Employment by status in Namibia
Namibia: Employment by status was 63.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
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.
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
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 0 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 58.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 63.0% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 87.1% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 54.9% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 60.1% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 63.9% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 56.4% (2025)
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.
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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.