The Somali sheep is white with a black head. It belongs to the fat-tailed type, and both sexes of the breed are polled. (Nyanjom & J. Konyango 2024) The animal is mainly bred for meat production and is an important export item of the Somali economy. The Somali is a hair sheep bred mainly for meat production. They are white with a black head. Both sexes are polled, and the breed belongs to the fat rump type. The animal is long-legged and has very slender limbs. Males and females have no horns. Shearing is not necessary as the light layer of wool and hair falls off in spring. Ewes can reproduce from the age.
The table shows the sheep population in Somalia from 1980 to 2021 and illustrates the fluctuations over the years. The population started at 10.3 million in 1980 and gradually increased to a peak of 14.7 million in 2005. After this peak, the population fell to 12 million in 2010 and remained stable at this level until 2015. In 2018, however, it fell further to 10.3 million. In the following years, there was a slight recovery, and the population rose to 11 million in 2019, 11.3 million in 2020 and 11.4 million in 2021. This trend illustrates the different dynamics of the sheep population over the decades.
Figure 1. Trends in Sheep Population in Somalia (1980–2021)
FA0STAT 2022
The diagram shows the development of the quantity and value of Somali sheep exports from 2016 to 2022. The blue bars represent the export quantities (in units), while the orange line shows the corresponding export values (in monetary terms).
Export volumes peaked in 2016 at 2,161,706 but declined significantly over the years to reach a low of 189,767 in 2022. Similarly, export values started at a high level of 177,632 in 2016 but then fell to their lowest point of 15,356 in 2022. It is worth noting that there was a slight recovery in both metrics in 2021 before a sharp decline in 2022.
This visualization illustrates the challenges and volatility of the Somali sheep export industry during this period.
Figure 2, Trends in Somalia’s Sheep Export Quantity and Value (2016–2022)
Reference
Brazilian Somali”. Breeds of Livestock. Oklahoma State University, Dept. of Animal Science. Archived from the original on 2008-11-04. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
A. Nyanjom & J. Konyango, Certificate Agriculture Form 1, (East African Publishers), p.133.
