Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 1, 2026
Who holds the health record in Somalia?
In 2026, Somalia scores 34 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 132nd of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 102nd to 162nd allowing for scoring error, in the Weak band (25 to 44). Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026.
Doctors, hospitals and insurers decide. No right is above the typical country. The closest is privacy and security (45 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country). The furthest behind is protection from sale and ads (35 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country).
Somalia's 2023 data law gives patients a free copy of their data, but records stay in separate clinics and the regulator has no health cases.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 1, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Weak band, 25 to 44
34/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 102nd to 162nd, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 40 out of 100 in Somalia; the typical country scores 40 to 45. Article 20 of the 2023 Data Protection Act gives a free copy in a common electronic format (+5), but only for reasonable purposes and with no fixed deadline (-5 each). There is no patient portal, so base 45 lands at 40. Source: Ministry of Communications and Technology, full text, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Somalia?
In 2026, doctors, hospitals and insurers hold the keys to your health record in Somalia. Control over who sees it scores 28 out of 100 in Somalia; the typical country scores 30. Article 14 lets clinics process data for medical care without consent, and there is no shared record, opt-out or access log a patient can use. Consent can be withdrawn, but objection is limited to a few legal grounds. Source: Ministry of Communications and Technology, full text, and the other sources below.
How does Somalia compare?
In 2026, Somalia scores 34 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Democratic Republic of the Congo (34 out of 100), Guinea (34 out of 100) and Madagascar (34 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Madagascar and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
40
40 · 40 · 40
Control over who sees it20%
28
28 · 28 · 28
Privacy and security15%
45
45 · 45 · 48
One record across your care15%
30
28 · 25 · 22
Protection from sale and ads10%
35
42 · 40 · 42
Doctors see it when treating you10%
24
20 · 22 · 18
Your say over research use5%
46
49 · 49 · 49
Rules for AI in your care5%
22
22 · 28 · 22
Black dot: Somalia. Hollow dots: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Madagascar (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Somalia 34 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Somalia need to change to score higher?
Somalia sits in Weak (25 to 44); Mixed starts at 45. Its two weakest rights, compared with the typical country and weighted by how much each counts, are one record across your care (30 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country) and protection from sale and ads (35 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
One record across your care: Family doctors, hospitals, labs, pharmacies, insurers and public health all linked to one record that is used across the country.
Protection from sale and ads: Clear limits on selling health data or using it for ads, covering apps and data brokers as well as doctors and hospitals.
Which laws give health record rights in Somalia?
Data Protection Act, Law No. 005 of 2023: Health is sensitive data; free copy, 72-hour breach notice, independent authority, penalties up to USD 1 million.
Data Protection Act Regulations (2026): Approved by the Council of Ministers in January 2026 to set procedures; text not available to read.
National Health Professionals Council Act Lr.31 (2020): Licenses professionals and facilities; disseminating patient records without reason is an offence.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
0.7 2024
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
3.2 2024
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
31.5% 2023
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
We found no real cases published in the last two years.
Who to contact in Somalia
Not legal advice. Laws, offices and websites can change, so check with the office itself before you rely on anything here.
For Somalia, we list one official office to contact about your health record, as of :
See your record: ask the records office of your doctor, hospital or clinic
Privacy regulator:Somalia Data Protection Authority
In 2026, Somalia scored 34 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 132nd of 198 countries and territories (could be 102nd to 162nd), in the Weak band. Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/somalia/
The 16 sources for Somalia
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (2 sources)
“Data Protection Act, Law No. 005 of 2023”
Ministry of Communications and Technology, full text (law or regulation) · Title in English
No date recorded · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it; Privacy and security; Protection from sale and ads; Your say over research use; Rules for AI in your care
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Something wrong? Tell us · Questions or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: healthrecordrights.com
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/somalia/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
