Country or area · Southern Africa · Africa · UN WPP 2024

Namibia population

Namibia population now

3,167,821

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line. 95% range for 31 December 2026: 3.0–3.3 million.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 2,963,095

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 3.15324 million; 95% range, 31 Dec: 3.0–3.3 million
Median age: 22.5
Aged 65+: 3.9%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024

male female projection · one cell = 1,000 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

NAM · 1950–2100 · in brief

Namibia in numbers

The UN counts 2,963,095 people in Namibia in mid-2023, which makes it the 139th-largest population of the 236 countries and areas the UN reports, and 0.04% of the world's people. That is 5.8 times its 1950 population of 515 thousand.

In the UN's medium projection it is still growing in 2100, when it reaches 5.9 million. The projection is uncertain: on 1 January 2100 the UN's 95% range runs from 2.7 million to 13.0 million.

Births outnumber deaths in every year from 1950 to 2100, estimates and projection alike.

The median age was 20.8 in 1950 and 22.0 in 2023; the projection has 39.8 in 2100. 3.6% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 17.8% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) is projected to peak in 2096 at 3.8 million.

Among countries it ranks 139th in 2023, 131st in 2050 and 119th in 2100. In the medium projection it overtakes Moldova in 2025, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2026 and Puerto Rico in 2027. It is overtaken by Gabon in 2072.

Population, mid-2023: 2,963,095
Rank by population, 2023: 139 of 236
Share of the world, 2023: 0.04%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: +2.54% · +73,433 people
People per km² of land, 2023: 3.6
Land area, 2023: 823,290 km²
Births, 2023: 76,715
Deaths, 2023: 18,279
Net migration, 2023: +11,675
Children per woman, 2023: 3.21
Median age, 2023: 22.0 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 67.4 years
In a city, 2025: 21 of every 100
Population, mid-1950: 514,591
Projected, mid-2050: 4,512,300
Projected, mid-2100: 5,897,944

NAM · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

estimates | projections02.5 m5 m7.5 m10 m12.5 m15 m1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection, up to the bottom of the 95% range 95% range medium projection. Every column stands for a single year, counted on 1 January, and the paper rules slice it into cells of equal size.

