Economy and prices
Businesses in Somalia: the 2024 business establishment census
The Somalia Integrated Business Establishment Census (SIBEC 2024) counted 174,149 business establishments in 16 towns. Of these, 47,934 were formal, 43,207 informal and 83,008 were micro-establishments, or kabars. Wholesale and retail trade made up 78.5 percent. Mogadishu had 48,387 establishments, Hargeisa 29,560 and Bosaso 19,308. The census counted 275,439 workers, 46 percent of them women, and women were 70 percent of workers in micro-establishments.
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Where these numbers come from
The Somali National Bureau of Statistics (SNBS) carried out the Somalia Integrated Business Establishment Census (SIBEC) in 2024 and published the report in December 2024 (SNBS, SIBEC 2024 report; SNBS, census page). The main tables are repeated in Somalia Facts and Figures 2024, tables 2.9 to 2.11 (SNBS, Facts and Figures 2024).
- Where: 16 towns, one or two in each of 14 regions, counted in three phases, starting with Banadir.
- What counts: businesses with a fixed place of work. The report sorts them into three types:
- formal establishments, which hold a licence such as a municipality licence;
- informal establishments, which have a fixed place but no licence;
- micro-establishments, called kabars, which are small stalls and kiosks.
- What is left out: farming (except micro-establishments), public administration, household activities and mobile hawkers.
Every figure below is in the data file somalia-business-establishments-2024.csv, with the SNBS table number. See also National Bureau of Statistics and GDP and national accounts, 2018 to 2024.
Establishments by type
| Type | Establishments | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Formal | 47,934 | 27.5% |
| Informal | 43,207 | 24.8% |
| Micro-establishment (kabar) | 83,008 | 47.7% |
| All | 174,149 | 100% |
Source: SIBEC 2024, table 2.1.
Establishments by activity
| Activity | Establishments | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale and retail trade, and motor vehicle repair | 136,626 | 78.5% |
| Accommodation and food service | 16,894 | 9.7% |
| Other service activities | 8,470 | 4.9% |
| Manufacturing | 5,821 | 3.3% |
| Education | 1,655 | 1.0% |
| Human health and social work | 1,205 | 0.7% |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing (micro only) | 1,124 | 0.6% |
| Administrative and support services | 841 | 0.5% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 504 | 0.3% |
| Information and communication | 492 | 0.3% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 311 | 0.2% |
| Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning | 128 | 0.1% |
| Water supply, sewerage and waste | 41 | under 0.1% |
| Real estate | 37 | under 0.1% |
Source: SIBEC 2024, table 2.2. Among micro-establishments alone, trade is 82.7 percent (68,657) and accommodation and food 9.8 percent (8,132) (table 4.1).
Establishments by town
| Region | Town | All | Formal | Informal | Micro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banadir | Mogadishu | 48,387 | 15,069 | 13,621 | 19,697 |
| Waqooyi Galbeed | Hargeisa | 29,560 | 7,696 | 7,734 | 14,130 |
| Bari | Bosaso | 19,308 | 5,561 | 4,806 | 8,941 |
| Mudug | Galkayo | 18,176 | 3,930 | 1,685 | 12,561 |
| Togdheer | Burao | 11,785 | 2,356 | 2,326 | 7,103 |
| Bay | Baidoa | 10,687 | 1,668 | 3,584 | 5,435 |
| Jubbada Hoose | Kismayo | 9,151 | 2,084 | 3,361 | 3,706 |
| Hiiraan | Beledweyne | 7,830 | 2,279 | 1,362 | 4,189 |
| Nugaal | Garowe | 7,399 | 3,479 | 1,374 | 2,546 |
| Gedo | Beletxawo | 2,353 | 1,287 | 942 | 124 |
| Waqooyi Galbeed | Berbera | 1,931 | 220 | 773 | 938 |
| Galgaduud | Adado | 1,841 | 631 | 170 | 633 |
| Galgaduud | Dhusamareeb | 1,744 | 643 | 468 | 1,040 |
| Shabeellaha Hoose | Barawe | 1,504 | 457 | 346 | 701 |
| Bakool | Hudur | 1,285 | 227 | 263 | 795 |
| Shabeellaha Dhexe | Jowhar | 1,208 | 347 | 392 | 469 |
Source: SIBEC 2024, tables 2.3, 3.4 and 4.2. Mogadishu has 27.8 percent of all establishments, Hargeisa 17.0 percent and Bosaso 11.1 percent.
