Shaped something like a fish hook, the Federal Republic of Somalia is located on the Horn of Africa, the northeastern corner of the continent. The country was formed in 1960 by uniting the former British Somaililand, which faces north on the Gulf of Aden, with the former Italian Somaliland, which mostly faces east southeast on the Indian Ocean. This union has never been complete and since 1991 the country has been splintered by repeated warfare. The Republic of Somaliland, which controls most of the former British Somaliland, declared its independence of Somalia in 1991 and has been seeking international recognition. Lighthouses of Somaliland are described on a separate page. For the rest of the country the Federal Government of Somalia is recognized by the United Nations and is attempting to create a federal state, but much of the country has been in the hands of various warlords or the Islamist Al Shahaab movement. In 2016 Somalia was officially declared to be a federation of five states (six if Somaliland should ever join the federation) plus the capital region of Benadir. The northern states of Galmudug and Puntland and the southern state of Jubaland have autonomous governments which say they are willing to be considered states within a federal Somalia. Under these unsettled and dangerous conditions it is very difficult to determine the status of the lighthouses. The lighthouses in Somaliland and some lighthouses in Puntland are apparently operating but the other Somali lighthouses are probably abandoned and falling into ruin. Current information on any of these sites would certainly be welcome. Somali and Arabic are official languages in Somalia. Unlike Arabic, Somali is written in the Latin alphabet. The Somali word for a lighthouse is laydh; jasiirad is an island and dekedda is a harbor. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume D of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.
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![]() Caluula (Alula) Light unattributed photo posted to Twitter by @Soomaalikabe on 16 March 2017 |
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![]() Hobyo Light unattributed ex-Panoramio photo no longer online but found in a Google Images search |
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![]() Juba River Light, May 2019 photo copyright Marcus Koehne; used by permission |
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: South: Kenya | West: Somaliland
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted July 1, 2005. Checked and revised December 5, 2023. Lighthouses: 21. Site copyright 2023 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.