WINDHOEK, June 25 — Namibia’s real gross domestic product grew 2.0 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2026, slowing from 2.8 percent in the same period last year as contractions in the mining and manufacturing sectors weighed on economic activity, official data showed on Thursday.
According to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), the economy was valued at 70.9 billion Namibian dollars (about 4.2 billion U.S. dollars) in nominal terms during the quarter, up from 66.2 billion Namibian dollars a year earlier.
The agency said the slowdown was mainly driven by weaker performance in the primary and secondary industries. Mining and quarrying contracted by 12.2 percent due to lower diamond and gold production, while manufacturing declined by 5.9 percent, resulting in a 3.1 percent contraction in the secondary sector.
By contrast, the services sector expanded by 5.1 percent, supported by growth in wholesale and retail trade, financial services, health, education and public administration.
On the expenditure side, household consumption growth slowed sharply to 1.4 percent from 8.4 percent a year earlier, while government final consumption expenditure increased by 4.5 percent, Statistician General Alex Shimuafeni said.
Gross fixed capital formation, a measure of investment, rose by 3.4 percent, reversing the decline recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025, he added.
Exports of goods and services increased by 4.1 percent, while imports rose by 4.6 percent, resulting in a wider external trade deficit, according to the NSA. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