Show the numbers: Namibia, 1950–2100

Namibia: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	95% range	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	511,768		21,085	11,354	5.61	42.0
1951	estimate	517,414		21,428	11,302	5.68	42.5
1952	estimate	523,368		21,768	11,220	5.74	43.1
1953	estimate	529,900		22,113	11,165	5.81	43.8
1954	estimate	536,559		22,441	11,080	5.87	44.4
1955	estimate	543,471		22,780	11,017	5.93	45.0
1956	estimate	550,692		23,122	10,937	6.00	45.7
1957	estimate	558,423		23,495	10,853	6.06	46.4
1958	estimate	566,759		23,947	10,753	6.13	47.1
1959	estimate	575,911		24,380	10,677	6.19	47.8
1960	estimate	585,928		24,894	10,588	6.24	48.5
1961	estimate	597,001		25,451	10,516	6.29	49.2
1962	estimate	609,132		26,106	10,450	6.35	50.0
1963	estimate	622,386		26,847	10,417	6.41	50.6
1964	estimate	636,792		27,505	10,370	6.43	51.4
1965	estimate	652,269		28,250	10,348	6.45	52.0
1966	estimate	668,847		29,084	10,448	6.47	52.3
1967	estimate	686,464		29,942	10,443	6.49	52.9
1968	estimate	705,626		30,923	10,453	6.50	53.5
1969	estimate	725,457		31,864	10,476	6.51	54.1
1970	estimate	746,782		32,927	10,512	6.52	54.7
1971	estimate	768,954		33,995	10,528	6.52	55.3
1972	estimate	792,214		35,173	10,567	6.53	55.9
1973	estimate	816,583		36,352	10,597	6.54	56.4
1974	estimate	841,273		37,482	10,638	6.55	56.9
1975	estimate	867,367		38,517	10,634	6.53	57.5
1976	estimate	894,697		39,457	10,671	6.49	58.0
1977	estimate	918,435		39,863	10,622	6.44	58.6
1978	estimate	943,773		40,400	10,579	6.38	59.1
1979	estimate	950,765		39,326	10,395	6.31	59.5
1980	estimate	974,885		39,850	11,708	6.24	56.6
1981	estimate	987,984		39,523	11,585	6.16	56.9
1982	estimate	997,017		38,844	11,370	6.08	57.3
1983	estimate	1,023,600		39,718	11,411	6.00	57.6
1984	estimate	1,051,422		40,812	11,417	5.94	58.1
1985	estimate	1,080,557		42,033	11,458	5.88	58.5
1986	estimate	1,113,223		43,360	11,595	5.79	58.7
1987	estimate	1,148,938		45,036	11,696	5.70	59.1
1988	estimate	1,186,839		46,858	12,059	5.61	59.0
1989	estimate	1,232,553		49,272	11,556	5.52	60.8
1990	estimate	1,345,342		56,083	12,126	5.40	61.4
1991	estimate	1,393,263		57,303	12,779	5.29	60.8
1992	estimate	1,438,104		57,394	13,449	5.11	60.2
1993	estimate	1,484,540		57,143	14,282	4.91	59.3
1994	estimate	1,532,855		56,451	15,135	4.68	58.4
1995	estimate	1,579,753		55,199	16,082	4.42	57.5
1996	estimate	1,624,588		54,232	17,056	4.20	56.6
1997	estimate	1,667,619		55,358	18,103	4.17	55.8
1998	estimate	1,710,908		57,007	19,506	4.18	54.8
1999	estimate	1,754,581		57,961	20,729	4.14	54.0
2000	estimate	1,798,155		57,491	22,212	3.99	53.0
2001	estimate	1,839,139		56,604	23,663	3.83	52.0
2002	estimate	1,874,957		56,012	24,065	3.69	52.0
2003	estimate	1,904,984		55,660	24,546	3.58	51.9
2004	estimate	1,929,943		56,160	24,683	3.54	52.2
2005	estimate	1,954,221		57,653	24,743	3.57	52.6
2006	estimate	1,978,942		59,226	24,536	3.60	53.2
2007	estimate	2,004,833		60,516	24,086	3.61	54.0
2008	estimate	2,032,367		61,954	23,808	3.62	54.7
2009	estimate	2,061,745		63,602	23,659	3.63	55.4
2010	estimate	2,093,042		65,416	23,371	3.66	56.1
2011	estimate	2,126,579		66,840	23,283	3.66	56.6
2012	estimate	2,166,071		68,806	22,602	3.68	57.7
2013	estimate	2,223,237		70,227	22,426	3.65	58.5
2014	estimate	2,281,778		71,703	22,120	3.63	59.3
2015	estimate	2,342,499		72,815	21,969	3.60	60.0
2016	estimate	2,406,100		73,932	21,704	3.57	60.8
2017	estimate	2,472,326		74,332	21,359	3.51	61.7
2018	estimate	2,541,380		74,916	20,945	3.46	62.6
2019	estimate	2,613,273		75,237	20,468	3.40	63.5
2020	estimate	2,687,716		75,551	20,518	3.35	64.1
2021	estimate	2,769,807		75,946	25,786	3.30	60.9
2022	estimate	2,851,288		76,123	21,588	3.25	64.2
2023	estimate	2,928,037		76,715	18,279	3.21	67.4
2024	estimate	2,998,153		78,452	18,713	3.21	67.5
2025	projection	3,062,109	3.0–3.1 million	78,688	19,121	3.17	67.7
2026	projection	3,123,524	3.0–3.2 million	78,927	19,540	3.13	67.8
2027	projection	3,182,968	3.0–3.3 million	79,141	19,951	3.09	68.0
2028	projection	3,242,841	3.1–3.4 million	79,377	20,394	3.06	68.1
2029	projection	3,301,485	3.1–3.5 million	79,563	20,863	3.02	68.2
2030	projection	3,360,126	3.1–3.6 million	79,751	21,331	2.98	68.4
2031	projection	3,419,790	3.1–3.8 million	80,163	21,825	2.94	68.5
2032	projection	3,479,202	3.1–3.9 million	80,561	22,341	2.91	68.6
2033	projection	3,537,272	3.2–4.0 million	81,061	22,846	2.88	68.8
2034	projection	3,593,411	3.2–4.1 million	81,466	23,354	2.84	68.9
