Botswana GDP Shrinks 2% in Q4

Botswana's GDP contracted by 2% year-on-year in Q4 2024, following a revised 4.3% decline in the previous period.

This marks the fourth consecutive quarter of economic downturn, primarily driven by declines in key sectors such as agriculture, forestry, and fishing (-2.5% vs.

-2.1% in Q3), mining and quarrying (-27.3% vs.

-27.2%), and manufacturing (-6.5% vs.

-1.7%).

In contrast, production rebounded sharply in diamond trading (196.2% vs.

-75.6%), while output growth accelerated in sectors such as water and electricity (43.7% vs.

28.6%), finance and insurance (4.2% vs.

3.9%), real estate (4.2% vs.

3.9%), and public administration and defense (5.9% vs.

5.3%).

On a quarterly basis, GDP grew by 1.3%, recovering from a 2.8% decline in the previous period.

For the entire year, the economy contracted by 3%, compared to a 3.2% growth in 2023.