World Sites & Apps
Africa · #116 · 2025–2026

Somalia: internet and everyday apps

Somalia has about 3.5 million people online — a penetration rate of 18.4% and rank #116 worldwide. This page walks through the local digital scene, the app categories people lean on, and 11 apps worth knowing.

Internet users 3.5 million Penetration 18.4% World rank #116 Updated 2026-11-12
Language SoomaaliالعربيةEnglish
TL;DR
  • Somalia has roughly 3.5 million internet users (3,500,000 people) — about 18.4% of the population and rank #116 globally.
  • The apps people open most: WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, Facebook. They cover Messaging, Social, Video, News, Payments, Shopping and more.
  • The one to know first: WhatsApp — The most widely used messenger on earth.

Somalia in numbers

2025–2026
Internet users
3.5 million3,500,000 · #116
Penetration
18.4%#213
Population
19 million19,000,000 · #68
GDP
$12B#152
GDP growth
+4.1%#70
GDP per person
$632#212
Land area
637.7k km²#42
Capital
Mogadishu
Region
Africa
Official languages
Somali, Arabic

How Somalia goes online

Mogadishu's connection is a mobile one, and it works better than the fixed lines most people never had. WhatsApp and Facebook carry the day: family news, shop prices, complaints about the road. Hormuud's EVC Plus and Telesom's Zaad have made phone wallets ordinary, used for tea, fuel and school fees, often by people who have never held a bank card. Money from relatives abroad arrives through the same networks, and that flow shapes everything from rent to wedding budgets.

Around 18.4%. With a population of about 19 million and 3.5 million online, roughly 15.5 million people are still offline — mostly because of rural coverage, device cost and age.

All 11 apps below are grouped by category.

What people actually use

11 Most-used apps

Messaging

3 Most-used apps →
WhatsApp Messaging · Meta · 2009 Messenger Messaging · Meta · 2011 Telegram Messaging · Telegram FZ-LLC · 2013

Social

2 Most-used apps →
Facebook Social · Meta · 2004 Instagram Social · Meta · 2010

Video

1 Most-used apps →
YouTube Video · Google · 2005

News

1 Most-used apps →
Al Jazeera News · Al Jazeera Media Network · 2003

Payments

2 Most-used apps →
eDahab Payments · Somtel · 2014 Western Union Payments · Western Union · 1851

Shopping

2 Most-used apps →
AliExpress Shopping · Alibaba Group · 2010 Temu Shopping · PDD Holdings · 2022

Websites people in Somalia actually use

12

The 12 sites locals open most often — news, shopping, search, banking and government services. Every link goes to the official site.

News3Telecom3Banking2Education2Transport1Mail1
Garowe OnlineNewsgaroweonline.comNews from Puntland and Mogadishu, read widely across the diaspora. Hiiraan OnlineNewshiiraan.comOlder news site, still read for politics and clan news. JamhuuriyaNewsjamhuuriya.soA daily newspaper published in Mogadishu. Hormuud TelecomTelecomhormuud.comTelecom and EVC Plus mobile money, how most payments actually work. SomtelTelecomsomtel.comA telecom operator with its own mobile-money service. Golis TelecomTelecomgolis.comA telecom operator working across Puntland. DahabshiilBankingdahabshiil.comMoney sent from abroad, the lifeline for a lot of families. Central Bank of SomaliaBankingcentralbank.soThe central bank and the issuer of the shilling. SIMAD UniversityEducationsimad.edu.soA private university in Mogadishu — business and IT degrees, exam timetables and fees paid through the site. Somali National UniversityEducationsnu.edu.soThe country’s main university. Somali AirlinesTransportsomaliaairlines.comThe national airline. Somali PostMailsomalipost.soThe national postal service.

2808 websites →

Frequently asked questions

6 Q&A
How many people in Somalia are online?

About 3.5 million (3,500,000 people). That works out to roughly 18.4% of the population, which puts Somalia at #116 in the world for total internet users. Figures come from DataReportal’s Digital 2026, which draws on ITU and national statistics.

Which apps do people in Somalia use most?

Mostly WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, Facebook — they cover Messaging, Social, Video, News, Payments, Shopping. The full list, grouped by category, is further down this page.

What is the leading Messaging app in Somalia?

WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram dominate this space. The best-known is WhatsApp — The most widely used messenger on earth.

How high is internet penetration in Somalia?

Around 18.4%. With a population of about 19 million and 3.5 million online, roughly 15.5 million people are still offline — mostly because of rural coverage, device cost and age.

Where do these app facts come from?

Usage figures come from DataReportal’s Digital 2026 (Kepios, based on ITU and national statistics); app details come from each product’s official site. Updated 2026-11-12.

Which websites are most popular in Somalia?

The everyday ones are Garowe Online, Hiiraan Online, Hormuud Telecom, plus the other 12 sites listed above. They cover news, shopping, search, banking and official paperwork, and every link points to the official site.

Sources

Updated 2026-11-12
Cite this pageWorld Sites & Apps. “Somalia: internet and everyday apps”. 2026. https://abcvv.com/c/so-en.html