Demographics of Namibia

This is a demography of the population of Namibia including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Demographics of Namibia
Population pyramid of Namibia in 2020
Population2,727,409 (2022 est.)
Growth rate1.82% (2022 est.)
Birth rate25.01 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate6.85 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy66.47 years
 • male64.46 years
 • female68.53 years
Fertility rate2.98 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate29.42 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years35.68%
65 and over3.9%
Nationality
NationalityNamibian

Population
Demographics of Namibia, Data of FAO, year 2005; Number of inhabitants in thousands.
Population density in Namibia by regions (census 2011)

Census results
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1921228,916—    
1936320,457+2.27%
1946362,464+1.24%
1951439,081+3.91%
1970761,010+2.94%
19811,033,196+2.82%
19911,409,915+3.16%
20011,830,330+2.64%
20112,113,077+1.45%

As required by the Namibian Statistics Act #66 of 1976, and in accordance with United Nations recommendations, a census is conducted every ten years. After Namibian independence the first Population and Housing Census was carried out in 1991, further rounds followed in 2001 and 2011.[1] The data collection method is to count every person resident in Namibia wherever they happen to be. This is called the de facto method.[2] For enumeration purposes the country is demarcated into 4,042 enumeration areas. These areas overlap with constituency boundaries in order to get reliable data for election purposes as well.[3]

The 2011 Population and Housing Census counted 2,113,077 inhabitants of Namibia. Between 2001 and 2011 the annual population growth was 1.4%, down from 2.6% in the previous ten–year period.[4]

In 2011 the total fertility rate was 3.6 children per woman, down from 4.1 in 2001.

UN estimates

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects[5][6] the total population was 2,530,151 in 2021, compared to only 485 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 36.4%, 59.9% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 3.7% was 65 years or older .[7]

Total population Population aged 0–14 (%) Population aged 15–64 (%) Population aged 65+ (%)
1950 485 00038.857.14.1
1955 538 00040.555.64.0
1960 603 00041.654.73.7
1965 683 00042.553.93.6
1970 780 00043.153.33.6
1975 906 00044.352.23.5
1980 1 013 00046.649.93.5
1985 1 150 00047.049.53.5
1990 1 415 00043.7533.4
1995 1 651 0004254.63.4
2000 1 896 00040.356.33.4
2005 2 080 00038.957.63.4
2010 2 283 00036.459.93.7

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) (Based on the results of the 2011 Population Census.):[8]

Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 1 217 976 1 286 522 2 504 498 100
0–4 168 415 164 699 333 114 13.30
5–9 157 646 154 774 312 420 12.47
10–14 137 092 135 235 272 327 10.87
15–19 118 166 117 873 236 039 9.42
20–24 118 207 121 535 239 742 9.57
25–29 110 095 115 411 225 506 9.00
30–34 94 967 99 744 194 711 7.77
35–39 74 591 80 644 155 235 6.20
40–44 61 719 67 206 128 925 5.15
45–49 49 370 56 034 105 404 4.21
50–54 37 319 44 620 81 939 3.27
55–59 28 792 37 243 66 035 2.64
60–64 20 002 28 448 48 450 1.93
65–69 15 303 21 162 36 465 1.46
70–74 11 841 16 460 28 301 1.13
75–79 6 904 11 064 17 968 0.72
80+ 7 547 14 370 21 917 0.88
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 463 153 454 708 917 861 36.65
15–64 713 228 768 758 1 481 986 59.17
65+ 41 595 63 056 104 651 4.18

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events in Namibia is not complete. The website Our World in Data prepared the following estimates based on statistics from the Population Department of the United Nations.[9]

