Statizoid

Median age in Namibia

Namibia: Median age was 20.96 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
20.96 years
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
186th
of 236 countries
All-time high
20.96 years
in 2023
All-time low
15.2 years
in 1982
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Median age in Namibia, 1950–2023

05101520195019862023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2023, median age in Namibia stood at 20.96 years. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 4.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, median age in Namibia peaked at 20.96 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 15.2 years, in 1982.

Namibia ranks 186th 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.

Median age in Namibia, year by year

Year years Change
1950 19.79 years —
1951 19.67 years -0.6%
1952 19.52 years -0.8%
1953 19.32 years -1.0%
1954 19.1 years -1.2%
1955 18.86 years -1.3%
1956 18.61 years -1.3%
1957 18.37 years -1.3%
1958 18.14 years -1.2%
1959 17.94 years -1.1%
1960 17.77 years -1.0%
1961 17.63 years -0.8%
1962 17.51 years -0.6%
1963 17.43 years -0.5%
1964 17.36 years -0.4%
1965 17.3 years -0.3%
1966 17.23 years -0.4%
1967 17.17 years -0.4%
1968 17.1 years -0.4%
1969 17.03 years -0.4%
1970 16.96 years -0.4%
1971 16.88 years -0.5%
1972 16.8 years -0.5%
1973 16.7 years -0.6%
1974 16.59 years -0.6%
1975 16.49 years -0.6%
1976 16.36 years -0.8%
1977 16.21 years -0.9%
1978 15.92 years -1.8%
1979 15.67 years -1.6%
1980 15.52 years -1.0%
1981 15.28 years -1.6%
1982 15.2 years -0.5%
1983 15.3 years +0.7%
1984 15.42 years +0.8%
1985 15.56 years +0.9%
1986 15.74 years +1.1%
1987 15.92 years +1.2%
1988 16.14 years +1.4%
1989 16.76 years +3.8%
1990 17.27 years +3.0%
1991 17.34 years +0.4%
1992 17.39 years +0.3%
1993 17.43 years +0.3%
1994 17.49 years +0.3%
1995 17.57 years +0.5%
1996 17.67 years +0.6%
1997 17.77 years +0.6%
1998 17.84 years +0.4%
1999 17.9 years +0.3%
2000 17.95 years +0.3%
2001 18.02 years +0.3%
2002 18.11 years +0.5%
2003 18.23 years +0.7%
2004 18.38 years +0.8%
2005 18.54 years +0.9%
2006 18.7 years +0.9%
2007 18.87 years +0.9%
2008 19.04 years +0.9%
2009 19.22 years +1.0%
2010 19.43 years +1.1%
2011 19.65 years +1.1%
2012 19.87 years +1.1%
2013 20.07 years +1.0%
2014 20.25 years +0.9%
2015 20.4 years +0.8%
2016 20.52 years +0.6%
2017 20.61 years +0.4%
2018 20.68 years +0.3%
2019 20.73 years +0.3%
2020 20.77 years +0.2%
2021 20.79 years +0.1%
2022 20.82 years +0.2%
2023 20.96 years +0.6%

Namibia compared with similar countries

  • Namibia's 20.96 years is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 21.43 years, 98% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
  • Namibia's 20.96 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 18.22 years, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 18.93 years 17.94 years 19.79 years 10
1960s 17.35 years 17.03 years 17.77 years 10
1970s 16.46 years 15.67 years 16.96 years 10
1980s 15.68 years 15.2 years 16.76 years 10
1990s 17.57 years 17.27 years 17.9 years 10
2000s 18.51 years 17.95 years 19.22 years 10
2010s 20.22 years 19.43 years 20.73 years 10
2020s 20.84 years 20.77 years 20.96 years 4

Countries ranked near Namibia

  1. 183 Lesotho 21.43 years compare
  2. 184 Equatorial Guinea 20.98 years compare
  3. 185 East Timor 20.97 years compare
  4. 187 Ghana 20.93 years compare
  5. 188 Marshall Islands 20.7 years compare
  6. 189 Tonga 20.7 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Namibia

All data for Namibia →

Frequently asked questions

What is median age in Namibia?
Median age in Namibia was 20.96 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest median age recorded in Namibia?
The highest recorded value was 20.96 years in 2023.
What is the lowest median age recorded in Namibia?
The lowest recorded value was 15.2 years in 1982.
How does Namibia rank for median age?
Namibia ranks 186th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is median age rising or falling in Namibia?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Namibia data come from?
The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Median age. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Median age in Namibia. Statizoid, drawing on UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/median-age/namibia/

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About this data

Indicator
Median age
Unit
years
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

Age that divides the population into two halves of equal size — half are younger and half are older.