This options paper aims to highlight select evidence-based and innovative options for potential programming that could unlock women's and girls' empowerment through the World Bank's portfolio in Somalia. It is the operational companion to the Gender Policy Note 3 which identifies key challenges...

This Country Private Sector Diagnostic (CPSD) was conducted at a challenging but promising juncture in Somalia's development journey. Because the Federal Government of Somalia's (FGS's) fiscal space and institutional capacity to deliver public goods and services are limited, marshaling the...

The objective of this assessment is to identify gender and social inclusion gaps with respect to equitable access to clean and modern energy in the Horn of Africa (HoA) borderlands, specifically in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Sudan. It examines the differences in the...

Somalia is highly exposed to climatic shocks. According to the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (NG-GAIN) ranking, Somalia is the most vulnerable country in the world to climate change. Somalia is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change. Within the country,...

In 2022, the nomadic population, comprising just over 10 percent of the Somali population, faced the highest levels of monetary, non-monetary, and extreme poverty, along with the greatest inequality. Nomadic households have the highest poverty rates and often lack sufficient livestock to escape...

Somalia's labor market displays some unique traits for its level of income. Somalia has very low labor force participation, likely driven by the limited viability of agricultural and low non-agricultural labor demand. There is also evidence of a dual labor market: i) a small pool of good jobs,...

In 2012, Somalia was considered a failed state characterized by multiple, protracted, and deeply rooted fragility and development challenges. Today, Somalia remains one of the poorest and most fragile countries in the world. The country continues to be affected by ongoing civil conflict, a...

Purpose: The study investigated the possibility of establishing concurrent vocational education and training through microlearning platforms by assessing whether universities in Garowe had the minimum basic facilities to establish such programmes, whether academic staff were aware of the state...

We evaluate the impact of a role model intervention on the gender attitudes, college aspirations and education outcomes of youths in Somalia. In 2018, we randomly selected elementary schools to receive a visit from a college student. Within each treatment school, we selected four grades, two to...

In recent months, relations between Ethiopia, Egypt, and Somalia have deteriorated significantly. Previously separate disputes have become intertwined: namely the conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia over the use of Nile waters and the disagreement between Ethiopia and Somalia regarding the...

There are still a number of UN arms embargoes in place to prevent the flow of arms and military material into conflict zones. Although the UN Security Council is not generally deadlocked on this issue, it has only taken relevant decisions to re-design the embargoes in a few cases over the last...

Somalia has been a stateless nation for over two decades, where government institutions have been destroyed and malfunctioned, including the central bank. Consequently, this ruled out the control and regulation of the money supply and exchange rate by the central bank. This study investigates...

Accurate Gross Domestic Product (GDP) prediction is essential for economic planning and policy formulation. This paper evaluates the performance of three machine learning models-Random Forest Regression (RFR), XGBoost, and Prophet-in predicting Somalia's GDP. Historical economic data, including...

State building and state legitimacy in the states emerging from fragility are inseparable from the notion of social contract. In the countries where the youth only know statelessness-or a complete absence of state institutions-building a new social contract from the ground up becomes an even...

Somalia has one of the most severe unemployment rates globally, due to its economic instability. Our study focuses on the macroeconomic effects on employment using an ARDL model. The key macroeconomic variables examined are GDP, inflation, FDI, foreign aid, and population growth, with data...

This study investigates the interplay between renewable energy Consumption, urbanization, and carbon emissions in Somalia, a region facing pressing environmental challenges. The study uses advanced econometric techniques like the ARDL model to uncover short- and long-term dynamics that impact...

The central message of this Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) update is that Somalia should accelerate the momentum in building its institutions to develop resilience and create jobs, thus serving as a basis for transitioning from fragility to reducing poverty and promoting shared prosperity....

This letter provides IMF staff's assessment of macroeconomic policies in Somalia. It also discusses the authorities' intention to reintroduce the Somali Shilling and implement a currency board arrangement, which the IMF will be supporting through extensive capacity development and the Extended...

Economic activity has picked up in recent months, supported by a rebound in agriculture and remittances, and growth projections for 2024 and 2025 have been upgraded to 4 percent. However, the domestic security situation remains challenging and geopolitical tensions in the Horn of Africa remain...

Economic activity has picked up in recent months, supported by a rebound in agriculture, though still affected by the lingering effects of two years of drought and recent severe flooding. The security situation remains challenging, with the government scaling up its military actions against the...

Globally, the spread of economic integration and the lowering of trade protectionism through multiple trade pacts offered the products of many developing nations the chance to access global markets. The international economics literature deeply discusses the influence of trade liberalization and...

Somalia has faced a prolonged challenge of high dollarization, which has limited the effectiveness of conventional monetary policy tools. In response, fiscal policy has taken center stage as the primary means of economic management by the government. This study aims to investigate the asymmetric...

Somalia stands at a critical juncture with notable progress in stabilisation, better governance, billions in debt relief, joining the EAC, liberating territories from al-Shabab, and lifting the arms embargo. Yet, challenges still remain. The analysis reveals that the current aid system,...

The pressing issue of environmental degradation underscores the urgent need for collective action to preserve and restore our planet's delicate balance. This study investigates the relationships between environmental degradation, globalization, renewable energy adoption, economic growth, and...

Gross domestic product (GDP) serves as a vital indicator of a country's economic health, influenced by factors such as unemployment rates, export-import dynamics, and inflation rates. Understanding the intricate relationship between GDP and unemployment is crucial for navigating the dynamic...

Somalia stands at a critical juncture with notable progress in stabilisation, better governance, billions in debt relief, joining the EAC, liberating territories from al-Shabab, and lifting the arms embargo. Yet, challenges still remain. The analysis reveals that the current aid system,...

Somalia has remained on a strong economic reform path despite the various global and exogenous shocks that have continued to buffet the economy. Recurrent climate-related shocks, such as cycles of droughts, floods, locusts' infestation, higher international commodity prices, as well as increased...

The Country Opinion Survey in Somalia assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in better understanding how stakeholders in Somalia perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector,...

Over the past three decades, Somalia's economic landscape has witnessed a noticeable dependence on imported goods. The exchange rate was unregulated owing to the collapse of the country's central bank. This unregulated environment has introduced significant volatility in exchange rates,...

Climate change is a priority area in European and broader Western initiatives for global security, with a significant focus on Africa. This paper argues that advancing the climate security agenda in Africa necessitates an approach oriented towards integrating climate adaptation and finance into...

Purpose: The study investigated the possibility of establishing concurrent vocational education and training through microlearning platforms by assessing whether universities in Garowe had the minimum basic facilities to establish such programmes, whether academic staff were aware of the state...

We evaluate the impact of a role model intervention on the gender attitudes, college aspirations and education outcomes of youths in Somalia. In 2018, we randomly selected elementary schools to receive a visit from a college student. Within each treatment school, we selected four grades, two to...

There are still a number of UN arms embargoes in place to prevent the flow of arms and military material into conflict zones. Although the UN Security Council is not generally deadlocked on this issue, it has only taken relevant decisions to re-design the embargoes in a few cases over the last...

A technical assistance (TA) mission was conducted by the statistics department of the IMF in May 2023 to assist the Somalia National Bureau of Statistics (SNBS) with updating the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Preliminary consumer basket was created during the mission with expanded coverage, and...