Mid-year population (thousands) Live births (thousands) Deaths (thousands) Natural change (thousands) Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate (TFR) Infant mortality (per 1000 live births) Life expectancy (in years)
1950   515 000   22 000   12 000   10 000 42.0 22.5 19.5 5.75 141.7 41.5
1951   521 000   22 000   12 000   10 000 42.0 22.4 19.6 5.79 140.3 41.8
1952   527 000   22 000   12 000   11 000 42.0 22.0 20.0 5.83 137.6 42.4
1953   534 000   22 000   12 000   11 000 42.0 21.6 20.4 5.89 134.7 43.0
1954   540 000   23 000   11 000   11 000 41.9 21.1 20.8 5.93 131.8 43.7
1955   547 000   23 000   11 000   12 000 41.7 20.7 21.1 5.97 128.8 44.3
1956   555 000   23 000   11 000   12 000 41.6 20.2 21.4 6.01 125.7 44.9
1957   562 000   23 000   11 000   12 000 41.6 19.7 21.8 6.05 122.6 45.6
1958   571 000   24 000   11 000   13 000 41.6 19.2 22.3 6.10 119.4 46.3
1959   580 000   24 000   11 000   13 000 41.6 18.8 22.8 6.14 116.1 46.9
1960   590 000   25 000   11 000   14 000 41.8 18.2 23.5 6.21 112.9 47.7
1961   601 000   25 000   11 000   15 000 42.0 17.8 24.2 6.27 109.7 48.4
1962   614 000   26 000   11 000   15 000 42.3 17.3 25.0 6.34 106.6 49.1
1963   627 000   27 000   11 000   16 000 42.6 16.9 25.7 6.40 103.5 49.7
1964   642 000   28 000   11 000   17 000 42.8 16.4 26.3 6.43 100.6 50.4
1965   658 000   28 000   11 000   18 000 43.0 16.0 26.9 6.46 97.8 51.0
1966   675 000   29 000   11 000   18 000 43.1 15.7 27.4 6.49 95.1 51.4
1967   693 000   30 000   11 000   19 000 43.3 15.4 27.9 6.51 92.5 52.0
1968   712 000   31 000   11 000   20 000 43.5 15.0 28.5 6.54 90.1 52.6
1969   733 000   32 000   11 000   21 000 43.6 14.6 29.0 6.55 87.7 53.1
1970   754 000   33 000   11 000   22 000 43.7 14.3 29.4 6.55 85.4 53.6
1971   777 000   34 000   11 000   23 000 43.9 13.9 30.0 6.55 83.1 54.2
1972   801 000   35 000   11 000   24 000 43.9 13.5 30.4 6.55 80.8 54.8
1973   825 000   36 000   11 000   26 000 44.1 13.1 30.9 6.56 78.6 55.4
1974   850 000   37 000   11 000   27 000 44.1 12.8 31.3 6.56 76.3 55.9
1975   877 000   39 000   11 000   28 000 43.9 12.4 31.5 6.54 74.2 56.5
1976   902 000   39 000   11 000   28 000 43.5 12.0 31.5 6.50 72.2 57.0
1977   926 000   40 000   11 000   29 000 42.9 11.7 31.3 6.45 70.5 57.6
1978   942 000   40 000   11 000   30 000 42.3 11.3 31.0 6.38 69.0 58.1
1979   957 000   39 000   11 000   29 000 41.0 11.1 29.9 6.32 67.6 58.4
1980   976 000   40 000   11 000   28 000 40.6 11.6 28.9 6.25 66.3 56.8
1981   987 000   40 000   11 000   28 000 39.7 11.4 28.4 6.16 64.9 57.1
1982   1 006 000   39 000   11 000   28 000 38.6 11.0 27.6 6.08 63.3 57.6
1983   1 033 000   40 000   11 000   29 000 38.5 10.8 27.8 6.00 61.5 58.0
1984   1 062 000   41 000   11 000   30 000 38.5 10.4 28.1 5.93 59.5 58.5
