419 informal settlements lay bare scale of Namibia's housing crisis

A national baseline report on informal settlements has identified 419 across the country, underlining the scale of Namibia’s urban housing crisis.

Most lack basic services, with government warning that rapid urbanisation is outpacing planning capacity.

Speaking at the launch of the 'Namibia Informal Settlements Baseline Report' in Swakopmund on Wednesday, Namibia Statistics Agency statistician-general Alex Shimuafeni said 563 settlements were assessed, of which 419 were classified as informal in urban areas.

According to the findings, access to infrastructure remains limited.

Shimuafeni said 70.4% of the 419 settlements do not have water, 86% do not have sewer systems, 70% do not have electricity and 93% do not have roads.

He stressed that the figures refer specifically to informal settlements.

Tipping point

Only a handful of informal settlements have reached full service levels, while many remain unplanned or unsurveyed.

The data also shows strong urban migration patterns. Khomas region has the largest population living in informal housing, followed by Erongo and Kavango East.

Urbanisation pressures were echoed by urban and rural development minister James Sankwasa, who warned that Namibia’s demographic trends could reshape the country’s future.

“Without serious national intervention by 2050, we foresee that Namibia’s urban population alone will outnumber its current overall population,” he said.

The minister noted that the country's urban population increased from 42.8% in 2011 to 50% in 2023, while 28.7%, translating to 217 068 households, live in informal dwellings or shacks.

He said the Sixth National Development Plan aims to formalise settlements, expand serviced plots and reduce informality but stressed that the real value of the baseline report would be measured by how effectively its findings are translated into policy and implementation.

Urban influx

Erongo governor Nathalia /Goagoses highlighted regional pressures driving the figures.

She said the 2023 census shows Erongo experienced “the highest urban-rural migration… in excess of 90%,” driven by mining, fishing, tourism and logistics.

“The urban areas are really unable to accommodate,” she said, calling for measures to mitigate the acceleration of migration into major towns and to move residents towards “dignified lives and homes”.

At a national planning level, National Planning Commission director-general Kaire Mbuende said government interventions in land and housing delivery form a central pillar of development policy. However, he acknowledged that planning has been constrained by a lack of reliable data.

“Effective planning and optimal resource allocation are not possible without reliable, timely and comprehensive statistics,” he said.

Mbuende described the baseline report as the first national output from the Namibia Housing Informal System and said it provides a foundation for evidence-based planning and resource allocation under National Development Plan Six, which runs to 2030.