Sub-Saharan Africa · Low income
Somalia: the economy in numbers
Per person: $661, or $1,643 at purchasing power parity. Population: 19.7 million (2025).
GDP in 2025, current US dollars: #147 of 204 economies. IMF forecast for 2026: +2.3%.
GDP
Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $1.97 billion in 1960, $13 billion in 2025.
GDP per capita
In 2025 dollars: $684 per person in 1960, $661 in 2025.
Real GDP growth
Average over 2016–2025: 4.0% a year. Years of falling GDP since 1961: 12 of 65.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Inflation
Highest annual inflation: 6.8% in 2022.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Government debt, % of GDP
Population
1960: 2.88 million · 2025: 19.7 million.
Unemployment rate
1991: 19.0% · 2025: 18.9%.
Life expectancy at birth
1960: 43.5 years · 2024: 59.0 years.
Exports of goods and services
1960: 12.7% · 2025: 29.2%.
Data by year
Show the year-by-year table
| Year | GDP | GDP per capita | Per capita, PPP | Real growth | Inflation | Population | Unemployment | Life expectancy | Exports, % GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2031 | 4.0%f | 4.0%f | |||||||
| 2030 | 3.8%f | 4.0%f | |||||||
| 2029 | 3.6%f | 4.5%f | |||||||
| 2028 | 3.2%f | 5.0%f | |||||||
| 2027 | 2.7%f | 5.5%f | |||||||
| 2026 | 2.3%f | 6.3%f | |||||||
| 2025 | $13B | $661 | $1,643 | 3.0% | 3.7%e | 19.7M | 18.9% | 29.2% | |
| 2024 | $12B | $630 | $1,604 | 4.1% | 5.5% | 19M | 18.9% | 59.0 | 31.2% |
| 2023 | $11B | $597 | $1,557 | 4.2% | 6.2% | 18.4M | 19.0% | 58.8 | 21.9% |
| 2022 | $10.2B | $573 | $1,486 | 2.7% | 6.8% | 17.8M | 19.1% | 53.9 | 17.7% |
| 2021 | $9.48B | $549 | $1,392 | 3.4% | 4.6% | 17.3M | 19.7% | 55.7 | 16.2% |
| 2020 | $8.63B | $518 | $1,454 | −2.8% | 4.1% | 16.7M | 19.4% | 57.1 | 13.7% |
| 2019 | $8.66B | $540 | $1,548 | 2.8% | 4.7% | 16M | 18.8% | 57.2 | 13.1% |
| 2018 | $7.87B | $509 | $1,552 | 2.1% | 4.3% | 15.5M | 18.7% | 54.8 | 14.2% |
| 2017 | $7.62B | $511 | $1,597 | 14.7% | 4.0% | 14.9M | 18.5% | 52.2 | 13.0% |
| 2016 | $6.61B | $461 | $1,469 | 7.0% | 0.0% | 14.3M | 18.6% | 55.3 | 16.1% |
| 2015 | $6.15B | $446 | $1,341 | 10.5% | 0.9% | 13.8M | 18.5% | 55.1 | 16.9% |
| 2014 | $5.73B | $429 | $1,128 | 9.0% | 1.3% | 13.3M | 18.6% | 54.4 | 19.2% |
| 2013 | $5.06B | $393 | $944 | 11.0% | 2.8% | 12.9M | 18.7% | 54.0 | 18.6% |
| 2012 | $4.36B | $350 | $1,003 | 6.7% | 12.5M | 18.8% | 49.1 | 19.6% | |
| 2011 | $2.91B | $235 | $881 | 6.7% | 12.3M | 18.8% | 32.5 | ||
| 2010 | $2.69B | $219 | $815 | 6.7% | 12.3M | 18.7% | 48.9 | ||
| 2009 | $2.95B | $247 | $774 | 6.7% | 12M | 18.7% | 52.1 | ||
| 2008 | $5.91B | $507 | $739 | 6.7% | 11.7M | 18.7% | 51.5 | ||
| 2007 | $5.43B | $480 | $700 | 6.7% | 11.3M | 18.7% | 50.9 | ||
| 2006 | $5.03B | $458 | $659 | 6.5% | 11M | 18.7% | 50.9 | ||
| 2005 | $4.68B | $440 | $619 | 7.1% | 10.6M | 18.7% | 50.9 | ||
| 2004 | $3.86B | $375 | $580 | 7.1% | 10.3M | 18.7% | 50.7 | ||
| 2003 | $2.84B | $286 | $547 | 7.6% | 9.91M | 18.6% | 50.7 | ||
| 2002 | $2.19B | $230 | $517 | 7.6% | 9.55M | 18.7% | 50.8 | ||
| 2001 | $2.25B | $245 | $492 | 7.1% | 9.2M | 18.7% | 50.8 | ||
| 2000 | $3.41B | $386 | $467 | 7.1% | 8.84M | 18.7% | 50.7 | ||
