Somalia economy: GDP, investment, trade and remittances
How large the Somalia economy is and how fast it is growing, who invests in it, what it sells and buys, how much its citizens abroad send home, who it owes and what it holds in reserve. The latest published year is shown with each figure.
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Somalia economy snapshot: GDP, growth and income per person
Somalia's GDP was US$13.0 billion in 2025, after real growth of 3.0%.
GDP
Current US dollars.
Real GDP growth
Annual change, per cent. Red bars are contractions.
GDP per person
Current US dollars.
Source: World Bank, 2025. Method
Who invests in Somalia and in what
Direct investment by investing country
Turkey was the largest investing country in Somalia, at 75% of inward direct investment positions in 2024.
Inward direct investment positions in Somalia at the end of 2024: the stock of foreign direct investment, not a year's new flow. The 5 largest investing countries.
The IMF data holds no positions reported by Somalia itself. The figures are derived by the IMF from what the investing countries report, so they are shown as reported by investing countries.
Source: IMF, 2024. Method
What Somalia sells and buys
Somalia has not reported recent trade data to UN Comtrade. These figures are what 87 trading partners report about trade with Somalia, shown as reported by trading partners. Partners' imports from Somalia stand in for its exports and partners' exports to Somalia for its imports. They are not Somalia's own figures.
Live animals was 84% of exports in 2025.
Somalia sold the most to Saudi Arabia, 52% of exports in 2025.
Exports by product, 2025
Tile area follows value. Each tile is a customs chapter of the Harmonized System; hover for the full name.
Source: UN Comtrade, 2025. Method
Top buyers, 2025
Share of Somalia's exports.
Top suppliers, 2024
Share of Somalia's imports.
Source: UN Comtrade, 2025. Method
What Somalia buys, 2024
The 8 largest product chapters in imports.
Source: UN Comtrade, 2024. Method
Trade balance of goods
Exports minus imports. Red bars are years when imports were larger. A year is left out when either side is not published.
Source: UN Comtrade, 2024. Method
Remittances against foreign direct investment in Somalia
No remittances figures for Somalia are not published by the World Bank, so none are shown.
Source: World Bank, 2026. Method
Remittances and investment as a share of GDP
The same two flows measured against the size of the economy.
Source: World Bank, 2026. Method
Who Somalia owes
External debt stock by type of creditor. Creditor types cover public and publicly guaranteed debt; the grey part is the rest of the total external debt stock. A creditor type with no published figure is not shown.
Bilateral creditors held 24% of Somalia's external debt stock in 2024.
Source: World Bank, 2026. Method
Reserves and months of import cover
Total reserves including gold, and how many months of imports they cover.
No reserves figures for Somalia are not published by the World Bank, so none are shown.
Source: World Bank, 2026. Method
Aid received by Somalia
Net official development assistance and official aid received.
Source: World Bank, 2026. Method
Where Somalia ranks in Africa
Its place among the 54 African countries on each of our Africa rankings. Each tile opens the full ranking with its source.
- GDP per person46th of 53$780, 2025Richest countries in Africa
- Size of the economy36th of 53$13.2 billion, 2025Largest economies in Africa
- Population26th of 5317 million, 2025African countries by population
- Area19th of 54637,657 sq kmLargest countries in Africa
- Life expectancy49th of 5459.0 years, 2024Life expectancy in Africa
- US travel advisory53rd of 54Level 4, do not travelSafest countries in Africa
- President's time in office32nd longest of 51Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, 4 yearsLongest serving presidents
- President's age20th oldest of 5170 years oldOldest presidents in Africa
More on Somalia
- Somalia government directory
- Inflation and unemployment in Somalia
- Somalia debt: debt to GDP and largest creditors
- Who invests in Africa: the largest foreign investors in every country
- East Africa: Somalia and its neighbours compared
- African economies compared: GDP, investment, trade and remittances
World Bank data pages for Somalia: GDP, GDP growth, GDP per person, remittances, foreign direct investment, reserves, months of imports, external debt, debt by creditor, aid. UN Comtrade: trade data. IMF: direct investment positions.
Cite this
PollsAfrica (2026). Somalia economy: GDP, investment, trade and remittances. Retrieved 10 Oct 2026 from https://pollsafrica.com/economy/somalia