Economy of Somalia

Economy of Somalia

Currency	Somali shilling (SOS)
Trade organisations	AU, AfCFTA (signed), CAEU, GAFTA (candidate), CEN-SAD, IGAD
Country group	Low-income economies[1]
Statistics
Population	15,442,910 (2019)[2]
GDP	$16 billion (nominal, 2023)[3] $19.8 billion (PPP, 2022)[3]
GDP growth	1.4% (2017) 2.8% (2018) 2.9% (2019e) 3.2% (2020e)[3]
GDP per capita	$430 (nominal; 2023 est.) $1350 (PPP; 2023 est.)
GDP by sector	agriculture: 40.2% industry: 27.4% services: 32.5% (2013 est.)[4]
GDP by component	Household consumption: 32.6% Government consumption: 38.7% Investment in fixed capital: 20% Investment in inventories: 0.8% Exports of goods and services: 0.3% Imports of goods and services: −1.6% (2015 est.)[4]
Inflation (CPI)	1.5% (2017[update])[4]
Population below poverty line	63% *est)
Labour force	3,924,554 (2019)[5]
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 60.2% industry:7.4% services:32.5%*(2013)[4]
Unemployment	11.4% (2019)[6][note 1]
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	Ethiopia 29.7%  France 16.3%  Kenya 5.2%  UAE 5.1%  Yemen4.1% (2017)[4]
Imports	$1.443billion (2022 est.)
Import goods	manufactures, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials, qat
Main import partners	Ethiopia 17.6%  Sudan 17.2%  Indonesia 6.9%  Russia 5.3%  Turkey 4.1% (2017)[4]
Gross external debt	$5.3 billion (31 December 2014 est.)[4]
Public finances
Government debt	76.7% of GDP (2017 est.)[4]
Budget balance	0.0% (of GDP) (2018)[7]
Revenues	$1.0 billion
Expenses	1 billion (2022)[citation needed]
Foreign reserves	23 Million (2022)
Main data source: CIA World Fact Book All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

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.^[8][9][10] 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.^[11] In 2001, it was estimated to be $4.1 billion.^[12] By 2009, the CIA estimated that it had grown to $5.731 billion, with a projected real growth rate of 2.6%.^[8] 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.^[13] 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.^{[14][needs update]}

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Somalia, as of 2012^[update], 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".^[15]

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.^[9]

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.

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