Namibia scores 1.11 out of 4 on the Africa AI Governance Index 2026, which places it in the Emerging tier at joint rank 29 of 54. The eight pillar scores are fellow-assigned values from the Regional Summary, and indicators are not scored. Strategy and Vision is the strongest pillar at 2.20 and Implementation and Impact is the weakest at 0.30. The composite sits below the Southern Africa mean of 1.49 and the Africa mean of 1.33. Desk research in October 2026, which fellows have not verified and which did not inform the scores, found a national AI strategy at validation stage without Cabinet approval, an AI Bill and a Data Protection Bill in draft, and no data protection authority.
P1Strategy & Vision2.20 / 4Developing
Strategy and Vision carries a fellow-assigned score of 2.20, in the Developing tier. Desk research in October 2026 found that the national AI strategy is a draft: on 27 September 2026 the NCRST chief executive said it had reached the synthesis and national validation stage (S1.1). An editor's check on 7 October 2026 found no Cabinet approval, and tracker entries that report an adopted strategy are wrong (S1.1, S1.2). ICT Minister Emma Theofelus launched the National AI Institute in September 2026 (S1.3). The draft drew on consultation with 215 local AI experts and stakeholders (S1.6). No AI budget figures were reported (S1.4). The strategy text is unpublished, so roadmap, monitoring and review were not determined (S1.8, S1.9, S1.10).
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P2Governance & Regulation1.20 / 4Emerging
Governance and Regulation carries a fellow-assigned score of 1.20, in the Emerging tier. Desk research in October 2026 found that Namibia has no data protection law. The ICT Minister said the Data Protection Bill would be tabled in September 2025, and passage could not be confirmed as of October 2026 (G2.2). The research records a confirmed absence of a data protection authority (G2.3, G2.4). On 4 June 2025 the Speaker said Namibia was finalising a Draft Artificial Intelligence Bill, and no enactment was found (G2.1). The African Union status list records Malabo Convention ratification or accession on 25 January 2019 and deposit on 1 February 2019 (G2.7). An AI governance body and enforcement actions were not determined (G2.5, G2.8).
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P3Infrastructure & Data1.10 / 4Emerging
Infrastructure and Data carries a fellow-assigned score of 1.10, in the Emerging tier. Desk research in October 2026 found 2 data centre facilities listed by Data Center Map (I3.1) and 1 landing point carrying 2 international cable systems (I3.3). The Southern African Development Community ICT Observatory reports international bandwidth of 217,310 Mbit/s in 2023; an editor's note says the source series is inconsistent and the figure is indicative (I3.4). The research records a confirmed absence of any hyperscaler cloud region (I3.5). A National Data Centre is a flagship project of the Ministry of ICT's 2025 to 2030 Strategic Plan, within a N$639.2m programme (I3.10). No national AI compute facility was identified (I3.6). Data centre capacity and localisation rules were not determined (I3.2, I3.7).
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P4Human Capital1.00 / 4Emerging
Human Capital carries a fellow-assigned score of 1.00, in the Emerging tier. Desk research in October 2026 found that NUST offers bachelor's and honours degrees in Artificial Intelligence and an MSc in Data Science (H4.3). The CSET Country Activity Tracker records 42 AI scholarly publications in 2024, against 26 in 2023 (H4.4). Projects are underway to integrate coding and AI into school curricula, and 65.4% of schools had internet in 2023 (H4.6). The National AI Institute's remit includes youth skills, and no existing workforce reskilling programme was found (H4.7). Translation tools cover Afrikaans and Setswana but not Oshiwambo, Khoekhoegowab, Otjiherero, Rukwangali or Silozi (H4.10). AI researchers per million, patents and labour transition policy were not determined (H4.1, H4.5, H4.8).
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P5Innovation & Ecosystem0.70 / 4Nascent
Innovation and Ecosystem carries a fellow-assigned score of 0.70, in the Nascent tier. Desk research in October 2026 found 1 company offering AI services in the TechBehemoths directory, a lower bound and not a census (N5.1). The research records a confirmed absence for standards body AI competency: the national standards body NSI exists, but Namibia is on neither member list of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42 and no national AI committee was found (N5.8). The other eight indicators were not determined. NAMFISA launched a sandbox for insurance, pensions and microlending in 2023, which is not AI-specific (N5.4). No AI safety evaluation facility (N5.6), AI risk assessment framework (N5.9) or formal university and industry AI research partnership (N5.10) was identified.
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P6Ethics & Inclusion0.90 / 4Nascent
Ethics and Inclusion carries a fellow-assigned score of 0.90, in the Nascent tier. Desk research in October 2026 records a confirmed absence of a citizen redress mechanism: Namibia has no data protection law, no authority and no AI-specific complaint channel (E6.4). The research found that Namibia's AI readiness was assessed in 2025 with the readiness methodology of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (E6.7). The draft strategy process involved 215 local AI experts and stakeholders, and the role of civil society organisations was not specified (E6.8). GIRAI 2026 does not cover Namibia, and impact assessment, bias audit and transparency requirements were not determined (E6.1, E6.2, E6.3). No national AI advisory council was found (E6.6).
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P7Regional Integration0.90 / 4Nascent
Regional Integration carries a fellow-assigned score of 0.90, in the Nascent tier. Desk research in October 2026 found Namibia on the official signatory list of the Africa Declaration on Artificial Intelligence, done at Kigali on 4 April 2025, with no national implementation step found (R7.1, R7.2). Namibia delivered a national statement at the inaugural United Nations Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva on 6 to 7 July 2026 (R7.9). Namibia Fact Check documented 2 AI-generated deepfakes before the November 2024 elections (R7.7). Namibia was an invited state at the G20 Johannesburg summit on 22 to 23 November 2025 (R7.10). Regional coordination, cross-border agreements, election provisions and a disinformation framework were not determined (R7.3, R7.4, R7.5, R7.6).
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P8Implementation & Impact0.30 / 4Nascent
Implementation and Impact carries a fellow-assigned score of 0.30, in the Nascent tier. Desk research in October 2026 found no positive evidence on any of the 10 indicators. It records a confirmed absence of health AI regulation (M8.2). The other nine indicators were not determined. No monitoring report was found, as there is no adopted AI strategy to monitor (M8.5). No government AI registry was found (M8.4). The Bank of Namibia adopted an AI strategy for its own operations, reported on 17 March 2026, but no sector-wide guidance for financial institutions was found (M8.7). Grants for AI research include projects over NAD 1 m, with no total budget or disbursement figure disclosed (M8.1).
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