Namibia Trade Profile and Statistics
1. Introduction
With a small population (3 million breakthrough reached in 2024), a small domestic market, limited skilled labor force and abundant natural resources, Namibia relies on foreign trade and foreign direct investment to sustain and accelerate its economic growth. External markets absorb most of the minerals and fish products while imports satisfy demand for products in short supply locally. Namibia actively seeks to use its natural resources to attract FDI to leverage its economic growth.
2. Trade in Goods
Namibia is an open economy, rich in natural resources with a diverse economy. The mining sector, especially diamonds, gold and uranium play a significant role in terms of job creation international trade and revenue contribution. Similarly, agriculture, fishing, and tourism sectors are also some of the drivers of the Namibian economy.
Namibia's merchandise trade is characterised by exports of a few natural resources such as diamonds, uranium, fish and non-monetary gold, which account for close to 60% of total merchandise exports followed by live animals (mainly cattle and sheep), fruit and nuts, fuel wood and beef. Imports primarily consist of refined petroleum oils, motor vehicles, pharmaceutical products, miscellaneous chemical products, telecommunications equipment, and cereal products. South Africa dominates both the export and import markets for Namibia, with an export basket comprising mainly non-monetary gold and live animals, while the import basket mainly comprises motor vehicles and alcoholic beverages. Botswana remains the main destination for Namibia’s diamonds while exports to China have increased sharply, reflecting strong demand for uranium ore. On the other hand, China supplies Namibia mainly with thermionic valves and tubes. Furthermore, Namibia has recorded an increase in re-exports, mainly of precious stones, refined copper and petroleum oils.
The country's geographical location in southern and western Africa, makes it a gateway to regional and international markets which is facilitated by its membership in key trade blocs and trade agreements such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), African Continental Free Trade Area, SADC-EU Economic Partnership Aagreement (EPA).
Tables 1 and 2 show Namibia’s top exports and imports while tables 3 and 4 show Namibia main export destinations and import sources respectively.
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Table 1: Namibia top 10 export products (2019-2023 in N$ million) |
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HS \ Year |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
%Share in total exports (2023) |
Average growth (%) 2019-2023 |
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|
All Exports Products |
86,662 |
86,875 |
93,155 |
94,652 |
103,172 |
|
14.4 |
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|
710231: Non-industrial diamonds unworked |
13,338 |
11,381 |
10,950 |
16,012 |
18,348 |
17.8 |
39.7 |
||
|
261210: Uranium ores |
10,284 |
10,446 |
10,408 |
13,306 |
14,521 |
14.1 |
28.6 |
||
|
710812: Unwrought gold |
4,684 |
6,560 |
6,505 |
7,176 |
11,577 |
11.2 |
74.8 |
||
|
030474: Frozen hake fillets |
4,446 |
4,522 |
4,272 |
4,764 |
6,396 |
6.2 |
35.1 |
||
|
710239: Non-industrial diamonds, not mounted |
2,390 |
1,069 |
2,268 |
5,691 |
6,135 |
5.9 |
163.0 |
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|
271012: Light oils |
855 |
1,148 |
2,171 |
6,672 |
5,443 |
5.3 |
209.6 |
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|
030355: Frozen Jack and horse mackerel |
3,135 |
2,623 |
3,169 |
3,486 |
4,579 |
4.4 |
40.2 |
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|
740319: Refined copper |
128 |
951 |
434 |
0 |
4,556 |
4.4 |
45,563,189.6 |
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|
080610: Fresh grapes |
838 |
831 |
956 |
1,259 |
1,317 |
1.3 |
31.8 |
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|
440290: Other ?? of bamboo |
554 |
691 |
773 |
1,084 |
1,240 |
1.2 |
55.9 |
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TOTAL SHARE FOR TOP 10 EXPORTS |
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|
|
|
|
71.8 |
|
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Table 2: Namibia’s top 15 import products (2019 - 2023 in N$ million) |
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|
Products |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
%Share in total imports (2023) |
Average growth (%) 2019-23 |
||
|
All Imports Products |
108,504 |
107,367 |
126,984 |
133,005 |
136,288 |
0.2 |
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|
271012: Light oils and preparations |
12,787 |
8,986 |
12,242 |
26,528 |
27,468 |
20.2 |
1.1 |
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|
260300: Copper ores and concentrates |
7,427 |
9,526 |
6,414 |
5,845 |
4,614 |
3.4 |
0.3 |
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|
710231: Non-industrial diamonds unworked |
3,801 |
1,197 |
2,703 |
4,195 |
1,992 |
1.5 |
0.1 |
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|
870421: Goods vehicles, diesel GVM =<5tonnes |
