Economy of Somalia
Somalia is classified by the United Nations as a least developed country, with the majority of its population being dependent on agriculture and livestock for their livelihood. The economy of Somalia is $4.918 billion by gross domestic product as of 2020. For 1994, the CIA estimated it at purchasing power parity to be approximately $3.3 billion. In 2001, it was estimated to be $4.1 billion. By 2009, the CIA estimated that it had grown to $5.731 billion, with a projected real growth rate of 2.6%. In 2014, the International Monetary Fund estimated economic activity to have expanded by 3.7% primarily. This expansion was driven by growth in the primary sector and the secondary sector. According to a 2007 British Chambers of Commerce report, the private sector has experienced growth, particularly in the service sector. Unlike the pre-civil war period, when most services and the industrial sector were government-run, there has been substantial, albeit unmeasured, private investment in commercial activities. The investment has been largely financed by the Somali diaspora, and includes trade and marketing, money transfer services, transportation, communications, fishery equipment, airlines, telecommunications, education, health, construction and hotels.
| Currency | Somali shilling (SOS) |
|---|---|
Trade organisations | AU, AfCFTA (signed), CAEU, GAFTA (candidate), CEN-SAD, IGAD |
Country group | |
| Statistics | |
| Population | 15,442,910 (2019) |
| GDP |
|
GDP growth |
|
GDP per capita |
|
GDP by sector |
|
GDP by component |
|
| 1.5% (2017) | |
Population below poverty line | 63% *est) |
Labour force | 3,924,554 (2019) |
Labour force by occupation |
|
| Unemployment | 11.4% (2019) |
Main industries | sugar refining, textiles, livestock, money transfer, telecommunications |
| External | |
| Exports | $214 million (2022 est.) |
Export goods | livestock, bananas, hides, fish, charcoal, scrap metal |
Main export partners | |
| Imports | $1.443billion (2022 est.) |
Import goods | manufactures, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials, qat |
Main import partners | |
Gross external debt | $5.3 billion (31 December 2014 est.) |
| Public finances | |
Government debt | 76.7% of GDP (2017 est.) |
| 0.0% (of GDP) (2018) | |
| Revenues | $1.0 billion |
| Expenses | 1 billion (2022) |
| 23 Million (2022) | |
According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Somalia, as of 2012 the country had some of the lowest development indicators in the world, and a "strikingly low" Human Development Index (HDI) value of 0.285. This would rank amongst the lowest in the world if comparable data were available, and when adjusted for the significant inequality that exists in Somalia, its HDI is even lower. The UNDP notes that "inequalities across different social groups, a major driver of conflict, have been widening".
Somalia's economy consists of both traditional and modern production, with a gradual shift to more modern industrial techniques. According to the Central Bank of Somalia, about 80% of the population are nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists, who keep goats, sheep, camels and cattle. The nomads also gather resins and gums to supplement their income.
According to the World Bank, Somalia's economy has suffered as a result of the state failure that accompanied the country's civil war. Some economists, including libertarian Peter T. Leeson, have argued instead that state collapse has actually helped improve economic welfare, because the previous Somali state was predatory.