Population:
10,817,354
note: this estimate was derived from an official census taken in 1975 by the Somali Government; population counting in Somalia is complicated by the large number of nomads and by refugee movements in response to famine and clan warfare (July 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 84
[see also: Population country ranks ]

Nationality:
noun: Somali(s)
adjective: Somali

Ethnic groups:
Somali 85%, Bantu and other non-Somali 15% (including 30,000 Arabs)

Languages:
Somali (official), Arabic (official, according to the Transitional Federal Charter), Italian, English

Religions:
Sunni Muslim (Islam) (official, according to the Transitional Federal Charter)

Demographic profile:
Somalia scores very low for most humanitarian indicators, suffering from poor governance, protracted internal conflict, underdevelopment, economic decline, poverty, social and gender inequality, and environmental degradation. Despite civil war and famine raising its mortality rate, Somalia’s high fertility rate and large proportion of people of reproductive age maintain rapid population growth, with each generation being larger than the prior one. More than 60% of Somalia’s population is younger than 25, and the fertility rate is among the world’s highest at almost 6 children per woman – a rate that has decreased little since the 1970s. A lack of educational and job opportunities is a major source of tension for Somalia’s large youth cohort, making them vulnerable to recruitment by extremist and pirate groups. Somalia has one of the world’s lowest primary school enrollment rates – just over 40% of children are in school – and one of world’s highest youth unemployment rates. Life expectancy is low as a result of high infant and maternal mortality rates, the spread of preventable diseases, poor sanitation, chronic malnutrition, and inadequate health services. During the two decades of conflict that followed the fall of the SIAD regime in 1991, hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes. Today Somalia is the world’s third highest source country for refugees, after Syria and Afghanistan. Insecurity, drought, floods, food shortages, and a lack of economic opportunities are the driving factors. As of 2016, more than 1.1 million Somali refugees were hosted in the region, mainly in Kenya, Yemen, Egypt, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Uganda, while more than 1.1 million Somalis were internally displaced. Since the implementation of a tripartite voluntary repatriation agreement among Kenya, Somalia, and the UNHCR in 2013, more than 24,000 Somali refugees have returned home from Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp – home to more than 300,000 Somalis. The flow has sped up rapidly since May 2016, when the Kenyan Government announced its intention to close the camp, worsening security and humanitarian conditions in receiving communities in south-central Somalia. Despite the conflict in Yemen, thousands of Somalis and other refugees and asylum seekers from the Horn of Africa risk their lives crossing the Gulf of Aden to reach Yemen and beyond (often Saudi Arabia). Bossaso in Puntland overtook Obock, Djibouti, as the primary departure point in mid-2014.

Age structure:
0-14 years: 43.42% (male 2,345,536/female 2,351,886)
[see also: Age structure 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 18.87% (male 1,031,804/female 1,009,831)
[see also: Age structure 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 31.47% (male 1,762,093/female 1,641,699)
[see also: Age structure 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 4.02% (male 213,259/female 221,520)
[see also: Age structure 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 2.22% (male 92,966/female 146,760) (2016 est.)
[see also: Age structure 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 98.1%
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 92.5%
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 5.6%
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 17.9% (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]

Median age:
total: 17.9 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 18.1 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 17.8 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 216

Population growth rate:
1.92% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 51
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]

Birth rate:
40 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]

Death rate:
13.3 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 15
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]

Net migration rate:
-7.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 208
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]

Urbanization:
urban population: 39.6% of total population (2015)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 4.06% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]

Major urban areas - population:
MOGADISHU (capital) 2.138 million; Hargeysa 760,000 (2015)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

Maternal mortality rate:
732 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 3
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]

Infant mortality rate:
total: 96.6 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 105.2 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 87.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 3

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 52.4 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total country ranks ]
male: 50.3 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 54.5 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 218

Total fertility rate:
5.89 children born/woman (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 4
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]

Contraceptive prevalence rate:
14.6% (2006)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]

Physicians density:
0.04 physicians/1,000 population (2006)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]

Drinking water source:
improved: urban: 69.6% of population rural: 8.8% of population total: 31.7% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - Improved - total country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 30.4% of population rural: 91.2% of population total: 68.3% of population (2011 est.)
[see also: Drinking water source - Unimproved - total country ranks ]

Sanitation facility access:
improved: urban: 52% of population rural: 6.3% of population total: 23.6% of population
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total Improved country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 48% of population rural: 93.7% of population total: 76.4% of population (2011 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total UnImproved country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.5% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 63
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
30,200 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 65
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
2,000 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 54
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, and Rift Valley fever
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
animal contact disease: rabies (2016)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
3.9% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 162
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
23% (2009)
country comparison to the world: 9
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]

Education expenditures:
NA
[see also: Education expenditures - percent of GDP country ranks ]

Child labor - children ages 5-14:
total number: 1,148,265
[see also: Child labor - children ages 5-14 - total number country ranks ]
percentage: 49% (2006 est.)