There is still alot of room for growth, and satelitte cities could be attached to it as part of a major agglomerate in the future.
Mogadishu 2010
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Fastest growing urban area? It may surprise you - LA Times
Mogadishu is a well planned city, but what is the maximum capacity of the urban hub before it spirals out of control? Six million? Ten Million?(that's probably 95% of Somalia's current population, so very unlikely).It has a smaller population than San Jose, Calif. -- but it’s the fastest growing urban area in the world.
New estimates from the United Nations peg Samut Prakan as the population center expected to grow the most between 2010 and 2015, its population anticipated to surge 9%. The Thai province located south of Bangkok is known for its fishing and boasts that it has the world’s largest crocodile farm.
Close behind are the booming metropolises of Can Tho (Vietnam), Mogadishu (Somalia), Yamoussoukro (Ivory Coast), Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso.)
Of course, it’s easier for little cities to grow quickly, and even with big growth smaller burgs like Mogadishu and Yamoussoukro aren’t going to catch up to Tokyo, Delhi or Los Angeles anytime soon.
But the cities on the list reflect a wider trend: Africa and Asia are expected to make up 86% of the growth in urban populations worldwide in the decades leading up to 2050, according to the United Nations. Newly released estimates show the urban population in Africa is expected to roughly triple, exceeding 1.2 billion; urbanites in Asia will soar from 1.9 billion to 3.3 billion.
There's an upside to urbanization: Educating people and bringing them other services is easier when they’re clustered in cities. The downside: Countries will have to scramble to provide enough urban jobs, housing, energy and infrastructure to avoid an explosion of slums, the U.N. says.
Where in the world is urbanizing fastest? The United Nations map above shows which cities are anticipated to grow the most between 2011 and 2025. For more information, check out the U.N. website, which includes online databases showing the projected growth of urban areas worldwide
-- Emily Alpert in Los Angeles
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This came as a shock to me. You would assume that since the city has been the epicenter of violence and chaos, the city population would dwindle but it is the opposite.
The recent drought and famine in south and central Somalia, high unemployment rate, instability and lack of opportunities force large number of people to flock to Mogadishu.
I doubt the city can sustain all those people who heavily defend on foreign aid to get by. If people are able to return to their native regions and cities, Mogadishu will loose 2/4 of it's inhabitants.
:bash:
The recent drought and famine in south and central Somalia, high unemployment rate, instability and lack of opportunities force large number of people to flock to Mogadishu.
I doubt the city can sustain all those people who heavily defend on foreign aid to get by. If people are able to return to their native regions and cities, Mogadishu will loose 2/4 of it's inhabitants.
:bash:
The natural population of Mogadishu has always hovered around the 2 million range. It's good to see so many positive news coming out of Mogadishu lately & I hope the peace is sustained. The possibilities of Banadir Region is endless.
I'm not very fond of extremely large cities. I rather have 30 cities of 100k spread all over Somalia than have just 1 major city with 3 mil.
Somalia of the 70s/80s somewhat resembled a city-state, hopefully it won't go back to that again. The 'positive' thing of the civil war was that it made regional towns grow and develop more over Mogadishu and Hargeisa.
Somalia of the 70s/80s somewhat resembled a city-state, hopefully it won't go back to that again. The 'positive' thing of the civil war was that it made regional towns grow and develop more over Mogadishu and Hargeisa.
Qalanjo, with stability comes investment, which equals thousands and thousands of jobs, and this directly sustains hundreds of thousands of displaced families. Mind you, the 'foreign aid' you're referring to is really 'Somali aid' complimented by Qatar, Turkey and the UAE. The last few months alone saw an influx of $50million in the local economy from medium sized Somali entrepreneurs, and this figure will continue to grow throughout the year as more hotels, banks, restaurants, and new business ventures are created, and the larger Somali Companies finally return from the other parts of Africa and the Middle East to set up shop in the capital. I fully understand why those families are heading for Mogadishu, because there is a cancer in that fertile region they used to call home that one simply can't reason with.
