Namibia’s economy grew by N$5.4 billion during the second quarter of 2022 to N$48.6 billion spurred by real value-added growth in mining, latest statistics show.
According to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Second Quarter Report Of 2022 economic activities continued to expand, registering a positive outturn for five consecutive quarters since 2021.
NSA stated that the main contributor to the GDP growth of 5.6% during the quarter under review was the mining and quarrying sector which contributed 2.6% to the GDP growth followed by the financial services sector with 1.1%.
“The mining and quarrying sector registered a robust growth of 29.4% during the second quarter of 2022 compared to a decline of 1.8% recorded in the corresponding quarter 2022.
“The upsurge in the sector is mainly attributed to the diamond mining subsector that recorded an increase of 53.7% during the quarter under review,” said NSA Statistician General and CEO Alex Shimuafeni.
He added that the improved performance of the financial services sector of 16% is primarily due to the insurance and others sector, which recorded an accelerated growth of 23.4% compared to the growth of 3.2% measured in the corresponding quarter of 2021.
In the period under review, the banking services subsector expanded by 7.3%.
The report further indicated that the mining and quarrying (29.4%), financial services (16.0%), transport and storage (10.5%), and health (10.0%) sectors grew by double digits, while the construction and public administration and defence sectors declined by 25.3% and 2.1%, respectively.
Thus, the nominal size of the economy increased to N$48.6 billion, up N$5.4 billion from the N$43.2 billion recorded in the same quarter of 2021.
“During the period under review, the manufacturing sector was the highest contributor to GDP accounting for 12.1%, followed by wholesale and retail trade (10.2%) and agriculture and forestry (10%),” it reads.
According to NSA, the nominal value of goods and services exported stood at N$16.3 billion, while imports of goods and services increased to N$25.5 billion, resulting in a worsening of the external balance of goods and services.
The electricity and water sector posted a growth in real value added of 5.9% during this period in comparison to a decline of 15.9% estimated in the corresponding quarter of 2021.
“The performance in the sector is attributed to both subsectors of electricity supply and water supply that posted growth rates in real value added of 7.4% and 3.3% in real value added relative to declines of 20% and 7.5% registered in corresponding quarter of 2021, respectively,” NSA reports.
Namibia’s power generation increased by 102.6% during the period under review when compared to the second quarter of 2021, recording 515,719KWH, while imports of electricity for the same period declined by 21.1% and stood at 601,066KWH.
