# Camels in Somalia: the world's largest herd

> Camels in Somalia in facts: herd size, share of the world's camels, camel milk, exports to the Gulf, the 2016 to 2018 export fall at Berbera, and the first camel milk yoghurt factory.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/economy/camels-in-somalia/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## How many camels?

Somalia has an estimated **7.2 million camels**, about a third of all the camels in the world, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). That is almost 50 percent more than [Sudan](/en/diaspora/sudan/), which has the second-largest herd ([Bloomberg, in Gulf Times, 26 November 2016](https://www.gulf-times.com/story/522520/worlds-biggest-camel-producer-targets-mideast-exports)).

A ranking of the 20 countries with the most camels puts Somalia first with 7.15 million, ahead of Sudan with 4.79 million and Kenya with 2.93 million ([PMC table, camel populations by country](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6389616/table/T1)). In August 2025 Africanews reported "over 7 million" camels, more than any other country ([Africanews, 5 August 2025](https://www.africanews.com/2025/08/05/camels-at-the-heart-of-somalias-agricultural-transformation/)).

All Somali camels are dromedaries, the one-humped camel ([Wikipedia, Dromedary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dromedary)).

## Camel milk

Somalia is "by far" the largest producer of camel milk in the world, the FAO says ([Gulf Times, 26 November 2016](https://www.gulf-times.com/story/522520/worlds-biggest-camel-producer-targets-mideast-exports)). Most milk is drunk by herding families or sold fresh in towns.

In 2025 the [Beder Camel Farm](/en/economy/camel-milk-trade/) near Mogadishu opened the country's first factory that turns camel milk into yoghurt. Its manager, the veterinarian Dr Abdirisak Mire Hashi, said each camel on the farm now gives up to **10 litres** a day, about double the 5 litres of the past ([Africanews, 5 August 2025](https://www.africanews.com/2025/08/05/camels-at-the-heart-of-somalias-agricultural-transformation/)). The same report says the government has passed a Dairy Act and a livestock sector strategy.

## Camels for sale abroad

Camels are shipped live to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, [Oman](/en/diaspora/oman/) and [Kuwait](/en/diaspora/kuwait/), along with sheep, goats and cattle ([Gulf Times, 2016](https://www.gulf-times.com/story/522520/worlds-biggest-camel-producer-targets-mideast-exports)). The Central Bank counted **212,616 camels** among more than 6.4 million animals exported in 2024 ([Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025](https://centralbank.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Annual-Report_2025.pdf)). For values by year, see [Livestock exports](/en/economy/livestock-exports/).

At Berbera, camels shipped to Saudi Arabia fell to **zero in 2017 and 2018**, after Saudi Arabia's partial ban of November 2016. In 2013 to 2016, 89 to 98 percent of Berbera's camel exports had gone to Saudi Arabia ([Mtimet and others, Global Food Security, 2021](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8417120/)). See [Gulf bans on Somali livestock](/en/economy/gulf-bans-on-somali-livestock/).

## Who depends on them

More than half of Somalia's people rely on livestock for food and income, and livestock makes up about 40 percent of GDP, the Somali Chamber of Commerce said in 2016 ([Gulf Times](https://www.gulf-times.com/story/522520/worlds-biggest-camel-producer-targets-mideast-exports)). Dromedaries are adapted to desert life and can go for long periods without drinking ([Wikipedia, Dromedary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dromedary)).

## Sources disagree

Counts differ by year and method. The FAO-based figure of about 7.2 million (2016) and the table figure of 7.15 million are close. Production figures for camel milk vary much more between sources, and the sources do not say how each was counted.

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