What is "somaliland"

Somaliland (, or ), officially the Republic of Somaliland (, Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd), is a self-declared state internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the former British Somaliland protectorate, which as the State of Somaliland united as scheduled on 1 July 1960 with the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic (Somalia).

Somaliland lies in northwestern Somalia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden. It is bordered by the autonomous region of the Puntland State of Somalia to the east, Djibouti to the northwest, and Ethiopia to the south and west. Its claimed territory has an area of , with approximately 4 million residents. The capital and the largest city is Hargeisa, with the population of around 1,200,000 residents.

In 1988, the Siad Barre regime launched a crackdown against the Hargeisa-based Somali National Movement (SNM) and other militant groups, which were among the events that led to the Somali Civil War. The conflict left the country's economic and military infrastructure severely damaged. Following the collapse of Barre's government in early 1991, local authorities, led by the SNM, declared independence from Somalia on 18 May of the same year and reinstated the borders of the former short-lived independent State of Somaliland.

Since then, the territory has been governed by democratically elected governments that seek international recognition as the Government of the Republic of Somaliland (, Dawlat Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd). The central government maintains informal ties with some foreign governments, who have sent delegations to Hargeisa. Ethiopia also maintains a trade office in the region. However, Somaliland's self-proclaimed independence remains unrecognised by any country or international organisation. It is a member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, whose members consist of indigenous peoples, minorities, and unrecognised or occupied territories.

Somaliland may refer to:

• Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is a state in East Africa internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia.
• British Somaliland, a former British protectorate in the territory of present-day northwestern Somalia
• French Somaliland, a former French colony in the Horn of Africa; now the country of Djibouti
• Italian Somaliland, a former Italian colony in the territory of present-day northeastern, central and southern Somalia
• State of Somaliland, name of the former British Somaliland protectorate in the few days it prepared for union with the Trust Territory of Somalia (former Italian Somaliland)

• , a British frigate that served in the Royal Navy from 1944 to 1946