Polity · 1990 CE – present
Namibia
Republic of Namibia · Republik Namibia · Republiek van Namibië
Also recorded as Republic of Namibia
- Peak recorded area
- 824,758 km²
- 1886 CE
- Rulers on record
- 10
- from 1990 CE
- Data series
- 357
- 1990 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the northeast, approximating a quadripoint, Zimbabwe lies less than 200 metres away along the Zambezi river near Kazungula, Zambia. Namibia's capital and largest city is Windhoek.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
6 dated territorial extents on record from CShapes 2.0. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. Cliopatria holds 2 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 58 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population216 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 3.1Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 67.66years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 1,866persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 1.99% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 71.63years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 63.6years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 131 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 11.7Kint'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd82 obs · 1980 CE–2025 CE | 15.1Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita73 obs · 1950 CE–2022 CE | 7,979.332011 int'l $2022 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Fao Asses Stocks64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 164.1Khead2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Cattle Stocks64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 2.9Mhead2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Cereals Area Harvested64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 332Kha2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
Military
6 of 38 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Expenditure % GDP36 obs · 1990 CE–2024 CE | 2.73% of GDP2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Military Expenditure Usd35 obs · 1990 CE–2024 CE | 362.4Mcurrent US$2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Armed Forces Personnel30 obs · 1991 CE–2020 CE | 16Kpersons2020 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| CINC Score27 obs · 1990 CE–2016 CE | 0.0002CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production27 obs · 1990 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure27 obs · 1990 CE–2016 CE | 413Mcurrent USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 54 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.9717% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 7.81% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 47.14%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.27hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Agricultural Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 38.8Mha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Arable Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 800Kha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
Governance
6 of 26 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.623index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.343index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 2RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.827index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index124 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.515index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Largest Govt Party Vote Share49 obs · 1975 CE–2023 CE | 65.45percent2023 CE · Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023 |
Development
6 of 50 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.81index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Railway Line Km56 obs · 1862 CE–1922 CE | 2,261km1922 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10052 obs · 1960 CE–2023 CE | 87.68per_1002023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Tech Telephones43 obs · 1951 CE–2002 CE | 128.5Kcount2002 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Irrigated Area41 obs · 1961 CE–2001 CE | 7hectares2001 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Tractors41 obs · 1961 CE–2001 CE | 3,150count2001 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
10 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Hage GeingobHead of Government1990 CE – 2002 CE
- Sam NujomaHead of State1990 CE – 2005 CE
- Theo-Ben GurirabHead of Government2002 CE – 2005 CE
- Hifikepunye PohambaHead of State2005 CE – 2015 CE
- Nahas AngulaHead of Government2005 CE – 2012 CE
- Hage GeingobHead of State2015 CE – 2024 CE
- Saara KuugongelwaHead of Government2015 CE – 2025 CE
- Nangolo MbumbaHead of State2024 CE – 2025 CE
- Elijah NgurareHead of Government2025 CE –
- Netumbo Nandi-NdaitwahHead of State2025 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and South Africa
- Government type
- presidential republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Netumbo NANDI-NDAITWAH (since 21 March 2025); head of government: President Netumbo NANDI-NDAITWAH (since 21 March 2025); cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among members of the National Assembly;
- Ethnic groups
- Ovambo 50%, Kavangos 9%, Herero 7%, Damara 7%, mixed European and African ancestry 6.5%, European 6%, Nama 5%, Caprivian 4%, San 3%, Baster 2%, Tswana 0.5%
- Natural resources
- diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, silver, lead, tin, lithium, cadmium, tungsten, zinc, salt, hydropower, fish
- Economy
- upper middle-income, export-driven Sub-Saharan economy; natural resource rich; Walvis Bay port expansion for trade; high potential for renewable power generation and energy independence; major nature-based tourist locale; natural resource rich; shortage of skilled labor
Language & currency
- Currency
- Namibian dollars (NAD)
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1990 CE –
- SADCSADCEconomic bloc · founding member1992 CE –
- 4-member Defense Pact (1999)Military alliance · member1999 CE – 2001 CE
- African UnionAUInternational organisation · founding member2002 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
CIA World Factbook 2024
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
CShapes 2.02.0
Schvitz, G. et al. (2022). Mapping the International System, 1886-2019: The CShapes 2.0 Dataset. Journal of Conflict Resolution 66(1).
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023DPI 2023
Cruz, C., Keefer, P. & Scartascini, C. (2023). Database of Political Institutions 2023. Inter-American Development Bank.
IDB open data, attribution
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0