Namibia Demographics: Median age, Gender, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Namibia vs World

Table

Year	Median age
	Namibia	World
1960	18.9	22.5
1961	18.7	22.5
1962	18.6	22.4
1963	18.5	22.2
1964	18.4	22
1965	18.4	21.8
1966	18.3	21.7
1967	18.3	21.6
1968	18.2	21.5
1969	18.1	21.5
1970	18.1	21.4
1971	18	21.4
1972	17.9	21.5
1973	17.8	21.5
1974	17.7	21.6
1975	17.6	21.7
1976	17.5	21.9
1977	17.3	22
1978	17	22.2
1979	16.8	22.3
1980	16.6	22.5
1981	16.4	22.6
1982	16.3	22.7
1983	16.4	22.9
1984	16.5	23
1985	16.7	23.2
1986	16.9	23.3
1987	17	23.4
1988	17.3	23.6
1989	17.8	23.8
1990	18.3	23.9
1991	18.4	24.1
1992	18.4	24.3
1993	18.5	24.5
1994	18.5	24.7
1995	18.6	25
1996	18.7	25.2
1997	18.8	25.4
1998	18.9	25.7
1999	18.9	25.9
2000	19	26.1
2001	19.1	26.3
2002	19.2	26.5
2003	19.3	26.7
2004	19.4	27
2005	19.6	27.2
2006	19.7	27.4
2007	19.9	27.6
2008	20	27.8
2009	20.3	28
2010	20.5	28.2
2011	20.7	28.4
2012	20.9	28.6
2013	21.1	28.9
2014	21.3	29.1
2015	21.4	29.3
2016	21.5	29.5
2017	21.6	29.8
2018	21.7	30
2019	21.8	30.3
2020	21.8	30.6
2021	21.8	30.8
2022	21.8	31
2023	21.9	31.3
2024	22.1	31.6
2025	22.3	31.9
2026	22.5	32.1
2027	22.7	32.3
2028	22.9	32.6
2029	23	32.8
2030	23.2	33
2031	23.4	33.2
2032	23.6	33.4
2033	23.9	33.6
2034	24.1	33.8
2035	24.4	34
2036	24.6	34.2
2037	24.9	34.4
2038	25.1	34.6
2039	25.4	34.8
2040	25.7	35
2041	26	35.2
2042	26.3	35.4
2043	26.6	35.6
2044	26.9	35.8
2045	27.2	36
2046	27.5	36.2
2047	27.8	36.4
2048	28.2	36.6
2049	28.5	36.8
2050	28.9	37.1

In 1960, the median age in Namibia was 18.9 years compared to the world's average of 22.5 years. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 22.1 years compared to the world's average of 31.6 years. Ranked 118th for median age 64 years ago (old to young), Namibia ranks 147th currently.

According to the United Nations projections, the median age in Namibia is expected to increase to around 28.9 years by 2050. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

Namibia demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	Namibia
	Male	Female
0-4	6.7%	6.69%
5-9	6.29%	6.35%
10-14	5.43%	5.52%
15-19	4.7%	4.67%
20-24	4.34%	4.27%
25-29	4.21%	4.27%
30-34	3.93%	4.14%
35-39	3.18%	3.35%
40-44	2.64%	2.78%
45-49	2.19%	2.24%
50-54	1.7%	1.82%
55-59	1.24%	1.46%
60-64	0.94%	1.29%
65-69	0.62%	0.9%
70-74	0.38%	0.61%
75-79	0.22%	0.41%
80+	0.15%	0.4%

The chart above is a variation of the population pyramid and represents the age and gender structure. Namibia has average demographic potential with 71.5% of people in the 0-34 age group (ranked 43/196).

