Somali Republic, formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is located on the Horn of Africa in East Africa. It is bordered by Diibouti to the northwest, Kenya on its southwest, the Gulf of Aden with Yemen on its north, the Indian Ocean at its east and Ethiopia to the west. Somalia gained its independence from Italy on 1 July 12tQ. On the same day, it united with British Somaliland. In 2007, the population was estimated at 9,118,773