GUIDANCE NOTE
Last update: August 2023
Somalia is a Federal State composed of two levels of government: the federal government and the federal member states, which include both state and local governments. Federal Member States (FMS) also dispose their own constitutions and armed forces.
South-Central Somalia includes the following FMS: Jubbaland, South-West, Benadir, Hirshabelle and Galmudug. Mudug region is divided between Galmudug and Puntland, with Galmudug controlling the southern half of the region. Puntland, as an autonomous state within the Somali Federal State, was established on 1 August 1998.
Somaliland declared its independence in 1991 while the civil war was occurring in the rest of Somalia. Somaliland remains largely internationally unrecognised.
In terms of territorial control and influence, some areas of Sool and Sanaag regions and the area of Ayn (Togdheer region) are contested between Somaliland and Puntland.