Legal status and size
These two tables cover the 91,141 formal and informal establishments. The census does not give legal status or size for micro-establishments.
| Legal status | Establishments | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Sole proprietorship | 82,842 | 90.9% |
| Partnership | 5,414 | 5.9% |
| NGO or other non-profit | 2,270 | 2.5% |
| Private limited company | 461 | 0.5% |
| Cooperative | 106 | 0.1% |
| Corporation or public enterprise | 48 | under 0.1% |
| Size | Establishments | Formal | Informal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 9 workers | 89,815 | 46,665 | 43,150 |
| 10 to 49 workers | 1,231 | 1,175 | 56 |
| 50 to 249 workers | 85 | 84 | 1 |
| 250 or more workers | 10 | 10 | 0 |
Source: SIBEC 2024, tables 3.2 and 3.5. The report's text gives slightly different counts for small and medium firms (1,215 and 101) than its table 3.5. The table figures are used here.
Who owns them
For the 81,584 formal and informal establishments with a single owner:
- Age: owners aged 35 to 55 hold 48,650 (59.6 percent), 26 to 34 hold 25,116 (30.8 percent), 56 and over hold 5,776 (7.1 percent) and under 26 hold 1,806 (2.2 percent) (table 3.7).
- Nationality: Somali owners hold 81,325, or 99.7 percent. Owners from elsewhere in eastern Africa hold 148, other African countries 40, the Middle East 32, Asia 26 and Europe 3 (table 3.6).
Workers by region and sex
| Region | Formal: women | Formal: men | Informal: women | Informal: men | Micro: women | Micro: men |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banadir | 9,879 | 34,311 | 7,979 | 12,855 | 13,408 | 8,410 |
| Waqooyi Galbeed | 6,463 | 16,302 | 5,473 | 8,187 | 10,470 | 7,380 |
| Bari | 4,185 | 9,125 | 3,669 | 4,044 | 6,651 | 2,759 |
| Mudug | 2,903 | 4,697 | 1,489 | 809 | 10,968 | 1,864 |
| Togdheer | 1,919 | 4,558 | 1,475 | 2,598 | 5,337 | 2,689 |
| Nugaal | 3,025 | 5,849 | 1,055 | 988 | 1,949 | 680 |
| Bay | 886 | 2,491 | 2,235 | 2,581 | 4,457 | 1,134 |
| Jubbada Hoose | 1,362 | 2,804 | 2,999 | 1,347 | 3,259 | 662 |
| Hiiraan | 1,307 | 2,212 | 1,129 | 523 | 3,730 | 534 |
| Galgaduud | 962 | 1,391 | 583 | 242 | 1,568 | 147 |
| Gedo | 898 | 891 | 768 | 405 | 119 | 37 |
| Shabeellaha Hoose | 134 | 833 | 172 | 297 | 536 | 177 |
| Bakool | 177 | 167 | 214 | 177 | 709 | 93 |
| Shabeellaha Dhexe | 148 | 596 | 218 | 234 | 353 | 139 |
| All | 34,248 | 86,227 | 29,458 | 35,287 | 63,514 | 26,705 |
Source: SIBEC 2024, tables 3.8 and 4.3.
- All workers: 275,439, of whom 127,220 (46 percent) are women.
- By type: women are 28 percent of workers in formal establishments, 45 percent in informal ones and 70 percent in micro-establishments.
