Somalis in India and Pakistan

Somalis in India and Pakistan are mostly students, patients and a small group of refugees. UNHCR counted 486 Somali refugees and 912 Somali asylum seekers in India at the end of 2025 (UNHCR Refugee Data Finder).

In Pakistan, Somalia's ambassador said in April 2025 that "over 700 Somali students are currently studying in various universities across Pakistan" (The University of Faisalabad, 30 Apr 2025).

How many Somalis live in India?

UN DESA estimated 892 people born in Somalia living in India in 2024 (UN DESA, International Migrant Stock 2024). Its earlier figures were 319 in 1995, 838 in 2010 and 827 in 2020 (same source).

UNHCR's count of Somali refugees in India has moved like this (UNHCR Refugee Data Finder):

• 1995: 286 refugees
• 2005: 104 refugees and 101 asylum seekers
• 2011: 766 refugees and 30 asylum seekers
• 2020: 514 refugees and 288 asylum seekers
• 2025: 486 refugees and 912 asylum seekers

Students and patients on visas are not in these refugee counts. India's mission in Nairobi issued 5,252 visas to Somali nationals in 2024 (High Commission of India, Nairobi, Oct 2025). An earlier brief gave 4,228 visas in 2019 and 1,328 in 2020 (Assistant High Commission of India, Mombasa, Aug 2021).

What is life like for Somali refugees in India?

India has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, and refugees there fall under its foreigners laws of 1939, 1946 and 1948 (WRC, July 2011). The Women's Refugee Commission found 833 Somalis among more than 21,000 people of concern to UNHCR in New Delhi in early 2011 (WRC, July 2011).

The same study said most lived in New Delhi, with a smaller group in Hyderabad (same source). It reported that Somalis did not receive residence permits and faced "pervasive discrimination" (same source). Many were "highly educated", some worked as interpreters, and some lived on money from relatives resettled in the West (same source).

How many Somali students study in India?

India's government gives Somalia 15 ICCR scholarship places and 15 ITEC training places a year (High Commission of India, Nairobi, Oct 2025). ITEC places rose to 30 for 2025, and 71 Somalis have taken e-ITEC online courses (same source).

The mission reports 364 Somali students enrolled in Indian online degrees through the e-VBAB project (same source). The scheme offers undergraduate, postgraduate, diploma and certificate courses taught in English (High Commission of India, Nairobi, e-VBAB notice). India offered ICCR scholarships to 17 Somali students for 2021-22 (AHCI Mombasa, 2021).

Why do Somalis go to India for medical treatment?

Research presented at a Mogadishu health conference estimated that about 11,500 Somalis travelled to India for treatment in 2025 (Dawan Africa, 20 Oct 2026). It put Somali spending on treatment abroad at about US$219 million, with Egypt, Türkiye and Ethiopia also common destinations (same source).

The chair of the Somali Medical Association said not everyone who goes abroad does so because care is missing at home (same source). In April 2023 Somalia's health minister said in Delhi: "A large number of Somali people come to India for medical purposes" (ThePrint, 28 Apr 2023). India's mission calls India "a preferred destination" for Somali medical care (High Commission of India, Nairobi).

How many Somalis are in Pakistan?

Most are students. Ambassador Khadija Mohamed Almakhzoumi said around 1,200 Somali students were in Pakistani universities in October 2020 (Pakistan Observer, 25 Oct 2020). Her successor, Sheikhnur Mohamed Hassan, gave "over 700" in April 2025 (TUF, 2025).

UNHCR counted 170 Somali refugees and 35 asylum seekers in Pakistan at the end of 2025 (UNHCR Refugee Data Finder). The figure was 972 refugees in 1995 and 537 in 2010 (same source).

What scholarships bring Somalis to Pakistan?

In September 2017 the Somali ambassador said many students came under a Pakistan Technical Assistance programme or paid their own way (The News, 11 Sep 2017). In 2019, 29 Somali students graduated from universities in Faisalabad, Lahore and Islamabad (Daily Dayspring, 6 Sep 2019).