1985   1 093 000   42 000   11 000   31 000 38.5 10.1 28.3 5.85 57.3 59.0
1986   1 128 000   43 000   11 000   32 000 38.5 9.8 28.7 5.77 55.0 59.6
1987   1 165 000   45 000   11 000   34 000 38.7 9.5 29.2 5.67 52.8 60.2
1988   1 208 000   47 000   11 000   36 000 38.9 9.4 29.5 5.58 51.0 60.2
1989   1 288 000   49 000   10 000   39 000 39.3 8.4 30.9 5.47 49.2 62.6
1990   1 369 000   55 000   11 000   44 000 40.6 8.3 32.2 5.32 48.0 62.5
1991   1 416 000   57 000   12 000   45 000 40.1 8.4 31.6 5.23 47.0 62.1
1992   1 462 000   57 000   13 000   45 000 39.1 8.6 30.5 5.07 46.4 61.5
1993   1 510 000   57 000   13 000   44 000 37.8 8.8 29.1 4.89 46.1 60.9
1994   1 558 000   57 000   14 000   42 000 36.3 9.1 27.2 4.67 46.4 59.8
1995   1 605 000   55 000   15 000   40 000 34.6 9.5 25.1 4.43 47.2 58.6
1996   1 650 000   54 000   17 000   38 000 33.1 10.2 22.8 4.21 48.1 56.9
1997   1 693 000   55 000   18 000   37 000 32.6 10.8 21.8 4.15 48.9 55.6
1998   1 736 000   56 000   20 000   36 000 32.6 11.6 21.0 4.15 49.5 54.1
1999   1 778 000   57 000   22 000   36 000 32.3 12.1 20.1 4.11 49.8 53.0
2000   1 819 000   57 000   23 000 34 000 31.4 12.7 18.7 3.98 49.8 52.0
2001   1 856 000   56 000   24 000   32 000 30.4 13.1 17.3 3.83 49.7 51.3
2002   1 889 000   56 000   25 000   31 000 29.7 13.1 16.6 3.72 49.1 51.3
2003   1 915 000   56 000   25 000   31 000 29.2 13.2 15.9 3.62 49.0 51.1
2004   1 939 000   56 000   26 000   31 000 29.0 13.2 15.8 3.58 48.9 51.2
2005   1 963 000   57 000   25 000   32 000 29.0 13.0 16.1 3.56 46.8 51.8
2006   1 987 000   58 000   25 000   33 000 29.0 12.5 16.5 3.54 43.9 52.7
2007   2 011 000   59 000   24 000   35 000 29.3 12.0 17.2 3.55 41.2 53.7
2008   2 039 000   61 000   24 000   37 000 29.7 11.6 18.1 3.59 38.1 54.7
2009   2 068 000   62 000   23 000   39 000 30.1 11.2 18.9 3.61 36.2 55.5
2010   2 099 000   64 000   23 000   41 000 30.4 11.1 19.4 3.63 34.3 56.0
2011   2 132 000   66 000   23 000   43 000 30.8 10.9 19.9 3.66 34.6 56.6
2012   2 167 000   67 000   23 000   45 000 31.1 10.4 20.7 3.68 35.0 57.6
2013   2 205 000   68 000   22 000   46 000 30.9 9.9 21.0 3.65 34.2 58.7
2014   2 243 000   69 000   21 000   48 000 30.7 9.4 21.3 3.64 33.5 59.8
2015   2 283 000   70 000   21 000   49 000 30.4 9.1 21.3 3.60 33.4 60.7
2016   2 323 000   70 000   20 000   50 000 30.1 8.7 21.4 3.57 32.5 61.7
2017   2 365 000   70 000   20 000   50 000 29.5 8.5 21.0 3.51 31.6 62.3
2018   2 406 000   70 000   20 000   50 000 29.0 8.4 20.6 3.46 31.0 62.6
2019   2 447 000   70 000   20 000   49 000 28.4 8.2 20.2 3.40 29.8 63.1
2020   2 489 000   69 000   21 000   48 000 27.9 8.5 19.4 3.35 28.7 62.8
2021   2 530 000   69 000   27 000   42 000 27.4 10.7 16.7 3.30 27.7 59.3

