Namibia’s economy grew by N$5.3 billion in nominal terms to N$70.6 billion in the second quarter of 2026, up from N$65.3 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2025, according to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA).
In real terms, the economy expanded by 4.8% year-on-year, accelerating from growth of 1.7% recorded in the second quarter of 2025, driven mainly by agriculture, wholesale and retail trade, and health.
Tertiary industries expanded by 6.1%, while primary industries grew by 3.0% and secondary industries recorded marginal growth of 0.8%.
Agriculture and forestry recorded one of the strongest performances, expanding by 17.8% compared with a 2.7% contraction in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
Crop farming grew by 28.5%, supported by increased maize and millet production following favourable rainfall, while livestock production expanded by 7.2%.
Wholesale and retail trade grew by 9.0%, supported by a 13.8% increase in supermarket sales. The health sector expanded by 17.6%, while information and communication grew by 8.2%.
“Wholesale and Retail trade, Agriculture and Forestry and Health sectors were the top contributors to the 4.8 percent GDP growth, each contributing 0.9 percentage points, 0.8 percentage points, and 0.7 percentage points. While Education, Financial services, Manufacturing and Public administration and defence sectors, each contributed 0.4 percentage points,” the NSA report said.
Other sectors recording growth included financial services and hotels and restaurants, both at 5.5%, while real estate and professional services expanded by 5.2%.
The overall growth was partly offset by weaker activity in construction and mining. Construction contracted by 15.5%, while mining and quarrying declined by 3.1% and electricity and water fell by 2.6%.
On the expenditure side, private final consumption expenditure increased by 11.6%, while gross fixed capital formation rose by 14.4%.
Imports increased by 12.9%, significantly outpacing the 0.3% growth in exports, widening the external balance deficit to N$14.7 billion from N$8.6 billion in the second quarter of 2025.
Total final consumption expenditure in nominal terms increased to N$67.2 billion from N$60.8 billion a year earlier.
“In real terms, final consumption expenditure rose by 10.4 percent, compared to 3.8 percent decrease witnessed in the second quarter of 2025,” the report said.
