In Namibia, around 547 000 individuals out of a working- age population of 1.88 million report being employed. During the 2023 census, these employed respondents were asked about their monthly gross salary or income.
The most common responses fell within the bracket of N$1 000 or less.
After excluding those who gave no clear answer (‘refused’ or ‘don’t know’), 20.9% report- ed earning within this lowest bracket. Nearly two-thirds of the employed population who provided an answer reported earning less than N$5 000 per month.
Namibians are liable for tax payments once annual income exceeds N$100 000 per finan- cial year (N$8 333 per month). On this basis, it can be roughly estimated that a maximum of just under 115 000 individuals (3.8% of the total population) fall within the taxpayer base. This means every taxpayer in Namibia effectively supports 26.4 other Namibians.
Total personal income tax revenue to the government is estimated at just over N$20 billion in the 2024/25 financial year. This implies that, on aver- age, each taxpayer contributes around N$14 600 per month in personal income tax.
This figure is, however, highly skewed: a small proportion of high-income earners account for a disproportionately large share of collections. It should also be noted that not everyone earning more than N$8 333 per month pays income tax, as some operate within the informal economy.
Namibia’s taxpayer base, at 3.8% of the total population, stands in stark contrast to South Africa, where 12.1% of the population contributes to the taxpayer base, highlighting how heavily Namibia relies on a very small pool of taxpayers to sustain the broader population.
– Tannan Groenewald is the head of data and analytics at Cirrus Capital.
