WINDHOEK, July 3 — Namibia has been moved downward from an upper-middle income level to a lower-middle income category, according to the World Bank Group’s income classifications for fiscal year 2026, which runs from July 1, 2025, to June 2026.
Namibia was the only country to receive a downgraded classification this year, the World Bank said Tuesday. “One of the main factors behind the slower GDP growth was a sharp deceleration in mining and quarrying, for which growth went from +19.3 percent in 2023 to -1.2 percent in 2024 due to weak demand for diamonds,” the World Bank said.
Furthermore, population data was adjusted upwards by the United Nations Population Division with a 13.8 percent increase for 2023, leading to a 12.9 percent decrease in the Atlas Gross National Income per capita, impacting the country’s income classification. (Xinhua)
