Real Time Prices (RTP) is a live dataset compiled and updated weekly by the World Bank Development Economics Data Group. It provides historical and current price estimates for staple foods, fuel, and exchange rates in Somalia, using a combination of direct measurement and machine learning to fill gaps. The data is sourced from the World Food Program, UN-FAO, and select National Statistical Offices, with exchange rates from official and public sources.
Use Cases
- Modeling food price inflation based on weekly staple food price estimates.
- Analyzing fuel price volatility and its economic impact based on Real Time Energy Prices (RTEP).
- Forecasting unofficial exchange rate trends based on the Real Time Exchange Rates (RTFX) sub-series.
- Assessing market stability and food security by tracking the convergence of direct measurements and ML-estimated prices.
Strengths
- Updated weekly, with the last update recorded on 2026-03-15.
- Combines direct price measurement with machine learning estimation to address missing data.
- Integrates data from multiple authoritative sources including WFP, FAO, and National Statistical Offices.
- Includes three distinct sub-series for food, energy, and exchange rates.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale modeling.
- Data may reflect geographic and source bias inherent to the available reporting channels.
Provenance
- Source
- World Bank Development Economics Data Group (DECDG).
- Collection Method
- Combination of direct price measurement and machine learning estimation, compiled from WFP, FAO, and select National Statistical Offices.
- Time Range
- Historical and current estimates, updated weekly.
- Freshness
- Updated weekly.
- Geography
- Somalia.