Recent offers, each from the body named:

• The University of Faisalabad: 100 scholarships with free tuition and hostel places, announced in April 2025 (TUF).
• Higher Education Commission: pledged support for Somali students when Somalia's education minister visited in January 2025 (HEC, 13 Jan 2025).
• OIC-Comstech: 25 fully funded research and training fellowships for Somali nationals, launched in 2026 (Dawn, 1 Aug 2026).

Do Somalis come back from India and Pakistan?

Somalia's statistics office recorded 48 refugee returnees from India and 6 from Pakistan between 2020 and 2024 (NBS, Migration Statistics Report 2025). Returns in general are on Deportations and returns.

How old are the links between Somalia and South Asia?

Around 1518, Duarte Barbosa recorded ships from Cambay in Gujarat trading cloth and spices at Mogadishu and Berbera (The Book of Duarte Barbosa, 1918). In 1848 a British officer described Banian traders from Porbandar, Mandvi and Bombay at the Berbera fair (Cruttenden, in Burton, 1856).

India's mission records that about 200 Indian families once lived in Somalia, mostly dyeing textiles in Mogadishu and Merca (High Commission of India, Nairobi). It says about 150 Indian nationals work in Somalia today and about 500 people of Indian origin live there (same source).

Diplomatic ties began in 1960, and India's embassy in Mogadishu closed in 1991 (same source). Pakistan and Somalia date their relations to 1 July 1960 (The News, 2017). India-Somalia trade was US$800.86 million in 2024-25, almost all Indian exports (High Commission of India, Nairobi).

Related pages

• Malaysia
• Who moved to Somalia: refugees, migrants and settlers
• Somali refugees by the numbers
• Refugee papers and status

Sources

1. UNHCR. "Refugee Data Finder: Somali refugees and asylum seekers in India, 1995-2025." api.unhcr.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
2. UNHCR. "Refugee Data Finder: Somali refugees and asylum seekers in Pakistan, 1995-2025." api.unhcr.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
3. UN DESA Population Division. "International Migrant Stock 2024." un.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
4. High Commission of India, Nairobi. "India-Somalia bilateral relations." October 2025. hcinairobi.gov.in. Checked 2026-11-12.
5. High Commission of India, Nairobi. "Scholarship Programme for Somali nationals under e-VBAB Network Project." 2022. hcinairobi.gov.in. Checked 2026-11-12.
6. Assistant High Commission of India, Mombasa. "India-Somalia Bilateral Relations." August 2021. ahcimombasa.gov.in. Checked 2026-11-12.
7. Women's Refugee Commission. "Bright Lights, Big City: Urban Refugees Struggle to Make a Living in New Delhi." July 2011. womensrefugeecommission.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
8. Dawan Africa. "11,500 Somalis sought treatment in India in 2025." 20 October 2026. dawan.africa. Checked 2026-11-12.
9. ThePrint (ANI). "India, Somalia have historical relations: Somalia health minister." 28 April 2023. theprint.in. Checked 2026-11-12.
10. The University of Faisalabad. "Ambassador of Somalia visits TUF." 30 April 2025. tuf.edu.pk. Checked 2026-11-12.
11. Pakistan Observer. "Pak-Somalia relations continue to make new strides: Khadija." 25 October 2020. pakobserver.net. Checked 2026-11-12.
12. The News. "Somalia keen to cement ties with Pakistan in all fields: Ambassador Khadija." 11 September 2017. thenews.com.pk. Checked 2026-11-12.
13. Daily Dayspring. "29 Somali students graduate from Pakistani universities." 6 September 2019. thedayspring.com.pk. Checked 2026-11-12.
14. Higher Education Commission Pakistan. "Somali Delegation." 13 January 2025. hec.gov.pk. Checked 2026-11-12.
15. Dawn. "Comstech launches second phase of fellowship programme for Somali scholars." 1 August 2026. dawn.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
16. Somalia National Bureau of Statistics. "Migration Statistics Report," 2nd edition. 2025. nbs.gov.so. Checked 2026-11-12.
17. Duarte Barbosa. The Book of Duarte Barbosa, vol. 1. Hakluyt Society, 1918. archive.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
18. Richard F. Burton. First Footsteps in East Africa. 1856. gutenberg.org. Checked 2026-11-12.