This page was last updated in 2017. The next update is scheduled for early 2026.

Sustainable Development Goals for Namibia

Back to SDG overview
Jump to section:
Child well-being Child-related indicators Population overview

Child well-being

UNICEF’S commitment to data for children is guided by the fact that the SDGs impact every aspect of a child’s life. Our work is structured around 5 overarching areas of well-being for every child which are grounded in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This human rights-based approach pursues a vision of realizing the rights of every child, especially the most disadvantaged and responds to the call to “leave no child behind”, so that the rights of every child, everywhere, will be fulfilled.

Child-related SDG indicators

The 2030 Agenda includes 17 Global Goals addressing the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. Attached to the Goals are 169 concrete targets measured by 232 specific indicators.

To chart and track how ambitious and how realistic country targets are, UNICEF created quantifiable country-level benchmarks for child-related indicators for which data are available to measure and monitor child rights on a common scale.

Provided below is a stocktaking of the country’s performance against the 45 child-related SDG indicators, grouping the results into five areas of child well-being to provide an overall assessment of how children are faring. The countries are evaluated using global and national targets. The analysis provides valuable insights into both historic progress – recognizing the results delivered by countries in the recent past – as well as how much additional effort might be required to achieve the child-related SDG targets. This approach provides a framework to assess ambition as well as the scale of action needed to realize it.

Value
Latest year
with data
Historic progress
Effort needed to meet the 2030 target
Survive+thrive Survive+thrive
2.2.1 Prevalence of stunting among children under 5 (%)
17
2022
Strong
Very high effort
2.2.2a Prevalence of wasting among children under 5 (%)
7
2013
Strong
Very high effort
2.2.2a Prevalence of overweight among children under 5 (%)
5
2022
Very weak
Very high effort
3.b.1 Proportion of surviving infants receiving measles-containing-vaccine first-dose (MCV1) (%)
91
2022
Strong
Target met
3.b.1 Proportion of surviving infants receiving 3 doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) (%)
84
2022
Average
High effort
3.1.1 Maternal mortality ratio (deaths per 100,000 live births)
215
2020
Average
Average effort
3.1.2 Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel (%)
88
2013
Average
Low effort
3.2.1 Under-five mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 live births)
39
2021
Average
High effort
3.2.2 Neonatal mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 live births)
20
2021
Weak
Very high effort
3.3.1 (HIV Incidence) – New HIV infections per 1,000 uninfected population [Children <15]
1
2022
Strong
High effort
3.3.1 (HIV Incidence) – New HIV infections per 1,000 uninfected population [Adolescents 15-19]
4
2022
Average
Very high effort
3.7.2 Adolescent birth rate per 1,000 women
64
2016
Weak
High effort
3.8.1 Coverage of essential health services (index)
63
2021
Average
Very high effort
5.6.1 Proportion of women aged 15–49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding reproductive health care (%)
–
–
No data
No data
Learning Learning
4.1.1 Proportion of children and young people in grades 2 or 3 achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in reading (%)
–
–
No data
No data
4.1.1 Proportion of children and young people in grades 2 or 3 achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in mathematics (%)
–
–
No data
No data
4.1.1 Proportion of children and young people at the end of primary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in reading (%)
61
2013
Very strong
Low effort
4.1.1 Proportion of children and young people at the end of primary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in mathematics (%)
17
2013
Strong
Very high effort
4.1.1 Proportion of children and young people at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in reading (%)
–
–
No data
No data
4.1.1 Proportion of children and young people at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in mathematics (%)
–
–
No data
No data
4.1.2 Completion rate in primary education (%)
82
2018
Average
Average effort
4.1.2 Completion rate in lower secondary education (%)
51
2018
Average
Very high effort
4.1.2 Completion rate in upper secondary education (%)
34
2018
Average
High effort
4.2.1 Proportion of children aged 36-59 months who are developmentally on track in health, learning and psychosocial well-being, by sex (%)
–
–
No data
No data
4.2.2 Participation rate in organized learning (one year before the official primary entry age) (%)
72
2019
Average
High effort
Protection Protection
5.2.1 Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner (%)
16
2018
No trend data available
No trend data available
5.3.1 Proportion of women aged 20-24 years who were married or in a union before age 18 (%)
7
2013
Strong
Average effort
5.3.2 Proportion of girls and women aged 15-49 years who have undergone female genital mutilation (%)
–
–
No data
No data
8.7.1 Proportion of children aged 5-17 years engaged in child labour (%)
–
–
No data
No data
16.2.1 Proportion of children 1-14 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past month (%)
–
–
No data
No data
16.2.3 Proportion of young women aged 18-29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18 (%)
1
2013
Very weak
Very high effort
16.2.3 Proportion of young men aged 18-29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18 (%)
–
–
No data
No data
16.9.1 Proportion of children under 5 years of age whose births have been registered with a civil authority (%)
78
2016
Very strong
High effort
Environment Environment
1.4.1.a Proportion of the population using basic drinking water services (%)
86
2022
Weak
Very high effort
1.4.1.b Proportion of the population using basic sanitation services (%)
36
2022
Weak
Very high effort
6.1.1 Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services (%)
–
–
No data
No data
6.2.1.a Proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services (%)
–
–
No data
No data
6.2.1.b Proportion of population with a basic handwashing facility with soap and water available on premises (%)
45
2017
Strong
Very high effort
6.2.1.c Proportion of population practising open defecation (%)
37
2022
Strong
Very high effort
Poverty Poverty
1.1.1 Children living in households in extreme poverty (%)
24
2022
Weak
Very high effort
1.2.1 Children living below the national poverty line (%)
17
2015
Very strong
Target met
1.2.1 Proportion of children living below the national poverty line, both sexes (%), Covid projections
22
2020
No trend data available
No trend data available
1.2.2 Children living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions (%)
66
2013
No trend data available
No trend data available
1.3.1 Proportion of child population covered by social protection floors/systems (%)
23
2020
No trend data available
No trend data available
Legal frameworks that promote, enforce and monitor gender equality in employment and economic benefits
70
2022
No trend data available
No trend data available

