Somalia 
Facts
Population: 9,118,773
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 2007 est.).
Age structure: 0-14 years: 44.4% (male 2,031,682/female 2,019,629)
15-64 years: 53% (male 2,423,602/female 2,410,126)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 97,932/female 135,802) (2007 est.).
Population growth rate: 2.832% (2007 est.).
Birth rate: 44.6 births/1,000 population (2007 est.).
Death rate: 16.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.).
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.).
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.006 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.006 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.721 male(s)/female
total population: 0.997 male(s)/female (2007 est.).
Infant mortality rate: total: 113.08 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 122.29 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 103.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.).
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 48.84 years
male: 47.06 years
female: 50.69 years (2007 est.).
Total fertility rate: 6.68 children born/woman (2007 est.).
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1% (2001 est.).
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 43,000 (2001 est.).
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA.
Nationality: noun: Somali(s)
adjective: Somali.
Ethnic groups: Somali 85%, Bantu and other non-Somali 15% (including Arabs 30,000).
Religions: Sunni Muslim.
Languages: Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English.
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 37.8%
male: 49.7%
female: 25.8% (2001 est.).
GDP (purchasing power parity): $5.259 billion (2006 est.).
GDP - real growth rate: 2.6% (2006 est.).
GDP - per capita (PPP): $600 (2006 est.).
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 65%
industry: 10%
services: 25% (2000 est.).
Labor force: 3.7 million (few skilled laborers) (1975 est.).
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 71%
industry and services: 29% (1975).
Population below poverty line: NA%.
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%.
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%; note - businesses print their own money, so inflation rates cannot be easily determined.
Unemployment rate: NA%.
Budget: revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA.
Agriculture - products: bananas, sorghum, corn, coconuts, rice, sugarcane, mangoes, sesame seeds, beans; cattle, sheep, goats; fish.
Industries: a few light industries, including sugar refining, textiles, wireless communication.
Industrial production growth rate: NA%.
Electricity - production: 269 million kWh (2004).
Electricity - consumption: 250.2 million kWh (2004).
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004).
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004).
Exports: $241 million f.o.b. (2004 est.).
Exports - commodities: livestock, bananas, hides, fish, charcoal, scrap metal.
Exports - partners: UAE 48.3%, Yemen 20.8%, Oman 5.8% (2005).
Imports: $576 million f.o.b. (2004 est.).
Imports - commodities: manufactures, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials, qat.
Imports - partners: Djibouti 31.8%, India 8.4%, Kenya 8.3%, Brazil 7.9%, Oman 5.6%, UAE 5.2%, Yemen 5.1% (2005).
Debt - external: $3 billion (2001 est.).
Economic aid - recipient: $60 million (1999 est.).
Currency (code): Somali shilling (SOS).
Exchange rates: Somali shillings per US dollar - 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: NA.
Statistics: C.I.A. World Factbook. Updated: July 20, 2007.
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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