1. Displacement in Mogadishu

Table of contents

1.1. Mogadishu demographics and clan composition

Mogadishu is the most populous city in Somalia.11 In early 2026, ca. 2 969 000 people were estimated to be living in the city,12 distributed over its 20 districts. The old ones are: Wadajir, Dharkenley, Daynile, Wardigley, Hawl Wadaag, Waberi, Hamar Jajab, Hamar Weyne, Bondere, Karaan, Yaqshid, Huriwaa, Kahda, Hodan, Shibis, Abdulaziz, Shangani.13 In May 2024, three new districts were added: Gubadley, Darussalam, Garasbaaley.14 In May 2025, Hassan Mohamed Hussein (also known as ‘Muungaab’) was appointed mayor of Mogadishu and Governor of the Benadir Regional Administration by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, replacing Mohamed Ahmed Amiir after six months in office.15 Mogadishu hosts the Federal Government of Somalia. While Al-Shabaab lacks permanent bases in the city, it keeps operating within it, with Mogadishu’s security landscape described as ‘porous’.16

Mogadishu is inhabited largely by Hawiye from the clans Abgaal, Habar Gedir and Murasade. Besides, certain minority groups such as Reer Hamar are traditional inhabitants of the city.17 Moreover, members from many other Somali clans reside in Mogadishu as students, professionals, business people, or government workers.18 Mogadishu is ‘not as segregated by clan as other areas of Somalia’. Still, clan membership is important and the Hawiye clan holds the most powerful positions,19 while minority group members and members of other clans face exclusion and discrimination.20 In the oldest quarters of Shangani and Hamar Weyne, Reer Hamar- which consist of many small groups - have their ancestral homes.21 For more information on minority groups in Somalia and in Mogadishu please see the EUAA COI Report Somalia: Country Focus (May 2025).22

  • 11

    Mohamed Adam, Mogadishu’s Spiraling House Rents: Causes, Consequences, and Possible Solutions, 29 January 2023, url

  • 12

    Macrotrends, Mogadishu, Somalia Metro Area Population 1950-2026, 2026, url; World Population Review: Mogadishu, 2026, url

  • 13

    Crawford, N., at al., The lives and livelihoods of forcibly displaced people in Mogadishu, April 2024, url, p. 10

  • 14

    SMN, Mogadishu Expands as President Recognizes Three New Districts, 20 May 2024, url

  • 15

    Hiraan Online, President Mohamud appoints Hassan Muungaab as Mogadishu Mayor amid political tensions, 28 May 2025, url; Shabelle Media Network, New Mogadishu mayor Muungaab takes office, outlines 9-point agenda, 5 June 2025, url. By law, the Mayor of Mogadishu also holds the title of Governor of Benadir Regional Administration (BRA)

  • 16

    EUAA, Country of Origin Information Report on Somalia: Security Situation, May 2025, url, pp. 88-89

  • 17

    EASO, Country of Origin Information Report on Somalia: Key socio-economic indicators, September 2021, url, pp. 13-15

  • 18

    Siyaad, Telephone interview, 8 August 2024. Siyaad is a medical laboratory supervisor in Mogadishu. Originally from northern Somalia he relocated to Mogadishu in 2013.

  • 19

    Afyare A. Elmi, and Faisal N. A., Mogadishu: City report, August 2024, url, p. 10.

  • 20

    Zakia Hussen, Telephone interview, 8 April 2025. Former Deputy Police Commissioner General based in Mogadishu

  • 21

    Adam, A., Benadiri People of Somalia with Particular Reference to the Reer Hamar of Mogadishu, 2011, url, p. 107

  • 22

    EUAA, Country of Origin Information Report on Somalia: Country Focus, May 2025, url