2035	projection	3,650,231	3.2–4.2 million	81,994	23,897	2.81	69.0
2036	projection	3,707,528	3.2–4.3 million	82,597	24,475	2.78	69.1
2037	projection	3,764,333	3.2–4.4 million	83,215	25,046	2.75	69.3
2038	projection	3,821,258	3.3–4.5 million	83,786	25,608	2.71	69.4
2039	projection	3,879,344	3.3–4.6 million	84,327	26,221	2.68	69.5
2040	projection	3,935,017	3.3–4.7 million	84,800	26,855	2.65	69.6
2041	projection	3,989,793	3.4–4.8 million	85,164	27,483	2.63	69.8
2042	projection	4,045,564	3.4–4.9 million	85,603	28,123	2.60	69.9
2043	projection	4,101,150	3.4–5.0 million	85,819	28,776	2.58	70.0
2044	projection	4,157,990	3.4–5.1 million	86,102	29,412	2.56	70.1
2045	projection	4,214,218	3.4–5.3 million	86,307	30,081	2.53	70.2
2046	projection	4,272,481	3.4–5.4 million	86,522	30,757	2.51	70.4
2047	projection	4,327,441	3.4–5.5 million	86,534	31,441	2.49	70.5
2048	projection	4,383,555	3.4–5.6 million	86,572	32,132	2.47	70.6
2049	projection	4,435,344	3.5–5.7 million	86,474	32,806	2.44	70.7
2050	projection	4,485,659	3.5–5.8 million	86,333	33,505	2.43	70.9
2051	projection	4,538,942	3.5–6.0 million	86,295	34,223	2.41	71.0
2052	projection	4,590,870	3.5–6.1 million	86,179	34,946	2.39	71.1
2053	projection	4,641,673	3.5–6.2 million	86,077	35,670	2.38	71.2
2054	projection	4,691,899	3.5–6.3 million	85,879	36,398	2.36	71.3
2055	projection	4,740,289	3.5–6.5 million	85,557	37,153	2.34	71.5
2056	projection	4,789,454	3.5–6.6 million	85,402	37,914	2.33	71.6
2057	projection	4,836,401	3.5–6.7 million	85,053	38,662	2.31	71.7
2058	projection	4,881,895	3.5–6.8 million	84,511	39,425	2.29	71.8
2059	projection	4,927,040	3.5–6.9 million	84,153	40,184	2.27	72.0
2060	projection	4,970,572	3.5–7.0 million	83,803	40,946	2.26	72.1
2061	projection	5,014,989	3.5–7.1 million	83,546	41,731	2.25	72.2
2062	projection	5,055,835	3.5–7.3 million	83,297	42,520	2.23	72.3
2063	projection	5,096,224	3.5–7.4 million	83,052	43,294	2.22	72.5
2064	projection	5,135,548	3.5–7.6 million	82,906	44,088	2.21	72.6
2065	projection	5,172,181	3.4–7.8 million	82,739	44,862	2.19	72.8
2066	projection	5,207,647	3.4–7.9 million	82,507	45,638	2.18	72.9
2067	projection	5,244,767	3.4–8.0 million	82,445	46,398	2.17	73.0
2068	projection	5,280,628	3.4–8.2 million	82,355	47,218	2.16	73.1
2069	projection	5,314,830	3.4–8.2 million	82,118	47,976	2.14	73.3
2070	projection	5,346,794	3.4–8.4 million	81,943	48,740	2.13	73.4
2071	projection	5,377,110	3.4–8.5 million	81,675	49,487	2.12	73.5
2072	projection	5,407,078	3.4–8.7 million	81,542	50,269	2.11	73.7
2073	projection	5,436,199	3.4–8.8 million	81,474	51,057	2.10	73.8
2074	projection	5,463,750	3.4–8.9 million	81,388	51,729	2.10	73.9
2075	projection	5,492,525	3.3–9.1 million	81,254	52,392	2.09	74.0
2076	projection	5,521,933	3.3–9.2 million	80,945	53,052	2.08	74.2
2077	projection	5,548,912	3.3–9.4 million	80,629	53,692	2.07	74.3
2078	projection	5,574,853	3.3–9.6 million	80,386	54,283	2.06	74.5
2079	projection	5,599,970	3.2–9.8 million	80,118	54,924	2.05	74.6
2080	projection	5,622,870	3.2–9.9 million	79,732	55,516	2.04	74.7
2081	projection	5,647,244	3.2–10.1 million	79,270	56,092	2.03	74.8
2082	projection	5,670,171	3.2–10.2 million	78,914	56,611	2.02	75.0
2083	projection	5,690,912	3.1–10.4 million	78,427	57,152	2.02	75.1
2084	projection	5,710,147	3.1–10.6 million	77,926	57,706	2.01	75.2
2085	projection	5,728,151	3.1–10.7 million	77,533	58,249	2.00	75.4
2086	projection	5,745,364	3.0–10.8 million	77,168	58,694	2.00	75.5
2087	projection	5,764,374	3.0–10.9 million	76,739	59,230	1.99	75.6
2088	projection	5,781,060	3.0–11.2 million	76,273	59,740	1.98	75.8
2089	projection	5,796,411	2.9–11.4 million	75,701	60,331	1.97	75.9
2090	projection	5,809,970	2.9–11.5 million	75,333	60,865	1.97	76.0
2091	projection	5,824,368	2.9–11.5 million	75,011	61,403	1.96	76.1
2092	projection	5,836,772	2.8–11.8 million	74,573	61,907	1.96	76.3
2093	projection	5,848,852	2.8–11.9 million	74,054	62,525	1.95	76.4
2094	projection	5,859,749	2.8–12.1 million	73,556	63,061	1.94	76.5
2095	projection	5,867,810	2.8–12.3 million	73,108	63,592	1.93	76.7
2096	projection	5,875,495	2.8–12.4 million	72,727	64,075	1.93	76.8
2097	projection	5,879,575	2.7–12.6 million	72,314	64,589	1.92	76.9
2098	projection	5,884,380	2.7–12.8 million	71,949	65,139	1.92	77.1
2099	projection	5,889,803	2.7–12.8 million	71,565	65,673	1.92	77.2
2100	projection	5,895,275	2.7–13.0 million	71,230	66,179	1.91	77.3

