Age of full democracy in Namibia
Namibia: Age of full democracy was 36 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Age of full democracy in Namibia, 1990–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Namibia recorded 36 years for age of full democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.9% on the previous year and up 38.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of full democracy in Namibia peaked at 36 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1990.
Namibia ranks 47th of 89 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Age of full democracy in Namibia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1 years | — |
| 1991 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1992 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1993 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1994 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1995 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1996 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1997 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1998 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1999 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 2000 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 2001 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 2002 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 2003 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 2004 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 2005 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 2006 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 2007 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 2008 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 2009 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 2010 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 2011 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 2012 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 2013 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 2014 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 2015 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 2016 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 2017 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 2018 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 2019 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 2020 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 2021 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 2022 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 2023 | 34 years | +3.0% |
| 2024 | 35 years | +2.9% |
| 2025 | 36 years | +2.9% |
Namibia compared with similar countries
- Namibia's 36 years is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 27 years, 1.3× the median. (12 countries reporting)
- Namibia's 36 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 24 years, 1.5× the median. (10 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of full democracy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1992 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1993 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5.5 years | 1 years | 10 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 15.5 years | 11 years | 20 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.5 years | 21 years | 30 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 33.5 years | 31 years | 36 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Namibia
More social development data for Namibia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 5,470 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 685 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 3 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 3 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0002 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 685 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0018 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is age of full democracy in Namibia?
- Age of full democracy in Namibia was 36 years in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of full democracy recorded in Namibia?
- The highest recorded value was 36 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of full democracy recorded in Namibia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1990.
- How does Namibia rank for age of full democracy?
- Namibia ranks 47th out of 89 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of full democracy rising or falling in Namibia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 38.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Namibia data come from?
- The figures come from Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Age of full democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in a full democracy.