Primary, secondary and tertiary … Primary, secondary, tertiary in Somalia
Somalia: Primary, secondary and tertiary … Primary, secondary, tertiary 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.
Primary, secondary and tertiary … Primary, secondary, tertiary in Somalia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 6.9% | — |
| 1972 | 8.0% | +16.9% |
| 1973 | 10.4% | +29.6% |
| 1974 | 12.6% | +21.2% |
| 1976 | 28.1% | +122.6% |
| 1977 | 31.8% | +13.0% |
| 1978 | 30.9% | -2.9% |
| 1979 | 32.0% | +3.5% |
| 1980 | 28.8% | -9.9% |
| 1981 | 21.7% | -24.5% |
| 1982 | 20.4% | -6.1% |
| 1983 | 18.6% | -9.0% |
| 1984 | 18.1% | -2.5% |
| 1985 | 15.6% | -13.6% |
| 1986 | 13.8% | -11.9% |
| 2007 | 22.8% | +65.3% |
| 2023 | 20.9% | -8.2% |
Somalia compared with similar countries
- Somalia's 20.9% is below the median for low income countries, which is 96.8%, 22% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Somalia's 20.9% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 100.4%, 21% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Primary, secondary and tertiary … Primary, secondary, tertiary in Somalia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | +122.6% | 12.6% | 28.1% |
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
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4,504 (2007)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 676 (1986)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 882 (1986)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 115,828 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 464,607 (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -7.59 % change on previous year (1986)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0253 units per person (2023)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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.