Somalia vs South Sudan: Share of children who have completed primary school
Somalia
28.8%
in 2025
South Sudan
7.9%
in 2025
Somalia rank
164th
South Sudan rank
165th
Share of children who have completed primary school over time
- Somalia
- South Sudan
How they compare
Somalia currently reports 28.8% against 7.9% in South Sudan, a difference of 20.9%.
That makes Somalia's figure about 3.6 times South Sudan's.
Across all 45 years both countries report, Somalia has been ahead every year.
Somalia ranks 164th and South Sudan ranks 165th of 165 countries.
Somalia has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Somalia | South Sudan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 19.2% | 5.1% | 14.1% | Somalia |
| 1990s | 20.6% | 5.9% | 14.7% | Somalia |
| 2000s | 23.5% | 6.5% | 17.1% | Somalia |
| 2010s | 26.0% | 7.1% | 18.9% | Somalia |
| 2020s | 28.1% | 7.7% | 20.3% | Somalia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of children who have completed primary school, Somalia or South Sudan?
- Somalia, at 28.8% against 7.9% in South Sudan as of 2025.
- What is the difference in share of children who have completed primary school between Somalia and South Sudan?
- 20.9%, with Somalia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Somalia and South Sudan?
- 45 years are reported by both, from 1981 to 2025.
- How do Somalia and South Sudan rank globally for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Somalia ranks 164th and South Sudan ranks 165th of 165 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of children who have completed primary school. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The share of children who are three to five years older than the official age for the last grade of primary education who have successfully completed it. This broader age band is used to include children who started school late or had to resit particular years.