About

Overview In 2022, Namibia was the number 141 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 121 in total exports, the number 129 in total imports, the number 113 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 88 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .

Exports The top exports of Namibia are Diamonds ($1.09B), Gold ($860M), Radioactive Chemicals ($571M), Special Purpose Ships ($356M), and Refined Petroleum ($341M), exporting mostly to South Africa ($1.75B), Botswana ($672M), China ($628M), Zambia ($279M), and France ($272M).

In 2022, Namibia was the world's biggest exporter of Uranium and Thorium Ore ($263M)

Imports The top imports of Namibia are Refined Petroleum ($1.22B), Special Purpose Ships ($445M), Copper Ore ($283M), Delivery Trucks ($252M), and Electricity ($235M), importing mostly from South Africa ($3.3B), China ($575M), Nigeria ($433M), India ($355M), and United Arab Emirates ($296M).

Location Namibia borders Angola, Botswana, South Africa, and Zambia by land.

Latest Trends

Latest Trade

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The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of Namibia.

Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.

* Trade values are converted to USD using each month's exchange rate. For December 2023 data, the exchange rate from December 30, 2023 is used.

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Latest Data

Flow
Color
Depth

The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.

*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.

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Historical Data

Yearly Trade

Flow
Color
Depth
Top Export (2022)Diamonds$1.09B
Top Destination (2022)South Africa$1.75B

In 2022, Namibia exported a total of $6.18B, making it the number 121 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Namibia have changed by -$202M from $6.38B in 2017 to $6.18B in 2022.

The most recent exports are led by Diamonds ($1.09B), Gold ($860M), Radioactive Chemicals ($571M), Special Purpose Ships ($356M), and Refined Petroleum ($341M). The most common destination for the exports of Namibia are South Africa ($1.75B), Botswana ($672M), China ($628M), Zambia ($279M), and France ($272M).

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Exports (2022)
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Destinations (2022)
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Market Growth

Flow
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Fastest Growing Export Markets (2021 - 2022)
South Africa$300M (+ 20.7%)
Botswana$236M (+ 54.1%)
France$107M (+ 65.1%)
Fastest Growing Import Markets (2021 - 2022)
United Arab Emirates$229M (+ 345%)
Saudi Arabia$149M (+ 320%)
Netherlands$139M (+ 243%)

Total Export Growth by Market (2021 - 2022)

Service Trade

Service Trade

Namibia Exports Services (2020)$242M
Namibia Imports Services (2020)$452M

In 2020, Namibia exported $242M worth of services. The top services exported by Namibia in 2020 were Personal travel ($96.8M), Government services, n.i.e. ($40.4M), Air transport ($25.6M), Construction abroad ($22M), and Business travel ($17.7M).

The top services imported by Namibia in 2020 were Miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services ($139M), Other transport ($100M), Personal travel ($57.2M), Government services, n.i.e. ($51.6M), and Computer and information services ($30.1M).

Service Exports (2020)

Service Imports (2020)

Economic Complexity

Overview

Economic Complexity (Trade)-0.69Rank 88 of 124
Economic Complexity (Research)-0.25Rank 67 of 135

Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

Namibia has a high level of specialization in Uranium and Thorium Ore (1.54k), Cobalt Oxides and Hydroxides (224), Wood Charcoal (164), Radioactive Chemicals (145), and Scrap Vessels (89.1). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Namibia observed and expected exports in each product.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

The top export opportunities for Namibia according to the relatedness index, were Crude Petroleum (0.15), Raw Cotton (0.14), Other Ores (0.14), Cocoa Beans (0.13), and Niobium, Tantalum, Vanadium and Zirconium Ore (0.13). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Namibia is not specialized in.

Product Space

The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.

Relatedness Space

This network shows the products most related to the production structure of Namibia. These are products that tend to be co-exported with the products that Namibia exports. Higher relatedness values ​​indicate greater knowledge, which predicts a greater probability of exporting that product in the future.

Diversification Frontier

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Depth

The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.

Economic Complexity Ranking

Methodology
Scale

During the last 20 years Namibia's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the ⁩⁨57th to the 88th⁩ position in the ECI rank.

These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.

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ECI (Trade) Ranking by Country

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