Land, farming and livestock
Camels in Somalia: the world's largest herd
Somalia has the largest camel herd in the world: about 7.2 million head, almost half as many again as Sudan, the second-largest, according to FAO estimates reported in 2016. Somalia is also by far the largest producer of camel milk, says the FAO. Camels are sold live to the Gulf, milked for city markets, and since 2025 turned into yoghurt in Mogadishu.
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, which has the second-largest herd (Bloomberg, in Gulf Times, 26 November 2016).
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). In August 2025 Africanews reported "over 7 million" camels, more than any other country (Africanews, 5 August 2025).
All Somali camels are dromedaries, the one-humped camel (Wikipedia, Dromedary).
Camel milk
Somalia is "by far" the largest producer of camel milk in the world, the FAO says (Gulf Times, 26 November 2016). Most milk is drunk by herding families or sold fresh in towns.
In 2025 the Beder Camel Farm 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). 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 and Kuwait, along with sheep, goats and cattle (Gulf Times, 2016). The Central Bank counted 212,616 camels among more than 6.4 million animals exported in 2024 (Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025). For values by year, see 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). See 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). Dromedaries are adapted to desert life and can go for long periods without drinking (Wikipedia, 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.
Sources
- Bloomberg, in Gulf Times, 26 November 2016 · gulf-times.com
- PMC table, camel populations by country · pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Africanews, 5 August 2025 · africanews.com
- Wikipedia, Dromedary · en.wikipedia.org
- Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025 · centralbank.gov.so
- Mtimet and others, Global Food Security, 2021 · pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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Where this matters
- 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.
- Laascaanood (Las Anod) and SoolSool is a region in the north with Las Anod (Laascaanood) as its capital and about 571,000 people.
- Ceerigaabo (Erigavo) and SanaagSanaag is a region on the northern coast with Erigavo (Ceerigaabo) as its capital and about 446,000 people.
- Boosaaso (Bosaso) and BariBari is Puntland's north-east region, with the port city of Bosaso (Boosaaso) as its capital and about 1.28 million people.
- 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.
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- 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
- Pastoralism in Somalia: how herding worksSomali pastoralism in facts: how many people herd, what they earn, milk and meat, seasons and movement, herd splitting, risks from drought and disease, and the move to towns.
- How many livestock does Somalia have?Somalia's livestock in numbers: herd size by species, what the animals produce, how many die each year, exports, and why sources disagree.
- Blackheaded Somali sheep: the breed behind the livestock tradeThe Blackheaded Somali sheep: what it looks like, where it is kept, why it suits dry land, its role in exports through Berbera and Bosaso, and the breeds descended from it.
- Cattle in Somalia: Boran and the Somali breedsCattle in Somalia: numbers, where they are kept, the Boran breed and the Somali Boran, the large red cattle traded to Kenya, cattle exports and milk.
- The Somali goat: breed, milk and tradeThe Somali goat in facts: what it looks like, where it is kept, milk yield in drought, meat exports with sheep, and what DAD-IS records about the breed.
- The camel milk trade: from herds to city marketsCamel milk in Somalia: how much is produced and what it is worth, the abakaar women traders who supply Mogadishu, seasons and prices, milk 'tourism', and new dairies and yoghurt.