Almost half of young citizens say they've considered emigrating.
Key findings
- Namibia's youth (aged 18-35) are more educated than older generations. More than four-fifths (83%) of young Namibians have attained at least secondary education, including 23% with post-secondary qualifications.
- But youth are also more likely to be unemployed. More than half (55%) of young Namibians say they are not employed and are actively looking for work, compared to 32%-42% of middle-aged respondents.
- In addition to general economic conditions, young Namibians most often cite a lack of adequate training or preparation and a lack of experience required by employers as key barriers to youth employment.
- Given their choice of employment, about half (51%) of youth say they would opt for public-sector work, while smaller shares would prefer private-sector employment (21%) or starting their own businesses (19%).
- If the government were to increase spending to support young people, youth would prioritise job creation (60%) above all else.
- Unemployment ranks as the top issue that young Namibians want their government to address, followed by education, health, food shortages, poverty, electricity, and water supply.
- Young people offer largely negative evaluations of the government's performance on their top priorities. Just 12% are satisfied with the government's efforts to create jobs, while about four in 10 approve of its performance on improving basic health services (41%) and addressing educational needs (38%).
- Young Namibians' views on the country's overall direction and economic conditions are also fairly gloomy. Six in 10 (61%) say the country is moving "in the wrong direction," and only 36% describe the national economy and their personal living conditions as "fairly good" or "very good."
- Looking ahead, 42% expect economic conditions to improve over the next 12 months.
- Almost half (45%) of young Namibians say they have considered emigrating, mostly in search of better job opportunities. The share of youth who have thought "a lot" about emigration has increased since 2017, rising from 10% to 16%.
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About 70% of Namibia's 3 million people are under the age of 35 (World Bank, 2026; Itana, 2025). While mining, agriculture, tourism, and other sectors of the economy have recorded substantial progress since independence in 1990, unemployment - currently estimated at 36.9% - has been a persistent problem (World Bank, 2026). The challenge is especially acute for youth: According to the most recent labour force survey, conducted in 2023, unemployment among 15- to 34-year-olds stood at 44.4%, a figure that rises further in economically marginalised regions as well as if "discouraged workers" are added (Namibia Statistics Agency, 2023; Ndjavera, 2022; Tendane, Hartman, & Alberts, 2023). A recent survey by the Active Youth Organization (AYO), a youth-led organisation focused on the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals, reinforces these findings, with 85% of young respondents reporting frustration over unemployment, 72% citing limited access to education, and 68% expressing concern about inadequate resources (Itana, 2025).
Both government and nongovernmental actors have invested in youth empowerment. Alongside local partners such as the AYO, the United Nations Development Programme has supported initiatives connecting young Namibians to training, funding, and regional networks (Itana, 2025). The UN recognised Namibia as a "Pathfinder Country" for the Global Accelerator Programme in 2023, leading to the development of a national roadmap focused on employment creation, youth entrepreneurship, social-protection expansion, and economic formalisation (African Peer Review Mechanism, 2025).
The government has pursued targeted policy responses to youth unemployment, including the Namibia Youth Credit Scheme, designed to expand access to finance for unemployed youth excluded from mainstream banking systems, and investments in technical and vocational education and training to address skills mismatches in the labour market (Ministry of Sport, Youth & National Service, 2024; Namibia Economist, 2023). Similarly, Namibia's Sixth National Development Plan prioritises economic diversification, structural transformation, and youth empowerment through a shift toward high-value production and natural-resource beneficiation (National Planning Commission of Namibia, 2025).
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This dispatch reports on a survey module included in the Afrobarometer Round 10 questionnaire to explore the experiences and perspectives of Namibian youth on key issues affecting their lives.
Findings show that while young Namibians are more educated than their elders, they are also more likely to be unemployed. In their view, key obstacles to employment include a lack of adequate training and a lack of work experience. Most young people see the government as failing on job creation, which they identify as the most important problem facing their country.
Most young Namibians believe the country is heading "in the wrong direction," and only a minority are satisfied with their personal living conditions or expect the economic situation to improve in the near future. Nearly half say they have considered emigrating, primarily in search of better job opportunities.
Victoria Farayola Victoria Farayola is a PhD student in political science at the University of Florida.
