Somali flag (flagpictures.org)

Located on the continent’s northeast extremity known as the Horn of Africa, the Federal Republic of Somalia shipped US$641.1 million worth of exported products around the world in 2025.

That calculated dollar amount reflects a 22.2% increase from $522.2 million 5 years earlier in 2021.

Year over year, the overall value of Somalian exported goods reduced by -42.7% compared to $1.12 billion starting from 2024.

The latest available country-specific data shows that 97.3% worth of products exported from Somalia was bought by importers in: Saudi Arabia (52.7% of the Somalian total), Oman (34%), India (5.3%), Egypt (1.2%), Japan (0.77%), France (0.7%), Germany (0.67%), South Korea (0.52%), mainland China (0.47%), Ivory Coast (0.31%), Türkiye (also 0.31%) and Pakistan (0.28%).

From a continental perspective, 95.1% of Somalia’s exports by value was delivered to fellow Asian countries while 2.6% was sold to importers in Africa.

Somalia shipped another 2% worth of goods to customers in Europe.

Tinier percentages went to buyers in North America (0.2%), Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean (0.1%) then Oceania’s Australia and New Zealand (0.01%).

Given Somalia’s population of 17 million people, its estimated US$641.1 million in 2025 exports translates to roughly $40 for every resident in the Horn of Africa country. That dollar metric lags the average $45 per capita one year earlier in 2024.

Somalia’s top 10 export product categories accounted for 97.9% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Aluminum was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 123.9% from 2024 to 2025.

In second place for improving export sales were the metals iron and steel via a 65.7% advance.

Somalia’s shipments of electrical machinery and equipment posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 65.2%.

The leading decliner among Somalia’s top 10 export categories was the oil seeds grouping, thanks to a -70.5% year-over-year drop.

At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, live sheep and goat represent Somalia’s most valuable exported product at 65.8% of the country’s total. In second place were miscellaneous live animals (11%), live bovine cattle (7.7%), iron or steel scrap (2.8%), natural gums, resins and balsams (2.2%), fresh or dried citrus fruit (1.9%), oil seeds (1.4%), frozen whole fish (1.1%), electronic waste and scrap (0.9%) then sheep or goat meat (0.8%).

The following types of Somali product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

Overall Somalia incurred an estimated -US$2.76 billion trade deficit for 2025, shrinking by -31.1% from -$45 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2024.

Below are exports from Somalia that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Somalia’s goods trail Somali importer spending on foreign products.

Not one Somali corporation ranks among the Forbes Global 2000.

Wikipedia also lists exports-related companies from Somalia. Selected examples are shown below.

 
In macroeconomic terms, Somalia’s total exported goods represent an estimated 2% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2025 ($32.5 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 2% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2025 compares to 2.4% for 2024. Those metrics suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Somalia’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Somalia’s unemployment rate averaged 18.95% in 2025, mirroring the average 18.95% one year earlier in 2024 according to Statista metrics.

Somalia’s capital city is Mogadishu.

See also South Sudan’s Top 10 Exports, Saudi Arabia’s Top 10 Imports, Angola’s Top 10 Exports and Top African Export Countries

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Africa: Somalia. Accessed on August 27, 2026

FlagPictures.org, Flag of Somalia. Accessed on August 27, 2026

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on August 27, 2026

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on August 27, 2026

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 27, 2026

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 27, 2026

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on August 27, 2026

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Somalia. Accessed on August 27, 2026

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on August 27, 2026

Wikipedia, Somalia. Accessed on August 27, 2026