WINDHOEK, Dec. 20 — The Bank of Namibia said Friday that the country’s current account deficit widened by 8.8 percent in the last quarter of 2025, threatening the stability of foreign reserves.
According to the latest economic figures released by the central bank, the current account and financial account registered deficits, resulting in a drawdown of international reserves to cover the shortfall.
“Namibia’s current account deficit widened to 8.8 percent of quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2025, compared with deficits of 8.4 percent in the preceding quarter and 7.8 percent in the corresponding quarter of 2024,” said Kazembire Zemburuka, the central bank’s director of strategic communications and international relations, in a statement.
The deficit was primarily driven by lower Southern African Customs Union receipts, while the quarterly expansion reflected a larger merchandise trade deficit, as growth in imports outweighed growth in exports, he said.
Meanwhile, the central bank said Namibia’s growth rate slowed to 1.9 percent from 2.1 percent compared with the corresponding quarter of 2024.
“The slowdown was primarily driven by subdued activity in the mining and agricultural sectors, resulting in a contraction in the primary industry. However, there was a significant rise in uranium output, which partly offset this decline,” Zemburuka said “Within the secondary industries, positive growth was observed in electricity generation; however, this gain was largely offset by declines in construction work and the manufacturing of beverages and blister copper, resulting in only marginal growth for the secondary industry,” he added.(Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
