How poor are somalis relative to africans 🤔

[novanova]

Guys I looked up average salaries in some african countries and hmmmm .. somalis are often perceived as extremely poor due to state collapse and conflict, but relative to other Africans, especially on individual income and access to global capital, Somalis are not the poorest. In fact, they seem to outperform many countries in several economic metrics.

According to Chatgpt:

Country	Avg Monthly Salary (USD)
Egypt	$125–$200
Kenya	$150–$300
Nigeria	$150–$400
Ghana	$180–$350
Ivory Coast	$250–$350
Tanzania	$120–$250
Senegal	$180–$300
Ethiopia	$80–$120
Somalia	$200–$300
Sudan	$60–$100
DR Congo	$50–$80
Zambia	$150–$250
Rwanda	$120–$180
Uganda	$100–$200
Cameroon	$120–$200
Mozambique	$80–$150
Zimbabwe	$70–$120

 

[Idilinaa]

Let's put the speculative numbers aside for a sec. What ever you see listed out there is either outdated or under-reported.

I think the biggest reality check is seeing the large internal revenue circulation(like the recorded monthly mobile transactions), the lack of slums, the lack of large beggar population and the lack of wide spread scams and fraud , theft and rarity of general crime.

Real poverty reflects widespread desperation behavior.

These are all really good observable indicators that the average Somali in Somalia are earning enough to support basic living. That's what sets it apart from a lot of African countries

Then another set of observable examples is really the purchasing power, there are so many businesses , shops that operational. private transport and the private sector is functional there is a visible consumer economy, since every service is private payment based you need to have money to use it. You can't have 80% urban electrician rate, 61% nationwide and 77.7% access to water and 86% internet/broadband mobile access and be broke with no money.

The extensive inventory and imports also suggests purchasing power as well. These are powerful, visible signs of broad based economic functionality, especially in a society where government welfare is nearly non-existent.

If people can survive and thrive without state support, it means they are economically active, and wealth is more evenly distributed through private enterprise and family/community systems.

Sooner or later the numbers publicly available will catch up with the realities on the ground.

 

[Rayaale]

As a person who’s travelled extensively in East and Southern Africa, I can say Somalis are not poor people but have bigger dreams and aspirations, the average African is satisfied with a simple job as long as he/she can get food and shelter while a Somali will try to push for a better future

 

[TheLand]

Guys I looked up average salaries in some african countries and hmmmm .. somalis are often perceived as extremely poor due to state collapse and conflict, but relative to other Africans, especially on individual income and access to global capital, Somalis are not the poorest. In fact, they seem to outperform many countries in several economic metrics.

According to Chatgpt:

Country	Avg Monthly Salary (USD)
Egypt	$125–$200
Kenya	$150–$300
Nigeria	$150–$400
Ghana	$180–$350
Ivory Coast	$250–$350
Tanzania	$120–$250
Senegal	$180–$300
Ethiopia	$80–$120
Somalia	$200–$300
Sudan	$60–$100
DR Congo	$50–$80
Zambia	$150–$250
Rwanda	$120–$180
Uganda	$100–$200
Cameroon	$120–$200
Mozambique	$80–$150
Zimbabwe	$70–$120

Those ranges are so wide that they are basically meaningless for comparison imo. Also, I think Somalis are different from most Africans whether black or otherwise in that there doesn’t seem to be as wide a wealth disparity within-group. That’s the real difference imo. You won’t see Somalis living in literal garbage dumps or filth regardless of the situation for the past 30 years but you will see that in almost all African countries.

 

[cunug3aad]

Those ranges are so wide that they are basically meaningless for comparison imo. Also, I think Somalis are different from most Africans whether black or otherwise in that there doesn’t seem to be as wide a wealth disparity within-group. That’s the real difference imo. You won’t see Somalis living in literal garbage dumps or filth regardless of the situation for the past 30 years but you will see that in almost all African countries.

Interesting how somalia doesnt seem to have slums like other poor countries, the closest thing to it that i know of are those rag hut type houses poor people/farmers use (but those are usually on their own) and refugee camps

 

[Sigmundd]

Somali diaspora aren't poor but they're not materliastic or flashy like others

 

[celidheere]

Somalis support each other materially so you have people who may be poor af using clan links to feed off of someone whether by nepotism or living in a house. Then wealthy Somalis will fight each other to support orphans and the like. People who should be poor af can live decently with nothing