Namibia

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Namibia is a large country with a population of over 2.5 million (World Bank, 2022).

COL’s work in Namibia is in the areas of open schooling, higher education, and gender equality and women’s empowerment through skills development. It is part of the Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC) network and benefits from programmes offered by the Southern African Development Community’s Centre for Distance Education (SADC-CDE), COL’s regional centre. Learners from Namibia are also participating in COL’s free online courses and benefitting from other openly available resources.

Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, 15-64 years old¹
21.4%		22.6%
Female (2018)		Male (2018)

Completion rate, lower secondary education for the school year ending in 2018¹
58.8%		43.9%
Female		Male

Gross enrolment ratio for tertiary education for the school year ending in 2020¹
35.6%		18.8%
Female		Male

Proportion of teachers with the minimum required qualifications in secondary education¹
n/a		n/a
Female		Male

1. UNESCO Institute for Statistics Data Centre, retrieved in May 2023

Highlights

A strategy for the digitisation of learning resources, focusing on climate-responsive sustainable livelihoods and food security, has been developed.
A range of innovations have built capacity for open education in three Namibian educational institutions, including topics such as employability and blended learning.
Supporting gender equity, over the last 3 years, over 4,400 Namibian women and girl learners have been trained.

Partners

Partnerships are fundamental to COL’s work. Strategic partnerships allow COL to broaden its reach and engage at global, regional and national levels, while implementation partners support COL’s work in communities and institutions across Commonwealth Member States. Partners include multilateral organisations, regional bodies, national governments, government agencies, foundations, civil society organisations, public and private (not-for-profit) institutions and the private sector. COL partnerships assist in improving and extending teaching and learning services to people in the developing Commonwealth.

COL’s partners in Namibia include:

Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture
Khomas Directorate of Education, Arts and Culture
Namibia Qualifications Authority
Namibian Open Learning Network Trust
Namibian College of Open Learning (NAMCOL)
Namibia University of Science and Technology
University of Namibia (UNAM)

Literacy rate (2021)¹
92.3%		92.2%
Female, Adult (15+)		Male, Adult (15+)

Economic Activity – Labour Forces Participation (2018)¹
57%		63.8%
Female, Ages 15-64		Male, Ages 15-64

Political Decision Making (2019)¹
35.6%
Share of seats held by women in national parliament

Life expectancy (2023)¹
68.4		60.6
Female		Male

1. COL gender country profile October 2023

53	120
Individuals using the internet (%)¹	Mobile-cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants¹

3.5	76
Fixed-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants¹	Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants¹




1. International Telecommunication Union (ITU), retrieved in May 2023.

Namibia

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