Indigenous frees fulfil many subsistence and economic needs in north-central Namibia. Hyphaene petersiana provides a range of products which contribute to most aspects of people's livelihoods. Of particular importance is its income-generating capacity through the use of palm leaves for basket production and the sale of liquor distilled from the fruits. This study investigates the population structure of Hyphaene petersiana in two areas of different human and livestock densities. Data were recorded for height class distribution, basal diameter of mature, stemmed individuals and sex ratios. These parameters of population structure indicate a reduction in the recruitment of mature palms and an increase in single-stemmed, vegetatively reproduced palm suckers of the smallest size class (< 0.5 m). This trend is more pronounced in the site with greater human and livestock population densities. It appears to be related to high recorded levels of browsing by livestock of juvenile, unstemmed palms, despite the unpalatability of palm leaves. This acts to prevent recruitment into larger size classes and increase the compensatory growth of palm suckers, the latter being enhanced due to reduced competition through the prior removal by grazing animals of grasses and other herbaceous species. Accompanying this heavy pressure on juvenile palms are destructive uses of mature, stemmed palms, including their felling for construction purposes and tapping for palm wine. With regional human population increase, exacerbated by a recent trend to privatise land and raise pressure on remaining communal resources, it is possible that these destructive uses of mature palms will increase to unsustainable levels. Concern is thus expressed in this study regarding the long-term viability of Hyphaene petersiana populations in this area.