# 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.

## Population
### Census results

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. The data collection method is to count every person resident in Namibia wherever they happen to be. This is called the de facto method. 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.
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.
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 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 .
| | Total population | Population aged 0–14 (%) | Population aged 15–64 (%) | Population aged 65+ (%) |
| 1950 | 485 000 | 38.8 | 57.1 | 4.1 |
| 1955 | 538 000 | 40.5 | 55.6 | 4.0 |
| 1960 | 603 000 | 41.6 | 54.7 | 3.7 |
| 1965 | 683 000 | 42.5 | 53.9 | 3.6 |
| 1970 | 780 000 | 43.1 | 53.3 | 3.6 |
| 1975 | 906 000 | 44.3 | 52.2 | 3.5 |
| 1980 | 1 013 000 | 46.6 | 49.9 | 3.5 |
| 1985 | 1 150 000 | 47.0 | 49.5 | 3.5 |
| 1990 | 1 415 000 | 43.7 | 53 | 3.4 |
| 1995 | 1 651 000 | 42 | 54.6 | 3.4 |
| 2000 | 1 896 000 | 40.3 | 56.3 | 3.4 |
| 2005 | 2 080 000 | 38.9 | 57.6 | 3.4 |
| 2010 | 2 283 000 | 36.4 | 59.9 | 3.7 |
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) (Based on the results of the 2011 Population Census.):
| 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.
| | Mid-year population | Live births | Deaths | Natural change | 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 | 2 688 000 | 76 000 | 21 000 | 55 000 | 27.7 | 7.5 | 20.2 | 3.35 | 29.5 | 64.1 |
| 2021 | 2 770 000 | 76 000 | 26 000 | 50 000 | 27.0 | 9.2 | 17.8 | 3.30 | 28.7 | 60.9 |
| 2022 | 2 851 000 | 76 000 | 22 000 | 55 000 | 27.9 | 7.5 | 18.9 | 3.25 | 28.7 | 64.2 |
| 2023 | 2 928 000 | 77 000 | 18 000 | 58 000 | 25.9 | 6.2 | 19.7 | 3.21 | 27.2 | 67.4 |

### Demographic and Health Surveys

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (followed by wanted fertility rate in brackets) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):
| Year | Total | Total | Urban | Urban | Rural | Rural |
| Year | CBR | TFR | CBR | TFR | CBR | TFR |
| 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):
| Region | Total fertility rate | Percentage of women age 15–49 currently pregnant | Mean number of children ever born to women age 40–49 |
| Zambezi | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.4 |
| Erongo | 2.9 | 6.1 | 3.3 |
| Hardap | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.4 |
| Karas | 3.4 | 6.4 | 3.4 |
| Kavango | 4.6 | 6.8 | 5.4 |
| Khomas | 2.6 | 6.4 | 2.7 |
| Kunene | 4.5 | 8.5 | 4.6 |
| Ohangwena | 5.3 | 9.8 | 5.2 |
| Omaheke | 4.6 | 8.6 | 4.2 |
| Omusati | 4.2 | 6.3 | 3.6 |
| Oshana | 2.7 | 6.2 | 3.1 |
| Oshikoto | 4.2 | 5.7 | 4.0 |
| Otjozondjupa | 4.1 | 5.4 | 4.0 |

### Life expectancy at birth

Life expectancy from 1950 to 2015 (UN World Population Prospects):
| Period | Life expectancy in Years |
| 1950–1955 | 41.75 |
| 1955–1960 | 45.27 |
| 1960–1965 | 48.43 |
| 1965–1970 | 51.20 |
| 1970–1975 | 53.52 |
| 1975–1980 | 56.63 |
| 1980–1985 | 58.34 |
| 1985–1990 | 60.67 |
| 1990–1995 | 61.52 |
| 1995–2000 | 58.11 |
| 2000–2005 | 53.83 |
| 2005–2010 | 54.98 |
| 2010–2015 | 61.75 |

## Ethnic groups

Racial groups in Namibia :
| Racial groups | Racial groups | | |
| African | African | 96.1% | 96.1% |
| Mixed | Mixed | 2.1% | 2.1% |
| White | White | 1.8% | 1.8% |
Tribes in Namibia :
| Tribe | Tribe | | |
| Ovambo | Ovambo | 50% | 50% |
| Kavangos | Kavangos | 9% | 9% |
| Herero | Herero | 7% | 7% |
| Damara | Damara | 7% | 7% |
| Nama | Nama | 5% | 5% |
| Lozi | Lozi | 4% | 4% |
| San | San | 3% | 3% |
| Tswana | Tswana | 0.5% | 0.5% |
Namibia has many ethnic groups. 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 Lozi 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.
The largest ten ethnic groups are Aakwanyama, Aandonga, Ovaherero, Damara, Aakwambi, Vakwangali, Nama, Aambalantu, Vakavango, and Aangandjera.
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" (2,1%) and "Basters" (1,5%). There is a substantial Chinese minority in Namibia; it stood at 40,000 in 2006.
Whites (mainly of Afrikaner, German, British and Portuguese origin) make up 1,8% of the population, according to the 2023 Population and Housing Census. 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). 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. The 1960 census reported 526,004 persons in what was then South West Africa, including 73,464 whites (14%).

## Languages

* Oshiwambo – 48.9%
* Khoekhoegowab – 11.3%
* Afrikaans – 10.4%
* Otjiherero – 8.6%
* RuKwangali – 8.5%
* Silozi – 4.8%
* English (official language) – 3.4%
* German (1%)
* Setswana – 0.3%
* Other African languages – 2.3%
* Other – 1.7%

## 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.
* Christian 80% to 90% (at least 50% Lutheran)
* Indigenous beliefs 10% to 20%