Garowe is the capital city of Puntland State of Somalia. It is also the capital of Nugaal Region. The current mayor (since 2022) is Abdulkadir Geedi.1092 Garowe consists of eight inner-city districts: Wadajir, Waberi, Hantiwadag, Hodon, Kowda August (1st August), Halgan, Mubarak/Horseed and Israc. Additionally, there are four IDP camps nearby, named Camp Jawle, Camp Shabelle, Hodaale and Boorweyn, which come under the administration of Garowe city.1093 Many IDPs also reside in the city.1094 The main markets of Garowe are the Inji Market (Hodan area), the Fadhiwanag market in the downtown are and the Maja Gorayo Market (Hantiwadaag area).1095
The most expensive districts in Garowe are Mubarak/Horseed, Hantiwadag, Kowda August and Hantiwadag.1096 Garowe, the capital of Puntland, Somalia, is a growing urban centre. Families residing in the city face varying expenses depending on their income level and lifestyle choices.1097 Increasing rent prices are a challenge, particularly for low-income households. There is some industry in and around Garowe, including a water and a brick factory. But most incomes come from businesses, government jobs, and the informal sector.1098
Garowe has some 290 000 inhabitants1099, of whom almost 56 000 are IDPs.1100 Garowe is the clan-homeland (degan in Somali) of Darood/Harti/Majeerteen/Ise Mahamoud. Most buildings and land are owned by Majeerteen/Ise Mahamoud. However, the population of Garowe is mixed. Many members of other Darood/Harti clans reside there, including Majeerteen from other sub-clans (e.g., Osman Mahamoud, Omar Mahamoud, Ali Salebaan), Dhulbahante, Warsangeli, Deshishe and others.1101 Most inhabitants are, however, from the large Darood clan-family, whose members reside across Puntland and also in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, in parts of southern Somalia and in parts of northeast Kenya.1102 Additionally, some Hawiye business people and also former IDPs from southern Somalia, who over the years settled into Garowe, reside in the city. Many former IDPs belong to the Rahanweyn clan-family or the Somali Bantu/Jareer minority group. Some members of other minority groups including Gabooye reside in Garowe.1103
In Garowe’s hinterland, droughts lead to a steady growth of IDPs in the urban areas. In the city or the camps nearby, they meet other groups of IDPs from the southern Somalia that escaped from conflict. Most IDPs in Garowe settle in Waberi District or in one of the above-mentioned camp sites.1104 Currently these camps are transformed into permanent villages with the help of international organisations.1105 Some 77 percent of IDPs live in extreme poverty conditions. Some 67 percent of the non-displaced population also struggles with poverty.1106 The circa 56 000 IDPs in Garowe city hail from different ethnic and tribal backgrounds that shape not only their decisions about where to settle (e.g., which IDP camp) and the extent of local integration, but also have significant implications for their access to basic social services and interactions with the local residents. IDPs can benefit from and contribute to the social, political, and economic lives of urban centres and host communities, but the majority of them are unemployed and, when they are, perform informal casual work, particularly in construction and domestic services.1107
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Garowe city, Office of the mayor, n.a., url
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Mahad, Telephone interview, 6 April 2025. Mahad is an international humanitarian worker based in Garowe with long-standing experience in public health; Hassan, Telephone interview, 5 April 2025. Hassan has worked extensively with local government and university institutions to then establish himself as an independent businessman. He is a native and life resident of Garowe.
- 1094
UNHCR, Somalia: Verified IDP Sites in Garoowe as of April 2024, 2024, url
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Garowe city, Urban profile, n.a., url
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Hassan, Telephone interview, 5 April 2025
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Dalmar, Telephone interview, 7 March 2025. Dalmar is a businessman engaged in frankincense trade. He grew up in Puntland and resides mostly in Garowe and Bosaso
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Dalmar, Telephone interview, 7 March 2025; Hassan, Telephone interview, 5 April 2025
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- 1102
Hoehne, M. V., Telephone interview, 9 March 2025
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Hassan, Telephone interview, 5 April 2025; Mahad, Telephone interview, 6 April 2025
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IOM, Component 4 of the Nagaad Project (SURP-II): Updated Environmental and Social Management Plan, 4 April 2024, url, p. 5; Hassan, Telephone interview, 5 April 2025; Mahad, Telephone interview, 6 April 2025
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Mahad, Telephone interview, 6 April 2025
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Mohamed B. Said, Transforming Lives: Empowering IDPs in Puntland with Technical Skills for Employment, September 2024, url, p. 1
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Mohamed B. Said, Transforming Lives: Empowering IDPs in Puntland with Technical Skills for Employment, September 2024, url, pp. 1 and 3