Population growth in Namibia
Namibia: Population growth was 2.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Population growth in Namibia, 1961–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division. Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, population growth in Namibia stood at 2.0%.
The figure is down 8.5% on the previous year and down 22.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population growth in Namibia peaked at 6.3% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 1.1%, in 1981.
Namibia ranks 46th of 218 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Population growth in Namibia, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.9% | — |
| 1962 | 2.1% | +7.2% |
| 1963 | 2.2% | +6.6% |
| 1964 | 2.3% | +5.6% |
| 1965 | 2.5% | +4.7% |
| 1966 | 2.6% | +4.0% |
| 1967 | 2.7% | +4.8% |
| 1968 | 2.8% | +3.2% |
| 1969 | 2.8% | +2.6% |
| 1970 | 2.9% | +2.7% |
| 1971 | 3.0% | +1.4% |
| 1972 | 3.0% | +1.8% |
| 1973 | 3.0% | -0.1% |
| 1974 | 3.0% | +0.4% |
| 1975 | 3.1% | +2.0% |
| 1976 | 2.9% | -7.2% |
| 1977 | 2.7% | -6.5% |
| 1978 | 1.7% | -35.6% |
| 1979 | 1.6% | -5.4% |
| 1980 | 1.9% | +17.5% |
| 1981 | 1.1% | -41.4% |
| 1982 | 1.8% | +58.6% |
| 1983 | 2.7% | +49.4% |
| 1984 | 2.7% | +1.9% |
| 1985 | 2.9% | +5.5% |
| 1986 | 3.1% | +7.4% |
| 1987 | 3.2% | +4.3% |
| 1988 | 3.5% | +9.8% |
| 1989 | 6.3% | +80.4% |
| 1990 | 6.0% | -4.7% |
| 1991 | 3.3% | -44.9% |
| 1992 | 3.2% | -4.8% |
| 1993 | 3.2% | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 3.1% | -2.6% |
| 1995 | 2.9% | -6.5% |
| 1996 | 2.7% | -6.9% |
| 1997 | 2.6% | -4.3% |
| 1998 | 2.5% | -1.8% |
| 1999 | 2.5% | -2.2% |
| 2000 | 2.4% | -5.4% |
| 2001 | 2.1% | -11.2% |
| 2002 | 1.8% | -15.9% |
| 2003 | 1.4% | -17.8% |
| 2004 | 1.3% | -11.7% |
| 2005 | 1.3% | -1.7% |
| 2006 | 1.3% | +2.0% |
| 2007 | 1.3% | +4.2% |
| 2008 | 1.4% | +5.1% |
| 2009 | 1.5% | +5.1% |
| 2010 | 1.5% | +5.3% |
| 2011 | 1.7% | +10.8% |
| 2012 | 2.2% | +29.8% |
| 2013 | 2.6% | +16.9% |
| 2014 | 2.6% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 2.7% | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 2.7% | +1.7% |
| 2017 | 2.7% | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 2.8% | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 2.8% | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 2.9% | +4.0% |
| 2021 | 3.0% | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 2.8% | -6.0% |
| 2023 | 2.5% | -9.6% |
| 2024 | 2.2% | -10.9% |
| 2025 | 2.0% | -8.5% |
Namibia compared with similar countries
- Namibia's 2.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.7%, 1.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Namibia's 2.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.3%, 91% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Population growth in Namibia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | +80.4% | 3.5% | 6.3% |
| 1982 | +58.6% | 1.1% | 1.8% |
| 1983 | +49.4% | 1.8% | 2.7% |
| 1991 | -44.9% | 6.0% | 3.3% |
| 1981 | -41.4% | 1.9% | 1.1% |
| 1978 | -35.6% | 2.7% | 1.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.4% | 1.9% | 2.8% | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.7% | 1.6% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.9% | 1.1% | 6.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.2% | 2.5% | 6.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.6% | 1.3% | 2.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.4% | 1.5% | 2.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.6% | 2.0% | 3.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Namibia
More climate change data for Namibia
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 5.64 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 5,137 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1,753 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 3,384 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 6.62 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 120.84 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 57.2 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 54.43 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 2.77 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.2054 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population growth in Namibia?
- Population growth in Namibia was 2.0% in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest population growth recorded in Namibia?
- The highest recorded value was 6.3% in 1989.
- What is the lowest population growth recorded in Namibia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.1% in 1981.
- How does Namibia rank for population growth?
- Namibia ranks 46th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population growth rising or falling in Namibia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 22.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Namibia data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division, published as part of Population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.