Pray for: Somalia

Flag for Somalia

Key Stats

Religion & Geography
Category Statistic
Continent: Africa
Capital: Mogadishu
Population: 18,706,922
% Urban: 46.7 %
Population Under 15 Yrs: 46.4 %
Official Language: Somali, Arabic (few speak it)
Languages: 15
Literacy Rate: 38 %
Life Expectancy: 55.3 yrs (231/236)
% Christian: 0.3 %
% Evangelical: 0 %
Largest Religion: Muslim
% Largest Religion: 99.7 %
People Groups: 22
Least Reached People Groups: 20
% Unevangelized: 62 %
Persecution Ranking: 2 / 50

Somalia

Title: Somalia

Tier: 1

Type: country

Stability in Africa’s most failed state remains depressingly elusive. Somalia now has a parliament and recognized national leaders after 20 years without an effective central government. But the militant Islamist group Al-Shabaab (linked to Al-Qaeda) still controls much of southern and central Somalia, and continues to hold influence in rural areas. Although it no longer contests control of Mogadishu, it continues murderous bombing attacks there, and in neighboring countries. It even battles against the Islamic State for “terrorist primacy” in the Puntland area. Pray that Somalia’s rulers might learn from the past, govern for the good of the people, and respect human rights and religious freedom. Pray that those deceived by the enemy into committing terrorism might encounter Jesus who loves them and died on their behalf.

Somalia

Title: Somalia

Tier: 1

Type: country

A negative prejudice against Christianity must be overcome if the community of faith is ever to make a greater breakthrough. These issues include:

  • False notions of Christianity. Pray that the association of Christianity with Western decadence, European colonialism and Ethiopian interference would be broken.
  • Practical demonstrations of Christ’s love through aid and mercy ministry must be done in the right manner. Pray that refugees and recipients of help from Christians would be touched and would respond.
  • Nomadic pastoralism and the tightly bound clan structures of Somali society are perceived to be incompatible with Christianity; 60-70% of Somalis are at least semi-nomadic and 95% are tied into clans.

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Content taken or adapted from Operation World, 7th Edition (2010) and Pray for the World (2015). Both books are published by InterVarsity Press. All rights reserved.