Namibia vs Tanzania
Tanzania is 15% larger than Namibia.
NamibiaTanzaniaNamibia moved onto Tanzania · Equal-area projection
0.87×
Namibia is 0.87× the area of Tanzania. Put the other way, Tanzania is 1.15× the size of Namibia.
 Namibia |  Tanzania | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaTanzania: 1.15× the area | 825,615 km²#34 of 194 | 947,303 km²#30 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 4 | 8 |
| People | ||
| PopulationTanzania: 22.8× the population | 3,092,816#134 of 194 · 2025 | 70,545,865#21 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityTanzania: 19.9× the density | 3.7 / km²#192 of 194 | 74 / km²#111 of 194 |
| Urban populationNamibia: 1.38× the urban share | 51%#131 of 192 · 2025 | 37%#156 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateTanzania: 1.41× the births per woman | 3.21 per woman#49 of 192 · 2024 | 4.54 per woman#12 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthTanzania: 0.81 points higher | +2.05%#45 of 192 · 2025 | +2.86%#16 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateTanzania: 1.34× the birth rate | 25.9 per 1,000#45 of 192 · 2024 | 34.8 per 1,000#10 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateNamibia: 1.09× the death rate | 6.2 per 1,000#129 of 192 · 2024 | 5.7 per 1,000#148 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Tanzania: 5.6 points higher | 36.7%#43 of 192 · 2025 | 42.3%#13 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Namibia: 0.8 points higher | 3.8%#146 of 192 · 2025 | 3.0%#171 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationNamibia: 0.8 per 1,000 higher | +0.6 per 1,000#55 of 192 · 2025 | −0.2 per 1,000#84 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadNamibia: 11× the refugees for its size | 0.22 per 1,000#99 of 190 · 2025 | 0.02 per 1,000#145 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyNamibia: 0.3 years longer | 67.5 years#148 of 192 · 2024 | 67.2 years#151 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityNamibia: 1.27× the infant mortality | 36.4 per 1,000 births#30 of 191 · 2024 | 28.7 per 1,000 births#50 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsNamibia: 4.23× the doctors per person | 0.55 per 1,000#124 of 178 · 2022 | 0.13 per 1,000#164 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentNamibia: 6.53× the university enrolment | 26.1%#105 of 145 · 2022 | 4.0%#143 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexNamibia: 0.110 higher | 0.665#133 of 190 · 2023 | 0.555#162 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaNamibia: 3.42× the income per person | $4,340#122 of 185 · 2025 | $1,270#163 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPTanzania: 5.98× the economy | $15.08B2025 | $90.14B2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | Lower-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Namibia: 2.68× the output per person | $11,986#121 of 184 · 2025 | $4,471#157 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthTanzania: 4.2 points higher | +1.7%#141 of 187 · 2025 | +5.9%#33 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationNamibia: 0.2 points higher | +3.5%#75 of 176 · 2025 | +3.3%#81 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentNamibia: 12.1× the unemployment | 19.3%#7 of 178 · 2025 | 1.6%#165 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyTanzania: 2.24× the share in extreme poverty | 22.9%#32 of 149 · 2015 | 51.3%#11 of 149 · 2018 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Namibia: 18.6 higher | 59.1#1 of 149 · 2015 | 40.5#35 of 149 · 2018 |
| Jobs in agricultureTanzania: 42.3 points higher | 22.3% of jobs#79 of 178 · 2025 | 64.6% of jobs#10 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryNamibia: 8.4 points higher | 16.5% of jobs#124 of 178 · 2025 | 8.1% of jobs#164 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesNamibia: 33.8 points higher | 61.1% of jobs#80 of 178 · 2025 | 27.3% of jobs#170 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentNamibia: 7.7 points higher | 9.6% of GDP#19 of 184 · 2025 | 1.9% of GDP#96 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsNamibia: 25.7 points higher | 44.7% of GDP#56 of 168 · 2025 | 19.0% of GDP#136 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingNamibia: 2.39× the military spending | 2.8% of GDP#35 of 155 · 2025 | 1.2% of GDP#104 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersNamibia: 2.08× the share online | 65%#130 of 184 · 2024 | 31%#165 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsTanzania: 1.49× the mobile subscriptions | 85 per 100#146 of 191 · 2024 | 127 per 100#59 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaTanzania: 5.06× the forest share | 10% of land#155 of 192 · 2024 | 50% of land#51 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personNamibia: 3.87× the CO₂ per person | 1.20 t a year#123 of 185 · 2024 | 0.31 t a year#159 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyTanzania: 48.3 points higher | 30.0%#80 of 190 · 2021 | 78.3%#20 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityNamibia: 6.9 points higher | 59.3%#165 of 192 · 2024 | 52.4%#176 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Tanzania: 1.42× the air pollution | 14.2 µg/m³#123 of 191 · 2023 | 20.2 µg/m³#80 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landThe same | 39.9% of land#9 of 191 · 2025 | 39.9% of land#9 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landTanzania: 14.5 points higher | 1.0% of land#171 of 190 · 2024 | 15.5% of land#73 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressTanzania: 43.3× the water stress | 0.3%#168 of 176 · 2022 | 13.0%#79 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationTanzania: 3.76× the rain and snow | 285 mm#154 of 180 · 2022 | 1,071 mm#87 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityNamibia: 1.22 higher | +0.74#55 of 193 · 2025 | −0.48#137 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionNamibia: 0.48 higher | +0.15#73 of 193 · 2025 | −0.33#105 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateNamibia: 3.03× the homicide rate | 11.2 per 100,000#27 of 146 · 2021 | 3.7 per 100,000#59 of 146 · 2020 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Presidential republic |
| Capital | Windhoek | Dodoma |
| Currency | South African rand (ZAR), Namibian dollar (NAD) | Tanzanian shilling (TZS) |
| Official languages | English | English, Swahili |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC+2 | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +264 | +255 |
| Region | Southern Africa, Africa | Eastern Africa, Africa |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Namibia sits at about 22° S and is stretched to 1.16× its true area; Tanzania at 6° S is stretched to 1.01×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Namibia bigger than Tanzania?
- No. Namibia is 13% smaller than Tanzania. Namibia covers 825,615 km² and Tanzania covers 947,303 km².
- How many times does Namibia fit into Tanzania?
- About 1.1 times: Tanzania has 1.15× the area of Namibia.
- Why do Namibia and Tanzania look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Namibia is drawn about 1.16× its true area there and Tanzania about 1.01×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Namibia or Tanzania?
- Tanzania: 70,545,865 people against 3,092,816. Density: Namibia 3.7 per km², Tanzania 74 per km².
- Which is richer, Namibia or Tanzania?
- By gross national income per person, Namibia: $4,340 against $1,270 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 3.42× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Namibia or Tanzania?
- In Namibia: life expectancy at birth is 67.5 years, against 67.2 — 0.3 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Namibia and Tanzania have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: presidential republic (CIA World Factbook).