STAFF WRITER
The Namibia Statistics Agency has released the Namibia Financial Inclusion showing that 27 percent of economically Namibians cannot afford to save anything from their lower incomes after being paid.
Key among the findings of the survey is a serious income inequality in Namibia showing that only about 8 percent of working Namibians in both the public and private sector take home a salary of N$11 000 despite the high cost of living in the country.
Announcing the key findings of the report Statistician General Alex Shimuafeni said the 2025 NFIS findings indicate that 86 percent (1 563 688) of Namibian adults are financially included, representing an increase from 78.0 percent in 2017
He said formal financial inclusion increased to 81.5 percent, with 75.6 percent of adults using commercial banking services and 71.3 percent using other formal non-bank financial institutions.
NSA’s findings also show that financial inclusion is higher among the urban population, at 91.7 percent, compared to 79.3 percent in rural areas and remains higher among females (87.6%) than males (84.2%), while the gender gap has narrowed since the previous survey, reflecting continued progress towards more equitable access to financial
services.
“ The survey further highlights that savings continue to play an important role in household financial management, with 72.5 percent of adults reporting that they save in one form or another. Saving through formal mechanisms declined from 60.0 percent in 2017 to 53.2 percent in 2025
“ Informal savings increased slightly from 2.9 percent in 2017 to 3.5 percent in 2025. In terms of gender, a marginal difference is observed, with 72.7 percent of females reporting that they save compared to males (72.2%),” Shimuafeni.
Shimuafeni added that key drivers of financial inclusion in Namibia is that banking is primarily driven by savings products and services, as well as by transactional activities and remittances.
He said about 75.6 percent of the adult population (aged 15 years and above for this survey) holds bank accounts, while 18.3 percent reported having a smart card account.
“At the same time, affordability remains a key barrier to greater uptake of
formal financial services, with 43.2 percent of adults without bank accounts citing insufficient funds to maintain savings as the main reason for not opening an account. The main advantages cited for owning accounts include the safety of money from theft (63.6%), ease of sending money (52.3%), and security of remittances (47.3%),” he said.
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