Plugs and voltage
Somalia uses Types C and G sockets. Mains supply is 220 V at 50 Hz.
At 220 V, devices made only for 100–127 V (many American and Japanese hair dryers, curling irons and some shavers) will be damaged without a step-down converter. Chargers labelled “100–240V” work fine with just a plug adapter.
Money
SOS Somali Shilling SOS
Average in 2017: 1 USD = 23,098 SOS (World Bank). No daily reference rate is published for this currency by the ECB; check a live rate before exchanging.
Price level 38 (US = 100, 2017)
Everyday household prices in Somalia are about 38% of US prices when converted at market exchange rates: cheaper than the median country (50). All countries
Language
- Somaliofficial78%
- Arabicofficial34%
Bars show the share of the population that speaks each language (CLDR estimates).
Time
Somalia is on UTC+3, with no daylight saving time.
Driving
Traffic in Somalia drives on the right, so the steering wheel is on the left.
Public holidays in the next 12 months
10 national public holidays from 2 November 2026. Banks, offices and many shops close; regional holidays are not shown. Dates marked “estimated” follow a lunar calendar and can move by a day.
January 2027
- New Year's Day
- Isra' and Mi'raj (estimated)
March 2027
- Eid al-Fitr (estimated)
May 2027
- Labour Day
- Eid al-Adha (estimated)
June 2027
- Islamic New Year (estimated)
- Ashura (estimated)
- Independence Day
July 2027
- Republic Day
August 2027
- Prophet's Birthday (estimated)
Travel advisories
United Kingdom · FCDO
- FCDO advises against all travel to parts of the country
Updated 2026-06-04. Read the full advice. Checked 2026-11-02.
Advisories are written for each government's own citizens and change without notice: read the original before you travel.
Other practical facts
- Calling code
- +252
- Internet domain
- .so
- Measurement
- Metric
- Paper size
- A4
- Week starts on
- Monday
- Read more
- Wikipedia
More in Eastern Africa
Flag: Flag of Somalia.svg, Public domain. Arms: Coat of arms of Somalia.svg, Public domain. Electricity: resolved by intl.life from three sources, see methodology.