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Namibia			World
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	87.4%	79.1%	8.24%	73.5%	64.9%	8.62%
1961	87.9%	79.7%	8.25%	73.8%	65.1%	8.67%
1962	88.4%	80.2%	8.26%	74.1%	65.4%	8.73%
1963	89%	80.8%	8.27%	74.9%	66.1%	8.79%
1964	89.6%	81.3%	8.28%	75.5%	66.6%	8.85%
1965	90.1%	81.8%	8.29%	75.8%	66.8%	8.93%
1966	90.6%	82.3%	8.3%	75.9%	66.9%	9%
1967	91.1%	82.8%	8.3%	75.9%	66.8%	9.07%
1968	91.6%	83.3%	8.3%	75.8%	66.6%	9.14%
1969	92.1%	83.8%	8.29%	75.7%	66.5%	9.2%
1970	92.5%	84.3%	8.26%	75.5%	66.2%	9.26%
1971	93.1%	84.8%	8.22%	75.2%	65.9%	9.33%
1972	93.6%	85.4%	8.16%	74.9%	65.6%	9.39%
1973	94.2%	86.1%	8.11%	74.6%	65.1%	9.46%
1974	94.9%	86.9%	8.06%	74.4%	64.9%	9.54%
1975	95.6%	87.5%	8.01%	74.2%	64.6%	9.64%
1976	96.5%	88.5%	8%	74%	64.3%	9.72%
1977	97.5%	89.5%	8.01%	73.5%	63.7%	9.79%
1978	99.8%	91.6%	8.15%	72.4%	62.5%	9.84%
1979	101.8%	93.5%	8.28%	71.3%	61.4%	9.88%
1980	102.9%	94.5%	8.33%	70.4%	60.5%	9.89%
1981	105%	96.5%	8.47%	69.5%	59.6%	9.85%
1982	105.4%	96.9%	8.49%	68.7%	58.9%	9.79%
1983	104.1%	95.7%	8.35%	67.9%	58.1%	9.72%
1984	102.6%	94.4%	8.2%	67%	57.3%	9.68%
1985	100.9%	92.8%	8.04%	66.3%	56.6%	9.68%
1986	98.9%	91%	7.84%	65.7%	55.9%	9.71%
1987	96.8%	89.2%	7.63%	65.2%	55.4%	9.75%
1988	94.4%	87%	7.38%	64.8%	54.9%	9.81%
1989	88.6%	81.8%	6.83%	64.4%	54.5%	9.89%
1990	84.4%	78%	6.41%	64.2%	54.3%	9.97%
1991	84%	77.7%	6.3%	64%	53.9%	10.1%
1992	83.8%	77.6%	6.22%	63.7%	53.6%	10.2%
1993	83.6%	77.4%	6.14%	63.5%	53.2%	10.3%
1994	83.4%	77.3%	6.06%	63.1%	52.7%	10.4%
1995	83%	77%	5.98%	62.7%	52.2%	10.5%
1996	82.5%	76.6%	5.91%	62.1%	51.5%	10.6%
1997	82.1%	76.2%	5.84%	61.5%	50.8%	10.7%
1998	81.7%	75.9%	5.78%	60.7%	50%	10.7%
1999	81.3%	75.5%	5.73%	60%	49.2%	10.8%
2000	80.7%	75%	5.68%	59.3%	48.4%	10.9%
2001	79.9%	74.3%	5.65%	58.5%	47.6%	11%
2002	78.9%	73.3%	5.62%	57.8%	46.7%	11.1%
2003	77.6%	72%	5.6%	57%	45.9%	11.1%
2004	76%	70.4%	5.59%	56.3%	45.1%	11.2%
2005	74.2%	68.6%	5.58%	55.6%	44.3%	11.3%
2006	72.2%	66.6%	5.57%	55%	43.6%	11.4%
2007	70.5%	64.9%	5.58%	54.5%	43.1%	11.4%
2008	69.1%	63.4%	5.61%	54.1%	42.6%	11.5%
2009	68%	62.3%	5.66%	53.8%	42.2%	11.6%
2010	67.3%	61.6%	5.72%	53.5%	41.9%	11.6%
2011	67.1%	61.3%	5.79%	53.4%	41.6%	11.8%
2012	67%	61.2%	5.83%	53.3%	41.4%	11.9%
2013	67%	61.1%	5.85%	53.4%	41.2%	12.1%
2014	66.8%	61%	5.87%	53.5%	41.1%	12.4%
2015	66.8%	60.9%	5.89%	53.6%	40.9%	12.7%
2016	66.9%	61%	5.92%	53.7%	40.7%	13%
2017	67.3%	61.3%	5.94%	53.9%	40.6%	13.3%
2018	67.8%	61.8%	5.97%	54.1%	40.4%	13.7%
2019	68.2%	62.2%	6.01%	54.2%	40.1%	14%
2020	68.7%	62.6%	6.03%	54.2%	39.8%	14.4%
2021	69.2%	63.2%	6%	54.2%	39.5%	14.7%
2022	69.5%	63.5%	5.97%	54%	39%	15%
2023	69.1%	63.1%	6.04%	53.9%	38.5%	15.4%
2024	68.5%	62.3%	6.19%	53.7%	38%	15.7%

Age dependency is the ratio of people not in the labor force (children under 15 and adults 64+) to people aged 15 to 64. Age dependency in Namibia decreased from 76% to 68.5% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of children and an increased proportion of people aged 65+

