Namibia GDP Growth Picks Up in Q2

2026-09-25 09:42 By Luisa Carvalho 1 min. read

Namibia's annual economic growth accelerated to 4.8% in Q2 2026, its strongest pace since Q1 2024, from the revised 3.1% in the prior period.

Tertiary industries remained the main engine of growth, expanding 6.1%, with notable gains in health (17.6%), wholesale and retail trade (9%), and information and communication (8.2%).

Primary industries advanced 3%, supported by agriculture and forestry (17.8%) and fishing (2.8%).

The crop subsector grew 28.5% on higher maize and millet production, supported by favorable rainfall, while fishing activity benefited from increased fish landings.

Meanwhile, secondary industries rose 0.8%, driven by a 3.9% growth in manufacturing.

Diamond cutting and polishing surged 76.5%, while leather and leather products (32.9%), paper products, publishing and printing (12.9%), dairy products (12.6%), and meat processing (8.0%) also increased significantly.

Conversely, mining contracted 3.1%, reflecting declines in uranium, diamond and metal ore mining.



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Namibia GDP Growth Picks Up in Q2
Namibia's annual economic growth accelerated to 4.8% in Q2 2026, its strongest pace since Q1 2024, from the revised 3.1% in the prior period. Tertiary industries remained the main engine of growth, expanding 6.1%, with notable gains in health (17.6%), wholesale and retail trade (9%), and information and communication (8.2%). Primary industries advanced 3%, supported by agriculture and forestry (17.8%) and fishing (2.8%). The crop subsector grew 28.5% on higher maize and millet production, supported by favorable rainfall, while fishing activity benefited from increased fish landings. Meanwhile, secondary industries rose 0.8%, driven by a 3.9% growth in manufacturing. Diamond cutting and polishing surged 76.5%, while leather and leather products (32.9%), paper products, publishing and printing (12.9%), dairy products (12.6%), and meat processing (8.0%) also increased significantly. Conversely, mining contracted 3.1%, reflecting declines in uranium, diamond and metal ore mining.
2026-09-25
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The economy of Namibia expanded by 2% year-on-year in Q1 2026, following a revised 0.1% rise in the previous period. Growth was driven by tertiary activities (+5.1%), particularly wholesale and retail trade (+9.3%), financial services (+7.2%), health (+6.4%), education (+4.6%) and public administration (+3.7%). Primary activities, however, contracted 5.7%, reflecting a sharp 12.2% decline in mining and quarrying due to lower diamond and gold production. At the same time, the industrial sector fell 3.1%, weighed down by a 12.2% slump in manufacturing, mainly attributed to poor performances in the manufacture of basic metals (-87.9%); diamond cutting and polishing’(-35.7%) and manufacture of other food products (-15.7%). On the expenditure side, household consumption rose 1.4%, government spending increased 4.5% and fixed investment advanced 3.4%. Meanwhile, net external demand contributed negatively to GDP growth, as imports rose 4.6% and outpaced a 4.1% increase in exports.
2026-06-25
Namibia Economy Contracts in Q4
The economy of Namibia shrank by 0.5% year-on-year in Q4 2025, marking the first contraction since Q1 2021, following an upwardly revised 2.6% growth in the previous period. Mining & quarrying (-28.8% vs -5.5% in Q3) was the main dragger, followed by manufacturing (-5.1% vs 2.6%) and financial service activities (-1% vs 2.3%). On the other hand, notable growth was recorded in construction (23.4% vs 12.2%); utilities (12.5% vs 20.3%); wholesale & retail trade (9.5% vs 7.7%); information & communication (8.4% vs 13.3%); health (6% vs 3.9%) and hotels & restaurants (5.3% vs -0.8%). On a quarterly basis, the GDP rose by 6.4%, after a revised 2.1% decline in the previous quarter. The Namibian economic growth slowed to 1.7% in 2025 from an upwardly revised 3.8% in the year before, mainly attributed to weak performance in both primary and secondary sectors.
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