Additional Context: The account deficit in Somalia grew to 9.6% of its GDP in 2025 from 9.3% in 2024. This means that Somalia increasingly spent more on imports, foreign services, and payments abroad than it earned from exports and income from overseas. According to the World Bank, fewer merchandise exports from Somalia, as well as the decrease of foreign aid are noted to be the main drivers of the growing current account deficit, an impact alleviated by a growth in remmitances and a slight uptick in sevice exports. Reduced spending power for Somalis as cash-based assistance dwindles, heightened food insecurity, as well as broader geopolitical contraints, have brought the World Bank to revise GDP growth predictions for 2026 down by 0.7 percentage points.

Devex Researcher Note: According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs's Financial Tracking Service the total amount of humanitarian assistance in Somalia decreased from $1.05 billion in 2024 to $530.9 million in 2025. U.S. cuts made up for 76.3% of this reduction.

Source: World Bank