Around 1,400 people in Somalia are believed to be working in piracy activities.

Source:  UNODC, “The Globalization of Crime,” Chapter 9: Maritime Piracy, June 2010.

A report by the United Nations found that up to 50 percent of food aid sent to Somalia by the World Food Program was being stolen by its own contractors and armed militias.

Source:  Jason McLure, “Food for Naught,” Newsweek, March 24, 2010.

According to the 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, Somalia is the most corrupt nation in the world, followed by Afghanistan.

The least corrupt nation is New Zealand, followed by Denmark.

Source:  Phyllis Korkki, “The Countries Most Known for Corruption,” New York Times, December 5, 2009.

Between 2007 and 2009, US Border Patrol Agents apprehended 2, 285 illegal immigrants from China attempting to enter the United States from the US-Mexico border.

In addition to the Chinese, those apprehend by Border Patrol included nearly a thousands people from Europe, 80 from Pakistan, 36 from Somalia, 19 from Yemen, 25 from Iraq and 26 from Iran.

Source:  Pierre Thomas, “Exclusive: FBI Says Corrupt Border Officials Accepting Bribes Expose U.S. to Terrorist Risk,” ABC News, September 24, 2009.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime states that the population of Somalia has spent $64 million a year on the drug Khat.

Source:  UNODC, “Kenya Regional Office: Overview of Regional Drug Production,” accessed August 10, 2009.

According to the International Organization for Migration, up to 20,000 Ethiopian and Somali men are smuggled from the horn of Africa to South Africa for economic reasons each year.  The men pay up to $2,000 to smugglers for the journey.

Source:  Lisa Schlein, “Study: Smuggled Migrants From Horn And East Africa Abused,” VOA News, June 23, 2009.

Ransom payments made to pirates in Somalia are difficult to track due to the payments being made in cash, according to the BBC. An estimated $80 million in ransom payments are believed to have been laundered by organized crime syndicates in the Gulf region, but this has been denied by Gulf authorities.

The BBC also has a breakdown by the United Nations on how the ransom payments are distributed.

Although there is no universal set of rules, a UN report based on information gathered from pirates based in the north-eastern village of Eyl, reveals some interesting information about how the ransom spoils are divided:

• Maritime militia, pirates involved in actual hijacking – 30%

• Ground militia (armed groups who control the territory where the pirates are based) – 10%

• Local community (elders and local officials) – 10%

• Financier – 20%

• Sponsor – 30%

The UN report found the payments are shared virtually equally between the maritime militia, although the first pirate to board the ship gets a double share or a vehicle.

And compensation is paid to the family of any pirate killed during the operation.

Source:  Mary Harper, Chasing the Somali piracy money trail,” BBC News, May 24, 2009.

The Somali Pirates who hold ships for ransom off the coast of Somalia are reported to have made up to 50 million dollars last year in ransom payments.  According to a report in the Washington Post, those pirates who are able to get paid are living a life of luxury in the poverty stricken country.

From the Washington Post:

Locals say that onshore, the pirates are attended to by prostitutes, nurses, bodyguards and men who procure and deliver their precious khat, a mildly narcotic leaf chewed for its stimulant effects.

Source:  Stephanie McCrummen, “Somalia’s Godfathers: Ransom-Rich Pirates,” Washington Post, April 20,2009.