Show the numbers: Namibia, mid-2026, by single year of age

Namibia: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	38,618	38,424
1	38,303	38,133
2	37,748	37,586
3	38,460	38,328
4	41,510	41,320
5	43,289	43,278
6	41,226	41,633
7	39,273	39,576
8	38,944	39,088
9	38,296	38,578
10	37,486	38,078
11	36,333	36,913
12	35,095	35,424
13	33,469	34,028
14	32,346	33,094
15	32,317	32,978
16	31,043	31,635
17	29,435	29,972
18	28,618	29,002
19	27,720	27,682
20	27,266	26,706
21	26,630	25,944
22	25,750	25,178
23	25,168	24,782
24	25,204	25,042
25	26,269	26,131
26	27,102	26,926
27	26,755	26,766
28	25,873	26,201
29	25,262	25,740
30	25,125	25,654
31	25,175	25,971
32	25,154	26,313
33	24,648	26,006
34	23,924	25,374
35	23,292	24,830
36	22,266	23,736
37	21,100	22,296
38	19,941	20,990
39	18,790	19,940
40	18,164	19,398
41	17,847	19,087
42	17,300	18,504
43	16,406	17,426
44	15,667	16,474
45	15,253	16,047
46	14,664	15,432
47	14,120	14,620
48	13,644	13,933
49	12,947	13,284
50	12,416	12,852
51	12,057	12,612
52	11,445	12,154
53	10,534	11,302
54	9,760	10,538
55	9,358	10,266
56	8,948	10,106
57	8,310	9,698
58	7,620	9,077
59	7,036	8,464
60	6,646	8,048
61	6,455	7,992
62	6,254	8,208
63	5,742	7,985
64	5,203	7,378
65	4,992	7,122
66	4,780	6,920
67	4,322	6,318
68	3,792	5,582
69	3,372	5,022
70	3,049	4,604
71	2,736	4,217
72	2,464	3,900
73	2,224	3,622
74	1,992	3,367
75	1,786	3,159
76	1,601	2,954
77	1,410	2,671
78	1,238	2,387
79	1,092	2,185
80	946	1,993
81	804	1,784
82	670	1,572
83	549	1,370
84	444	1,182
85	354	1,012
86	278	859
87	216	722
88	164	601
89	124	499
90	92	410
91	67	328
92	46	258
93	32	199
94	22	152
95	14	114
96	10	84
97	6	62
98	4	44
99	2	30
100+	2	54

NAM · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

Namibia, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

NAM · ages 15–64

Who does the work in Namibia

On the UN's projection, Namibia will have the most working-age people it ever has in 2096: 3,751,310 people aged 15–64. In 2023 it had 1,752,270.

100 aged 15–64

63 children

6 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: take 100 people of working age — the orange row — and the two rows under it are the children (teal) and the people of 65 and over (violet) who lived alongside them in 2023.

At no point between 1950 and 2100 do fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 here.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: one stripe a year from 1950 to 2100. A stripe takes colour in a year when fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people of working age, and stays grey otherwise; hatching means the year is projected.

How every country compares

NAM · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in Namibia, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 Namibia gains 16,776 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 0–4, at 6,621 a year more arriving than leaving.

one square = 1,000 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: age runs left to right, babies to 100. A blue square above the line means arrivals outnumber departures at that age, an orange square below it means the opposite. The figures are the UN's projection for 2020–2025; nobody recorded migration by age before 2020.

Across the counted years, 1950 to 2023, its biggest single-year gain was 75,072 (1989); its biggest loss, 22,827 (1978).

