Contents

- General Information
- Geography and Environment
- Population and HIV/AIDS
- Economy
- Communications, Information, Science and Technology
- Chronology of History

Population and Society

The population is of different origins. The principal groups in the northern part are the settled farmers of Ovambo, Kavango, Caprivian (Lozi); in the central part, the herders of Herero/Himba, Damara, Nama. Other ethnic groups are mixed race ("Colored" and Rehobot Baster), white (Afrikaner, German, and Portuguese), Bushman, and Tswana.

Population: 1,816,600 (2000 est.) [1]
Population density: 2.2 pers/km2 (2000) [1]

Urban population: 32.4% (1997) [3]
Rural population: 67.6% (1997) [3]

Average household size: 5.2 persons (1997) [3]

Table: Total Fertility Rate by region in 1991 and 1996 [2]

Table: Age structure by sex and broad age groups, and sex ratio in 1991 [4]

Click here to view the population pyramid by residence, age and sex of the year 1991. [4]

Population growth rate [5]
1970-1981, 2.9% per annum
1981-1991, 3.1% per annum
1991-2000 (proj.), 3.2% per annum

Under 5 mortality rate, per 1,000 [6]
114 in 1980, and 112 in 1998

Life expectancy at birth, 1998 [6]
Male: 54 years
Female: 55 years

Social indicators [6]
Prevalence of child malnutrition: 26% of children under 5 years in the period 1992-98
Population below the poverty line (survey year 1993, international poverty lines)

population below 1 US$ a day: 34.9%
poverty gap at 1 US$ a day: 14.0%
population below 2 US$ a day: 55.8%
poverty gap at 2 US$ a day: 30.4%

Health [6]
Public expenditure on health, 1990-98: 3.8% of GDP
Access to improved water source, 1990-96: 57% of total population with access
Access to sanitation, 1990-96: 34% of total population and 77% of population in urban areas with access

Languages spoken [4]
Bushman 27,229 (1.9%); Caprivi 66,008 (4.7%); Herero 112,916 (8.0%); Kavango 136,649 (9.7%); Nama/Damara 175,554 (12.5%); Ovambo 713,919 (50.6%); Tswana 6,050 (0.4%); Afrikaans 133,324 (9.5%); German 12,827 (0.9%); English 10,941 (0.8%); other European languages 5,298 (0.4%); other African languages 8,291 (0.6%); other languages 647 (0.05%); and not stated 267.

Literacy [4]
Population 10 years and over, defined as the ability to read and write in any language with understanding. This means that a person who can write but not read, or read but not write, is regarded as illiterate.

Table: Population by literacy status, 1991 [4]

The public expenditure on education was 1.5% of GNP in 1980 and 9.1% of GNP in 1997. [6] Based on historical ethnic segregation policy, a big gap in terms of literacy rate and educational level between the ethnic and linguistic groups still exists.

For more detailed information see Table: The educational profile of the population aged 6 years or more by age, area and sex, 1997.[4]

Table: Provision of water supply at schools, 1998 [1]

Migration
The causes and consequences of migration are complex. In Namibia 65% of the population lives in rural areas, where drought and marginal agricultural land are commonplace. Rural out-migration to cities is one of the coping strategies to improve survival of rural households. Other causes are wars (liberation wars began in the 1960s and lasted until 1989), land degradation, population pressure, attraction of the city, income inequalities, economic pressure, and others. The rate of urban population growth, primarily due to migration, is expected to continue if not to increase in Namibia.[7]

Table: Internal migration: In and out by region, sex and age [2]

HIV/AIDS:

To view the HIV/AIDS Surveillance Data Base of the U.S. Census Bureau [8], June 2000 release, and Reported HIV positive diagnosis, hospitalizations and deaths, STD cases, condom distribution, for 1999 [9], please click on the titles.

The Sentinel Surveillance Survey Database, after adjustment, is the basis of the PDE model input. Please see the Namibia Executive Summary for a discussion of those data.

Sources:
[1] Namibia, Rep. of. 2000. 2nd Development Plan. Windhoek: National Planning Commission. (electronic datafiles)

[2] Republic of Namibia. 2000. Population Projections 1991-2021 Namibia. National and Regional Figures. Windhoek: Central Statistics Office, National Planning Commission.

[3] Republic of Namibia. 1998. The National Labour Force Survey 1997. An interim report of analysis. Windhoek, Namibia: Ministry of Labour & Central Bureau of Statistics.

[4] Republic of Namibia. 1994. 1991 Population and Housing Census. Report B, Statistical Tables, Volume I. Windhoek. National Planning Commission, Central Statistics Office.

[5] Arowolo, O.O. 2000. Fertility in Namibia. Pages 253-272 in Ben Fuller and Isolde Prommer (eds.), Population-Development-Environment in Namibia. Background Readings. Laxenburg, Austria: IIASA, IR-00-031.

[6] The World Bank. 2000. World Development Report 2000/2001. Attacking Poverty. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press. The complete report is available on-line: http://worldbank.org/poverty/wdrpoverty/report/

[7] Pendleton, Wade and Bruce Frayne. 2000. Migration as a Population Dynamic in Namibia. Pages 273-296 in Ben Fuller and Isolde Prommer (eds.), Population-Development-Environment in Namibia. Background Readings. Laxenburg, Austria: IIASA, IR-00-031.

[8] U.S. Census Bureau. June 2000 Release. HIV/AIDS Surveillance Data Base. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau, International Projections, Center Population Division.
Or download the world wide database at: http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/hivaidsw.html

[9] F. van der Veen, EC Technical Advisor, National AIDS Co-ordination Programme (NAPCOP) of the Ministry of Health & Social Services, June 2000. Quoted in Republic of Namibia. 2000. 2nd Development Plan. Windhoek: National Planning Commission. (Electronic data files)

- General Information
- Geography and Environment
- Population and HIV/AIDS
- Economy
- Communications, Information, and Science and Technology
- Chronology of History