Mogadishu is the most populous city in Somalia.880 In early 2025, ca. 2 846 000 people are living in the city.881 It consists of 20 districts. The old ones are: Wadajir, Dharkenley, Daynile, Wardigley, Hawl Wadaag, Waberi, Hamar Jajab, Hamar Weyne, Bondere, Karaan, Yaqshid, Huriwaa, Kahda, Hodan, Shibis, Abdulaziz, Shangani.882 Recently, in May 2024, three new districts were added: Gubadley, Darussalam, Garasbaaley.883 Mohamed Ahmed Amiir is the current mayor of Mogadishu and Governor of the Benadir Regional Administration.884 As of February 2022, Benadir Region was the only region in Somalia completely controlled by the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS). Mogadishu hosts the FGS. Its international airport and port are the country’s largest two revenue sources. Mogadishu is the only city where the FGS collects taxes.885
In Mogadishu, the government depends heavily on thousands of African Union (AU) forces stationed there, protecting the airport and other strategically important locations. The SNA and the Somali police are sometimes acting as clan militia, not as a national force.886 Al-Shabaab has officially withdrawn from Mogadishu in mid-2011. Yet, the militant extremists have a sizable clandestine presence in the city. Al-Shabaab’s ‘secret police’ called Amniyat has repeatedly infiltrated government and security agencies (see also EUAA COI Report Somalia: Security Situation, 2023, Chapter 2.3.2).887 The group’s presence in Mogadishu allows it to penetrate even the best-secured targets in the city.888 Al-Shabaab operates in Mogadishu, collecting taxes on large and small businesses on the big markets of the city, and also from individuals building houses or shops. Those who refuse to pay have to fear reprisals by the group, including attacks on their lives.889 Al-Shabaab can even summon people in Mogadishu it wishes to interrogate, if, for instance, a case is pending before an Al-Shabaab court outside of Mogadishu and a witness residing in the city is required. Al-Shabaab still has the capacity to call upon people (literally, using their phones) in Mogadishu to follow their orders and many people comply, also out of fear of reprisals.890 In many places, CCTV cameras have been installed.891 Prof. Roland Marchal reported in March 2025 that there is more surveillance in the capital city.892 However, there are still bombings and assassinations happening for which Al-Shabaab is responsible. Many people also do not know who to trust.893 For more information on Mogadishu overall security situation see EUAA COI Report Somalia: Security Situation, May 2025.
Security conditions in the city differ from one neighbourhood to another. Peripheral and semi-peripheral neighbourhoods are considered more insecure than highly protected zones near the international airport and in the centre.894 However, it is also true that areas in which government offices or African Union infrastructure is located, or where officials spend time, are prime targets for Al-Shabaab attacks.895
Mogadishu is inhabited largely by Hawiye from the clans Abgaal, Habar Gedir and Murosade. Besides, certain minority groups such as Reer Hamar are traditional inhabitants of the city.896 Moreover, members from many other Somali clans reside in Mogadishu as students, professionals, business people or government workers.897 Mogadishu is ‘not as segregated by clan as other areas of Somalia’. Still, clan membership is important. Hawiye clan holds the most powerful positions.898Minority group members and members of other clans face exclusion and discrimination.899 Particularly in the oldest quarters Shangani and Hamar Weyne, Reer Hamar- which consist of many small groups, see section 1.4 Minorities - have their ancestral homes.900
Mogadishu is also hosting a considerable IDP population. Based on UNOCHA data, at the end of 2024, out of 3 812 registered IDP sites across the country, Mogadishu hosted 2 057 sites, with an overall population of more than 1 160 million people.901 Most IDPs come from neighbouring regions such as Lower Shabelle and Middle Shabelle, while some come also from Bay region.902 Most IDPs in Mogadishu reside in the districts Daynile, Hodan and Kahda.903 Some live in camps while many live in informal sites. Most of these sites are found in Daynile (1 091), and in Kahda (966).904 Many IDPs do not belong to dominant clans in Mogadishu and thus cannot rely on effective clan support when needed. They do not have a power base in the city.905
