Somalia Emigration and Immigration

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Online Sources[edit | edit source]

British Overseas Subjects[edit | edit source]

Finding the Town of Origin in Somalia[edit | edit source]

If you are using emigration/immigration records to find the name of your ancestors' town in Somalia, see Somalia Finding Town of Origin for additional research strategies.

Somalia Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]

"Emigration" means moving out of a country. "Immigration" means moving into a country.
Emigration and immigration sources list the names of people leaving (emigrating) or arriving (immigrating) in the country. These sources may be passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, or records of passports issued. The information in these records may include the emigrants’ names, ages, occupations, destinations, and places of origin or birthplaces. Sometimes they also show family groups.

Immigration into Somalia[edit | edit source]

Historical Backgroumd[edit | edit source]

  • In the late 19th century, Somali Sultanates like the Isaaq Sultanate and the Majeerteen Sultanate were colonized by Italy, Britain and Ethiopia. *European colonists merged the tribal territories into two colonies, which were Italian Somaliland and the British Somaliland Protectorate.
  • Meanwhile, in the interior, the Dervishes engaged in a two-decade confrontation against Abyssinia, Italian Somaliland, and British Somaliland and were finally defeated in the 1920 Somaliland Campaign.
  • Italy acquired full control of the northeastern, central, and southern parts of the area.
  • Following World War II, Britain retained control of both British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland as protectorates.
  • On 1 July 1960, the two territories united to form the Somali Republic.

Immigration Into Somali[edit | edit source]

  • As of 2012, most emigrants to Somalia consist of Somali expatriates, who have returned to Mogadishu and other urban areas for investment opportunities and to take part in the ongoing post-conflict reconstruction process. Through both private efforts and public initiatives like the Somali Diaspora Corps, they have participated in the renovation of schools, hospitals, banks and other infrastructure, and have played a leading role in the capital's recovery. They have also helped to propel the local real estate market.
  • In 2015, after the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen, many returning Somali expatriates as well as various foreign nationals began emigrating from Yemen to northern Somalia.

Emigration From Somalia[edit | edit source]

  • The Somali diaspora refers to Somalis who were born in Greater Somalia and reside in areas of the world that they were not born in.
  • The civil war in Somalia greatly increased the size of the Somali diaspora, as many Somalis moved from Greater Somalia primarily to the Arabian peninsula, Europe, North America, Southern Africa and Australia.
  • There are also small Somali populations in other pockets of Europe and Asia.
  • The UN estimates that in 2015, approximately 2 million people from Somalia were living outside of the country's borders.

Regions with significant populations[edit | edit source]

  • Yemen 500,000
  • United States 170,192
  • United Kingdom 108,000
  • United Arab Emirates 90,900
  • Sweden 66,369
  • Canada 62,550
  • Norway 42,802
  • South Africa 27,000-40,000
  • Netherlands 39,465
  • Germany 38,675
  • Saudi Arabia 34,000
  • Denmark 21,210
  • Finland 20,944
  • Australia 16,169
  • Italy 8,228
  • Austria 7,101
  • Switzerland 7,025
  • Türkiye 5,518
  • Belgium 2,627
  • Pakistan 2,500
  • Libya 2,500
  • New Zealand 1,617
  • Ireland 1,495

Records of Emigrants in Their Destination Nations[edit | edit source]

Dark thin font green pin Version 4.png One option is to look for records about the ancestor in the country of destination, the country they immigrated into. See links to Wiki articles about immigration records for major destination countries below. Additional Wiki articles for other destinations can be found at Category:Emigration and Immigration Records.

References[edit | edit source]