位於非洲之角、索馬利亞國土北邊。原為索馬利亞領土，1991年索馬利亞獨裁總統巴雷垮台，全國陷入內戰，境內的伊薩克族人遂宣布獨立。索馬蘭有自己的政府，有多黨制的正規民主選舉，是個穩定成長的新興國家。經濟學人2021年指出：「索馬利蘭值得被國際承認，因為它比名義上所屬的索馬利亞更具有政府功能。」目前不被任何國家承認，但在海外數十個城市設有正式外交機構。2020年，台灣政府承認索馬利蘭為獨立國家，並互設代表處。

Year Founded: 1991

A state in the Horn of Africa, Somaliland sits to the north of Somalia’s territory. Originally a part of Somalia, after the fall of Somalian dictatorial president, Siad Barre, in 1991, the whole country plunged into a civil war. The Issa clan in Somaliland seized the opportunity and proclaimed independence. Having its own government and full-fledged, multi-party democratic elections, Somaliland is an emerging country with steady growth. The Economist commented in 2021 that “Somaliland deserves international recognition. It is far more functional than Somalia, the state to which it notionally belongs.” It is currently not yet recognized by any country, but has established official diplomatic missions in dozens of cities overseas. In 2020, the government of Taiwan recognized Somaliland’s status as an independent country, and the two established representative offices in each other’s countries.