Education · Sub-Saharan Africa · Low income
Somalia: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 1.1% (2021), 176th of 176 in the world and 39th of 39 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Primary enrolment is 20.9% (2023), 191st of 191 in the world and 41st of 41 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Secondary enrolment is 3.3% (2023), 176th of 176 in the world and 34th of 34 in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Education, % of budget
SomaliaSub-Saharan AfricaLow incomeWorld
8 indicators
Education: Somalia in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Sub-Saharan Africa; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolmentPre-primary enrolment, % gross | 1.1%2021 | 176/176 | 39/39 | · | · | 1.1%2021 | — | 28.1% | 20.1% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 20.9%2023 | 191/191 | 41/41 | · | · | · | −1.9 ppsince 2007 | 97.1% | 97.6% | 102.2% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 3.3%2023 | 176/176 | 34/34 | · | · | · | −2.7 ppsince 2007 | 45.9% | 41.5% | 77.3% | |
| Adult literacyAdult literacy rate, % of people 15+ | 54.1%2022 | 129/141 | 30/41 | · | · | 63.7%2019 | — | 68.7% | 63.6% | 87.7% | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 70.7%2022 | 138/148 | 33/42 | · | · | 78.4%2019 | — | 79.0% | 75.4% | 93.1% | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 35.52007 | — | — | · | · | · | — | 37.4 | 39.8 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 0.0%2023 | 184/184 | 43/43 | · | · | 0.0% | — | 3.3% | 3.0% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 8.1%2025 | 164/179 | 38/42 | · | · | 3.0% | +6.7 ppsince 2015 | 15.4% | 16.7% | 14.0% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
No rated indicator improved over the decade.
Worse than ten years ago
- Secondary enrolment−2.7 pp3.3% in 2023
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
Somalia and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Somalia. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Somalia | Ethiopia | Kenya | Djibouti |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 1.1%2021 | 30.1%2021 | 65.1%2019 | 11.6%2021 |
| Primary enrolment | 20.9%2023 | 84.4%2024 | 98.2%2023 | — |
| Secondary enrolment | 3.3%2023 | 33.9%2015 | 84.3%2023 | — |
| Adult literacy | 54.1%2022 | 60.5%2022 | — | — |
| Youth literacy | 70.7%2022 | 84.7%2022 | 93.2%2014 | 79.6%2017 |
| Pupils per teacher | 35.52007 | 55.12011 | 30.72015 | 29.42018 |
| Education spending | 0.0%2023 | 2.3%2024 | 4.0%2024 | 3.8%2018 |
| Education, % of budget | 8.1%2025 | 16.7%2024 | 28.5%2025 | 14.5%2018 |