Employment by status in Namibia
Namibia: Employment by status was 63.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
63.2%
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
104th
of 186 countries
All-time high
70.2%
in 2016
All-time low
56.5%
in 1991
Years of data
34
1991–2024
Employment by status in Namibia, 1991–2024
Source: International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Namibia recorded 63.2% for employment by status in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and down 4.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment by status in Namibia peaked at 70.2% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 56.5%, in 1991.
Namibia ranks 104th of 186 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Employment by status in Namibia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 56.5% | — |
| 1992 | 56.5% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 56.6% | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 56.6% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 56.7% | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 56.9% | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 57.0% | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 57.4% | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 57.7% | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 58.1% | +0.7% |
| 2001 | 58.5% | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 58.9% | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 59.4% | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 59.9% | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 60.5% | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 61.1% | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 61.6% | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 62.1% | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 62.5% | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 62.9% | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 63.1% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 63.3% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 63.8% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 66.0% | +3.5% |
| 2015 | 68.1% | +3.2% |
| 2016 | 70.2% | +3.1% |
| 2017 | 66.3% | -5.5% |
| 2018 | 62.4% | -5.8% |
| 2019 | 62.5% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 62.2% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 62.8% | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 62.8% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 63.0% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 63.2% | +0.3% |
Namibia compared with similar countries
- Namibia's 63.2% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 35.3%, 1.8× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Namibia's 63.2% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 26.5%, 2.4× the median. (46 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 56.9% | 56.5% | 57.7% | 9 |
| 2000s | 60.3% | 58.1% | 62.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 64.9% | 62.4% | 70.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 62.8% | 62.2% | 63.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Namibia
- 101 El Salvador 64.0% compare
- 102 Philippines 63.5% compare
- 103 Western Sahara 63.4% compare
- 105 China 61.9% compare
- 106 Lesotho 61.4% compare
- 107 Cape Verde 61.1% compare
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 employment by status in Namibia?
- Employment by status in Namibia was 63.2% in 2024, according to International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest employment by status recorded in Namibia?
- The highest recorded value was 70.2% in 2016.
- What is the lowest employment by status recorded in Namibia?
- The lowest recorded value was 56.5% in 1991.
- How does Namibia rank for employment by status?
- Namibia ranks 104th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is employment by status rising or falling in Namibia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Namibia data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Employment by status. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of people in employment working as employees, as a percentage of total employment.