Workers by activity
In formal and informal establishments together, trade employs 110,865 people, or 59.9 percent of the 185,220 workers. Accommodation and food employs 23,617, manufacturing 11,897 and education 11,564. Women are 62 percent of the workers in informal accommodation and food businesses and 47 percent in informal trade. They are 12 percent in formal manufacturing (SIBEC 2024, table 3.9). The full table by sex is in the data file.
How to use it
- Download the data: the CSV has one row per item and measure, with the SIBEC table number.
- Check the originals: the report and an analysis booklet (SNBS, Business Establishment Analysis Booklet) are free on nbs.gov.so.
- Compare with care: the census covers 16 towns only, so it is not a count of every business in the country.
- Other uses: the World Bank drew the firms for its 2025 Enterprise Survey of Somalia from SIBEC-2024 (World Bank Microdata Library, Somalia Enterprise Survey 2025).
Sources
- SNBS, SIBEC 2024 report · nbs.gov.so
- SNBS, census page · nbs.gov.so
- SNBS, Facts and Figures 2024 · nbs.gov.so
- SNBS, Business Establishment Analysis Booklet · nbs.gov.so
- World Bank Microdata Library, Somalia Enterprise Survey 2025 · microdata.worldbank.org
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Where this matters
- Muqdisho (Mogadishu) and BanaadirMogadishu (Muqdisho) is Somalia's capital and makes up the Banadir region, with about 2.97 million people in 20 districts.
- Hargeysa (Hargeisa) and Woqooyi GalbeedWoqooyi Galbeed is the north-western region that holds Hargeisa (Hargeysa) and the port of Berbera, with about 1 to 1.45 million people.
- Burco (Burao) and TogdheerTogdheer is the northern region around Burco (Burao), with about 894,874 people including Buuhoodle.
- Garoowe (Garowe) and NugaalNugaal is the region around Garoowe (Garowe), Puntland's capital, with about 656,910 people in three districts.
- Gaalkacyo (Galkayo) and MudugMudug is a region of central Somalia with about 1.5 million people, split between Puntland in the north and Galmudug in the south.
- Dhuusamarreeb (Dhusamareb) and GalgaduudGalgaduud is a region of central Somalia in Galmudug State, with Dhusamareb (Dhuusamarreeb) as its capital and about 845,000 people.
- Beledweyne (Belet Weyne) and HiiraanHiiraan is a region of Hirshabelle State on the Shabelle river, with Beledweyne as its capital and about 505,000 to 598,000 people.
- Jowhar (Johar) and Middle ShabelleMiddle Shabelle is the farming region along the Shabelle river north of Mogadishu, with Jowhar as its capital and about 1 to 1.26 million people.
- Marka (Merca) and Lower ShabelleLower Shabelle is Somalia's biggest farming region, along the Shabelle river south-west of Mogadishu, with Marka (Merca) as its capital and about 835,000 to…
- Baydhabo (Baidoa) and BayBay is a farming region in South West State, with Baidoa (Baydhabo) as its main city and about 1.25 to 1.8 million people.
- Xuddur (Hudur) and BakoolBakool is a region in South West State, on the border with Ethiopia, with Xudur (Hudur) as its capital.
- Garbahaarrey (Garbaharey) and GedoGedo is the south-western region on the borders with Kenya and Ethiopia, with Garbahaarrey as its capital and about 1 million people.
- Kismaayo (Kismayo) and Lower JubaLower Juba is the far southern region on the border with Kenya, with the port city of Kismayo (Kismaayo) as its capital and about 1.2 million people.
Same era
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- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- Somalia's GDP 2018 to 2024: the national accounts tablesSomalia's official GDP by spending, 2018 to 2024: household and government spending, investment, exports, imports, growth and GDP per person, from SNBS.
- What Somalia buys and sells: imports and exports by product, 2022 to 2024Somalia's imports and exports by product group, quarter by quarter, for 2022, 2023 and 2024, from Central Bank of Somalia figures in the SNBS Facts and Figures, with goods trade in the balance of payments from 2018.