Chamwe Kaira and Allexer Namundjembo
The Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) spent close to N$130 million on the 2025/2026 Namibia Household Income and Expenditure Survey.
The total cost of the survey reached N$129.4 million, covering activities from the pilot phase to the end of data collection.
Out of this amount, N$38.6 million was used to pay field staff over 12 months and to cover four weeks of training allowances for 237 fieldworkers before data collection began.
A further N$32 million was spent on purchasing 46 vehicles for the survey instead of renting them for the same period.
The remaining funds covered salaries for office-based project staff, including IT personnel for software development, as well as data processing, procurement of survey materials and field staff uniforms.
NSA has completed the data collection phase of the survey.
The survey ended on 22 April after running for 12 months across all 14 regions.
It covered 11 016 households and tracked income, spending and living conditions over time.
NSA statistician general Alex Shimuafeni said completing the fieldwork is a key step for the agency.
“The successful completion of the fieldwork demonstrates NSA’s growing institutional capacity in executing complex nationwide statistical operations,” he said.
The survey is the main source of data on household income and spending in Namibia. It helps guide economic planning and policy decisions.
Previous surveys have shown high inequality. Namibia recorded a Gini coefficient of about 59 in 2015.
Data also showed that about 43% of the population faced multidimensional poverty, with higher levels in rural areas.
Past results have also shown differences in living conditions between urban and rural areas, with an average household size of about 3.8 people.
Shimuafeni said the survey provides key data for measuring poverty and inequality and for tracking living conditions.
“The survey provides essential information for measuring poverty and inequality, understanding living conditions, and supporting economic and policy analysis,” he said.
The data was collected by 153 field staff, including supervisors and interviewers.
Teams visited selected households and recorded spending over a 14-day period.
The process used digital tools such as tablets to improve accuracy. Households also recorded daily expenses in provided books.
With fieldwork complete, the NSA has moved to data processing, validation and analysis. The final report is expected in March 2027.
Shimuafeni said households selected for the survey will no longer be visited.
“The NSA assures all respondents that their information remains strictly confidential and protected under the law and will only be used for statistical purposes,” he said.
