How was Somalia created?

The modern-day Republic of Somalia was created on 01 July 1960, when the former British Somaliland protectorate and the former Italian Somaliland colony merged to form a sovereign state.

A referendum was held in 1959 in the former British Somaliland under the auspices of the United Nations which asked the people whether they wanted to join an independent Somalia with the former Italian colony of Somaliland. The result of the referendum was 194,805 votes for unity and 12,000 votes against.

The two regions both gained their independence on 26 June 1960, and the merging occurred six days later, on 1 July 1960, officially uniting the two as the Somali Republic.