Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Namibia
Namibia: Self-employed, female (% of female employment) was 41.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Namibia, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
The most recent figure for self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Namibia is 41.7%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and up 8.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Namibia peaked at 55.7% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 35.5%, in 2016.
That places Namibia 73rd out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Namibia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 55.6% | — |
| 1992 | 55.7% | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 55.7% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 55.6% | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 55.5% | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 55.3% | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 55.0% | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 54.3% | -1.2% |
| 1999 | 53.6% | -1.4% |
| 2000 | 52.8% | -1.5% |
| 2001 | 52.0% | -1.5% |
| 2002 | 51.2% | -1.7% |
| 2003 | 50.3% | -1.7% |
| 2004 | 49.4% | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 48.4% | -2.0% |
| 2006 | 47.5% | -1.8% |
| 2007 | 46.7% | -1.8% |
| 2008 | 45.9% | -1.7% |
| 2009 | 45.1% | -1.7% |
| 2010 | 44.4% | -1.5% |
| 2011 | 44.3% | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 43.9% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 45.2% | +3.0% |
| 2014 | 41.5% | -8.2% |
| 2015 | 38.6% | -7.1% |
| 2016 | 35.5% | -8.0% |
| 2017 | 39.3% | +10.6% |
| 2018 | 42.9% | +9.4% |
| 2019 | 42.9% | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 43.0% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 42.2% | -1.8% |
| 2022 | 42.6% | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 42.4% | -0.6% |
| 2024 | 42.1% | -0.7% |
| 2025 | 41.7% | -0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 55.1% | 53.6% | 55.7% | 9 |
| 2000s | 48.9% | 45.1% | 52.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 41.9% | 35.5% | 45.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 42.3% | 41.7% | 43.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Namibia
More work & labour data for Namibia
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.0916 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.0906 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.0929 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -0.3746 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 1.88 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 3,116 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 1,223 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 3,070 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 2,828 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 5,898 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Namibia?
- Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Namibia was 41.7% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest self-employed, female (% of female employment) recorded in Namibia?
- The highest recorded value was 55.7% in 1993.
- What is the lowest self-employed, female (% of female employment) recorded in Namibia?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.5% in 2016.
- How does Namibia rank for self-employed, female (% of female employment)?
- Namibia ranks 73rd out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, female (% of female employment) rising or falling in Namibia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Namibia data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Self-employed, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Self-employed workers are those workers who, working on their own account or with one or a few partners or in cooperative, hold the type of jobs defined as a "self-employment jobs." i.e. jobs where the remuneration is directly dependent upon the profits derived from the goods and services produced. Self-employed workers include sub-categories of employers, own-account workers and members of producers' cooperatives and contributing family workers.