Namibia working age demographic chart

Table

Year	Working age population share
	Namibia	World
1960	53.4%	57.6%
1961	53.2%	57.5%
1962	53.1%	57.4%
1963	52.9%	57.2%
1964	52.7%	57%
1965	52.6%	56.9%
1966	52.5%	56.8%
1967	52.3%	56.9%
1968	52.2%	56.9%
1969	52.1%	56.9%
1970	51.9%	57%
1971	51.8%	57.1%
1972	51.7%	57.2%
1973	51.5%	57.3%
1974	51.3%	57.3%
1975	51.1%	57.4%
1976	50.9%	57.5%
1977	50.6%	57.7%
1978	50.1%	58%
1979	49.6%	58.4%
1980	49.3%	58.7%
1981	48.8%	59%
1982	48.7%	59.3%
1983	49%	59.6%
1984	49.4%	59.9%
1985	49.8%	60.1%
1986	50.3%	60.4%
1987	50.8%	60.5%
1988	51.4%	60.7%
1989	53%	60.8%
1990	54.2%	60.9%
1991	54.4%	61%
1992	54.4%	61.1%
1993	54.5%	61.2%
1994	54.5%	61.3%
1995	54.6%	61.5%
1996	54.8%	61.7%
1997	54.9%	61.9%
1998	55%	62.2%
1999	55.2%	62.5%
2000	55.3%	62.8%
2001	55.6%	63.1%
2002	55.9%	63.4%
2003	56.3%	63.7%
2004	56.8%	64%
2005	57.4%	64.3%
2006	58.1%	64.5%
2007	58.7%	64.7%
2008	59.2%	64.9%
2009	59.5%	65%
2010	59.8%	65.1%
2011	59.9%	65.2%
2012	59.9%	65.2%
2013	59.9%	65.2%
2014	59.9%	65.2%
2015	60%	65.1%
2016	59.9%	65.1%
2017	59.8%	65%
2018	59.6%	64.9%
2019	59.5%	64.9%
2020	59.3%	64.8%
2021	59.1%	64.9%
2022	59%	64.9%
2023	59.1%	65%
2024	59.3%	65.1%
2025	59.6%	65.2%
2026	59.8%	65.3%
2027	60.1%	65.4%
2028	60.3%	65.4%
2029	60.7%	65.4%
2030	61.1%	65.4%
2031	61.6%	65.4%
2032	62%	65.4%
2033	62.5%	65.4%
2034	62.9%	65.3%
2035	63.4%	65.2%
2036	64%	65%
2037	64.4%	64.9%
2038	64.6%	64.7%
2039	64.8%	64.6%
2040	64.9%	64.5%
2041	65%	64.4%
2042	65.1%	64.3%
2043	65.2%	64.2%
2044	65.3%	64.1%
2045	65.4%	63.9%
2046	65.4%	63.8%
2047	65.5%	63.7%
2048	65.5%	63.6%
2049	65.5%	63.4%
2050	65.5%	63.3%

The share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 in Namibia changed from 56.8% to 59.3% between 2004 and 2024.

Share of young population (0-14 years)

