Name
The country's name comes from the coastal Namib Desert. "Namib" comes from the local Nama language and means "an area where there is nothing."
Source: CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · text generated from this source, approved by a person
Country
Namibia
20.58° S, 17.11° E
Life expectancy of 65.9 years — the 26th lowest of 224 countries.
life expectancy 65.9 years · 199th/224
CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · ranks computed across the countries in this atlas that carry the value
- Population
- 2,494,530
- Natural Earth population estimate.
- Area
- 824,292 km²
- Official total area (land + water) from the CIA World Factbook. Computed from the Natural Earth boundary: ≈ 822,547 km².
- Population density
- ≈ 3 / km²
- Population divided by the computed boundary area.
- ISO codes
- NA · NAM
- GDP (nominal)
- $13.37 billion
- Field “Economy → GDP (official exchange rate)” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- GDP per capita (PPP)
- $10,300
- Field “Economy → Real GDP per capita → Real GDP per capita 2024” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Namibia 824,292 km²Myanmar 676,578 km²
geometry: Natural Earth 1:50m · EPSG:6933 equal-area
Where Namibia sits in the world
Each line is every country in this atlas that carries the value, ordered smallest to largest. The line down the middle is the world median; the mark on each line is this country.
- Median age23.1 years178th of 224 · median 32.6 years
- Life expectancy65.9 years199th of 224 · median 76.2 years
- Fertility rate2.85 children per woman50th of 225 · median 1.92 children per woman
- Population2,494,530144th of 235 · median 5,454,073
- Total area824,292 km²35th of 228 · median 83,736 km²
- Coastline1,572 km65th of 229 · median 402 km
Overview
Background
Various ethnic groups occupied southwestern Africa before Germany established a colony over most of the territory in 1884. South Africa occupied the colony, then known as German South West Africa, in 1915 during World War I. South Africa administered it as a mandate until after World War II, when it annexed the territory. In 1966, the Marxist South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) guerrilla group launched a war of independence for the area that became Namibia. It was not until 1988 that South Africa agreed to end its administration in accordance with a UN peace plan for the entire region.
Namibia gained independence in 1990, and SWAPO has governed it since, although the party has dropped much of its Marxist ideology. President Hage Geingob was elected in 2014 in a landslide victory, replacing Hifikepunye Pohamba, who stepped down after serving two terms. SWAPO retained its parliamentary super majority in the 2014 elections. In 2019 elections, Geingob was reelected by a substantially reduced majority, and SWAPO narrowly lost its super majority in parliament.
Source: CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · text generated from this source, approved by a person
People and society
Its people include Ovambo, Kavangos, Herero, Damara, mixed European and African ancestry, and European. Nama, Caprivian, San, Baster, and Tswana are also among its ethnic groups.
People identify as Christian, Muslim, Baha'i, Jewish, Buddhist, or unaffiliated. Population density is very low, with the largest clusters found in the extreme north-central area along the border with Angola.
Source: CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · text generated from this source, approved by a person
Government
Government takes the form of a presidential republic. Its legal system is a mixed system of uncodified civil law based on Roman-Dutch law and customary law. The Constitution was adopted 9 February 1990 and entered into force 21 March 1990. Namibia gained independence from South African mandate on 21 March 1990. The national holiday is Independence Day, 21 March (1990).
Source: CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · text generated from this source, approved by a person
Key figures
CIA World Factbook
Economy
- GDP (nominal)
- $13.37 billion
- Field “Economy → GDP (official exchange rate)” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- GDP (PPP)
- $31.15 billion
- Field “Economy → Real GDP (purchasing power parity) → Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2024” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- GDP per capita (PPP)
- $10,300
- Field “Economy → Real GDP per capita → Real GDP per capita 2024” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- GDP growth
- +3.7%
- Field “Economy → Real GDP growth rate → Real GDP growth rate 2024” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- Inflation (consumer prices)
- 4.2%
- Field “Economy → Inflation rate (consumer prices) → Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2024” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- Unemployment
- 19.2%
- Field “Economy → Unemployment rate → Unemployment rate 2024” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- Exports
- $5.89 billion
- Field “Economy → Exports → Exports 2024” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- Imports
- $9.2 billion
- Field “Economy → Imports → Imports 2024” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
People
- Life expectancy
- 65.9 years
- Field “People and Society → Life expectancy at birth → total population” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- Median age
- 23.1 years
- Field “People and Society → Median age → total” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- Birth rate
- 23.93 per 1,000
- Field “People and Society → Birth rate” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- Death rate
- 6.36 per 1,000
- Field “People and Society → Death rate” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- Fertility rate
- 2.85 children per woman
- Field “People and Society → Total fertility rate” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- Population growth
- +1.76% a year
- Field “People and Society → Population growth rate” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- Urban population
- 54.9%
- Field “People and Society → Urbanization → urban population” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- Literacy
- 87.6%
- Field “People and Society → Literacy → total population” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- Languages
- Oshiwambo languages49.7%
- Nama/Damara11%
- Kavango languages10.4%
- Afrikaans9.4%
- Herero languages9.2%
- Zambezi languages4.9%
- Englishofficial2.3%
- others1%
- Field “People and Society → Languages” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- Religions
- Christian97.5%
- unaffiliated1.9%
- other0.6%
- Field “People and Society → Religions” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Land
- Total area
- 824,292 km²Land 823,290 km² · Water 1,002 km²
- Field “Geography → Area → total” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- Coastline
- 1,572 km
- Field “Geography → Coastline” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- Land borders
- 4,220 km
- Field “Geography → Land boundaries → total” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- Mean elevation
- 1,141 m
- Field “Geography → Elevation → mean elevation” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
- Highest point
- 2,573 m Konigstein on Brandberg
- Field “Geography → Elevation → highest point” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Values from the CIA World Factbook archive. Each carries the year it describes; open a year for the exact source field.
Connections
Natural geography 7
Natural Earth outlines · features with a Wikidata ID
Oceans 1
Mountain ranges 1
Plateaus 1
Deserts 3
Geographic regions 1
Largest cities 3
Population · Natural Earth
- Windhoekcapital268.1K
- Rundu58.2K
- Walvis Bay52.1K