At least one in 10 Somalis has been forced out of their home by conflict, as Islamist insurgents who ruled the country briefly in 2006 battle against the Ethiopian-backed government. Years of anarchy since the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, combined with frequent drought and rampant inflation have turned Somalia into the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the U.N.

• More than 2.6 million need food aid
• More than 1 million displaced
• Infrastructure in tatters and little law and order

The transitional government is unpopular and virtually powerless in a country where warlords, Islamist insurgents and Ethiopian-backed Somali government forces clash almost daily.

Aid workers say Somalia has more than 1 million internally displaced people and their numbers are swelled by an exodus of thousands of civilians each month from the capital, Mogadishu, under attack from Islamists fighting to take control of it.

The Islamists' six-month rule of Mogadishu was strict but relatively peaceful, until ousted by troops from Ethiopia - a U.S. ally - at the end of 2006. Foreign involvement fuelled opposition locally and internationally and appeared to boost support for the Islamists, with some analysts saying U.S. accusations of al Qaeda involvement became a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Relief agencies estimate 60 percent of Mogadishu's population - some 600,000 people - fled fighting during 2007. They say that the 15km (10 miles) between the capital and the town of Afgoye is probably the largest concentration of displaced people on the planet. In March 2008 an estimated 250,000 people were camped along the side of the road.

Somalia is the most pressing humanitarian emergency in the world - even worse than Darfur - the country representative for the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said in 2008.

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network said in May 2008 that at least 2.6 million Somalis needed food aid, and warned the figure could rise to 3.5 million by the year end. The shortages are caused by conflict, high inflation and frequent drought. But food distribution is hindered by pirate attacks on sea deliveries, roadblocks, and armed attacks on aid convoys.

Aid agencies rank Somalia one of the most dangerous places in the world to work, and few organisations base international staff there.

It is also the world's second deadliest country for journalists, after Iraq, says the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The African Union has deployed troops to replace the Ethiopian troops whose presence has inflamed the conflict. But, unable to stem the insurgency, the AU troops complain they're under-funded and under-staffed - and the Ethiopian soldiers remain.

Total population (2007)	8.4 million (U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Population Division estimate, 2006)
Life expectancy (2000-2005)	47.1 (UNDP 2007)
Internally displaced people	1 million (UNHCR, November 2007)
Refugees from Somalia (2007)	457,000 (UNHCR)
People in need of emergency health care	2 million (WHO, 2006)
People in need of food aid	2.6 million (FEWS NET, May 2008)
Doctors per 100,000 people	4 (UNDP 2007)
Population with access to safe water (2004)	29 percent (UNDP 2007)
Children under five under height for age (1996-2005)	29 percent (UNDP 2007)
Children under five underweight (1996-2005)	26 percent (UNDP 2007)
Under-five mortality rate (2004)	225 per 1,000 live births (UNDP 2007)
Children attending primary school (2000-2006)	Boys - 24 percent; Girls - 20 percent (UNICEF 2008)