Table

Year	Share of population 0-14 years old
	Namibia	World
1960	42.2%	37.4%
1961	42.4%	37.5%
1962	42.6%	37.6%
1963	42.7%	37.8%
1964	42.9%	38%
1965	43%	38%
1966	43.2%	38%
1967	43.3%	38%
1968	43.5%	37.9%
1969	43.6%	37.8%
1970	43.8%	37.7%
1971	43.9%	37.6%
1972	44.1%	37.5%
1973	44.3%	37.3%
1974	44.6%	37.2%
1975	44.8%	37.1%
1976	45%	36.9%
1977	45.3%	36.7%
1978	45.9%	36.3%
1979	46.3%	35.9%
1980	46.6%	35.5%
1981	47.1%	35.2%
1982	47.2%	34.9%
1983	46.9%	34.6%
1984	46.6%	34.3%
1985	46.2%	34%
1986	45.8%	33.8%
1987	45.3%	33.6%
1988	44.8%	33.4%
1989	43.4%	33.2%
1990	42.3%	33%
1991	42.2%	32.9%
1992	42.2%	32.7%
1993	42.2%	32.5%
1994	42.2%	32.3%
1995	42.1%	32.1%
1996	42%	31.8%
1997	41.9%	31.5%
1998	41.8%	31.1%
1999	41.7%	30.8%
2000	41.5%	30.4%
2001	41.3%	30%
2002	41%	29.6%
2003	40.5%	29.2%
2004	40%	28.8%
2005	39.4%	28.5%
2006	38.7%	28.1%
2007	38.1%	27.9%
2008	37.5%	27.6%
2009	37.1%	27.5%
2010	36.8%	27.3%
2011	36.7%	27.1%
2012	36.6%	27%
2013	36.6%	26.9%
2014	36.5%	26.8%
2015	36.5%	26.6%
2016	36.5%	26.5%
2017	36.7%	26.4%
2018	36.8%	26.2%
2019	37%	26%
2020	37.1%	25.8%
2021	37.4%	25.6%
2022	37.5%	25.3%
2023	37.3%	25%
2024	37%	24.7%
2025	36.7%	24.4%
2026	36.3%	24.1%
2027	35.9%	23.8%
2028	35.5%	23.4%
2029	35.1%	23.1%
2030	34.6%	22.8%
2031	34%	22.6%
2032	33.5%	22.3%
2033	32.9%	22.1%
2034	32.4%	21.9%
2035	31.8%	21.7%
2036	31.1%	21.6%
2037	30.6%	21.5%
2038	30.3%	21.4%
2039	30%	21.3%
2040	29.7%	21.2%
2041	29.5%	21.1%
2042	29.2%	21%
2043	29%	21%
2044	28.8%	20.9%
2045	28.5%	20.8%
2046	28.3%	20.7%
2047	28.1%	20.7%
2048	27.9%	20.6%
2049	27.7%	20.5%
2050	27.5%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in Namibia decreased from 40% to 37% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in birth rates.

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Namibia	World
1960	4.4%	4.97%
1961	4.39%	4.99%
1962	4.38%	5.01%
1963	4.38%	5.02%
1964	4.37%	5.04%
1965	4.36%	5.08%
1966	4.35%	5.12%
1967	4.34%	5.16%
1968	4.33%	5.2%
1969	4.31%	5.24%
1970	4.29%	5.28%
1971	4.26%	5.32%
1972	4.22%	5.37%
1973	4.18%	5.42%
1974	4.14%	5.47%
1975	4.1%	5.53%
1976	4.07%	5.59%
1977	4.05%	5.65%
1978	4.08%	5.71%
1979	4.1%	5.77%
1980	4.11%	5.81%
1981	4.13%	5.81%
1982	4.13%	5.8%
1983	4.09%	5.79%
1984	4.05%	5.8%
1985	4%	5.82%
1986	3.94%	5.86%
1987	3.88%	5.91%
1988	3.8%	5.95%
1989	3.62%	6.01%
1990	3.48%	6.07%
1991	3.43%	6.14%
1992	3.38%	6.21%
1993	3.34%	6.29%
1994	3.3%	6.37%
1995	3.27%	6.45%
1996	3.24%	6.53%
1997	3.21%	6.61%
1998	3.18%	6.68%
1999	3.16%	6.76%
2000	3.14%	6.84%
2001	3.14%	6.92%
2002	3.14%	7.01%
2003	3.15%	7.1%
2004	3.18%	7.18%
2005	3.2%	7.26%
2006	3.24%	7.34%
2007	3.28%	7.41%
2008	3.32%	7.47%
2009	3.37%	7.52%
2010	3.42%	7.58%
2011	3.46%	7.66%
2012	3.49%	7.78%
2013	3.5%	7.92%
2014	3.52%	8.08%
2015	3.53%	8.26%
2016	3.54%	8.45%
2017	3.55%	8.65%
2018	3.56%	8.88%
2019	3.57%	9.1%
2020	3.58%	9.33%
2021	3.55%	9.53%
2022	3.52%	9.74%
2023	3.57%	9.98%
2024	3.67%	10.2%
2025	3.79%	10.4%
2026	3.9%	10.6%
2027	4%	10.8%
2028	4.12%	11.1%
2029	4.23%	11.5%
2030	4.32%	11.7%
2031	4.4%	12%
2032	4.48%	12.3%
2033	4.57%	12.6%
2034	4.68%	12.8%
2035	4.79%	13.1%
2036	4.9%	13.4%
2037	5%	13.7%
2038	5.12%	13.9%
2039	5.26%	14.1%
2040	5.4%	14.3%
2041	5.53%	14.5%
2042	5.66%	14.7%
2043	5.8%	14.9%
2044	5.95%	15%
2045	6.1%	15.2%
2046	6.26%	15.4%
2047	6.41%	15.7%
2048	6.58%	15.9%
2049	6.77%	16.1%
2050	6.96%	16.3%

The share of older people aged 65 and over in Namibia increased from 3.18% to 3.67% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in life expectancy.