Namibia in Numbers

2023 Age Distribution

The 2023 Census showed a very youthful age distribution in Namibia, with over 70% of the population under the age of 35 and 43% of the population under the age of 18.

Females continue to outlive males in Namibia, with the number of reported deaths for males higher than for females (despite more females in Namibia) across all ages except for those aged 80+.

Young dependents (age 0-14) make up 37% of the population, while the economically active group (age 15-59) make up 56% of the population. Elderly dependents (age 60+) make up 7% of the population.

Although 1.7 million Namibians are of working age, only about half of those of working age are in the labour force, with those excluded from the labour force being students, people with disablities, retirees, discouraged jobseekers, and others.

Dependency ratios have worsened from 2011 to 2023, particularly in urban areas, where the total dependency ratio increased from 52% in 2011 to 58% in 2023, while in rural areas, it has risen from 102% to 104% (indicating more dependents than working-age individuals).

The significant increase in urban youth dependency particularly points to a more rapid entry of young jobseekers into the labour force going forward, which could exacerbate unemployment if job creation continues at its current (insufficient) pace.

– Tannan Groenewald is the head of data & analytics at Cirrus.

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