When eventually universal peace is established in the South, then ofcourse there will most likely be a back-migration, but not a big one, because the families will have gotten used to their new lives in Mogadishu, and the ones going back to Afgoye, Baidoa and the deep south will probably be the more entrepreneurial ones reclaiming plantations and farms. The families that are currently flocking to Mogadishu will have better access to education for their children, healthcare and better job opportunities, since the world is steadily returning to Mogadishu.
When eventually universal peace is established in the South, then ofcourse there will most likely be a back-migration, but not a big one, because the families will have gotten used to their new lives in Mogadishu, and the ones going back to Afgoye, Baidoa and the deep south will probably be the more entrepreneurial ones reclaiming plantations and farms. The families that are currently flocking to Mogadishu will have better access to education for their children, healthcare and better job opportunities, since the world is steadily returning to Mogadishu.
Somali capital Mogadishu stability boosts business investments
By Abdurrahman Warsameh
MOGADISHU (Xinhua) -- The growing stability in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, following the withdrawal by militants fighters last year give new hope for local and international investors start businesses in the seaside city.
The newly established First Somali Bank (FSB) is one of the business that are starting up in the capital Mogadishu and Albert Falck, a French national, is the CEO of the bank that aims to provide financial services to both individual and businesses alike.
Falck says he and other Somali investors who are partners in the venture were encouraged by the relative calm in Mogadishu to establish a group of companies in war ravaged Somalia.
“Now it is a time for Somalia to recover the economic stability and good environment and this is why we decided to establish these new businesses,” FSB CEO Falck told Xinhua at his office in Mogadishu on Tuesday.
The FSB is an Islamic finance bank that will finance various business ventures and offer loans to locals who want to start their own businesses, the bank official said.
There are many transfer and telecom companies already in existence in the Somali capital and they are the largest employers in the horn of Africa nation.
FSB says its scope is far wider and will be offering all financial services require by local businesses and individuals.
“We are not only going to do Hawala which is a small part of our business but we are going to finance and to help Somali people. We are going to provide loans to reconstruct the country to rebuild and also to finance new equipment,” Falck said.
He says his bank is going to finance solar equipment for use as energy source by people in sunny Somalia because he says. Falcks contends solar power is ideal for locals since electricity bills are 20 percent more than in developed countries.
Somalia’s national bank, which has collapsed along with other state institutions during the twenty years of anarchy has recently reopened but has not been fully operational.
The group of companies of which FSB is a part is also involved in a fish processing activities intended to invest in the vast marine resource of Somalia. The department is headed by Peter Rasmussen, a U.S. national.
This venture says Rasmussen intends to process fish for the growing local and international markets.
The group also will offer wireless internet service and Islamic insurance known as takaful for individuals and local businesses. -- Source
There are already 15 cities in Somalia with populations above 100k, Somalia outside of the city-state that is Djibouti is the most urbanised country in East Africa, almost half of the population lives in urban centers. Five cities have already passed the 500k mark, so the notion of a city-state country is well and truly over. The rise of Burco, Beledweyne, Hargeisa, Bosaso and other cities has made sure of that.I'm not very fond of extremely large cities. I rather have 30 cities of 100k spread all over Somalia than have just 1 major city with 3 mil.
Somalia of the 70s/80s somewhat resembled a city-state, hopefully it won't go back to that again. The 'positive' thing of the civil war was that it made regional towns grow and develop more over Mogadishu and Hargeisa.
In 2025, Somalia's population will be above the 20 million people mark, and with the 5% growth rate in Mogadishu, the latter's population will be around the 5 to 6 million people, while other major cities like Bosaso and Hargeisa will be hovering around the 2 million and 3 million respectively. With a 4% annual countrywide urbanization rate you'll be looking at a Somalia where the vast majority of the population lives in urban centers above the 200k (i.e Berbera, Merka, Kismayo, Barawa, Garowe etc).
We should also keep in mind the ramifications of the future Oil-industry, which can turn small towns into booming cities.
