Namibia has emerged as a global leader in education investment, ranking first worldwide in expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP, according to the 2024 Global Innovation Index.
The top ranking underscores the country’s strong commitment to developing human capital through substantial financial support for its education sector, positioning education as a cornerstone of its national development strategy despite challenges in other areas of innovation.
“Expenditure on education was equal to 9.04% GDP in 2023, down by 0.63 percentage points from the year prior and equivalent to an indicator rank of 1,” the report read.
It is also reported that Namibia ranks 32nd in Public Research-Industry Co-Publications, indicating good collaboration between academia and industry.
The country ranks 33rd in Joint Venture/Strategic Alliance Deals, showing a willingness to engage in partnerships that can foster innovation.
Conversely, Namibia’s weaknesses are glaring in the output side of innovation. Poor performance in infrastructure and the creation of knowledge-based products hamper the country’s ability to compete globally.
The Global Innovation Index says Namibia’s innovation performance in 2024 is ranked 102nd out of 133 economies.
According to the report, Namibia faces significant challenges, particularly in converting its investments in education and institutional quality into tangible technological advancements.
“The Global Innovation Index (GII) ranks world economies according to their innovation capabilities. Consisting of roughly 80 indicators, grouped into innovation inputs and outputs, the GII aims to capture the multidimensional facets of innovation,” the report read.
The report further states that Namibia ranks 32nd among 34 upper-middle-income economies and 8th among 27 sub-Saharan African economies.
This regional ranking shows relative strength within Africa, but the country still lags behind most other economies globally.
Moreover, one of the key issues Namibia faces is the disparity between its innovation inputs and outputs.
The report highlights that in 2024, Namibia ranks 87th in innovation inputs, down from the previous year, indicating a decrease in resources devoted to innovation, such as education, infrastructure and business sophistication.
“Namibia performs worse in innovation outputs than innovation inputs in 2024. This year Namibia ranks 87th in innovation inputs. This position is lower than last year,” it reads.
On the other hand, Namibia ranks 109th in innovation outputs, which, while low, is an improvement from the previous year.
The report states that the country continues to struggle in generating outputs such as technological products and services, indicating a gap between input investments and realised innovation.
Namibia’s highest rankings come from pillars like institutions (56th), human capital and research (91st), and business sophistication (92nd), reflecting a strong governance framework and a moderate business environment.
The country also ranks 93rd in market sophistication, showing some progress in financial systems and access to credit.
However, Namibia performs poorly in pillars critical to driving innovation outputs.
Its weakest rankings are in knowledge and technology outputs (122nd), infrastructure (113th) and creative outputs (105th).
The low score in knowledge and technology outputs is especially concerning, the report says, as it directly affects Namibia’s ability to translate research and investment into innovative products and services.
