Faith
Religion in Somalia in numbers
More than 99 percent of Somalia's people are Sunni Muslims, according to the federal religious affairs ministry; Pew Research puts it at 98.5 percent. Christians number about 1,000, says the US State Department. About 50,000 Qur'an schools teach over 4 million children, and the government sent 9,043 pilgrims on Hajj in 2023. Every figure here is an estimate, shown with its source.
Before you read the numbers
None of the figures below comes from a census question on religion. Each is an estimate from a named source, with its year. Where sources differ, all are shown.
Share of people who are Muslim
| Source | Year | Muslim share | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, via US State Department | 2023 | more than 99% Sunni | Population taken as 12.7 to 15.7 million (US State Department, IRF Report 2023) |
| Pew Research Center world table | estimate for 2009 (from a 2005 source) | 98.5%, about 8,995,000 people | Pew has not surveyed inside Somalia (Pew Research Center) |
| US Library of Congress country study | 1992 | "most Somalis are Sunni Muslims"; under 1% of ethnic Somalis Christian | (Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study) |
Somali regions beyond Somalia
Ethiopia and Kenya ask about religion in their national censuses.
| Place | Census | Muslim share | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somali Region, Ethiopia | 1994 (held in the region in 1997) | 99.74% | (Somali Region, Wikipedia, citing the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia) |
| Wajir County, Kenya | 2019 | 98.97% (767,312 people) | (Wajir County, Wikipedia, citing KNBS 2019 Census Volume IV) |
| Mandera County, Kenya | 2019 | 99.3% | (Mandera County, Wikipedia, citing KNBS 2019 Census Volume IV) |
| Garissa County, Kenya | 2019 | Christians 2.2%; the rest mostly Muslim | (Garissa County, Wikipedia, citing KNBS 2019 Census Volume IV) |
| Djibouti | Pew estimate | 96.9% | (Pew Research Center) |
Branch and school of law
- Sunni: the large majority (US State Department, 2023).
- Shafi'i school of law: the school "represented in Somalia" (Library of Congress, 1992). A Hanafi minority has grown with the Tablighi Jamaat (Islam in Somalia, Wikipedia).
- Shia: "an unknown number" (US State Department, 2023). In Pew's 2012 survey of neighbouring Djibouti, Muslims described themselves as 77 percent Sunni, 8 percent "just a Muslim", 2 percent Shia and 13 percent did not answer (Islam in Djibouti, Wikipedia, citing Pew 2012).
- Sufi orders: the Library of Congress study says most Somalis were members of a Sufi order at least in name (Library of Congress, 1992).
Christians and other faiths
| Source | Year | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Bishop Francesco Filippini (Catholic) | 1940 | about 40,000 Somali Catholics in the south, a figure Bishop Giorgio Bertin later called too high (Aweis A. Ali, 2020) |
| Diocese of Mogadishu | about 1950 | about 8,500 Catholics (Christianity in Somalia, Wikipedia) |
| Diocese of Mogadishu | 2004 | about 100 Catholics (same source) |
| US State Department | 2023 | about 1,000 Christians; unknown numbers of Hindus, Buddhists, Jews and people with no religion (IRF Report 2023) |
| Somali Bible Society census (counted by phone and in person; children counted through a Christian parent) | 2022–23 | Somalia 171,227 (22,123 men, 23,356 women, 125,748 children); Somaliland 7,642; ethnic Somalis in Djibouti 3,760, Ethiopia 8,917 and Kenya 5,649 (Somali Christian Census 2023, pp. 54–56) |
The two 2023 figures are far apart: about 1,000 from the US State Department and 171,227 from the Somali Bible Society, a Christian organisation that ran its own count from August 2022 to October 2023. About three in four of the people it counted are children, counted through a Christian parent (Somali Christian Census 2023). The State Department adds that some Somali Bantu in the south keep traditional beliefs alongside Islam. See Christians and missions in Somalia.