1,625 |
1,084 |
1,128 |
1,291 |
1,951 |
1.4 |
0.6 |
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870410: Dumpers for off-highway use |
167 |
195 |
721 |
1,235 |
1,545 |
1.1 |
4.1 |
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854143: Photovoltaic cells made up into panels |
- |
- |
- |
572 |
1,516 |
1.1 |
- |
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300490: Medicaments |
764 |
895 |
800 |
758 |
1,294 |
0.9 |
0.6 |
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170199: Cane or beet sugar |
808 |
996 |
1,024 |
1,165 |
1,290 |
0.9 |
0.3 |
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870431: Goods vehicles, petrol <5 tonnes |
443 |
342 |
733 |
1,022 |
1,269 |
0.9 |
1.4 |
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401180: Used on construction, mining machines: |
583 |
742 |
907 |
1,021 |
1,240 |
0.9 |
0.6 |
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|
870323: Vehicles capacity petrol 1500-3000cc |
860 |
656 |
678 |
861 |
1,160 |
0.9 |
0.5 |
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282200: Cobalt oxides and hydroxides; |
0 |
1,559 |
1,186 |
1,932 |
1,138 |
0.8 |
750,877. |
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870121: Vehicles (diesel or semi-diesel): |
- |
- |
0 |
845 |
1,087 |
0.8 |
- |
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100590: Other Maize (excl. seed) |
735 |
647 |
599 |
737 |
1,056 |
0.8 |
0.6 |
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100199: Other seed of wheat and meslin |
475 |
550 |
684 |
922 |
1,037 |
0.8 |
0.7 |
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TOTAL SHARE OF TOP 15 IMPORTS |
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|
|
|
|
36.4 |
|
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Table 3: Namibia's Main Export Markets (2020-2023 in N$ mil) |
Table 4: Namibia’s Main Import Markets (2020-2023 in N$ mil) |
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Partner \ Year |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
% Share |
Partner \ Year |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
% Share |
|
South Africa |
12,517 |
13,410 |
16,540 |
20,460 |
19.8 |
South Africa |
40,898 |
45,578 |
50,052 |
52,408 |
38.5 |
|
Botswana |
7,522 |
8,600 |
16,741 |
19,842 |
19.2 |
China |
5,176 |
6,791 |
9,811 |
13,273 |
9.7 |
|
China |
32,121 |
29,698 |
10,751 |
12,670 |
12.3 |
India |
2,942 |
4,614 |
7,852 |
9,325 |
6.8 |
|
Zambia |
3,947 |
4,922 |
7,462 |
9,114 |
8.8 |
UAE |
843 |
982 |
5,315 |
5,824 |
4.3 |
|
Belgium |
4,867 |
3,757 |
3,294 |
5,431 |
5.3 |
USA |
2,103 |
2,539 |
4,303 |
4,714 |
3.5 |
|
Spain |
4,335 |
5,079 |
4,733 |
5,211 |
5.1 |
Saudi Arabia |
391 |
808 |
3,889 |
4,368 |
3.2 |
|
UAE |
1,875 |
3,186 |
3,420 |
4,344 |
4.2 |
Peru |
2,186 |
3,658 |
4,213 |
4,016 |
2.9 |
|
Netherlands |
1,709 |
4,410 |
5,237 |
3,730 |
3.6 |
Oman |
957 |
1,849 |
1,679 |
3,016 |
2.2 |
|
DRC |
2,512 |
3,229 |
5,381 |
3,644 |
3.5 |
Germany |
1,127 |
1,640 |
2,061 |
2,930 |
2.2 |
|
France |
689 |
2,245 |
3,093 |
2,748 |
2.7 |
Malaysia |
361 |
885 |
480 |
2,484 |
1.8 |
|
Canada |
1,284 |
682 |
1,315 |
2,331 |
2.3 |
Japan |
696 |
929 |
1,504 |
2,283 |
1.7 |
|
Hong Kong |
1,316 |
880 |
1,785 |
1,452 |
1.4 |
UK |
943 |
1,506 |
1,651 |
2,166 |
1.6 |
|
Zimbabwe |
360 |
564 |
903 |
1,144 |
1.1 |
Switzerland |
491 |
1,090 |
1,166 |
2,132 |
1.6 |
|
USA |
1,178 |
2,314 |
2,086 |
1,085 |
1.1 |
Zambia |
21,872 |
22,369 |
629 |
1,512 |
1.1 |
|
Italy |
1,397 |
1,178 |
855 |
1,050 |
1.0 |
Netherlands |
728 |
903 |
3,663 |
1,362 |
1.0 |
|
India |
765 |
437 |
591 |
934 |
0.9 |
Singapore |
154 |
213 |
425 |
1,288 |
0.9 |
|
Mozambique |
501 |
594 |
945 |
909 |
0.9 |
Italy |
334 |
389 |
2,078 |
1,244 |
0.9 |
|
Angola |
468 |
464 |
824 |
795 |
0.8 |
Spain |
935 |
837 |
811 |
1,162 |
0.9 |
|
Germany |
2,191 |
933 |
735 |
714 |
0.7 |
DRC |
6,253 |
10,924 |
1,902 |
1,111 |
0.8 |
3. Key observations and trends over the past 10 years,
1. Africa remains Namibia’s major trading partner, although total trade with Africa has declined from 25.1 percent in 2014 to 22.0 percent in 2023.
2. South Africa accounts for close to 40 percent of Namibia’s imports and Namibia has a chronic BOP deficit in its trade with RSA.
3. EU (27) countries collectively are in third place as the most important trading partner for Namibia, with the share of EU in Namibia trade having increased from 4.8 percent in 2016 - when EPA came into force - to 6.4 percent in 2023.
4. China’s trade with Namibia has grown threefold, from 1.6 percent of total trade in 2014 to 5.0 percent in 2023.
5. Botswana continues to be Namibia’s destination mostly for non-monetary gold. Total trade for Botswana increased from 3.7 percent in 2014 to 3.9 percent in 2023.
6. Namibia's trade with Asia less China has progressively increased from 1.4 percent in 2017 to 4.0 percent in 2023.
7 USA-Namibia trade has remained constant over the last decade despite the AGOA's preferential provisions that Namibia enjoys in the USA market.
Detailed trade statistics can be found here Home - Namibia Statistics Agency. Other sources of trade statistics are also included in this page