Somalia, and notably Mogadishu, depends almost entirely on foreign aid to assist IDPs,906 the most vulnerable group in the capital. They usually lack social capital to find support, jobs, housing, and get access to health care. There is no effective public support network. Many IDPs sustain themselves by daily labour, or they are dependent on support by relatives (e.g., from abroad) or humanitarian assistance.907IDPs are in a subordinate and marginalised position throughout Mogadishu. Many choose to stay close to their informal settlements. They typically cannot claim urban land rights or protection from encroachment or forced eviction.908 For the year 2024, some 197 000 eviction cases affecting IDPs were documented in Somalia, primarily in Mogadishu and surroundings.909 IDPs in Mogadishu are in many camps dependent on informal camp or settlement managers. They act as gatekeepers providing land, basic services (e.g. water and sanitation) and some protections ‘in exchange for either cash – typically between $15 and $20 each month – or a proportion of humanitarian assistance – up to 60% in some cases.’910
- 880
Mohamed Adam, Mogadishu’s Spiraling House Rents: Causes, Consequences, and Possible Solutions, 29 January 2023, url
- 881
Mogadishu, Somalia Metro Area Population 1950-2025, url ; World Populatioon Review: Mogadishu, url
- 882
Crawford, N., at al., The lives and livelihoods of forcibly displaced people in Mogadishu, April 2024, url, p. 10
- 883
SMN, Mogadishu Expands as President Recognizes Three New Districts, 20 May 2024, url
- 884
BRA, Mohamed Ahmed Amiir, 2024, url. By law, the Mayor of Mogadishu also holds the title of Governor of Benadir Regional Administration (BRA)
- 885
Bertelsmann Stiftung, BTI 2024 Country Report — Somalia, 2024, url, p. 9; see also SPA, Examining Somalia’s New Sales Tax, November 2024, url, pp. 1, 7
- 886
Bertelsmann Stiftung, BTI 2024 Country Report — Somalia, 2024, url, p. 6
- 887
Williams, Wendy (March 2023): Reclaiming Al Shabaab’s Revenue. Africa Center for Strategic Studies, url, p. 3
- 888
ACLED 1 March 2024: Al-Shabaab’s Infiltration of a Military Base in Mogadishu and Somaliland’s Conflict. url
- 889
Bertelsmann Stiftung, BTI 2024 Country Report — Somalia, 2024, url, p. 37; Amina, Telephone interview, 24 June 2024. Amina is a Somali scholar with focus on social science research based in Mogadishu
- 890
Siyaad, Telephone interview, 8 August 2024 and 28 March 2025. Siyaad is a medical laboratory supervisor in Mogadishu. Originally from northern Somalia he relocated to Mogadishu in 2013
- 891
Fayza, Telephone interview, 16 January 2025
- 892
Roland Marchal, Telephone interview, 26 March 2025
- 893
Fayza, Telephone interview, 16 January 2025
- 894
Mohamed Adam, Mogadishu’s Spiraling House Rents: Causes, Consequences, and Possible Solutions, 29 January 2023, url
- 895
Zakia Hussen, Telephone interview, 24 March 2025
- 896
EASO, Country of Origin Information Report on Somalia: Key socio-economic indicators, September 2021, url, pp. 13-15
- 897
Siyaad, Telephone interview, 8 August 2024
- 898
Afyare A. Elmi, and Faisal N. A., Mogadishu: City report, August 2024, url, p. 10.
- 899
Zakia Hussen, Telephone interview, 8 April 2025
- 900
Adam, A., Benadiri People of Somalia with Particular Reference to the Reer Hamar of Mogadishu, 2011, url, p. 107
- 901
EUAA analysis based on UNOCHA, Humanitarian Data, Somalia CCCM IDP Site Master List, 11 February 2025, url
- 902
Crawford, N., at al., The lives and livelihoods of forcibly displaced people in Mogadishu, April 2024, url, p. 12
- 904
EUAA analysis based on UNOCHA, Humanitarian Data, Somalia CCCM IDP Site Master List, 11 February 2025, url
- 905
Crawford, N., at al., The lives and livelihoods of forcibly displaced people in Mogadishu, April 2024, url, p. 12
- 906
AP, US aid freeze paralyzes NGOs working to help millions of internally displaced people in Somalia, 12 February 2025, url; see also New Humanitarian (The), The government view on ending Somalia’s humanitarian aid ‘trap’, 6 August 2024, url; SATG, Rethinking Humanitarian Aid in Somalia: From Dependency to Sustainable Solutions, January 2025, url
- 907
Crawford, N., at al., The lives and livelihoods of forcibly displaced people in Mogadishu, April 2024, url, pp. 13-17
- 908
Crawford, N., at al., The lives and livelihoods of forcibly displaced people in Mogadishu, April 2024, url, p.21
- 909
UNOCHA 2025: Humanitarian Need and Response Plan Somalia 2025, url, p. 49
- 910
Crawford, N., at al., The lives and livelihoods of forcibly displaced people in Mogadishu, April 2024, url, p. 22