# Radio and the spoken word

> Somalis trust the spoken word: radio, poetry, voice notes and respected speakers carry news and ideas faster than print.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/forces/radio-and-the-spoken-word/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## The force

Somali was not officially written until the 1970s ([Media Landscapes](https://medialandscapes.org/country/somalia/traditional-communication/overview)). For centuries, history, law, news and argument travelled as poetry and speech. Somalis are often called a nation of poets. That habit is still strong, and phones have made it stronger.

## Inside the country

- **Radio reach.** A survey from May to July 2014 found that almost every second adult listened to BBC radio, about 1.7 million listeners, making it the most-listened international service and one of the most trusted ([Radio Today](https://radiotoday.co.uk/2015/04/bbc-radio-gets-large-following-in-somalia/)).
- **How people listen.** About 70% listened on FM, about a third through mobile phones, and more than half of BBC Somali's web traffic came from phones (same source).
- **What people want.** In a 2013 survey, 95.7% of audiences wanted religious content, 94.8% health, 83% arts and culture and 81.6% education ([Media Landscapes](https://medialandscapes.org/country/somalia/traditional-communication/overview)).
- **Trusted voices.** The same source says traditional religious leaders "remain highly credible".
- **Video now.** TikTok reaches 37.7% of adults, more than Facebook ([DataReportal](https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2026-somalia)). Somali-language education channels, such as waxkabaro Academy and Elmi Online Academy, are among the top YouTube channels in the country ([vidIQ](https://vidiq.com/youtube-stats/top/country/so/)).
- **Listening back.** Radio Ergo, a humanitarian station, sends weekly reports built from listeners' phone feedback ([Radio Ergo](https://radioergo.org/en/about-radio-ergo/)).

## What is not known

We found no national radio survey after 2014, so those figures are old.

## Who rode it fast

Kenya's farming TV show Shamba Shape Up reached about 8 million viewers. It fed an SMS and call-centre service, iShamba, with 500,000 subscribers, and 428,000 households took up a farming practice it showed ([Mediae](https://mediae.org/documents/32/Mediae_impact-highlights_doc_copy.pdf)).

## Why it is a tailwind

Information that comes by voice, from a trusted speaker, in Somali, reaches people who do not read well and people on basic phones. Adult literacy was 53.7% in 2022, and only 20.5% among nomadic families ([NBS Facts and Figures 2022](https://nbs.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Somalia-Facts-Figures-2022.pdf)). Audio reaches all of them.

## What it means for young Somalis

A young Somali poet, presenter or creator with a phone can speak to the whole country. The oldest Somali way of sharing ideas is also the newest.

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