Federal government: ministries and agencies
Somali National Bureau of Statistics (SNBS): who counts Somalia
The Somali National Bureau of Statistics is the federal body that collects and publishes Somalia's official numbers: prices, GDP, household surveys, business counts and, in future, the census. It was set up under Statistics Law No. 24 of February 2020, replacing a 1970 law, and is based in Mogadishu with branches in the member states.
What it does
The Somali National Bureau of Statistics (SNBS) is the official keeper of Somalia's statistics. Its law calls it "the central repository for all statistics generated in Somalia" (Somali Statistics Law No. 24, Article 6).
The law gives it these main jobs (same source, Article 7):
- Coordinate the national statistical system across ministries and member states.
- Advise the federal and state governments on statistics.
- Collect, analyse and publish national statistics, alone or with other bodies.
- Keep a national data bank, and help ministries set up their own statistics units.
- Be the contact point for international agencies on statistics.
It can carry out surveys, and on the advice of its Board the Minister can order a census of the whole country or any part of it (same source, Articles 29 and 30). It must keep personal information confidential, and its staff take an oath of secrecy (Articles 53 and 54).
How it is run
The bureau is an autonomous body with its own legal identity, led by a Director General and a Deputy, with a Board of Directors and six directorates (SNBS, Annual Report 2024). Its head office is in Mogadishu, and the law provides for branches in the member states, regions and districts (Statistics Law, Article 6).
- May 2020: the Council of Ministers appointed Sharmarke Farah as the first Director General, with Abdirahman Omar Dahir as Deputy (SONNA).
- 2024: Dr Abdisalam Abdirahman Mohamed was Director General, with Abdirahman Omar Dahir still Deputy (SNBS, Annual Report 2024).
Where it came from
Somalia's first statistics law was Law No. 35 of 1970. Government statistics stopped with the collapse of 1991. After 2012 the work restarted as a Directorate of National Statistics. Law No. 24 of February 2020 made it an independent bureau, matched to the federal system (SNBS, Annual Report 2024; AidData).
What it publishes
- Consumer prices: a monthly price index and inflation rate. See Prices and inflation.
- GDP: yearly national accounts. See Somalia's GDP 2018 to 2024.
- Household surveys: the Somalia Integrated Household Budget Survey of 2022 (7,212 households) measured poverty, spending, schooling, phones and money (SNBS, SIHBS 2022). It worked with UNFPA on the Somali Health and Demographic Survey 2020.
- Facts and Figures: a yearly pocket book of numbers on schools, health, money, trade, government and justice. The 7th edition came out in October 2024 (SNBS, Facts and Figures 2024).
- Other reports in 2024: a household shocks report, Somalia's first national disability report, food security data and gender statistics (SNBS, Annual Report 2024).
The first business census, 2024
In December 2024 the bureau published the Somalia Integrated Business Establishment Census (SIBEC-2024), the first count of every business in the country (same source):
- 174,149 businesses counted: 28 percent formal, 25 percent informal and 47 percent micro.
- What they do: 78 percent wholesale and retail trade, 10 percent hotels and food, 5 percent other services, 3 percent manufacturing.
- Where: Banadir 48,387 (28 percent), Woqooyi Galbeed (Hargeisa) 31,491 (18 percent) and Bari (Bosaso) 19,308 (11 percent).
- Who works: men are 66 percent of workers in formal and informal firms; women are 70 percent of workers in micro-businesses. 91 percent of businesses have a single owner.
The census
Somalia's 1975 Population and Livestock Census released only limited data, and a second census in 1985 to 1986 released none (UNFPA Somalia, census history). The 2014 Population Estimation Survey, run with UNFPA, counted about 12.3 million people (UNFPA, PESS 2014). A new Population and Housing Census was launched in 2023, the first in nearly 50 years (VOA via GlobalSecurity, May 2023). The bureau in 2024 sent staff to study census work in Djibouti, Burundi and South Africa (SNBS, Annual Report 2024). See How many people live in Somalia.
How to use it
- Download data: reports and tables are free on the bureau's website, nbs.gov.so.
- Ask for data: the law gives a right of access to published statistics (Article 55). Contact the bureau in Mogadishu at the address on its site.
- Somaliland: Somaliland's Ministry of Planning keeps its own statistics.
Its legal basis
Somali Statistics Law, Law No. 24 of February 2020, which repealed Law No. 35 of 1970.
Sources
- Somali Statistics Law No. 24, Article 6 · nbs.gov.so
- SNBS, Annual Report 2024 · nbs.gov.so
- SONNA · sonna.so
- AidData · aiddata.org
- SNBS, SIHBS 2022 · nbs.gov.so
- SNBS, Facts and Figures 2024 · nbs.gov.so
- UNFPA Somalia, census history · somalia.unfpa.org
- UNFPA, PESS 2014 · somalia.unfpa.org
- VOA via GlobalSecurity, May 2023 · globalsecurity.org
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Where this matters
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.
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- The Federal Government of Somalia: how it is organisedHow Somalia's federal government is built: its history since 2012, its branches, ministries, agencies and independent offices, how it relates to the member states, its staff and budget, and where to find each part.
- Somalia's federal government: the President, the Prime Minister and the Council of MinistersHow Somalia's federal executive works: the President's powers, the Prime Minister, the Council of Ministers, the list of ministries, and presidents since 1960.
- Ministry of Education of Somalia (Wasaaradda Waxbarashada): what it doesWhat Somalia's federal education ministry does: curriculum, national exams, teachers, school counts and higher education, how it shares the work with the member states, and the separate ministries in Puntland and Somaliland.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Somalia (Wasaaradda Arrimaha Dibadda): embassies and diplomacyWhat Somalia's foreign ministry does, who leads it, where Somalia has embassies, the main issues in 2024 to 2026, and what Somalis abroad can get from an embassy.
- Ministry of Health of Somalia (Wasaaradda Caafimaadka): what it doesWhat Somalia's federal health ministry does: policy, vaccines, medicines, coordination of aid; who leads it; its budget 2025 to 2027; what it reports doing in 2026; and how the work is shared with Puntland, Somaliland and the member states.