Number of children under 5 in Somalia

Somalia: Number of children under 5 was 3.41 million people in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
3.41 million people
Change on year
up 2.1%
World rank
42nd
of 236 countries
All-time high
3.41 million people
in 2023
All-time low
380,958 people
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Number of children under 5 in Somalia, 1950–2023

01.0M2.0M3.0M195019862023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

The most recent figure for number of children under 5 in Somalia is 3.41 million people, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.1% on the previous year and up 41.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of children under 5 in Somalia peaked at 3.41 million people in 2023 and was at its lowest, 380,958 people, in 1950.

That places Somalia 42nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 459,017 people 380,958 people 514,399 people 10
1960s 585,299 people 525,566 people 652,106 people 10
1970s 774,139 people 669,332 people 993,832 people 10
1980s 1.26 million people 1.09 million people 1.41 million people 10
1990s 1.42 million people 1.19 million people 1.73 million people 10
2000s 2.10 million people 1.80 million people 2.37 million people 10
2010s 2.64 million people 2.33 million people 3.07 million people 10
2020s 3.30 million people 3.17 million people 3.41 million people 4

Countries ranked near Somalia

  1. 39 United Kingdom 3.59 million people compare
  2. 40 Colombia 3.55 million people compare
  3. 41 Chad 3.55 million people compare
  4. 43 France 3.40 million people compare
  5. 44 Burkina Faso 3.35 million people compare
  6. 45 Morocco 3.18 million people compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Somalia

All data for Somalia →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of children under 5 in Somalia?
Number of children under 5 in Somalia was 3.41 million people in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of children under 5 recorded in Somalia?
The highest recorded value was 3.41 million people in 2023.
What is the lowest number of children under 5 recorded in Somalia?
The lowest recorded value was 380,958 people in 1950.
How does Somalia rank for number of children under 5?
Somalia ranks 42nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is number of children under 5 rising or falling in Somalia?
Over the last ten years it is up 41.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Somalia data come from?
The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of children under 5. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Number of children under 5
Unit
people
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

The total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown. This only includes people aged 0-4.