Statizoid

Life expectancy by sex in Namibia

Namibia: Life expectancy by sex was 71.34 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
71.34 years
Change on year
up 4.8%
World rank
178th
of 236 countries
All-time high
71.34 years
in 2023
All-time low
44.23 years
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Life expectancy by sex in Namibia, 1950–2023

020406080195019862023

Source: Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

Namibia recorded 71.34 years for life expectancy by sex in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

That represents a change of up 4.8% on the previous year and up 16.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy by sex in Namibia peaked at 71.34 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 44.23 years, in 1950.

That places Namibia 178th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Life expectancy by sex in Namibia, year by year

Year years Change
1950 44.23 years —
1951 44.75 years +1.2%
1952 45.32 years +1.3%
1953 45.91 years +1.3%
1954 46.59 years +1.5%
1955 47.21 years +1.3%
1956 47.82 years +1.3%
1957 48.46 years +1.3%
1958 49.2 years +1.5%
1959 49.84 years +1.3%
1960 50.5 years +1.3%
1961 51.24 years +1.5%
1962 51.94 years +1.4%
1963 52.58 years +1.2%
1964 53.24 years +1.3%
1965 53.87 years +1.2%
1966 54.45 years +1.1%
1967 55.05 years +1.1%
1968 55.68 years +1.2%
1969 56.25 years +1.0%
1970 56.82 years +1.0%
1971 57.47 years +1.2%
1972 58.06 years +1.0%
1973 58.69 years +1.1%
1974 59.31 years +1.0%
1975 60.08 years +1.3%
1976 60.64 years +0.9%
1977 61.32 years +1.1%
1978 61.98 years +1.1%
1979 62.5 years +0.8%
1980 62.65 years +0.2%
1981 63.07 years +0.7%
1982 63.49 years +0.7%
1983 63.62 years +0.2%
1984 63.85 years +0.4%
1985 64.09 years +0.4%
1986 64.26 years +0.3%
1987 64.52 years +0.4%
1988 64.3 years -0.3%
1989 64.58 years +0.4%
1990 64.32 years -0.4%
1991 63.74 years -0.9%
1992 62.98 years -1.2%
1993 62.06 years -1.5%
1994 60.88 years -1.9%
1995 59.75 years -1.9%
1996 58.65 years -1.8%
1997 57.61 years -1.8%
1998 56.42 years -2.1%
1999 55.75 years -1.2%
2000 54.5 years -2.2%
2001 53.61 years -1.6%
2002 53.64 years +0.0%
2003 53.51 years -0.2%
2004 53.89 years +0.7%
2005 54.29 years +0.7%
2006 55.23 years +1.7%
2007 56.34 years +2.0%
2008 57.3 years +1.7%
2009 57.85 years +1.0%
2010 58.67 years +1.4%
2011 59.44 years +1.3%
2012 60.73 years +2.2%
2013 61.48 years +1.2%
2014 62.27 years +1.3%
2015 63.11 years +1.3%
2016 64.09 years +1.6%
2017 65.1 years +1.6%
2018 66.18 years +1.7%
2019 67.3 years +1.7%
2020 68.03 years +1.1%
2021 64.55 years -5.1%
2022 68.07 years +5.5%
2023 71.34 years +4.8%

Namibia compared with similar countries

  • Namibia's 71.34 years is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 70.48 years, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
  • Namibia's 71.34 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 66.75 years, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 46.93 years 44.23 years 49.84 years 10
1960s 53.48 years 50.5 years 56.25 years 10
1970s 59.69 years 56.82 years 62.5 years 10
1980s 63.84 years 62.65 years 64.58 years 10
1990s 60.22 years 55.75 years 64.32 years 10
2000s 55.02 years 53.51 years 57.85 years 10
2010s 62.84 years 58.67 years 67.3 years 10
2020s 68 years 64.55 years 71.34 years 4

Countries ranked near Namibia

  1. 175 Botswana 71.7 years compare
  2. 176 Palestine 71.5 years compare
  3. 177 Yemen 71.39 years compare
  4. 179 Laos 71.25 years compare
  5. 180 Bolivia 71.15 years compare
  6. 181 Micronesia (country) 71.12 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More population data for Namibia

All data for Namibia →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy by sex in Namibia?
Life expectancy by sex in Namibia was 71.34 years in 2023, according to Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest life expectancy by sex recorded in Namibia?
The highest recorded value was 71.34 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy by sex recorded in Namibia?
The lowest recorded value was 44.23 years in 1950.
How does Namibia rank for life expectancy by sex?
Namibia ranks 178th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy by sex rising or falling in Namibia?
Over the last ten years it is up 16.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Namibia data come from?
The figures come from Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy by sex. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Life expectancy by sex in Namibia. Statizoid, drawing on Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 25 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/stat/life-expectation-at-birth-by-sex/namibia/

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About this data

Indicator
Life expectancy by sex
Unit
years
Source
Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 18,722 data points, 1751–2023
Last refreshed

Period life expectancy at birth among females, in a given year.