Namibia Population 2024 (Live)

3,046,588

Namibia does not have a population growth rate as high as some neighboring countries, but it is growing steadily at 2% per year. This trend is expected continue for the next few years.

Population Rank
Growth Rate
2024 World Percentage
Land Area
823,290
The current population of Namibia is 3,046,588 based on projections of the latest United Nations data. The UN estimates the July 1, 2024 population at 3,030,130.

Namibia Growth Rate

Namibia Population Clock

Namibia Population (as of 10/2/2024)3,046,588
Last UN Estimate (July 1, 2024)3,030,130
Births per Day215
Deaths per Day51
Migrations per Day12
Net Change per Day175
Population Change Since Jan. 148,300

Components of Population Change

One birth every 6.7 minutes
One death every 28.23 minutes
One immigrant every 120 minutes
Net gain of one person every 8.23 minutes

Namibia Population Clock

Namibia Population Density Map

City
2024 Pop.
Windhoek268,132
Rundu58,172
Walvis Bay52,058
Oshakati33,618
Swakopmund25,047
Katima Mulilo25,027
Grootfontein24,099
Rehoboth21,377
Katutura21,243
Otjiwarongo21,224

Population Growth and Population Density

Namibia is one of the least densely populated countries in the world with just 3.13 people per square kilometer, which ranks 226th worldwide. The only sovereign country that is less densely populated is Mongolia with 2 people per square kilometers. The largest city and capital is Windhoek, with a population of about 268,000. This is the only city with a population exceeding 100,000. The next-largest cities are Rundu and Walvis Bay, with about 55,000 people each.

Year
Population
Change
Density (/km²)
Population Rank
Density Rank
20243,030,1302.71%4139226
20232,963,1002.83%4139226
20202,728,7602.95%3143227
20192,650,4902.84%3143227
20182,577,3302.81%3143227
20172,506,8502.77%3143227
20152,374,3002.39%3143227
20102,109,8101.42%3142227
20051,966,5801.58%2145227
20001,818,6502.57%2146226
19951,602,1703.19%2147226
19901,369,3004.54%2148226
19851,096,8902.25%1150226
1980981,4342.18%1149226
1975881,0323.06%1148226
1970757,8682.79%1148226
1965660,5582.23%1147226
1960591,4651.57%1147226
1955547,0821.23%1148226

Namibia Population by Year (Historical)

Year
Population
Change
Density (/km²)
Population Rank
Density Rank
20243,030,1302.71%4139226
20253,092,8202.54%4138226
20303,389,9601.85%4134226
20353,678,8801.65%4133224
20403,962,4001.5%5132223
20454,243,3501.38%5132221
20504,512,3001.24%5131221
20554,764,8701.09%6131221
20604,992,7800.94%6129221
20655,189,9100.78%6125221
20705,361,9500.65%7125221
20755,507,2300.54%7126221
20805,635,0600.46%7124220
20855,736,7600.36%7123220
20905,817,1700.28%7122220
20955,871,6500.19%7121219

Namibia Population by Year (Projections)

Namibia Population Pyramid 2024

Namibia Median Age

21.8

Total

21.1

Male

22.6

Female

Namibia Population by Age

There are people over age 18 in Namibia.

Census Years

Year
Date
2021August 2021
201110 September 2011
200128 August 2001
199121 October 1991

Namibia Population Pyramid

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa named for the Namib Desert that is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Angola, Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa. It does not quite actually border Zimbabwe, but the distance between the two countries is just the width of a 200-meter-wide riverbed at the closest point.

Namibia Demographics

Most Namibian people are of Bantu-speaking origin. The largest ethnic group is the Ovambo (49.8%), who live mostly in the north of the country and in towns throughout Namibia. Other ethnic groups include Kavango (9.3%), Damara (7.5%), Herero (7.5%), white (6.4%), Nama (4.8%) Caprivian (3.7%), San (2.9%), and Basters (2.5%).

The Khoisan (including the San and Nama) are descended from original inhabitants of Southern Africa. Namibia also has many descendants of Angolan refugees. There are two groups of mixed race people in Namibia: "Coloureds" (4.1%) and "Basters." Namibia also has a large Chinese minority.

Whites (Portuguese, British, German and Afrikaner) account for 6.4% of the population and make up the second-largest group of European ancestry in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most Namibian whites and most of the people of mixed race speak Afrikaans. A small amount of whites in the country are descendants of German colonial settlers.

In terms of religions among the population, Christians account for 80-90 (approximately 50% of this is Lutheran) of the population, while 10-20% have indigenous beliefs.

The median age of the Namibian population is at 21.2 years, with a life expectancy of 64 years overall. The current fertility rate as of 2018 is 3.29 children per woman with a maternal mean age of 21.5 years at the time of first birth. The infant mortality rate is at 35.1 deaths per 1,000 live births, ranking 55th in the world as of 2017.

Quality of Life in Namibia

91% of the population has access to clean drinking water overall while 65% of the population struggles to gain access to improved sanitation facilities. This contributes to a high risk of disease and illness in the area.

Literacy ability is currently estimated to be at 81.9% of the total population over the age of 15 years.

Namibia Population Rank 2024
Area (km²)
825,615
2024 Growth Rate
Capital
Windhoek
GDP (IMF '24)
$12.77
GDP (UN '22)
$12.61 Bn

Sources