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Languages

Languages of Somalia

MogadishuLocal time

Languages, writing systems and language context

Soomaaliya
COUNTRY LANGUAGE PROFILE
Soomaali
Somali
Text direction: LTR

The Provisional Constitution identifies Somali, including Maay and Maxaa-tiri, as the official language and Arabic as the second language.

2
Core languages shown
Country-level reference set
Somali
First listed core language
Not a speaker-share estimate
2
Writing systems represented
Across the core language set
LTR
Primary text direction
Additional directions noted below

Language Overview

SomaliArabic

Read the Characters

Somali · 27 characters

Somali · 27 characters
A
a
B
b
T
t
J
j
X
x
KH
kh
D
d
R
r
S
s
SH
sh
DH
dh
C
c
G
g
F
f
Q
q
K
k
L
l
M
m
N
n
W
w
H
h
Y
y
AA
aa
EE
ee
II
ii
OO
oo
UU
uu

How to Read the Language Landscape

PolicyLegal and administrative language status may differ between national and subnational government.
Everyday useA language can be socially dominant without being the only language used at home, school, work or in media.
Community diversityIndigenous, minority, migrant and sign languages can remain important even when they are not part of a short national headline list.

Frequently Asked Questions

What languages are used in Somalia?

The Provisional Constitution identifies Somali, including Maay and Maxaa-tiri, as the official language and Arabic as the second language.

What writing systems are used in Somalia?

The represented writing system is Latin, Arabic and the primary direction shown is left to right, with Arabic represented as an additional right-to-left script.

More about Somalia

Explore Somalia across the other DigifyWorld country-data sections.

Public HolidaysPublic holidays 2026 and 2027→Digital AdoptionInternet, payments and digital government→Population & DemographicsPopulation, age structure and projections→Economy SnapshotGDP, trade and economic structure→Currency & ExchangeCurrency, exchange rates and money→Human DevelopmentHDI and quality-of-life indicators→Geography & EnvironmentLand, climate and environment→Practical Country InfoTime, driving, electricity and codes→EducationSchool system and education data→

Sources & methodology

View sources used for this page
Somalia Provisional Constitution 2012

Primary constitutional source from the Federal Parliament. Article 5 states that Somali, including Maay and Maxaa-tiri, is the official language and Arabic is the second language.

Unicode CLDR: Country/Region Names

Localized country display-name reference. CLDR names are customary UI/display names, not claims about a state’s full constitutional long-form name.

Unicode: Supported Scripts

Reference for the writing-system/script families represented in the character component.

Unicode: Writing Direction and Bidirectional Text

Reference for left-to-right and right-to-left script direction and bidirectional text behavior.

Unicode Character Database: NamesList

Reference for Unicode character names used as small readout labels under selected character samples; these labels are not presented as a complete transliteration standard.