Nambia country handbook: highlights of ECA’S support to Namibia 2017-2022

Abstract

The economy of Namibia is dominated by mining, agriculture, manufacturing and tourism. Pearls and diamonds were the most important exports in 2021, accounting for 19.4 per cent of the national total, followed by uranium (15.2 per cent) and fish (14.8 per cent). The country’s trade dependence index stood at 45.9 per cent, indicating that the economy is heavily dependent on international trade. The contribution of the agriculture sector (excluding fishing) to gross domestic product (GDP) averaged more than 4 percent between 2018 and 2021. Namibia is a member of the Southern African Customs Union and SADC. The country signed the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area on 2 July 2018 and deposited the instruments of ratification for the Agreement on 1 February 2019. Recent technical support provided to stakeholders in Southern Africa included, among other things, industrial policy harmonization; the development of national strategies and implementation plans related to the African Continental Free Trade Area; support for the growth of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises; domestic resource mobilization; and capacity-building in macroeconomic modelling. The Subregional Office for Southern Africa prepared and published the Country Profiles series, which included a profile on Namibia. Each profile provided robust independent analysis of the country’s economic and social development status, progress and prospects, which policymakers and analysts could use for key national, regional and international development initiatives and agendas, including economic transformation. The series was published and updated until 2018. The latest generation of profiles are the structural transformation, employment, production and society (STEPS) profiles. These recurrent publications were widely disseminated, eliciting evidence-based policy engagement and dialogue among State and non-State stakeholders.