_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador ABDIKARIM Ali Omar; Chancery at Suite 710, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037; telephone (202) 342-1575; there is a Somali Consulate General in New York;
US—Ambassador James K. BISHOP; Embassy at K-7, AFGOI Road,
Mogadishu (mailing address is P. O. Box 574, Mogadishu); telephone
[252] (01) 39971; note—US Embassy evacuated and closed indefinitely in
January 1991
_#_Flag: light blue with a large white five-pointed star in the center; design based on the flag of the UN (Italian Somaliland was a UN trust territory)
_*Economy #_Overview: One of the world's poorest and least developed countries, Somalia has few resources. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, with the livestock sector accounting for about 40% of GDP and about 65% of export earnings. Nomads and seminomads who are dependent upon livestock for their livelihoods make up more than half of the population. Crop production generates only 10% of GDP and employs about 20% of the work force. The main export crop is bananas; sugar, sorghum, and corn are grown for the domestic market. The small industrial sector is based on the processing of agricultural products and accounts for less than 10% of GDP. Serious economic problems facing the nation are the external debt of $1.9 billion and double-digit inflation.
_#_GDP: $1.7 billion, per capita $210; real growth rate - 1.4% (1988)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 81.7% (1988 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: NA%
_#_Budget: revenues $190 million; expenditures $195 million, including capital expenditures of $111 million (1989 est.)
_#_Exports: $58.0 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities—livestock, hides, skins, bananas, fish;