Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Somalia
Somalia: Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates was 20.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Somalia, 1971–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Somalia recorded 20.9% for primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in 2023.
Over the whole period, primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Somalia peaked at 32.0% in 1979 and was at its lowest, 6.9%, in 1971.
That places Somalia 217th out of 217 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 20.1% | 6.9% | 32.0% | 8 |
| 1980s | 19.6% | 13.8% | 28.8% | 7 |
| 2000s | 22.8% | 22.8% | 22.8% | 1 |
| 2020s | 20.9% | 20.9% | 20.9% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Somalia
More education data for Somalia
- Population ages 0-14 46.6% (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 50.8% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 10 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Somalia?
- Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Somalia was 20.9% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in Somalia?
- The highest recorded value was 32.0% in 1979.
- What is the lowest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in Somalia?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.9% in 1971.
- How does Somalia rank for primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates?
- Somalia ranks 217th out of 217 countries with data for 2023.
- Where does this Somalia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Number of children of any age group who are enrolled in primary education, expressed as a percentage of the total population of the official primary school age.