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Poverty Levels in Mogadishu, Somalia

     Somalia is one of the poorest countries in the world and is also a major point for concern to all who reside on the planet. Because of its location on the eastern border of Africa, Somalia is strategically placed geographically but one of the main reasons that this country is so devastated is due to their lack of a central government. The country is run by warlords from major communities, including the Somaliland, Puntland, and other rivals.
In 1960 when they had won their independence from England and Italy, a government was instituted. But later in1969, a military government was put to place shortly after they had assassinated the reigning president, and a military general became the sovereign ruler after the coup d’etat. The revolutionary army leaders established large-scale public works programs. They also successfully implemented an urban and rural literacy campaign, in which they helped to dramatically increase the literacy rate from a mere 5% to 55% by the mid-1980s. Intermittent civil war has been a fact of life in Somalia since 1977. In 1991, insurgent forces led by Mohammed Farah Aidid, leader of the United Somali Congress (USC), ousted the military government. The same year, the northern portion of the country declared its independence as Somaliland; although de facto independent and relatively stable compared to the tumultuous south, it has not been recognized by any foreign government. Beginning in 1993, a two-year UN effort (primarily in the south) was able to alleviate famine conditions. The UN withdrew in Operation United Shield by March 3, 1995, having suffered significant casualties, and government has not yet been restored.
     Somalia has had no effective national government since 1991. In the northwest, there is the breakaway republic of Somaliland. In the rest of the country there are various warlords, chiefly Puntland and Southwestern Somalia. In 2000, the international community recognized the Transitional National Government, originally headed by Abdulkassim Salat Hassan, as the government for the entire country. However currently,  it controls only part of the capital, Mogadishu.

     Somalia has a market economy. It has long been one of the world's poorest and least developed countries and has relatively few natural resources. Somalia's poverty was even further aggravated by the hostilities of the civil war started in 1991. Agriculture is the most important sector, with livestock accounting for about 40% of GDP and about 65% of export earnings. After livestock, bananas are the principal export; sugar, sorghum, maize, and fish are products for the domestic market. The small industrial sector, based on the processing of agricultural products, accounts for 10% of GDP. Somalia continues to have one of the highest child mortality rates in the world, with 10% of children dying at birth and 25% of those surviving birth dying before age five. The international aid group, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Frontiers) has further stated that “..the level of daily violence due to the lack of government is "catastrophic," though it is arguable whether a government of the sort that tends to fill power vacuums in the region would reduce the level of violence or simply monopolize it.” But, there are signs of growth in Somalia. The CIA Factbook says, "Despite the seeming anarchy, Somalia's service sector has managed to survive and grow. Mogadishu's main market offers a variety of goods from food to the newest electronic gadgets. Hotels continue to operate, and militias provide security." Infrastructure, such as roads are as numerous as those in neighboring countries but of much lower quality.
     The thriving telecommunications industry is private, offering wireless service and internet cafés. Competing phone companies have agreed on interconnection standards, which were brokered by the United Nations funded Somali Telecom Association. Electricity is furnished by entrepreneurs, who have purchased generators and divided cities into manageable sectors. In 1989, before the collapse of the government, the national airline had only one airplane. Now there are approximately 15 airlines, over 60 aircrafts, 6 international destinations, and more domestic routes. The private sector also supplies water. However, a statistic from 2000 indicated that only 21% of the population had access to safe drinking water at that time.      
     With the collapse of the central government, the education system is now private. A World Bank study reports "modest gains in education." As last measured in 2001, primary school enrollment, which stood at 17%, was nearly at pre-war levels, and secondary school enrollment had been increasing since 1998. However, "adult literacy is estimated to have declined from the already low level of 24% in 1989 to 17.1% in 2001." A more recent 2003 study reported that the literacy rate had risen to 19%. In comparison, literacy is at 49% in wealthier West Africa and 35% among its neighbours. Higher education ended completely in the civil war of 1991, but Mogadishu University reopened in 1998 and its first class graduated in 2001. Other universities have opened in other cities. In addition to customer fees, much of the funding for the education system comes from international Islamic charities such as Al-Islah. The main problem affecting economic growth is the lack of stability, or the perception of it. For businesses to operate, it is necessary to provide some level of security and internationally recognized governments are widely percieved as being more reliable in this than the traditional tribal leadership that currently holds power in Somalia. Remittance services has become a large industry in Somalia. Successful people from the world-wide diaspora who fled because of the war contribute to the economy around $2 billion annually. 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. Wireless communications has also become a giant economic force in Somalia. Because of the war, nobody really knows the size of the economy or how much it is growing.