Religious learning
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Qur'an schools | about 50,000 | Ministry of Education estimate (UN Peacebuilding Fund) |
| Children in Qur'an schools | over 4 million | same |
| Schools in the 2024 ministry and UNICEF study | over 2,000 schools, over 150,000 children, five states | same |
| Usual starting age | 3 or 4 | same |
See Qur'an schools and religious learning.
Pilgrimage
The federal government supported 9,043 Hajj pilgrims in 2023 (US State Department, 2023).
Sufi farming villages (jamaaco)
In the 1950s there were more than 90 Sufi farming villages in the south, with about 35,000 members, mostly in Bakool, Gedo, Bay and along the Shabelle (Library of Congress, 1992). See the Sufi orders.
Places of worship for other faiths
There are no public places of worship for non-Muslims in Somalia except inside the Mogadishu international airport compound. The only Catholic church in Somaliland is closed (US State Department, 2023).
Read further
Sources
- US State Department, IRF Report 2023 · ecoi.net
- Pew Research Center · pewresearch.org
- Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study · countrystudies.us
- Somali Region, Wikipedia, citing the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia · en.wikipedia.org
- Wajir County, Wikipedia, citing KNBS 2019 Census Volume IV · en.wikipedia.org
- Mandera County, Wikipedia, citing KNBS 2019 Census Volume IV · en.wikipedia.org
- Garissa County, Wikipedia, citing KNBS 2019 Census Volume IV · en.wikipedia.org
- Library of Congress, 1992 · countrystudies.us
- Islam in Somalia, Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Islam in Djibouti, Wikipedia, citing Pew 2012 · en.wikipedia.org
- Library of Congress, 1992 · countrystudies.us
- Aweis A. Ali, 2020 · somalibiblesociety.org
- Christianity in Somalia, Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Somali Christian Census 2023, pp. 54–56 · somalibiblesociety.org
- UN Peacebuilding Fund · mptf.undp.org
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Where this matters
- Muqdisho (Mogadishu) and BanaadirMogadishu (Muqdisho) is Somalia's capital and makes up the Banadir region, with about 2.97 million people in 20 districts.
- Hargeysa (Hargeisa) and Woqooyi GalbeedWoqooyi Galbeed is the north-western region that holds Hargeisa (Hargeysa) and the port of Berbera, with about 1 to 1.45 million people.
- Kismaayo (Kismayo) and Lower JubaLower Juba is the far southern region on the border with Kenya, with the port city of Kismayo (Kismaayo) as its capital and about 1.2 million people.
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- Islam in Somalia: faith, the Sufi orders and religion in lawIslam in Somalia: Sunni and Shafi'i, how Islam arrived, the Sufi orders (Qadiriyya, Ahmadiyya, Salihiyya), great scholars, and what the constitution says.
- Why almost every Somali is Muslim: what the record showsWhy Somalia is over 99% Muslim: early Islam, lineages, Qur'an schools, Sufi orders, wars with Abyssinia, missions kept out, and the law today, with sources.
- How Islam reached the Somalis: the coast, the traders and the teachersHow Islam came to Somalia: the first hijra tradition, Zeila and the coast, traders, teachers like Aw Barkhadle, Somali scholars at al-Azhar, and the Qadiriyya.
- The Sufi orders in Somalia: Qadiriyya, Ahmadiyya and SalihiyyaSomalia's Sufi orders: Qadiriyya, Ahmadiyya and Salihiyya, their founders and sheikhs, the jamaaco farming villages, the Uways and Sayyid rivalry, and today.
- Saints, shrines and siyaaro: tomb visits in Somali IslamSomali saints and shrines: baraka, siyaaro tomb visits, Aw Barkhadle, Sheikh Isaaq at Maydh, Sheikh Sufi, Uways at Biyooley, and the dispute over tombs, sourced.
- Qur'an schools (dugsi) and religious learning in SomaliaSomali Qur'an schools (dugsi, malcaamad): how they work, the loox board, fees, numbers (50,000 schools, 4 million children), higher religious study, reforms.