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 17 items.
As Somalia scrambles toward a new era of peace, forces inside and outside the country can do much more by moving away from the costly strategies of "hard power."
President Ahmed and his government must find a lasting solution to the cycle of violence, somehow avoiding the countless pitfalls of those who came before him.
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.
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