Fertility and births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (followed by wanted fertility rate in brackets) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[10]

Year CBR (Total) TFR (Total) CBR (Urban) TFR (Urban) CBR (Rural) TFR (Rural)
1992 42 5,4 (4,8) 43 4,0 (3,4) 42 6,3 (5,8)
2000 30,5 4,2 (3,4) 29,9 3,1 (2,4) 30,8 5,1 (4,2)
2006–2007 29,2 3,6 (2,7) 28,8 2,8 (2,2) 29,6 4,3 (3,3)
2013 29,5 3,6 (2,9) 30,0 2,9 (2,4) 29,3 4,7 (3,5)

Fertility data as of 2013 (DHS Program):[11]

Region Total fertility rate Percentage of women age 15–49 currently pregnant Mean number of children ever born to women age 40–49
Zambezi4.24.54.4
Erongo2.96.13.3
Hardap3.73.83.4
Karas3.46.43.4
Kavango4.66.85.4
Khomas2.66.42.7
Kunene4.58.54.6
Ohangwena5.39.85.2
Omaheke4.68.64.2
Omusati4.26.33.6
Oshana2.76.23.1
Oshikoto4.25.74.0
Otjozondjupa4.15.44.0

Life expectancy at birth

Life expectancy from 1950 to 2015 (UN World Population Prospects):[12]

Period Life expectancy in
Years
1950–1955 41.75
1955–1960 Increase 45.27
1960–1965 Increase 48.43
1965–1970 Increase 51.20
1970–1975 Increase 53.52
1975–1980 Increase 56.63
1980–1985 Increase 58.34
1985–1990 Increase 60.67
1990–1995 Increase 61.52
1995–2000 Decrease 58.11
2000–2005 Decrease 53.83
2005–2010 Increase 54.98
2010–2015 Increase 61.75

Ethnic groups

Namibia has many ethnic groups. The 9 main ethnic groups are:

The majority of the Namibian population is of Bantu-speaking origin—mostly of the Ovambo ethnicity, which forms about half of the population—residing mainly in the north of the country, although many are now resident in towns throughout Namibia. They also include the Zambezi people and Kavango people. Other ethnic groups are the Herero and Himba people, who speak a similar language, and the Damara, who speak the same "click" language as the Nama. As of 2022 Herero and Nama peoples make up less than 10% of the population, but at the beginning of the 20th century and before the Herero and Namaqua Genocide, they made up a majority.[13]

In addition to the Bantu majority, there are large groups of San, who are descendants of the original culture of Southern Africa, as well as Nama who are descendants of the above as well as mixed with colonists.They often speak Khoekhoegowab. The country also contains some descendants of refugees from Angola. There are also two smaller groups of people with mixed racial origins, called "Coloureds" and "Basters", who together make up 8.0% (with the Coloureds outnumbering the Basters two to one). There is a substantial Chinese minority in Namibia; it stood at 40,000 in 2006.[14]

Himba people in northern Namibia

Whites (mainly of Afrikaner, German, British and Portuguese origin) make up between 4.0 and 7.0% of the population. Although their proportion of the population decreased after independence due to emigration and lower birth rates, they still form the second-largest population of European ancestry, both in terms of percentage and actual numbers, in Sub-Saharan Africa (after South Africa/Angola).[15] The majority of Namibian whites and nearly all those who are of mixed race, speak Afrikaans and share similar origins, culture, and religion as the white and coloured populations of South Africa. A large minority of whites (around 30,000) trace their family origins back to the German settlers who colonised Namibia prior to the British confiscation of German lands after World War I, and they maintain German cultural and educational institutions. Nearly all Portuguese settlers came to the country from the former Portuguese colony of Angola.[16] The 1960 census reported 526,004 persons in what was then South West Africa, including 73,464 whites (14%).[17] Due to colonialism, whites hold a substantial amount of Namibian land, with about 4,500 settlers owning almost half of the country.[13]

Racial groups in Namibia[18]
Racial groups
African
 
 87.5%
Mixed
 
 6.5%
White
 
 6.0%
Tribes in Namibia[18]
Tribe
Ovambo
 
 50%
Kavangos
 
 9%
Herero
 
 7%
Damara
 
 7%
Nama
 
 5%
Zambezi
 
 4%
Bushmen
 
 3%
Tswana
 
 0.5%

Languages
A Nama tribal smoking a roll
Distribution of Oshiwambo (2011)
Distribution of Khoekhoe (also known as Nama or Damara (2011)
Distribution of Afrikaans (2011)
Distribution of Otjiherero (2011)
Distribution of Kavango languages (2001)
Distribution of Zambezi languages (2001)

Religion

Missionary work during the 19th century drew many Namibians to Christianity, especially Lutheranism. While most Namibian Christians are Lutheran, there also are Roman Catholic, Methodist, Anglican, African Methodist Episcopal, and Dutch Reformed Christians represented.

Other demographic statistics

Modern education and medical care have been extended in varying degrees to most rural areas in recent years. The literacy rate of Africans is generally low except in sections where missionary and government education efforts have been concentrated, such as Ovamboland. The Africans speak various indigenous languages.

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.[19]

  • One birth every 8 minutes
  • One death every 27 minutes
  • One net migrant every 131 minutes
  • Net gain of one person every 11 minutes

The following demographic are from the CIA World Factbook[20] unless otherwise indicated.

