Somalia 
Facts
Population:
7,488,773
note:
this estimate was derived from an official census taken in 1975 by the Somali Government; population counting in Somalia is complicated by the large number of nomads and by refugee movements in response to famine and clan warfare (July 2001 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
44.54% (male 1,670,320; female 1,665,329)
15-64 years:
52.69% (male 1,993,750; female 1,952,437)
65 years and over:
2.77% (male 91,511; female 115,426) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate:
3.48% (2001 est.)
Birth rate:
47.23 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate:
18.35 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate:
5.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.79 male(s)/female
total population:
1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
123.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
46.6 years
male:
44.99 years
female:
48.25 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate:
7.11 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA
Nationality:
noun:
Somali(s)
adjective:
Somali
Ethnic groups:
Somali 85%, Bantu, Arabs 30,000
Religions:
Sunni Muslim
Languages:
Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
24%
male:
36%
female:
14% (1990 est.)
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $4.3 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
NA%
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $600 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:
60%
industry:
10% (largely shut down in 2000)
services:
30% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%:
NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
over 100% (businesses print their own money) (2000 est.)
Labor force:
3.7 million (very few are skilled laborers) (1993 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture (mostly pastoral nomadism) 71%, industry and services 29%
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues:
$NA
expenditures:
$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries:
a few small industries, including sugar refining, textiles, petroleum refining (mostly shut down), wireless communication
Industrial production growth rate:
NA%
Electricity - production:
260 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro:
0%
nuclear:
0%
other:
0% (1999)
Electricity - consumption:
241.8 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products:
cattle, sheep, goats; bananas, sorghum, corn, sugarcane, mangoes, sesame seeds, beans; fish
Exports:
$186 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.)
Exports - commodities:
livestock, bananas, hides, fish (1999)
Exports - partners:
Saudi Arabia 53%, Yemen 19%, UAE 14%, Italy 5%, Pakistan 2% (1999)
Imports:
$314 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.)
Imports - commodities:
manufactures, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials (1995)
Imports - partners:
Djibouti 24%, Kenya 14%, Brazil 13%, Saudi Arabia 10%, India 9% (1999)
Debt - external:
$2.6 billion (1999 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$191.5 million (1995)
Currency:
Somali shilling (SOS)
Currency code:
SOS
Exchange rates:
Somali shillings per US dollar - 11,000 (November 2000), 2,620 (January 1999), 7,500 (November 1997 est.), 7,000 (January 1996 est.), 5,000 (1 January 1995), 2,616 (1 July 1993)
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:
NA
Statistics: CIA World Factbook.
Somalia in the News
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Displaying 1 to 4 of 15 items.
Shariah law comes in different forms, and if Somalia is to adopt a viable version of it, it must be a system that is accountable and takes care of its people.
If Somalia is to quell the religious extremism and violence that poisons its society, the government needs to develop a new paradigm of non-violence and cooperation.
Non-military solutions need to be considered to deal with to the Somali piracy dilemma.
The Somali pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden are part of a regional Jihadi apparatus.
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