School age population, primary education, both sexes in Somalia
Somalia: School age population, primary education, both sexes was 2.36 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
2.36 million
Change on year
up 3.1%
World rank
64th
of 222 countries
All-time high
3.05 million
in 2022
All-time low
605,142
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Somalia, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school age population, primary education, both sexes in Somalia is 2.36 million, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 3.1% on the previous year and down 2.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Somalia peaked at 3.05 million in 2022 and was at its lowest, 605,142, in 1970.
Somalia ranks 64th of 222 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Somalia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 605,142 | — |
| 1971 | 620,177 | +2.5% |
| 1972 | 635,373 | +2.5% |
| 1973 | 651,473 | +2.5% |
| 1974 | 668,337 | +2.6% |
| 1975 | 685,138 | +2.5% |
| 1976 | 702,378 | +2.5% |
| 1977 | 719,986 | +2.5% |
| 1978 | 739,854 | +2.8% |
| 1979 | 825,276 | +11.5% |
| 1980 | 941,955 | +14.1% |
| 1981 | 977,649 | +3.8% |
| 1982 | 951,549 | -2.7% |
| 1983 | 981,569 | +3.2% |
| 1984 | 1.02 million | +3.4% |
| 1985 | 1.06 million | +4.7% |
| 1986 | 1.12 million | +4.9% |
| 1987 | 1.17 million | +5.2% |
| 1988 | 1.22 million | +4.0% |
| 1989 | 1.20 million | -1.5% |
| 1990 | 1.21 million | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 1.21 million | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 1.14 million | -5.6% |
| 1993 | 1.14 million | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 1.22 million | +7.3% |
| 1995 | 1.25 million | +2.2% |
| 1996 | 1.29 million | +3.0% |
| 1997 | 1.29 million | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 1.29 million | +0.7% |
| 1999 | 1.33 million | +2.9% |
| 2000 | 1.40 million | +5.0% |
| 2001 | 1.48 million | +5.4% |
| 2002 | 1.56 million | +5.9% |
| 2003 | 1.67 million | +6.7% |
| 2004 | 1.79 million | +7.3% |
| 2005 | 1.88 million | +5.4% |
| 2006 | 1.95 million | +3.5% |
| 2007 | 2.01 million | +2.9% |
| 2008 | 2.08 million | +3.5% |
| 2009 | 2.13 million | +2.6% |
| 2010 | 2.18 million | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 2.24 million | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 2.23 million | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 2.28 million | +2.5% |
| 2014 | 2.36 million | +3.1% |
| 2015 | 2.42 million | +2.7% |
| 2016 | 2.47 million | +2.0% |
| 2017 | 2.53 million | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 2.58 million | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 2.68 million | +3.8% |
| 2020 | 2.79 million | +4.2% |
| 2021 | 2.91 million | +4.5% |
| 2022 | 3.05 million | +4.7% |
| 2023 | 2.22 million | -27.2% |
| 2024 | 2.29 million | +3.1% |
| 2025 | 2.36 million | +3.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 685,313 | 605,142 | 825,276 | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.06 million | 941,955 | 1.22 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.24 million | 1.14 million | 1.33 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.79 million | 1.40 million | 2.13 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.40 million | 2.18 million | 2.68 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.60 million | 2.22 million | 3.05 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Somalia
More education data for Somalia
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,021 tertiary education (2022)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0497 % change on previous year (2014)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 12,870 (2007)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 46.6% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 10 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 50.8% (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, primary education, both sexes in Somalia?
- School age population, primary education, both sexes in Somalia was 2.36 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Somalia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.05 million in 2022.
- What is the lowest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Somalia?
- The lowest recorded value was 605,142 in 1970.
- How does Somalia rank for school age population, primary education, both sexes?
- Somalia ranks 64th out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Somalia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Somalia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, primary education, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release