Somali Americans are Americans of Somali ancestry. The first ethnic Somalis to arrive in the U.S. were sailors who came in the 1920s from British Somaliland. They were followed by students pursuing higher studies in the 1960s and 1970s, by the late 1970s through the late 1980s and early 1990s more Somalis arrived. However, it was not until the mid and late 1990s when the civil war in Somalia broke out that the majority of Somalis arrived in the United States. The Somali community in the U.S. is now among the largest in the Somali diaspora.
Many Somali refugees in the US have experienced difficulties accessing the labour market. According to the 2010 census, 47% of Somalis in Minnesota were employed, 13% unemployed and 40% were economically inactive. By comparison, the unemployment amongst the state's overall foreign-born population was 6%.[23] At the national level, survey data over the period 2011 to 2015 shows that 58% of working age Somali Americans were employed and 5.1% self-employed.[24]
Somalis in the United States are represented by the embassy of Somalia in Washington, D.C.[32] The embassies of Djibouti and Ethiopia in the capital provide additional diplomatic representation for resident ethnic Somalis.[33] The breakaway region of Somaliland maintains a representative office in Washington as well.