In 2024, 116,035 people living in Namibia had been born in another country, 4 of every 100 people there, against 9 in 1990.

How migration works everywhere

NAM · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in Namibia

Of every 100 babies born in Namibia in 2023, 12 had a mother under 20, 71 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 17 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 10 under 20 and 23 aged 35 or older.

1950
10 · 67 · 23

2023
12 · 71 · 17

2050 · projected
11 · 70 · 19

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: one block a year, 100 squares in each, a square for every hundredth baby. The colour is the mother's age group, and the three numbers underneath are those groups in order, youngest first.

Babies born, 2023: 76,715
Average age when women have a baby: 28.9 years; 30.6 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 66; 81 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in Namibia by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	148	382	386	374	430	105
15–19	1,966	4,689	8,203	9,036	8,745	3,641
20–24	5,243	9,972	14,743	19,423	20,446	13,018
25–29	4,800	8,877	13,487	18,895	21,158	18,626
30–34	4,004	6,669	10,651	15,811	18,957	19,096
35–39	2,971	4,662	6,602	9,346	12,217	12,766
40–44	1,475	2,496	2,774	3,213	3,543	3,355
45–49	453	730	616	594	797	604
50–54	25	40	29	23	40	19
All babies	21,085	38,517	57,491	76,715	86,333	71,230

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

NAM · healthy years · 2021

Years in good health in Namibia

A baby born in Namibia in 2021 could expect 60.4 years of life, 52.8 of them in full health (95% range 51.9–53.7). The years in less than full health come to 7.6, below the world's 9.5: shorter lives leave fewer years in which to be ill.

Women

54.6 in full health, 8.8 not: 63.4 years

Men

51.0 in full health, 6.3 not: 57.3 years

a year in full health a year in less than full health

How to read this: each square is a year of life, each row ten years; filled squares are years in full health, rounded to whole years.

Women: 54.6 healthy years of 63.4. Men: 51.0 of 57.3. In 2019, before the pandemic, the healthy years were 55.5.

NAM · forced from home · end of 2025

Displacement in Namibia

At the end of 2025, Namibia was hosting 6,796 people who had crossed a border into it, about 2 of every 1,000 people living there.

hosted from abroad6,796
Namibia nationals abroad1,043

stayed inside their own country crossed a border

How to read this: one square stands for 200 people, so the rows can be compared with one another. The last row is people from Namibia living in another country, wherever they are.

In 2025, 469 people asked for asylum in Namibia for the first time; 114 people from Namibia asked for asylum in another country. Of every 100 people from Namibia whose claims were decided that year, 12 were given protection. Who asks for asylum, and who is given it

How the world's displacement is counted

NAM · of every 100 people

How people live in Namibia

Of every 100 people in Namibia in 2025, 21 lived in a city, 23 in a town or suburb and 56 in the countryside.

cities towns and suburbs rural areas

40.7 of every 100 have no electricity at home (2024). 35.1 of every 100 do not use the internet (2024).

How to read this: everyone here, shrunk to 100 squares, with the colour saying whether that hundredth person lives in a city, a town or the countryside. Every country is measured by the same rule.

How the world's people live

NAM · adults 25 and over · 2020

How far people in Namibia went in school

Of every 100 adults in Namibia in 2020, 11 never went to school and 30 finished upper secondary or went further.

11 never went to school 17 some primary 22 finished primary 20 finished lower secondary 21 finished upper secondary 9 studied after school

Among women, 2.8 of every 100 aged 25–29 never went to school, against 20.2 of every 100 aged 60–64; among men, 5 against 19.8.

The middle projection has its working-age people most numerous in 2075; those among them who finished upper secondary are still growing in 2100.

How to read this: every adult here as one of 100 squares. The stronger the colour, the further that person went in school (the Wittgenstein Centre, 2020).

How far the world's people went in school

NAM · cities · 2025

Cities in Namibia

Namibia had 4 cities in 2025, home to 654,649 people. The largest, Windhoek, holds 13 of every 100 people in Namibia.

Windhoek409,758
Swakopmund89,839
Kuisebmond86,747
Rundu68,305

How to read this: the 4 biggest cities here in 2025, drawn on a single scale so the bars can be compared. Each is a built-up area on the UN's rule rather than a city government's patch.

All the world's cities

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual country tables (estimates to 2023, projections with 95% intervals from 2024), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

The censuses, surveys and registers behind the UN's estimates for Namibia are listed, source by source, on the UN's own data sources page.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UNHCR · country code lists · UN WUP 2025 · Wittgenstein Centre · WHO GHO · flag-icons · Natural Earth. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.