e: universal at age 18

_#_Elections:

President--last held 23 December 1986 (next to be held
NA);
results--President Siad was reelected without opposition;

People's Assembly--last held 31 December 1984 (next to be held NA);
results--SRSP was the only party;
seats--(177 total, 171 elected) SRSP 171;
note--the United Somali Congress (USC) ousted the regime of Maj. Gen.
Mohamed SIAD Barre on 27 January 1991; the provisional government
has promised that a democratically elected government will be
established

_#_Communists: probably some Communist sympathizers in the government
hierarchy

_#_Member of: ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD,
ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
IOM (observer), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

_#_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
ca