Population
2,727,409 (2022 est.)
2,533,224 (July 2018 est.)

Religions

Christian 97.5%, other 0.6% (includes Muslim, Baha'i, Jewish, Buddhist), unaffiliated 1.9% (2020 est.)

Age structure
0–14 years: 35.68% (male 473,937/female 464,453)
15–24 years: 20.27% (male 267,106/female 265,882)
25–54 years: 35.47% (male 449,132/female 483,811)
55–64 years: 4.68% (male 54,589/female 68,619)
65 years and over: 3.9% (2020 est.) (male 43,596/female 58,948)
0–14 years: 36.54% (male 467,392 /female 458,190)
15–24 years: 20.34% (male 257,190 /female 257,984)
25–54 years: 34.74% (male 421,849 /female 458,118)
55–64 years: 4.46% (male 50,459 /female 62,478)
65 years and over: 3.93% (male 42,381 /female 57,183) (2018 est.)

Birth rate
25.01 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 45th
25.33 births/1,000 population (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 45th

Death rate
6.85 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 124th
7.07 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 117th

Total fertility rate
2.98 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 48th
3.03 children born/woman (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 48th

Median age
total: 21.8 years. Country comparison to the world: 183rd
male: 21.1 years
female: 22.6 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate
1.82% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 50th
1.83% (2020 est.) Country comparison to the world: 45th

Mother's mean age at first birth
21.5 years (2013 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25–29

Contraceptive prevalence rate
56.1% (2013)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 94th

Urbanization
urban population: 54% of total population (2022)
rate of urbanization: 3.64% annual rate of change (2020–25 est.)
urban population: 50% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: 4.2% annual rate of change (2015–20 est.)

Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: high (2020)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria
water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 68.1 (2015 est.)
youth dependency ratio: 62.2 (2015 est.)
elderly dependency ratio: 5.8 (2015 est.)
potential support ratio: 17.1 (2015 est.)

Education expenditures
9.4% of GDP (2020) Country comparison to the world: 6th

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
15–64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 65.87 years (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 197th
male: 63.9 years (2021 est.)
female: 67.9 years (2021 est.)

HIV/AIDS

adult prevalence rate: 12.7% (2019 est.) Country comparison to the world: 6th

people living with HIV/AIDS: 210,000 (2019 est.)

deaths: 3,000 (2019 est.)

Nationality

noun: Namibian(s)
adjective: Namibian

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)

total population: 91.5% (2018 est.)
male: 91.6% (2018 est.)
female: 91.4% (2018 est.)

Unemployment, youth ages 15–24
total: 38%
male: 37.5%
female: 38.5% (2018 est.)

References
  1. "Census Summary Results". National Planning Commission of Namibia. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  2. Kapitako, Alvine (8 August 2011). "Namibia: 2011 Census Officially Launched". New Era. via allafrica.com.
  3. "Methodology". National Planning Commission of Namibia. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  4. Duddy, Jo Maré (28 March 2013). "Census gives snapshot of Namibia's population". The Namibian.
  5. "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  6. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX). population.un.org ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  7. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision Archived May 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  8. "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics".
  9. "Population & Demography Data Explorer". Our World in Data. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  10. "MEASURE DHS: Demographic and Health Surveys". microdata.worldbank.org.
  11. "Namibia Demographic and Health Survey 2013" (PDF). Namibia Demographic and Health Survey. 2013.
  12. "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". Retrieved 2017-07-15.
  13. Popp, Maximilian; Riedmann, Bernhard (2022-11-10). "Namibia Continues Seeking Justice for Germany's Colonial-Era Genocide". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  14. Malia Politzer (August 2008). "China and Africa: Stronger Economic Ties Mean More Migration". Migration Information Source. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  15. Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from "Namibia". The World Factbook (2023 ed.). CIA. Retrieved 23 January 2010. (Archived 2009 edition)
  16. "Flight from Angola". The Economist. 16 August 1975. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  17. Singh, Lalita Prasad (1980). The United Nations and Namibia. East African Publishing House.
  18. Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from "Namibia". The World Factbook (2023 ed.). CIA. 19 April 2022.
  19. "Namibia Population 2022", World Population Review
  20. Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from "Namibia". The World Factbook (2023 ed.). CIA. March 4, 2021. (Archived 2021 edition)
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