Life expectancy in Namibia
Namibia: Life expectancy was 67.38 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
67.38 years
Change on year
up 5.0%
World rank
188th
of 236 countries
All-time high
67.38 years
in 2023
All-time low
41.95 years
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Life expectancy in Namibia, 1950–2023
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Namibia recorded 67.38 years for life expectancy in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.0% on the previous year and up 15.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy in Namibia peaked at 67.38 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 41.95 years, in 1950.
Namibia ranks 188th of 236 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Life expectancy in Namibia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 41.95 years | — |
| 1951 | 42.5 years | +1.3% |
| 1952 | 43.15 years | +1.5% |
| 1953 | 43.75 years | +1.4% |
| 1954 | 44.43 years | +1.6% |
| 1955 | 45.05 years | +1.4% |
| 1956 | 45.7 years | +1.5% |
| 1957 | 46.38 years | +1.5% |
| 1958 | 47.11 years | +1.6% |
| 1959 | 47.79 years | +1.4% |
| 1960 | 48.53 years | +1.5% |
| 1961 | 49.24 years | +1.5% |
| 1962 | 49.97 years | +1.5% |
| 1963 | 50.64 years | +1.3% |
| 1964 | 51.35 years | +1.4% |
| 1965 | 52 years | +1.3% |
| 1966 | 52.3 years | +0.6% |
| 1967 | 52.93 years | +1.2% |
| 1968 | 53.55 years | +1.2% |
| 1969 | 54.13 years | +1.1% |
| 1970 | 54.69 years | +1.0% |
| 1971 | 55.29 years | +1.1% |
| 1972 | 55.85 years | +1.0% |
| 1973 | 56.42 years | +1.0% |
| 1974 | 56.94 years | +0.9% |
| 1975 | 57.55 years | +1.1% |
| 1976 | 58.04 years | +0.9% |
| 1977 | 58.59 years | +0.9% |
| 1978 | 59.11 years | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 59.52 years | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 56.57 years | -5.0% |
| 1981 | 56.91 years | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 57.33 years | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 57.64 years | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 58.1 years | +0.8% |
| 1985 | 58.47 years | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 58.72 years | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 59.12 years | +0.7% |
| 1988 | 59.03 years | -0.2% |
| 1989 | 60.77 years | +2.9% |
| 1990 | 61.36 years | +1.0% |
| 1991 | 60.83 years | -0.9% |
| 1992 | 60.16 years | -1.1% |
| 1993 | 59.26 years | -1.5% |
| 1994 | 58.44 years | -1.4% |
| 1995 | 57.52 years | -1.6% |
| 1996 | 56.64 years | -1.5% |
| 1997 | 55.84 years | -1.4% |
| 1998 | 54.77 years | -1.9% |
| 1999 | 53.98 years | -1.4% |
| 2000 | 52.95 years | -1.9% |
| 2001 | 51.98 years | -1.8% |
| 2002 | 51.99 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 51.92 years | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 52.18 years | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 52.56 years | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 53.18 years | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 54.03 years | +1.6% |
| 2008 | 54.74 years | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 55.35 years | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 56.09 years | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 56.65 years | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 57.73 years | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 58.47 years | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 59.31 years | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 60.01 years | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 60.81 years | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 61.66 years | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 62.58 years | +1.5% |
| 2019 | 63.55 years | +1.5% |
| 2020 | 64.07 years | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 60.85 years | -5.0% |
| 2022 | 64.19 years | +5.5% |
| 2023 | 67.38 years | +5.0% |
Namibia compared with similar countries
- Namibia's 67.38 years is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 67.65 years, 100% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Namibia's 67.38 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 64.1 years, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 44.78 years | 41.95 years | 47.79 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 51.46 years | 48.53 years | 54.13 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 57.2 years | 54.69 years | 59.52 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 58.27 years | 56.57 years | 60.77 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 57.88 years | 53.98 years | 61.36 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 53.09 years | 51.92 years | 55.35 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 59.69 years | 56.09 years | 63.55 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 64.12 years | 60.85 years | 67.38 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Namibia
More health data for Namibia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.75 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.6445 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,046 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 561 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 1 (2024)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -1.83 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0644 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -1.56 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy in Namibia?
- Life expectancy in Namibia was 67.38 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Namibia?
- The highest recorded value was 67.38 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Namibia?
- The lowest recorded value was 41.95 years in 1950.
- How does Namibia rank for life expectancy?
- Namibia ranks 188th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy rising or falling in Namibia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Namibia data come from?
- The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.