How does Somalia rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?

Somalia ranks 209th out of 209 countries with data for 1980.

Where does this Somalia data come from?

The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children in primary school age who are in school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Somalia

Name: Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Somalia
Creator: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Somalia: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 14.7% in 1980. ▼ Falling

Latest (1980)

14.7%

Change on year

down 3.4%

World rank

209th

of 209 countries

All-time high

17.5%

in 1976

All-time low

14.7%

in 1980

Years of data

1976–1980

Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Somalia, 1976–1980

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Somalia recorded 14.7% for share of children in primary school age who are in school in 1980. That is the lowest value across all 5 years on record.

That represents a change of down 3.4% on the previous year and down 15.8% over five years.

Somalia ranks 209th of 209 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1970s	16.1%	15.1%	17.5%	4
1980s	14.7%	14.7%	14.7%	1

Countries ranked near Somalia

206 Democratic Republic of Congo 34.7% compare
207 Equatorial Guinea 34.4% compare
208 Afghanistan 31.2% compare

See the full ranking of 209 places →

More education data for Somalia

Population ages 0-14 46.6% (2025)
Population ages 15-64 50.8% (2025)
Lower secondary school starting age 10 years (2025)
Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
School enrollment, primary 20.9% (2023)
Primary education, teachers 12,870 (2007)
Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 6.01 live births per woman (2024)
School enrollment, primary, female 19.0% (2023)

All data for Somalia →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Somalia?: Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Somalia was 14.7% in 1980, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Somalia?: The highest recorded value was 17.5% in 1976.
What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Somalia?: The lowest recorded value was 14.7% in 1980.
How does Somalia rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?: Somalia ranks 209th out of 209 countries with data for 1980.
Where does this Somalia data come from?: The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children in primary school age who are in school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

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About this data

Indicator: Share of children in primary school age who are in school
Unit: %
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 209 places, 8,478 data points, 1820–2025
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

The share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.