Economy of Somaliland

Economy of Somaliland
Hargesia Central Metropolis
CurrencySomaliland shilling (SLS)
Country group
Statistics
PopulationIncrease 6,200,000[2][3]
GDP$6,583,000,000 (2024)[4]
GDP per capita
$1261 (2024)[4]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.


The economy of Somaliland largely relies on primary production and agriculture, where livestock is the main export of the country, which it ships to neighbouring Djibouti and Ethiopia, as well as to Gulf states, such as UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman. Somaliland has a GDP per capita of $1061 and a gross domestic product GDP of $6,583,000,000 as of 2024,[5] most of which it receives in remittances from Somalis working abroad. The COVID-19 pandemic has restricted Somaliland's trade flows with decreased demand in the agriculture sector, a significant source of tax revenue.[6]

Somaliland is located along the Gulf of Aden, near the entrance to the Bab al-Mandeb, a major sea-lane through which almost one-third of the world's shipping passes. Its location has helped the government attract new trade and development deals. In late 2016, the DP World announced that it would invest nearly US$450 million to manage and upgrade the Port of Berbera and develop a corridor running from the Port to the Ethiopian border. In 2021 the project was joined by the UK government's CDC Group which has doubled the funding.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

  1. ^ "World Bank Country and Lending Groups". datahelpdesk.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  2. ^ "Somaliland's population reaches 6.2 million". Horn Diplomat. 2024-04-19. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  3. ^ "Somaliland population reaches 6.2 million, government reports". www.hiiraan.com. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  4. ^ a b "Budget outlook paper for FY2024" (PDF). Somaliland Ministry of Finance Development.
  5. ^ "Budget outlook paper for FY2024" (PDF). Somaliland Ministry of Finance Development.
  6. ^ Mtimet, Nadhem; Wanyoike, Francis; Rich, Karl M.; Baltenweck, Isabelle (2021). "Zoonotic diseases and the COVID-19 pandemic: Economic impacts on Somaliland's livestock exports to Saudi Arabia". Global Food Security. 28: 100512. doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2021.100512. PMC 8417120. PMID 34513583.
  7. ^ "Port of Berbera - CDC Group".
  8. ^ "Trade Project Builds Somaliland's Economy; Leaders Seek More". VOA News. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Somaliland: President Bihi Delivers Annual State of the Nation Address to the Nation 2020". Somaliland Sun. 18 February 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  10. ^ "New World Bank GDP and Poverty Estimates for Somaliland". World Bank. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Economic success in Somaliland". Aljazeera. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Somaliland economic growth on the rise". The Exchange. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.