Somali pirates are earning more than 150 times their country's national average wage in what has become a multimillion-dollar business, a new study reveals. Experts believe that pirates in the East African country – the most dangerous point in a rising tide of piracy at sea – earn up to $79,000 a year. It is a stark contrast to the average annual income in Somalia of $500.

The study, by the political and economic intelligence consultancy Geopolicity, has been prepared for delegates ahead of an international piracy conference that starts in Dubai tomorrow. It is one of the first attempts to map the economics behind piracy. The results, revealed exclusively to The Independent on Sunday, highlight the magnitude of the problem, with attacks at record levels and huge financial rewards set to swell the ranks of pirates. What began as an attempt to protect local waters by vigilante Somali fishermen in the mid-1990s swiftly developed into piracy that now extends to some 2.5 million square nautical miles off Somalia's coastline, an increase of one million nautical miles from two years ago, according to the study. Read more...