 | Economic Data of Somalia | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| GEOGRAPHY | HISTORY | ||
| Cultural Regions | Economic Data | 1. Origins | 2. Colonial Period |
| Physical Geography | Maps | 3. Independence | 4. Somalia Today |
Democratic Republic of Somalia
Jamhuuriyadda Demoqraadiga Soomaaliyeed
Prime Minister: Hassan Abshir Farah (2001)
Area: 637,657 kmē
Population (2003 est.): 8,025,190 (growth rate: 2.9%); birth rate: 46.4/1000; infant mortality rate: 120.3/1000; population density: 15/kmē
Capital and Largest City (2003 est.): Mogadishu, 1,208,800
Monetary Unit: Somali shilling
Languages: Somali (official), Arabic, English, Italian
Ethnicity/Race: Somali 85%, Bantu, Arabs
Religion: Islam (Sunni)
Literacy Rate: 37.8% (2001 est.)
Economic Overview:
Gross Domestic Product / Purchasing Power Parity (2001 est.): $4.1 billion; per capita $550.
Real Growth Rate: 3%.
Inflation: over 100% (businesses print their own currency) (2000 est.).
Unemployment: n.c.
Arable Land: 2%.
Agriculture: livestock, sheep, goats; bananas, millet, corn, coconut, rice, sugar cane, mangoes, sesame seeds, beans; fish.
Workers: 3.7 million (very few skilled workers) (1993 est.); agriculture (mainly nomadic pastoralism) 71%, industry and services 29%.
Industries: some light industry, including sugar refining, textiles, petroleum refining (largely closed), radio communications.
Natural Resources: uranium and largely untapped reserves of iron ore, lead, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt, natural gas, probable oil reserves.
Exports: $186 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.): livestock, bananas, hides, fish, charcoal, scrap metal (1999).
Imports: $314 million (f.o.b.): manufactured goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials, khat (1995).
Major Economic Partners: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Djibouti, Kenya, India.
Telecommunications:
Landline Phones: main lines in use: 15,000 (2000);
Mobile Phones: n.c.
Broadcasting Stations: AM 0, FM 1, Shortwave 5 (2001).
Radio Sets: 470,000 (1997).
Television Stations: 3; two in Mogadishu and one in Hargeisa (2001).
Television Sets: 135,000 (1997).
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (respectively in Boosaaso, Hargeisa, and Mogadishu) (2000).
Internet Users: 200 (2000).
Transportation:
Railways: 0 km.
Main Roads: total: 22,100 km; paved: 2,608 km; unpaved: 19,492 km (1996).
Ports: Boosaaso, Berbera, Chisimayu (Kismaayo), Merca, Mogadishu.
Airports: 54 (2001).
International Conflicts: most of the southern half of the border with Ethiopia is a temporary administrative line; in the Ogaden, regional states have established a variety of conflicting relations with the Provisional National Government of Mogadishu, warring factions in the Puntland region, and the economically stable secessionist region of "Somaliland"; Djibouti maintains economic ties and border agreements with the leaders of "Somaliland" while politically supporting the Provisional National Government of Mogadishu; arms trafficking and activities of Oromo rebels require strict monitoring of the border with Kenya.