Somalia’s population is among the youngest in the world, with a median age of just 16.7 years and a fertility rate of 6.1 births per woman. This youth bulge offers immense potential but also poses serious risks when opportunities for education, employment, and personal growth are scarce. In urban areas especially, many young Somalis face a bleak future, turning instead to substance abuse, idleness, irregular migration (“tahriib”), crime, and extremist ideologies. Historically, Somali youth culture shifted dramatically during the civil war. Once inspired by folklore heroes and football icons, many began idolizing gunmen and warlords. This shift fed the growth of neighborhood gangs (ciyaal weero) and later armed recruitment. Groups like Al-Shabaab target children as young as eight, offering money, status, and marriage prospects while indoctrinating them to carry out attacks, including suicide bombings. Despite Somalia ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 2015, child recruitment remains rampant. Without urgent reforms, investments in education, job creation, and community protection, Somalia’s youth bulge risks becoming a destabilizing force. Harnessing this generation’s potential is vital to steering the nation toward stability and progress rather than conflict and extremism.