# Drought and livestock losses in Somalia

> How droughts hit Somali herds: the 2016/17 drought in numbers, deaths and lost births by species, the money lost, people displaced, and the 2021 to 2023 drought.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/economy/drought-and-livestock-losses/
Last checked: 2026-11-13
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Why drought hits herds so hard

In a drought, animals die, but the bigger loss comes later. Weak animals miscarry or do not conceive, so fewer are born for a year or more. Cattle die first, then sheep and goats; camels hold out longest ([FAO Statistics Working Paper 23-37, Otte and others, 2023](https://doi.org/10.4060/cc8138en)).

## The 2016/17 drought in numbers

All figures below are from the FAO study ([FAO, 2023](https://doi.org/10.4060/cc8138en)):

- **About 4 million extra deaths**, mostly sheep and goats, worth about **USD 290 million**.
- **14.8 million fewer births**, mostly goats (10.5 million) and sheep (4 million).
- Together with fewer animals sold, the herd fell from **52.9 million to 36.1 million**, down 32 percent. Sheep and goats fell by more than 30 percent, camels and cattle by less than 20 percent.
- Animals sold fell from **15.7 million** in the year before the drought to **8.2 million** in the year after.
- Losses in the drought year alone were nearly **USD 1.3 billion**, mostly from lost milk and lower sales. A further **USD 640 million** was lost over the next five years as herds rebuilt.
- **2.2 million people** were displaced, and about **1 million** gave up herding after selling their breeding animals to buy food.

Five years after the drought, goats had come closest to recovering; cattle were still 0.1 million (3 percent) below where they would have been (same source).

## The 2021 to 2023 drought

In December 2021 [FSNAU](/en/institutions/fao-somalia/) and FEWS NET reported livestock deaths in parts of [Galgaduud](/en/regions/galgaduud/), [Mudug](/en/regions/mudug/) and [Hiiraan](/en/regions/hiiraan/) on a scale like 2016/17 ([FSNAU, Somalia Food Security Outlook, December 2021](https://fsnau.org/downloads/Somalia-Food-Security-Outlook-December-2021.pdf)). In May 2022 they warned that livestock deaths would likely reach 10 to 30 percent of herds in the worst-hit areas by September ([FEWS NET, May 2022](https://fews.net/east-africa/somalia/alert/may-2022)).

By mid-2022 more than **3 million** animals had died, Down to Earth reported as the FAO appealed for USD 131 million ([Down to Earth, 2022](https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/africa/somalia-drought-fao-asks-for-131-million-to-aid-relief-efforts-84220)).

## Effects on markets

When herds are thin, markets close. [Burao](/en/regions/togdheer/)'s livestock market shut for two months in 2016 because of drought and the poor condition of animals, leaving about 1,500 people who depend on it without work ([Radio Ergo, 31 May 2016](https://radioergo.org/en/2016/05/burao-livestock-market-back-in-business-after-two-month-closure/)). See [Burao livestock market](/en/economy/burao-livestock-market/).

## Related pages

- [How many livestock does Somalia have?](/en/economy/livestock-numbers-in-somalia/)
- [Pastoralism in Somalia](/en/economy/pastoralism-in-somalia/)

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