| 1999 | $3.05B | $359 | $444 | 7.3% | 8.49M | 18.8% | 50.6 | ||
| 1998 | $2.96B | $363 | $425 | 6.6% | 8.16M | 18.8% | 50.8 | ||
| 1997 | $2.19B | $280 | $411 | 1.2% | 7.82M | 18.9% | 50.3 | ||
| 1996 | $1.79B | $237 | $413 | 8.0% | 7.55M | 19.5% | 50.5 | ||
| 1995 | $1.53B | $211 | $389 | 4.0% | 7.29M | 19.6% | 50.6 | ||
| 1994 | $1.48B | $211 | $380 | −17.8% | 7.03M | 20.0% | 50.3 | ||
| 1993 | $1.26B | $189 | $477 | 4.0% | 6.68M | 19.3% | 50.6 | ||
| 1992 | $709M | $109 | $461 | −8.5% | 6.5M | 19.4% | 25.0 | ||
| 1991 | $718M | $105 | $469 | 3.0% | 6.81M | 19.0% | 25.4 | ||
| 1990 | $1.03B | $146 | $424 | 2.3% | 7.08M | 46.9 | 8.7% | ||
| 1989 | $1.18B | $166 | 3.8% | 7.11M | 46.6 | 7.1% | |||
| 1988 | $1.05B | $145 | 3.4% | 7.24M | 43.9 | 4.8% | |||
| 1987 | $1.02B | $141 | 10.1% | 7.23M | 49.0 | 6.6% | |||
| 1986 | $917M | $131 | −2.1% | 6.97M | 48.4 | 7.1% | |||
| 1985 | $876M | $131 | 9.5% | 6.69M | 48.3 | 6.3% | |||
| 1984 | $787M | $122 | 3.3% | 6.43M | 48.4 | 14.6% | |||
| 1983 | $735M | $119 | −11.6% | 6.2M | 48.2 | 23.6% | |||
| 1982 | $775M | $129 | 2.8% | 6.0M | 48.0 | 26.0% | |||
| 1981 | $699M | $117 | 6.3% | 5.98M | 47.8 | 24.8% | |||
| 1980 | $603M | $101 | 1.8% | 5.94M | 47.6 | 33.2% | |||
| 1979 | $590M | $108 | −5.0% | 5.45M | 47.4 | 24.3% | |||
| 1978 | $565M | $117 | 5.8% | 4.81M | 47.0 | 25.9% | |||
| 1977 | $499M | $111 | 13.6% | 4.48M | 47.0 | 20.3% | |||
| 1976 | $871M | $200 | −1.8% | 4.37M | 44.7 | 9.3% | |||
| 1975 | $757M | $178 | 14.7% | 4.26M | 44.5 | 11.7% | |||
| 1974 | $573M | $138 | 0.8% | 4.15M | 44.3 | 14.3% | |||
| 1973 | $484M | $120 | −12.1% | 4.05M | 46.2 | 14.6% | |||
| 1972 | $448M | $114 | 14.9% | 3.94M | 46.0 | 14.6% | |||
| 1971 | $347M | $90 | 2.1% | 3.84M | 45.8 | 12.7% | |||
| 1970 | $348M | $93 | 4.6% | 3.74M | 45.6 | 10.7% | |||
| 1969 | $306M | $84 | −1.7% | 3.64M | 45.5 | 16.0% | |||
| 1968 | $287M | $81 | 2.0% | 3.55M | 45.3 | 14.9% | |||
| 1967 | $272M | $79 | 5.9% | 3.45M | 45.1 | 13.7% | |||
| 1966 | $257M | $76 | 9.1% | 3.37M | 44.8 | 15.0% | |||
| 1965 | $244M | $74 | −5.9% | 3.28M | 44.6 | 17.2% | |||
| 1964 | $230M | $72 | −6.1% | 3.19M | 44.4 | 16.0% | |||
| 1963 | $216M | $69 | 2.8% | 3.11M | 44.2 | 15.9% | |||
| 1962 | $204M | $67 | 7.1% | 3.03M | 44.0 | 12.8% | |||
| 1961 | $192M | $65 | −3.3% | 2.95M | 43.7 | 16.0% | |||
| 1960 | $180M | $63 | 2.88M | 43.5 | 12.7% |
e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast. Inflation: IMF data.
Nearby economies in Sub-Saharan Africa
Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.
Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Côte d’Ivoire · DR Congo · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · São Tomé and Príncipe · Tanzania · Togo · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Rankings
GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country
Data and methods
- GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
- Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
- In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
- Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
- Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
- Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
- Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)