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Capitals of the world
Mogadishu, capital of Somalia: facts and figures
Mogadishu is the capital of Somalia. It has about 2,600,000 residents, which makes it the 57th most populous capital of the 172 in DailyGeo's atlas, and it sits 67 m above sea level. Its nearest neighbouring capital is Nairobi, 1,015 km away.
Key figures
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Country | Somalia |
| Continent | Africa |
| City population | 2,600,000 residents |
| World rank by population | 57th of 172 |
| Elevation | 67 m |
| Founded | not reported |
| Time zone | Africa/Mogadishu |
| Coordinates | 2.05° N, 45.32° E |
| Country population | 19,654,739 residents |
| Country GDP | 13 billion US dollars |
| GDP per capita | $661 |
| Life expectancy | 59.0 years |
| Internet users | 27.9 % |
| Big Mac price | not reported |
Climate through the year
Mogadishu averages 26.7 °C from December to February and 25.3 °C from June to August. August is the coldest month of the year and April the warmest, and the city receives 512 mm of precipitation in an average year.
| Month | Mean temperature |
|---|---|
| January | 26.4 °C |
| February | 26.8 °C |
| March | 27.8 °C |
| April | 28.2 °C |
| May | 27.1 °C |
| June | 26.1 °C |
| July | 25.0 °C |
| August | 24.9 °C |
| September | 25.6 °C |
| October | 26.4 °C |
| November | 26.6 °C |
| December | 26.8 °C |
What makes it stand out
- Isolation: 2nd most isolated capital in Africa (1,015 km).
Nearest capitals
Distances are great-circle distances between city centres, which is what the Capitals game measures when it tells you how far a guess was from the answer. Nairobi is the closest capital to Mogadishu.
| Capital | Country | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Nairobi | Kenya | 1,015 km |
| Addis Ababa | Ethiopia | 1,064 km |
| Djibouti | Djibouti | 1,087 km |
| Dodoma | Tanzania | 1,401 km |
| Kampala | Uganda | 1,429 km |
How to remember it
Reading a figure once rarely fixes it in memory. Attach Mogadishu to a place and a number you already know: it is 1,015 km from Nairobi, and it is the 57th largest capital in the atlas. Then practise retrieving it. DailyGeo Capitals gives you one mystery capital a day with distance, direction, language and population clues, the memorising method explains the review schedule, and the capitals index lists all 172.
To see how Somalia compares with every other country on figures like these, the richest countries by GDP per capita ranks them on geopolitix, a country-ranking game by the same maker as DailyGeo.
Sources
- City population and coordinates: DailyGeo's own game data, the same figures the Capitals game plays with. Population follows the urban area rather than the commune, which is why no density is quoted.
- Temperature and rainfall: ten-year means (2015 to 2024) computed from ERA5 reanalysis, retrieved through Open-Meteo. Hersbach, H., et al. (2020). The ERA5 global reanalysis. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.
- Elevation: terrain height at the city's coordinates in the Copernicus DEM, read through Open-Meteo rather than taken from a curated claim.
- Time zone: resolved from the same coordinates.
- Country figures: the World Bank, latest reported year for each series: Country GDP, GDP per capita, Country population, Life expectancy, Internet users.
- This capital elsewhere: Wikipedia, UNdata, Wikidata.
- Method and limits: How this data was collected explains how each figure was collected and what it does not cover.
The short answer
Mogadishu is the capital of Somalia, in Africa, with about 2,600,000 residents, averaging 26.7 °C from December to February and 25.3 °C from June to August.
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Play today's DailyGeo puzzleFrequently asked questions
What is the capital of Somalia?
Mogadishu is the capital of Somalia. It has about 2,600,000 residents and lies in Africa.
How many people live in Mogadishu?
About 2,600,000, which ranks Mogadishu 57th of the 172 capitals in DailyGeo's atlas by city population.
What is the weather like in Mogadishu?
Mogadishu averages 26.7 °C from December to February and 25.3 °C from June to August, with 512 mm of precipitation a year. These are ten-year means from ERA5 reanalysis.
How expensive is Mogadishu?
GDP per capita in the country is $661, the latest year the World Bank reports.
Keep learning
- Nairobi, capital of Kenya: facts and figures
Nairobi is the capital of Kenya: 4,700,000 residents, 1,668 m above sea level, 17.5 °C from June to August and 19.8 °C from December to February. Key figures and sources.
- Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia: facts and figures
Addis Ababa is the capital of Ethiopia: 5,200,000 residents, 2,444 m above sea level, 14.8 °C from December to February and 14.4 °C from June to August.
- Djibouti, capital of Djibouti: facts and figures
Djibouti is the capital of Djibouti: 600,000 residents, 4 m above sea level, 25.3 °C from December to February and 35.0 °C from June to August. Key figures and sources.
- Capitals of the world: the full list by continent
Every capital in DailyGeo's atlas, grouped by continent, with population, elevation and winter and summer temperatures, each linking to its own data page.