Template talk:Largest cities of Somaliland

Original research

@Gebagebo: This template you have created seems to me to be an original research. First, you are using multiple sources to create one table, which is not a simple comparison. Secondly, you cannot rule out the possibility that there are other large towns besides the ones you listed. Can you prove that the towns you listed in this table are the 10 largest cities in Somaliland? Freetrashbox (talk) 12:31, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

@Freetrashbox I didn't do any original research when I created the template, and all population figures are sourced per the references. The template lists 10 major cities and towns by population, in line with similar templates (examples below)

Largest cities or towns in Tunisia According to the 2014 Census
	Rank	Name	Governorate	Pop.
Tunis Sfax	1	Tunis	Tunis	1,066,961	Sousse
	2	Sfax	Sfax	330,440
	3	Sousse	Sousse	271.428
	4	Ettadhamen-Mnihla	Ariana	196,298
	5	Kairouan	Kairouan	186,653
	6	Gabès	Gabès	152,921
	7	Bizerte	Bizerte	142,966
	8	La Soukra	Ariana	129,693
	9	Aryanah	Aryanah	114,486
	10	Sakiet Eddaïer	Sfax	113,776

Largest cities or towns in Iraq According to the 2018 Estimate
	Rank	Name	Governorate	Pop.
Baghdad Mosul	1	Baghdad	Baghdad Governorate	6,719,476	Basra Kirkuk
	2	Mosul	Nineveh Governorate	1,361,819
	3	Basra	Basra Governorate	1,340,827
	4	Kirkuk	Kirkuk Governorate	972,272
	5	Erbil	Erbil Governorate	879,071
	6	Najaf	Najaf Governorate	747,261
	7	Karbala	Karbala Governorate	711,530
	8	Sulaymaniyah	Sulaymaniyah Governorate	676,492
	9	Nasiriyah	Dhi Qar Governorate	558,446
	10	Amarah	Maysan Governorate	527,472

If you feel like not enough towns have been represented in the table then you're more than welcome to add more provided you cite reliable sources. Gebagebo (talk) 12:46, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

For example, according to one of the sources you indicated, The State in Somaliland, Berbera has a population of 176,008 that less than Erigavo's one. This one thing alone is enough to understand that your ranking is unfair. Freetrashbox (talk) 12:59, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

I used the latest reliable statistic available for both cities, where Off-road policing: communications technology and government authority in Somaliland by Alice Hills puts it at 245,000. As for Erigavo that is the most recent figure I could find as there's barely any reliable sources for its population.

Whether you feel like a ranking is unfair or not is irrelevant as these figures are referenced with reliable sources, not feelings. Gebagebo (talk) 13:59, 29 April 2024 (UTC)

As is well known, Somali towns have no clear administrative boundaries; some statistics include only urban, while others include rural, and the population varies greatly when rural is included. In addition, the population of each town changes with the seasons due to the large percentage of nomadic Somalis. Therefore, it is not possible to simply compare "populations" compiled according to different criteria. At the very least, if each source provided the criteria for aggregation and if they were similar, there is a possibility of comparison, but the Alice Hills you cite only says "port city of Berbera (population 245,000)" and does not provide a evidence, and it is not comparable to other numerical data source. In short, your ranking is an original research. There are other reasons why this is your original research. As is well known, Las Anod is not under Somaliland control, so it is inappropriate to include it in the ranking. If this is a "ranking of cities within the territory claimed by the Somaliland government," then it is incomprehensible that Las Khorey and others are not included. For example, according to this source, Las Khorey population in 2019 is 313,101, which is much higher than Aynaba population of 59,427. How do you explain this? Freetrashbox (talk) 11:35, 30 April 2024 (UTC)