# The youngest country

> Somalia is one of the youngest countries in the world: half its 19.8 million people are under 15.6 years old.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/forces/the-youngest-country/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## The force

A young country is a country of first-time workers, first-time buyers and first-time builders.

- **Population:** 19.8 million in October 2025 ([DataReportal](https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2026-somalia)).
- **Growth:** about 645,000 people a year, 3.4% ([DataReportal](https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2026-somalia)).
- **Median age:** 15.6 years, so half of all Somalis are younger than that ([DataReportal](https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2026-somalia)).
- **Under 30:** about 75%, according to the UN in Somalia ([UN Somalia](https://somalia.un.org/en/node/31543)). We have not been able to re-check this figure against the UN's own data.

## The need

There is not yet enough work for them. The 2019 labour force survey, published in 2021, found ([NBS Labour Force Survey](https://goaltracker.nbs.gov.so/content/platform/somalia/1651239734-lfs-report_2021.pdf)):

- Youth unemployment (ages 15 to 24): 37.4%.
- Young people neither working nor studying: 44.2%; 50.2% for young women and 37.7% for young men.
- Overall unemployment: 21.4%.

About 500,000 young Somalis enter the job market each year, against about 80,000 new jobs ([MENA Startup Digest](https://menastartupdigest.com/somalia-launches-national-startup-network-with-three-innovation-hubs/)).

## Each generation knows more

Literacy among young people aged 15 to 24 was 70.3% in 2022, against 53.7% for all adults ([NBS Facts and Figures 2022](https://nbs.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Somalia-Facts-Figures-2022.pdf)). About 50,000 Quranic schools teach more than 4 million children, a network that reaches almost every neighbourhood ([UN MPTF](https://mptf.undp.org/sites/default/files/documents/2026-04/building_peace_through_religious_education_gw.pdf)). More than 126 universities and colleges graduate thousands each year ([Dawan](https://www.dawan.africa/news/somalias-universities-are-expanding-but-research-infrastructure-is-not)).

## Young people are online

TikTok reaches 37.7% of adults, and LinkedIn is the fastest-growing platform ([DataReportal](https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2026-somalia)). Young Somalis use phones first.

## Abroad too

Young Somalis born abroad are a growing share of the diaspora. In Minnesota, the US-born share of Somalis rose from 19% in 2001 to nearly 39% in 2023 ([News From The States](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/most-somali-people-america-and-minnesota-are-citizens)).

## Sources differ

Modelled youth unemployment figures from the International Labour Organization differ from the 2019 survey. The survey is the most recent national count.

## What it means for young Somalis

This page is about you. The country's future belongs to the young, at home and abroad. Their work, skills and living are the first aim of everything built on Calankii.

---
I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.