Pesticide use in Namibia
Namibia: Pesticide use was 1,188 tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising
Pesticide use in Namibia, 1990–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
In 2023, pesticide use in Namibia stood at 1,188 tonnes.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.3% on the previous year and up 52.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, pesticide use in Namibia peaked at 1,346 tonnes in 2001 and was at its lowest, 284 tonnes, in 2004.
That places Namibia 109th out of 211 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Pesticide use in Namibia, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 574 tonnes | — |
| 1991 | 574 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 574 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 574 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 574 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 574 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 574 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 574 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 574 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 574 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 1,322 tonnes | +130.3% |
| 2001 | 1,346 tonnes | +1.8% |
| 2002 | 1,259 tonnes | -6.5% |
| 2003 | 399 tonnes | -68.3% |
| 2004 | 284 tonnes | -28.8% |
| 2005 | 355 tonnes | +25.0% |
| 2006 | 405 tonnes | +14.1% |
| 2007 | 475 tonnes | +17.3% |
| 2008 | 578 tonnes | +21.7% |
| 2009 | 598 tonnes | +3.5% |
| 2010 | 657 tonnes | +9.9% |
| 2011 | 577 tonnes | -12.2% |
| 2012 | 618 tonnes | +7.1% |
| 2013 | 778 tonnes | +25.9% |
| 2014 | 824 tonnes | +5.9% |
| 2015 | 931 tonnes | +13.0% |
| 2016 | 804 tonnes | -13.6% |
| 2017 | 861 tonnes | +7.1% |
| 2018 | 836 tonnes | -2.9% |
| 2019 | 910 tonnes | +8.9% |
| 2020 | 1,010 tonnes | +11.0% |
| 2021 | 1,163 tonnes | +15.1% |
| 2022 | 1,192 tonnes | +2.5% |
| 2023 | 1,188 tonnes | -0.3% |
Namibia compared with similar countries
- Namibia's 1,188 tonnes is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1,280 tonnes, 93% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Namibia's 1,188 tonnes is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 747 tonnes, 1.6× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Pesticide use in Namibia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +130.3% | 574 tonnes | 1,322 tonnes |
| 2003 | -68.3% | 1,259 tonnes | 399 tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 574 tonnes | 574 tonnes | 574 tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 702.1 tonnes | 284 tonnes | 1,346 tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 779.6 tonnes | 577 tonnes | 931 tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 1,138 tonnes | 1,010 tonnes | 1,192 tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near Namibia
More reference data data for Namibia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0579 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.52 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0157 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.194 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1306 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 6.82 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0853 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is pesticide use in Namibia?
- Pesticide use in Namibia was 1,188 tonnes in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest pesticide use recorded in Namibia?
- The highest recorded value was 1,346 tonnes in 2001.
- What is the lowest pesticide use recorded in Namibia?
- The lowest recorded value was 284 tonnes in 2004.
- How does Namibia rank for pesticide use?
- Namibia ranks 109th out of 211 countries with data for 2023.
- Is pesticide use rising or falling in Namibia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 52.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Namibia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Pesticide use. 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
Total pesticide use measured in tonnes of pesticide consumption per year.