Somalia:
Economy

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Other pages in this profile of Somalia:
Geography, People, Government, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Economy - overview	Definition 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 about 65% 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 exchange services have sprouted throughout the country, handling between $500 million and $1 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 2006-07. Statistics on Somalia's GDP, growth, per capita income, and inflation should be viewed skeptically. In late December 2004, a major tsunami caused an estimated 150 deaths and resulted in destruction of property in coastal areas.
GDP (purchasing power parity)	Definition - World rank and map $5.575 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)	Definition $2.483 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	Definition - World rank and map 2.6% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita	Definition - World rank and map $600 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	Definition agriculture: 65% industry: 10% services: 25% (2000 est.)
Labor force	Definition 3.7 million (few skilled laborers) (1975)
Labor force - by occupation	Definition agriculture: 71% industry and services: 29% (1975)
Unemployment rate	Definition - World rank and map NA%
Population below poverty line	Definition NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share	Definition lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	Definition - World rank and map NA%; note - businesses print their own money, so inflation rates cannot be easily determined
Budget	Definition revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA
Agriculture - products	Definition bananas, sorghum, corn, coconuts, rice, sugarcane, mangoes, sesame seeds, beans; cattle, sheep, goats; fish
Industries	Definition a few light industries, including sugar refining, textiles, wireless communication
Industrial production growth rate	Definition - World rank and map NA%
Electricity - production	Definition - World rank and map 270 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption	Definition - World rank and map 251.1 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption per capita	Definition - World rank and map 26.3 kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	Definition 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	Definition 0 kWh (2005)
Oil - production	Definition - World rank and map 0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption	Definition - World rank and map 5,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption per 1,000 people	Definition - World rank and map 0.5 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports	Definition - World rank and map 0 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports	Definition - World rank and map 4,800 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves	Definition - World rank and map 0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption per capita	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves	Definition - World rank and map 5.432 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Exports	Definition - World rank and map $300 million f.o.b. (2006)
Exports - commodities	Definition livestock, bananas, hides, fish, charcoal, scrap metal
Exports - partners	Definition UAE 50.7%, Yemen 21%, Oman 6.1% (2006)
Imports	Definition - World rank and map $798 million f.o.b. (2006)
Imports - commodities	Definition manufactures, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials, qat
Imports - partners	Definition Djibouti 31.1%, Brazil 8.6%, India 8.2%, Kenya 8.1%, Oman 5.4%, UAE 5.1%, Yemen 5% (2006)
Debt - external	Definition - World rank and map $3 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient	Definition $236.4 million (2005 est.)
Currency (code)	Definition Somali shilling (SOS)
Exchange rates	Definition Somali shillings per US dollar - NA (2007), 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
Fiscal year	Definition NA

Somalia: Economy

Somalia:
Economy