Bay, Somalia


Bay is an administrative region in southern Somalia.

Overview

It is bordered by the Somali regions of Bakool, Hiran, Lower Shebelle, Middle Juba, and Gedo.
Baidoa used to be the capital of the old Upper Juba region, which today also includes Gedo and Bakool, as well as most parts of the Middle Juba region. Present regions were created in the 1970s by the then ruling military regime. The capital of Bay is Baidoa.
Despite the name Bay, it is landlocked and nowhere near the Indian Ocean shores.

Demographics

The region is inhabited by Rahanweyn people with small groups of Awramale. Abikar adds various groups of Hawiye, in particular Doqondiide, Hawadle and Sheekhal in the south and Jajele, Sogow, Garre and Dirisamo in the east of the province.
According to the Population Estimation Survey , the division of population in the Bay region is as follows: 93,046 urban inhabitants, 463,330 rural settlers, 195,986 nomadic and 39,820 IDPs, making a total of 792,182.

Districts

The Bay region consists of four districts: