Background <p>Cultural awareness and intercultural sensitivity are essential competencies for nursing students providing care in multicultural settings. This study aimed to compare cultural awareness and intercultural sensitivity among nursing students in Türkiye and Somalia, and to examine the sociodemographic factors associated with these outcomes.</p> Methods <p>This cross-sectional comparative study included nursing students from Somalia (<i>n</i> = 214) and Türkiye (<i>n</i> = 199). Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire, the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS), and the Cultural Awareness Scale (CAS). Chi-square tests, independent samples t-tests, and simple and multiple linear regression analyses were used.</p> Results <p>Turkish students had significantly higher CAS total scores than Somali students (167.84 ± 25.38 vs. 151.00 ± 23.87), and significantly higher scores on all CAS subdimensions. ISS total scores were also significantly higher among Turkish students (87.78 ± 12.66 vs. 77.12 ± 9.69), and Turkish students scored significantly higher on all ISS subdimensions. In regression analyses, nationality remained a significant predictor of both cultural awareness and intercultural sensitivity. Providing care to individuals from different cultural backgrounds was an additional positive predictor of cultural awareness.</p> Conclusions <p>Nursing students in Türkiye demonstrated higher levels of cultural awareness and intercultural sensitivity compared to those in Somalia. Although nationality was significantly associated with both outcomes, this relationship may reflect broader educational, clinical, and sociocultural differences between the two countries. Despite reporting greater intercultural care experience, Somali students had lower scores on both scales. These findings suggest that exposure to cultural diversity alone may be insufficient and highlight the importance of structured educational approaches incorporated into the curriculum for the development of cultural competence in nursing education.</p> Trial registration <p>Clinical trial number: not applicable.</p>