Population:
2,630,073
(July 2020 est.)
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
142
[see also: Population country ranks ]
Nationality:
noun:
Namibian(s)
adjective:
Namibian
Ethnic groups:
Ovambo 50%, Kavangos 9%, Herero 7%, Damara 7%, mixed European and African ancestry 6.5%, European 6%, Nama 5%, Caprivian 4%, San 3%, Baster 2%, Tswana .5%
Languages:
Oshiwambo languages 49.7%, Nama/Damara 11%, Kavango languages 10.4%, Afrikaans 9.4% (also a common language), Herero languages 9.2%, Zambezi languages 4.9%, English (official) 2.3%, other African languages 1.5%, other European languages .7%, other 1%
(2016 est.)
note: Namibia has 13 recognized national languages, including 10 indigenous African languages and 3 European languages
Religions:
Christian 80% to 90% (at least 50% Lutheran), indigenous beliefs 10% to 20%
Demographic profile:
Planning officials view Namibia’s reduced population growth rate as sustainable based on the country’s economic growth over the past decade. Prior to independence in 1990, Namibia’s relatively small population grew at about 3% annually, but declining fertility and the impact of HIV/AIDS slowed this growth to 1.4% by 2011, rebounding to close to 2% by 2016. Namibia’s fertility rate has fallen over the last two decades – from about 4.5 children per woman in 1996 to 3.4 in 2016 – due to increased contraceptive use, higher educational attainment among women, and greater female participation in the labor force. The average age at first birth has stayed fairly constant, but the age at first marriage continues to increase, indicating a rising incidence of premarital childbearing.
The majority of Namibians are rural dwellers (about 55%) and live in the better-watered north and northeast parts of the country. Migration, historically male-dominated, generally flows from northern communal areas – non-agricultural lands where blacks were sequestered under the apartheid system – to agricultural, mining, and manufacturing centers in the center and south. After independence from South Africa, restrictions on internal movement eased, and rural-urban migration increased, bolstering urban growth.
Some Namibians – usually persons who are better-educated, more affluent, and from urban areas – continue to legally migrate to South Africa temporarily to visit family and friends and, much less frequently, to pursue tertiary education or better economic opportunities. Namibians concentrated along the country’s other borders make unauthorized visits to Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, or Botswana, to visit family and to trade agricultural goods. Few Namibians express interest in permanently settling in other countries; they prefer the safety of their homeland, have a strong national identity, and enjoy a well-supplied retail sector. Although Namibia is receptive to foreign investment and cross-border trade, intolerance toward non-citizens is widespread.
Age structure:
0-14 years: 35.68%
(male 473,937/female 464,453)
[see also: Age structure - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 20.27%
(male 267,106/female 265,882)
[see also: Age structure - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 35.47%
(male 449,132/female 483,811)
[see also: Age structure - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 4.68%
(male 54,589/female 68,619)
[see also: Age structure - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 3.9%
(male 43,596/female 58,948)
(2020 est.)
[see also: Age structure - 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
This is the population pyramid for Namibia. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 68.1
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 62.2
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 5.8
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 17.1
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]
Median age:
total: 21.8 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 21.1 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 22.6 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
183
Population growth rate:
1.86%
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
55
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]
Birth rate:
25.7 births/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
48
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]
Death rate:
7.3 deaths/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
116
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
92
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]
Population distribution:
population density is very low, with the largest clustering found in the extreme north-central area along the border with Angola
Urbanization:
urban population: 51% of total population
(2019)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 4.2% annual rate of change
(2015-20 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]
Major urban areas - population:
417,000 WINDHOEK (capital)
(2019)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.8 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 96 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio country ranks ]
Mother's mean age at first birth:
21.5 years
(2013 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]
Maternal mortality rate:
195 deaths/100,000 live births
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
48
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]
Infant mortality rate:
total: 31.4 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 33.5 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 29.2 deaths/1,000 live births
(2020 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
52
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 65.3 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total population country ranks ]
male: 63.3 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 67.3 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
195
[See also: Healthy Life Expectancy ]
[See also: Health Performance ]
Total fertility rate:
3.07 children born/woman
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
49
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
56.1%
(2013)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 98.2% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 84.6% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 91% of population
unimproved:
urban: 1.8% of population
rural: 15.4% of population
total: 9% of population
(2015 est.)
Current Health Expenditure:
9.1%
(2016)
[see also: Current Health Expenditure country ranks ]
Hospital bed density:
2.7 beds/1,000 population
(2009)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 54.5% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 16.8% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 34.4% of population
(2015 est.)
unimproved:
urban: 45.5% of population
(2015 est.)
rural: 83.2% of population
(2015 est.)
total: 65.6% of population
(2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
11.8%
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
7
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
200,000
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
29
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
2,700
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
39
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk:
high
(2016)
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
(2016)
vectorborne diseases:
malaria
(2016)
water contact diseases:
schistosomiasis
(2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
17.2%
(2016)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
119
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
13.2%
(2013)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
50
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]
Education expenditures:
3.1% of GDP
(2014)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
135
[see also: Education expenditures country ranks ]
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.9%
[see also: Literacy - total population country ranks ]
male: 79.2%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 84.5%
(2015)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 44.9%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 37.7%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 52.5%
(2016 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
11
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Namibia on this page is re-published from the 2020 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Namibia People 2020 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Namibia People 2020 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may have the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assigns counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order.
- Main Index
- 2020 Index
- Country Ranks
- Definitions
- Namibia Index 2020
- Namibia Main Index
- Introduction
- History
- Geography
- Maps
- People
- Religion
- Government
- Gov. Leaders
- Flags
- Economy
- Energy
- Communications
- Transportation
- Airport Codes
- Military
- Transnational Issues
- Photos
- Advertise Here
- Feedback
This page was last modified 27-Jan-20