Historic progress

  • Very weak
  • Weak
  • Average
  • Strong
  • Very strong
  • No trend data available
  • No data

Effort needed to hit relative target

  • Target met
  • Very low effort
  • Low effort
  • Average effort
  • High effort
  • Very high effort
  • Above recorded history
  • No trend data available
  • No data
  • No target

Note: This dashboard uses internationally comparable data from the global databases held on behalf of the international community by UNICEF and other United Nations agencies. While UNICEF is committed to the localization of SDG targets, global rather than national targets are used to gauge progress on the SDG indicators.  To read more about how the trajectories towards the global targets are assessed please read the methodology note.

Progress on Children’s Well-being: Country Briefs

At the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development how are children in countries around the world faring? Do we have enough information to know?

These country briefs leverage UNICEF’s extensive analysis of 48 child-related Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators, structured around five fundamental domains of child well-being: Survive and Thrive, Learning, Protection from Harm, Safe and Clean Environment, and Life Free from Poverty. The analysis offers a detailed, multifaceted perspective on the state of children’s rights and experiences across the globe.

Download the SDG country brief for Namibia

Population overview

Understanding of a country’s population levels, trends and projections constitutes an essential ingredient in strategic planning, policy development and program implementation for addressing global challenges and emerging issues.

Total population: 2,963,095 (2023 projections)

Age (yrs)
Male
Female
0-4
5-9
10-14
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65-69
70-74
75-79
80-84
85-89
90-94
95-99
100+
204,610
204,854
186,331
188,188
159,036
161,989
139,364
137,284
131,639
130,181
125,300
128,088
114,850
121,198
92,581
97,681
77,343
80,334
64,289
65,605
48,923
53,025
36,145
43,258
27,403
37,782
17,580
25,337
11,007
17,810
6,498
11,855
2,963
6,798
995
3,235
225
1,160
34
286
2
45
10
7.5
5
2.5
0
2.5
5
7.5
10
Share of total population (%)

Source: United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects 2022

Related SDG resources

Progress on Children’s Well-being: Centring child rights in the 2030 Agenda

At the halfway mark towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, our 2023 report shows that two-thirds of child-related indicators are off-pace to meet their targets. Explore the publication for a comprehensive overview of SDGs progress.

Read more
The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022 (UN DESA)

This report provides an updated global overview of detailed progress on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, using the latest available data and estimates in 2022.

Read more
United Nations Secretariat for the SDGs (UN-DESA)

The Division for Sustainable Development Goals at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs acts as the Secretariat for the SDGs, providing key support and capacity-building for the goals and their thematic issues, including water, energy, climate, and more.

Read more
More on UNICEF and the SDGs

UNICEF is the custodian or co-custodian of 19 global SDG indicators. In this role, UNICEF works with governments, partners, policymakers and other UN agencies to help countries ensure the goals deliver results for and with every child – now and for generations to come.

Read more