Economy - overview:
Despite the lack of effective national governance, Somalia has maintained a healthy informal economy, largely based on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies, and telecommunications. Agriculture is the most important sector, with livestock normally accounting for about 40% of GDP and more than 50% of export earnings. Nomads and semi-pastoralists, who are dependent upon livestock for their livelihood, make up a large portion of the population. Livestock, hides, fish, charcoal, and bananas are Somalia's principal exports, while sugar, sorghum, corn, qat, and machined goods are the principal imports. Somalia's small industrial sector, based on the processing of agricultural products, has largely been looted and sold as scrap metal. Somalia's service sector also has grown. Telecommunication firms provide wireless services in most major cities and offer the lowest international call rates on the continent. In the absence of a formal banking sector, money transfer/remittance services have sprouted throughout the country, handling up to $1.6 billion in remittances annually. Mogadishu's main market offers a variety of goods from food to the newest electronic gadgets. Hotels continue to operate and are supported with private-security militias. Somalia's arrears to the IMF continued to grow in 2008.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$5.733 billion (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$2.731 billion (2009 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
2.6% (2009 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$600 (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 65%
industry:
10%
services:
25% (2005 est.)
Labor force:
3.447 million (few skilled laborers) (2007)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 71%
industry and services:
29% (1975)
Unemployment rate:
NA% est.)
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%:
NA%
Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures:
$NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
NA% est.)
note:
businesses print their own money, so inflation rates cannot be easily determined
Central bank discount rate:
NA% (31 December 2008)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
NA% (31 December 2008)
Agriculture - products:
bananas, sorghum, corn, coconuts, rice, sugarcane, mangoes, sesame seeds, beans; cattle, sheep, goats; fish
Industries:
a few light industries, including sugar refining, textiles, wireless communication
Industrial production growth rate:
NA%
Electricity - production:
280 million kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
260.4 million kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - consumption:
5,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - exports:
1,475 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - imports:
6,387 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
5.663 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
Exports:
$300 million (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities:
livestock, bananas, hides, fish, charcoal, scrap metal
Exports - partners:
UAE 56.2%, Yemen 21%, Saudi Arabia 3.6% (2008)
Imports:
$798 million (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities:
manufactures, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials, qat
Imports - partners:
Djibouti 29.2%, India 11.9%, Kenya 7.6%, US 6%, Oman 5.6%, UAE 5.5%, Yemen 4.7% (2008)
Debt - external:
$3 billion (2001 est.)
Exchange rates:
Somali shillings (SOS) per US dollar - NA (2007-08), 1,438.3 (2006) official rate; the unofficial black market rate was about 23,000 shillings per dollar as of February 2007
note:
the Republic of Somaliland, a self-declared independent country not recognized by any foreign government, issues its own currency, the Somaliland shilling
NOTE: The information regarding Somalia on this page is re-published from the 2010 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Somalia Economy 2010 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Somalia Economy 2010 should be addressed to the CIA.
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This page was last modified 09-Feb-10