A recent Afrobarometer survey conducted in March 2024 reveals that 65% of Namibians believe corruption has increased “somewhat” or “a lot” over the past year.
Afrobarometer said this represents a 13% decrease since 2017, indicating that while concerns remain high, there has been some improvement.
The survey found that perceptions of corruption are strongly linked to economic circumstances.
“Perceptions of corruption were closely linked to economic circumstances, with 72%-73% of respondents experiencing moderate to high poverty levels reported increased corruption, compared to 56% among those with no or low-lived poverty,” the survey highlighted.
Meanwhile, public dissatisfaction with government efforts to combat corruption is also evident with the level of disapproval being the highest recorded in two decades of Afrobarometer surveys in Namibia.
“Public dissatisfaction with government efforts to combat corruption was starkly evident, with 76% of Namibians expressing disapproval of current anti-corruption measures,” according to the survey.
Furthermore, the fear of reprisals for reporting corruption is widespread as more than six in 10 respondents expressed concerns about potential retaliation if they report corrupt activities.
The survey shows this fear underscores broader doubts about institutional integrity across government, civil society and business sectors.
Meanwhile, the survey, conducted with a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, provides critical insights into public sentiment on governance issues in Namibia.
The Afrobarometer team in Namibia, led by Survey Warehouse, interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,200 adult Namibians in March 2024.
A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
Previous surveys were conducted in Namibia in 1999, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2021.
