Life expectancy in Namibia

Namibia: Life expectancy was 60.36 Years in 2021. β–² Rising

Latest (2021)
60.36 Years
Change on year
down 5.3%
World rank
174th
of 185 countries
All-time high
63.75 Years
in 2020
All-time low
51.39 Years
in 2003
Years of data
22
2000–2021

Life expectancy in Namibia, 2000–2021

02040602000201020212000: 53 Years2001: 52.4 Years2002: 51.7 Years2003: 51.4 Years2004: 51.6 Years2005: 52.8 Years2006: 54.7 Years2007: 56.8 Years2008: 58.6 Years2009: 59.5 Years2010: 60.1 Years2011: 60.9 Years2012: 61.5 Years2013: 61.9 Years2014: 61.9 Years2015: 61.9 Years2016: 62.1 Years2017: 62.4 Years2018: 62.8 Years2019: 63.5 Years2020: 63.8 Years2021: 60.4 Years

Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in Years.

Analysis

The most recent figure for life expectancy in Namibia is 60.36 Years, measured in 2021.

That represents a change of down 5.3% on the previous year and down 0.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in Namibia peaked at 63.75 Years in 2020 and was at its lowest, 51.39 Years, in 2003.

Namibia ranks 174th of 185 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 54.27 Years 51.39 Years 59.5 Years 10
2010s 61.89 Years 60.12 Years 63.49 Years 10
2020s 62.06 Years 60.36 Years 63.75 Years 2

Countries ranked near Namibia

  1. 171 Sierra Leone 61.02 Years compare
  2. 172 Zambia 60.97 Years compare
  3. 173 Kiribati 60.87 Years compare
  4. 175 Niger 59.97 Years compare
  5. 176 Afghanistan 59.13 Years compare
  6. 177 Chad 59.09 Years compare

See the full ranking of 185 places β†’

More health data for Namibia

All data for Namibia β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in Namibia?
Life expectancy in Namibia was 60.36 Years in 2021, according to World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Namibia?
The highest recorded value was 63.75 Years in 2020.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Namibia?
The lowest recorded value was 51.39 Years in 2003.
How does Namibia rank for life expectancy?
Namibia ranks 174th out of 185 countries with data for 2021.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in Namibia?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Namibia data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV Β· JSON β€” 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Life expectancy
Unit
Years
Source
World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
185 places, 4,070 data points, 2000–2021
Last refreshed

The period life expectancy at birth, in a given year.