Social media company data on Namibian advertising reach shows that Instagram has the youngest Namibian audience, with nearly 40% between the ages of 18 to 24.
In contrast, those aged 25 to 34 are most prominent on Facebook, X and LinkedIn.
When assessing the proportion of users under the age of 35, LinkedIn shows the highest share, with 82.2% of its audience falling into this group. However, as this reflects advertising audience size, it should be noted that LinkedIn advertising is significantly more prevalent on youth accounts, as the platform strongly targets unemployed individuals and unestablished profiles that have yet to populate their feeds with company pages and followers.
Facebook, meanwhile, has the lowest proportion of users under 35, at 53.2%, while Instagram and X are similar at 74.3% and 74.5%, respectively.
X is by far the most male-dominated platform in Namibia, while LinkedIn’s audience skews slightly male. The gender distribution on Facebook and Instagram is roughly equal.
Namibian’s advertising audience on Facebook aligns with the platform’s global audience profile. However, the country’s Instagram audience is notably younger, with 64.6% of the global Instagram audience under 35.
The same is true for both LinkedIn and X, with 76% and 71.6% of their global audiences under 35, respectively.
Namibia has a young population, with an average age of 22 in 2023. However, internet access remains limited in rural areas, and smartphone ownership is also below global norms.
Note that advertising audience size does not reflect the overall user base. There are advertising restrictions on certain topics, which may be disproportionately popular within specific demographics, and some countries impose restrictions on advertising altogether.
Users under the age of 18 are excluded from potential ad reach data, with the exception of X.
– Compiled by Cirrus Capital head of data and analytics Tannan Groenewald
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