School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) in Somalia
Somalia: School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) was 0.8366 years in 2023. ▼ Falling
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Somalia, 1971–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Somalia recorded 0.8366 years for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in 2023.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Somalia peaked at 2.14 years in 1979 and was at its lowest, 0.4132 years, in 1971.
That places Somalia 218th out of 218 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) in Somalia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 0.4132 years | — |
| 1972 | 0.483 years | +16.9% |
| 1973 | 0.6258 years | +29.6% |
| 1974 | 0.7587 years | +21.2% |
| 1976 | 1.81 years | +138.4% |
| 1977 | 2.09 years | +15.8% |
| 1978 | 2.06 years | -1.8% |
| 1979 | 2.14 years | +3.9% |
| 1980 | 1.91 years | -10.5% |
| 1981 | 1.3 years | -31.9% |
| 1982 | 1.22 years | -6.1% |
| 1983 | 1.11 years | -9.0% |
| 1984 | 1.09 years | -2.5% |
| 1985 | 0.9389 years | -13.6% |
| 1986 | 0.8269 years | -11.9% |
| 2007 | 1.37 years | +65.3% |
| 2023 | 0.8366 years | -38.8% |
Somalia compared with similar countries
- Somalia's 0.8366 years is below the median for low income countries, which is 5.81 years, 14% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Somalia's 0.8366 years is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6.13 years, 14% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) 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 | +138.4% | 0.7587 years | 1.81 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.3 years | 0.4132 years | 2.14 years | 8 |
| 1980s | 1.2 years | 0.8269 years | 1.91 years | 7 |
| 2000s | 1.37 years | 1.37 years | 1.37 years | 1 |
| 2020s | 0.8366 years | 0.8366 years | 0.8366 years | 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 school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Somalia?
- School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Somalia was 0.8366 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Somalia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.14 years in 1979.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Somalia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4132 years in 1971.
- How does Somalia rank for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes?
- Somalia ranks 218th out of 218 countries with data for 2023.
- Where does this Somalia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release