ‘port’ or ‘harbour’.^[8]

Its capital is Mogadishu, known locally as Xamar (pronounced: Hamar), although the administrative region itself is coextensive with the city. Benaadir is much smaller than the historical region of Benadir, which covered most of the country's central and southern seaboard opposite the Indian Ocean and up to the Juba River, including Mogadishu.^[9]

Thabit M. Abdi was appointed mayor of Mogadishu and governor of Banaadir in 2017, succeeding Yusuf Hussein Jimale who held that post since November 2015.^[10]

History

Political

Tradition and old records assert that southern Somalia, including the Mogadishu area, was inhabited by Benadiris for centuries^[11] and was during the early modern period considered the wealthiest city on the East African coast, as well as the center of a thriving textile industry.^[12] In the 17th century, Mogadishu and parts of southern Somalia fell under the Hiraab Imamate and in the 19th century came under the Geledi Sultanate's sphere of influence.

After the Somali Republic became independent in 1960, Mogadishu became known and promoted as the White Pearl of the Indian Ocean. After the ousting of the Siad Barre regime in 1991 and the ensuing Somali Civil War, various militias fought for control of the city, later to be replaced by the Islamic Courts Union in the mid-2000s. The ICU thereafter splintered into more radical groups, notably the al-Shabaab, which fought the Transitional Federal Government (2004–2012) and its African Union Mission to Somalia allies. With a change in administration in late 2010, government troops and their military partners had succeeded in forcing out Al-Shabaab by August 2011. Mogadishu has then subsequently experienced a period of intense reconstruction.

Population

The 1,650,227 (as of 2014) residents of Benaadir are 50.7% female and come from 303,021 households.^[6] It has the highest percentage of residents who are internally displaced persons among the regions of Somalia, because of its relative safety, economic opportunities and availability of resources.^[6]

Districts

The Banaadir region consists of seventeen districts.^[13] Warta Nabada District was previously known as Wardhigley District until it was officially renamed in 2012.^[14] Kahda District was formed in 2013 and is still absent from most maps.^[15]

• Abdiaziz District
• Bondhere District
• Daynile District
• Dharkenley District
• Hamar-Jajab District
• Hamar-Weyne District
• Hodan District
• Howl-Wadag District
• Huriwa District
• Kaxda District
• Karan District
• Shangani District
• Shibis District
• Waberi District
• Wadajir District
• Warta Nabada District
• Yaqshid District
• Garasbaaley District
• Gubadley District

References

1. "Somalia: Subdivision and cities". www.citypopulation.de. Archived from the original on 25 April 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
2. "ISO 3166 — Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions". International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Retrieved 3 February 2025.
3. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
4. "Somalia". The World Factbook. Langley, Virginia: Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
5. Eno, Omar A., Mohamed A. Eno, and Dan Van Lehman. "Defining the problem in Somalia: perspectives from the southern minorities." Journal of the Anglo-Somali Society 47 (2010): 19-30.
6. "Population Estimation Survey 2014 for the 18 Pre-War Regions of Somalia" (PDF). United Nations Population Fund. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
7. Njoku, Raphael Chijioke (2013). The History of Somalia. ABC-CLIO. p. 69. ISBN 978-0313378577. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
8. Everett-Heath, John (24 October 2019). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Place Names. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780191882913.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-188291-3. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
9. Le missioni cattoliche rivista quindicinale (in Italian). 1891.
10. "Thabit Abdi named as the new Mayor of Mogadishu". Hiiraan Online. 6 April 2017. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
11. Lewis, I. M. (1999). A Pastoral Democracy: A Study of Pastoralism and Politics Among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa. James Currey Publishers. ISBN 978-0-85255-280-3. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
12. Horn and Crescent Cultural Change and Traditional Islam on the East African Coast, by Randall L. Pouwels – Notes to Pages 37–40
13. "Districts of Somalia". Archived from the original on 18 December 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
14. Somali president renames Mogadishu district to foster peace, SabahiOnline.com, 10 April 2012. Accessed on 23 October 2016.
15. See: "Somali Voices" Radio Program Connects Families, Fosters Dialogue on Tough Issues Archived 2016-04-16 at the Wayback Machine, Internews, 27 February 2014. Accessed on 7 October 2015.

External links

• Administrative map of Banaadir