Population:
2,484,780
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 (July 2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 142
Nationality:
noun: Namibian(s)
adjective: Namibian
Ethnic groups:
black 87.5%, white 6%, mixed 6.5%
note: about 50% of the population belong to the Ovambo tribe and 9% to the Kavangos tribe; other indigenous ethnic groups include Herero 7%, Damara 7%, Nama 5%, Caprivian 4%, San 3%, Baster 2%, Tswana 0.5%
Languages:
Oshivambo languages 48.9%, Nama/Damara 11.3%, Afrikaans 10.4% (common language of most of the population and about 60% of the white population), Otjiherero languages 8.6%, Kavango languages 8.5%, Caprivi languages 4.8%, English (official) 3.4%, other African languages 2.3%, other 1.7%
note: Namibia has 13 recognized national languages, including 10 indigenous African languages and 3 Indo-European languages (2011 est.)
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: 36.97% (male 463,810/female 454,735)
15-24 years: 20.35% (male 251,838/female 253,823)
25-54 years: 34.37% (male 408,536/female 445,500)
55-64 years: 4.35% (male 48,529/female 59,543)
65 years and over: 3.96% (male 41,912/female 56,554) (2017 est.)
population pyramid:
Africa ::NAMIBIA
Population Pyramid
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
youth dependency ratio: 62.2
elderly dependency ratio: 5.8
potential support ratio: 17.1 (2015 est.)
Median age:
total: 21.2 years
male: 20.4 years
female: 21.9 years (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 183
Population growth rate:
1.95% (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 49
Birth rate:
27.3 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 46
Death rate:
7.9 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 96
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 93
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: 48.6% of total population (2017)
rate of urbanization: 3.63% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Major urban areas - population:
WINDHOEK (capital) 368,000 (2015)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.82 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth:
21.5 years
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2013 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio:
265 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 44
Infant mortality rate:
total: 35.1 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 37.3 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 32.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 55
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 64 years
male: 62.4 years
female: 65.6 years (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 189
Total fertility rate:
3.29 children born/woman (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 47
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
56.1% (2013)
Health expenditures:
8.9% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 42
Hospital bed density:
2.7 beds/1,000 population (2009)
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 98.2% of population
rural: 84.6% of population
total: 91% of population
unimproved:
urban: 1.8% of population
rural: 15.4% of population
total: 9% of population (2015 est.)
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 54.5% of population
rural: 16.8% of population
total: 34.4% of population
unimproved:
urban: 45.5% of population
rural: 83.2% of population
total: 65.6% of population (2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
13.8% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
230,000 (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 24
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
4,300 (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 32
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria
water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
17.2% (2016)
country comparison to the world: 119
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
13.2% (2013)
country comparison to the world: 37
Education expenditures:
8.3% of GDP (2010)
country comparison to the world: 9
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.9%
male: 79.2%
female: 84.5% (2015 est.)
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:
total: 56.2%
male: 49.4%
female: 62.2% (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 4