I would love to see a census done nation-wide. There is just too much guesswork floating around. Nobody really knows how many people live in each Somali city/region. 
I don't see places like Berbera or Bosaso booming to big levels until an reliable electrical grid is made in these cities. Although obviously essential in all Somali cities, the climate of these places inhibits huge populations. It's simply too hot. There is no way that they can boom until A/C is universally used. The situations there remind me of the Southern US cities and the Khaleeji cities before air conditioning.
As far as general urbanization, Xamar will always top dog but the days of it being the only game in town are over. People are investing in their own home regions now unlike before the war. I think Musa's wish of several 100k+ populated cities will likely happen eventually. Somalia will likely be over 50% urbanized by 2030 at the latest and 2022-23 at the earliest.
As far as general urbanization, Xamar will always top dog but the days of it being the only game in town are over. People are investing in their own home regions now unlike before the war. I think Musa's wish of several 100k+ populated cities will likely happen eventually. Somalia will likely be over 50% urbanized by 2030 at the latest and 2022-23 at the earliest.
It will be very challenging to provide services for all these people fleeing the rural areas and flocking to Muqdisho. Let's be realistic, I doubt a post-war Somalia will be able to "absorb" all these people into agglomerations. Priorities lie elsewhere and in the beginning there will be shanty towns spreading all around the city as rural migration will continue when Somalia is fully pacified. That trend will have to be controlled, rural people kept and provided assistance there while reconstructing the infrastructures.
I appreciate as well the fact that several urban centers rose during the last 2 decades. Bosaso being the prime example, going from around 50 000 to around 600 000 inhabitants.
I appreciate as well the fact that several urban centers rose during the last 2 decades. Bosaso being the prime example, going from around 50 000 to around 600 000 inhabitants.
Somalia is not China, this is not a migration of tens of millions of countryside people coming to the cities, no, instead the idps returning, and the ones coming from the fertile regions of the South will number between the 500k to 1 million people, who can easily be absorbed in a rebounced Mogadishu, which will generate hundreds of thousands of jobs through reconstruction, and new investments. The concept of 'shanty towns' or 'slums' is non-existant in Somali urbanization especially during peace-time.
We are thinking long-run here, not the next two years, but the next 10 to 15 years.
We are thinking long-run here, not the next two years, but the next 10 to 15 years.
It's more like from 10,000 to 300,000.I appreciate as well the fact that several urban centers rose during the last 2 decades. Bosaso being the prime example, going from around 50 000 to around 600 000 inhabitants.
But the total SOMALI population is 25 million and estimates say Somalia's population could easily be somewhere near 15million or more, since the last census was 1980 which put it at less than 10million, around the population of Australia at the time. Now the Somali and Aussie population are still the same. But they didn't go through 20 years of war!^^![]()
Mogadishu is a well planned city, but what is the maximum capacity of the urban hub before it spirals out of control? Six million? Ten Million?(that's probably 95% of Somalia's current population, so very unlikely).
But Galkayo has a bigger population than Garowe and Bosaaso combined, since its practically two cities that happens to be one cityThere are already 15 cities in Somalia with populations above 100k, Somalia outside of the city-state that is Djibouti is the most urbanised country in East Africa, almost half of the population lives in urban centers. Five cities have already passed the 500k mark, so the notion of a city-state country is well and truly over. The rise of Burco, Beledweyne, Hargeisa, Bosaso and other cities has made sure of that.
In 2025, Somalia's population will be above the 20 million people mark, and with the 5% growth rate in Mogadishu, the latter's population will be around the 5 to 6 million people, while other major cities like Bosaso and Hargeisa will be hovering around the 2 million and 3 million respectively. With a 4% annual countrywide urbanization rate you'll be looking at a Somalia where the vast majority of the population lives in urban centers above the 200k (i.e Berbera, Merka, Kismayo, Barawa, Garowe etc).
We should also keep in mind the ramifications of the future Oil-industry, which can turn small towns into booming cities.
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