Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Somalia local long form: Jamhuuriyada Demuqraadiga Soomaaliyeed local short form: Soomaaliya former: Somali Republic; Somali Democratic Republic

Capital City: Mogadishu

Population: 8,863,338 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 2006 est.)

GDP Per Capita: $600 (2006 est.)

Currency: Somali shilling (SOS)

Languages: Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English

Total Area: total: 637,657 sq km land: 627,337 sq km water: 10,320 sq km slightly smaller than Texas

Region: Africa

Industries: a few light industries, including sugar refining, textiles, wireless communication

Agriculture: bananas, sorghum, corn, coconuts, rice, sugarcane, mangoes, sesame seeds, beans; cattle, sheep, goats; fish

Resources: uranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt, natural gas, likely oil reserves

Labor Force: 3.7 million (very few skilled laborers)
agriculture: 71% industry and services: 29%

Exports: $241 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
livestock, bananas, hides, fish, charcoal, scrap metal

Imports: $576 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
manufactures, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials, qat

Overview: Somalia's economic fortunes are driven by its deep political divisions. The northwestern area has declared its independence as the "Republic of Somaliland"; the northeastern region of Puntland is a semi-autonomous state; and the remaining southern portion is riddled with the struggles of rival factions. Economic life continues, in part because much activity is local and relatively easily protected. Agriculture is the most important sector, with livestock normally accounting for about 40% of GDP and about 65% of export earnings, but Saudi Arabia's ban on Somali livestock, due to Rift Valley Fever concerns, has severely hampered the sector. Nomads and semi-nomads, who are dependent upon livestock for their livelihood, make up a large portion of the population. Livestock, hides, fish, charcoal, and bananas are Somalia's principal exports, while sugar, sorghum, corn, qat, and machined goods are the principal imports. Somalia's small industrial sector, based on the processing of agricultural products, has largely been looted and sold as scrap metal. Despite the seeming anarchy, Somalia's service sector has managed to survive and grow. Telecommunication firms provide wireless services in most major cities and offer the lowest international call rates on the continent. In the absence of a formal banking sector, money exchange services have sprouted throughout the country, handling between $500 million and $1 billion in remittances annually. Mogadishu's main market offers a variety of goods from food to the newest electronic gadgets. The SCIC has opened Mogadishu's main port and airport - closed for 15 years - and now controls most of the ports and airfields in southern Somalia. Hotels continue to operate, and militias provide security. The ongoing civil disturbances and clan rivalries, however, have interfered with any broad-based economic development and international aid arrangements. Somalia's arrears to the IMF continued to grow in 2006. Statistics on Somalia's GDP, growth, per capita income, and inflation should be viewed skeptically. In late December 2004, a major tsunami caused an estimated 150 deaths and resulted in destruction of property in coastal areas.

_{CIA World Book}

In 2007 Missouri had no exports to Somalia.