US President Donald Trump has made no secret of his intense dislike for Somalia. He has often referred to Somalia as a “hellhole,” “fourth-world nation,” or place with “no government, no nothing.”
In December last year, Trump said he did not want Somali immigrants in the US, saying residents of the war-ravaged eastern African country are too reliant on the US social safety net and add little to the United States.
“They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country,” Trump said, adding, “Their country is no good for a reason. Your country stinks, and we don’t want them in our country.”
In January this year, while addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said, “Somalia is a failed state … it’s not a nation. Got no government, got no police, got no military, got no nothing. Somalia is not even a country. They don’t have anything that resembles a country.”
However, Trump’s repeated criticisms, bordering on insults, of Somalia have now met a reality check from the Republic of Somaliland, a breakaway northern province that declared independence from Somalia in 1991.
The official X account of Somaliland posted a tweet on March 29, quoting Trump on Somalia and contrasting Somalia’s stark failures with Somaliland’s impressive achievements as a democratic state with a constitution, elections, law and order, police, military, coast guard forces, and a stable polity and currency.
It listed what Somaliland has built since 1991.
Republic of Somaliland, it said, has built a real nation: “A functioning democratic system, a constitution backed by a public referendum, peaceful transitions of power through elections, its own army and coast guard safeguarding its territory, a disciplined and professional police force, a national currency – the Somaliland shilling, a central bank managing its financial system, an elected parliament representing its people, independent courts operating under the rule of law, borders it has controlled and defended since 1991, a working passport and immigration system, decades of stability in a volatile region, trade and cooperation with international partners, and a reputation as one of Africa’s more open and democratic societies.”
After listing its impressive success in nation- and state-building, the tweet asked a simple question. It said the world should reward success and not failure, and asked the world powers, including the US, to recognize the Republic of Somaliland.
Notably, while Somaliland declared independence in 1991, only one country has recognized it to date. In December 2025, Israel became the first and only country to officially recognize the Republic of Somaliland.
Clearly, Somaliland is exhorting Trump and the rest of the world to recognize Somaliland, saying that by doing so, the world will reward its efforts in state-building and punish Somalia’s consistent failures in providing safety, security, and stability, which, by the way, is also fueling illegal migration to the US that Trump has often complained about.
But are Somaliland’s claims about state-building factual?
Is Somaliland a Success Story?
Somaliland is part of Somalia and the larger Horn of Africa region. It has hundreds of miles of coastline along the Gulf of Aden to the north, and it borders Ethiopia to the south and west and Djibouti to the northwest.
Somaliland broke ties with Somalia’s government in Mogadishu after declaring independence in 1991, and has since sought international recognition as an independent state.
However, while Somalia has consistently suffered from civil war, terrorism, poverty, and political instability, Somaliland has built a stable constitutional framework and democratic setup.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), “Despite its lack of international legitimacy, the coastal territory (Somaliland) has a relatively stable democracy and is attracting major foreign investors.”
Somaliland adopted a constitution in 2001 through a referendum.
The referendum saw a transition from a power-sharing agreement among leading clans to a multiparty democracy, and since then, it has held multiple presidential, parliamentary, and local elections.
The United States, France, the United Kingdom, and the European Union (EU) sent delegations to observe Somaliland’s 2017 presidential election.
The most recent presidential election (November 2024) was deemed relatively free and fair by observers. In the 2024 elections, the opposition won and power transferred peacefully, the hallmark of a democratic society.
In fact, the territory’s 2024 electoral contest was one of only five elections in Africa in which an opposition party won.
Freedom House rates Somaliland Partly Free (47/100 in the 2025 report), the highest score in the Horn of Africa, explicitly crediting competitive politics and peaceful transfers.
For Political Rights, Freedom House gave Somaliland a score of 21 out of 40.
However, the same group gave Somalia a score of just 8/100 in 2025 and termed it not free. For Political Rights, Somalia got a score of 2 out of 40.
Somaliland’s score, while still in the “Partly Free” category, is dramatically higher than Somalia’s and stands out as one of the better ratings in the Horn of Africa region.
This gap highlights the significant difference in governance and freedoms between the two entities, despite Somaliland’s lack of international recognition as an independent state.
Somaliland maintains its own security forces and has kept Al-Shabaab largely out. It operates courts, though they blend formal and customary clan-based law.
The Somaliland shilling is the everyday currency, and a central bank regulates it.
Somaliland issues its own passports, which some countries accept for travel.
Somaliland has avoided the large-scale civil war that plagued southern Somalia. CFR and other analysts frequently describe it as a “stable democracy” and “oasis of stability” in a volatile region.
In recent years, Somaliland has unilaterally struck major port investment deals with foreign powers, including Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
However, despite these remarkable successes in state-building in a volatile region known for civil war, tribal warfare, terrorism, and political instability, to date, only one country – Israel – has formally recognized Somaliland.
Israel’s recognition of Somaliland in December 2025 was criticized by Somalia, the African Union (AU), and Arab states, on the grounds that it violated the AU’s principle of respecting colonial-era borders, and recognizing Somaliland would open a Pandora’s box of such demands from other groups as well.
However, the AU’s logic for not recognizing Somaliland on the grounds of respecting colonial-era borders was hypocritical at best, since Somaliland has maintained a distinct political identity for centuries, even during colonial times.
Somaliland’s history as a distinct region of Somalia dates back to the late nineteenth century. The territory was a British protectorate until 1960, when it unified with the rest of present-day Somalia, which had been under Italian rule. The merger faced challenges early on, with many in Somaliland rejecting the centralization of power in the country’s south.
A rebel group, the Somali National Movement (SNM), emerged in Somaliland in the 1980s, opposing the military junta of President Siad Barre. In January 1991, SNM and other insurgent groups ousted Barre, whose forces had killed tens of thousands of Somalilanders and destroyed much of the region’s infrastructure.
In May 1991, it declared Somaliland’s independence, with the city of Hargeisa as its capital.
Since then, Somaliland has emerged as an oasis of relative political stability and a democratic setup in a volatile region. However, these successes have not translated into widespread international recognition.
The tweet by the Republic of Somaliland underscores the point that the US and other UN member states should reward success, not failure.
Israel’s recognition of Somaliland has sparked debate in Washington about whether the US should follow, especially under Trump.
Furthermore, recognizing Somaliland could offer the US multiple geopolitical and economic advantages.
Somaliland sits right next to Bab-el-Mandeb, the critical choke point in the Red Sea.
The Iran-backed Houthis control the area on the other side of the Red Sea in Southwest Yemen.
Nearly 12 to 15% of global maritime trade passes through the Red Sea, which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal, offering the shortest maritime route between Asia and Europe.
Notably, since the 2023 Israel war in Gaza, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked international shipping in the Red Sea.
Somaliland could offer the US potential military bases and ports in an area critical to international shipping and global trade. Furthermore, a US port access in Somaliland could help Washington maintain sustained pressure on the Houthis.
Crucially, Somaliland is also next door to Djibouti, China’s first overseas military base.
There’s also a bipartisan congressional bill (H.R. 3992) pushing for recognition. The bill authorizes the President of the US to “recognize Somaliland of the Federal Republic of Somalia as a separate, independent country.”
The US decision on recognition of Somaliland could affect Washington’s interests in a critical region for decades to come.
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