Namibia: Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Namibia's self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) fell 0.25 percentage points on 2024 (from 36.79% to 36.54%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.22 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.26 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 3.9 percentage points in 2017 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.24 percentage points in 2014. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.47 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 33% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2025, Namibia had the 84th highest value of the 182 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Namibia in the 2025 ranking

• Lesotho — 80th of 182: 38.52%
• Cabo Verde — 81st of 182: 38.46%
• China — 82nd of 182: 37.67%
• Philippines — 84th of 182: 36.15%
• Jamaica — 85th of 182: 35.75%
• El Salvador — 86th of 182: 35.66%

What this measures

Self-employed workers are those workers who, working on their own account or with one or a few partners or in cooperative, hold the type of jobs defined as a "self-employment jobs." i.e. jobs where the remuneration is directly dependent upon the profits derived from the goods and services produced. Self-employed workers include sub-categories of employers, own-account workers and members of producers' cooperatives and contributing family workers.

Limitations: Data are drawn from labor force surveys and household surveys, supplemented by official estimates and censuses for a small group of countries. Due to differences in definitions and coverage across countries, there are limitations for comparing data across countries and over time even within a country. Estimates of women in employment are not comparable internationally, reflecting that demographic, social, legal, and cultural trends and norms determine whether women's activities are regarded as economic.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 35 values

Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in nearby economies

• Angola — 75.91% (2025)
• Benin — 79.83% (2025)
• Botswana — 28.11% (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 82.6% (2025)
• Burundi — 84.85% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 38.46% (2025)
• Cameroon — 69.28% (2025)
• Central African Republic — 85.4% (2025)
• Chad

More social protection & labor data for Namibia

• Net migration — 1,866 (2025)
• Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of origin — 685 (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 26.08% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 32.6% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 29.34% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 56.39% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 63.88% (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Namibia's self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)?

36.54% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1991?

It is down 6.99 percentage points from 43.53% in 1991. The highest value was 43.53% in 1991 and the lowest 29.78% in 2016.

How does Namibia rank?

84th highest of 182 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) unusual for Namibia?

In 2025, Namibia's self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) fell 0.25 percentage points on 2024 (from 36.79% to 36.54%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.22 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.26 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.EMP.SELF.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: January 17, 2026 Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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