Xogsawir
Somalia is the World's Fastest-Improving ICT Regulator
Digital Download

Somalia is the World's Fastest-Improving ICT Regulator

Published by Xogsawir, a Jaantus project. 20 May 2026.

Somalia's digital regulatory framework has changed dramatically over the past two decades. According to the ITU ICT Regulatory Tracker, Somalia's score rose from 0 in 2007 to 77.5 out of 100 in 2024, the largest increase recorded among 194 economies.

The shift reflects the gradual construction of a national regulatory system. In 2007, Somalia scored zero across all four pillars measured by the ITU. By 2024, the framework was substantially in place: 16 out of 20 for regulatory authority, 19.5 out of 22 for regulatory mandate, and a perfect 28 out of 28 for competition framework, the only country in the Arab States region to reach that ceiling.

These gains moved Somalia into the ITU's Generation 3 (G3) category, a group of countries with regulatory systems designed to support investment, competition, and consumer protection. However, progress remains uneven. Somalia scored 14 out of 30 on regulatory regime, the pillar that captures specific regulatory instruments such as licensing rules, interconnection, spectrum management, and numbering.

Sources

  1. ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau ICT Regulatory Tracker. Accessed 20 May 2026.

Notes

The ITU ICT Regulatory Tracker scores 194 economies on 50 indicators across four pillars: regulatory authority, regulatory mandate, regulatory regime, and competition framework. Scores sum to a maximum of 100 points. The tracker captures the existence and features of regulatory instruments.

Free to share, adapt, and reuse under CC BY 4.0 with attribution to Xogsawir.