Namibia — GDP growth
GDP Growth (Annual %) for Namibia, 1981–2025.
GDP growth for Namibia was 1.73% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 45 years, from 1981 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 12.27% in 2004. The lowest was -8.10% in 2020 (about -4.7× the latest value). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 1.32% per year.
Namibia ranks 157 of 212 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 74%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 4.61%, so Namibia sits below it. It peaked in 2004 and has fallen 86% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 59%. Within Sub-Saharan Africa it ranks 42 of 47 economies; South Africa (1.11%) is just below it. Its sharpest one-year move was down 3140% in 2017. That is 34% above this series' own ten-year average.
Data highlights
From its 1981 level: doubled by 1986; grown tenfold by 2004. Doubling roughly every 53 years at that pace.
World ranking. Slipped: 107th of 161 in 1981 → 106th of 176 in 1990 → 129th of 199 in 2000 → 65th of 209 in 2010 → 153rd of 209 in 2020 → 143rd of 186 in 2025.
Key figures
Full history — 1981 to 2025
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.73% | -2.0 pp |
| 2024 | 3.78% | -0.5 pp |
| 2023 | 4.32% | -1.1 pp |
| 2022 | 5.4% | +1.8 pp |
| 2021 | 3.6% | +11.7 pp |
| 2020 | -8.1% | -7.3 pp |
| 2019 | -0.84% | -1.9 pp |
| 2018 | 1.06% | +2.1 pp |
| 2017 | -1.03% | -1.1 pp |
| 2016 | 0.03% | -4.2 pp |
| 2015 | 4.26% | -1.8 pp |
| 2014 | 6.09% | +0.5 pp |
| 2013 | 5.61% | +0.6 pp |
| 2012 | 5.06% | -0.0 pp |
| 2011 | 5.09% | -0.9 pp |
| 2010 | 6.04% | +5.7 pp |
| 2009 | 0.3% | -2.4 pp |
| 2008 | 2.65% | -2.7 pp |
| 2007 | 5.37% | -1.7 pp |
| 2006 | 7.07% | +4.5 pp |
| 2005 | 2.53% | -9.7 pp |
| 2004 | 12.27% | +8.0 pp |
| 2003 | 4.24% | -0.5 pp |
| 2002 | 4.79% | +3.6 pp |
| 2001 | 1.18% | -2.3 pp |
| 2000 | 3.49% | +0.1 pp |
| 1999 | 3.37% | +0.1 pp |
| 1998 | 3.29% | -0.9 pp |
| 1997 | 4.22% | +1.0 pp |
| 1996 | 3.19% | -0.7 pp |
| 1995 | 3.9% | +2.2 pp |
| 1994 | 1.73% | +3.3 pp |
| 1993 | -1.58% | -8.8 pp |
| 1992 | 7.19% | -1.0 pp |
| 1991 | 8.17% | +6.1 pp |
| 1990 | 2.05% | +0.2 pp |
| 1989 | 1.86% | +1.0 pp |
| 1988 | 0.81% | -2.7 pp |
| 1987 | 3.55% | -1.2 pp |
| 1986 | 4.77% | +4.3 pp |
| 1985 | 0.46% | +0.7 pp |
| 1984 | -0.24% | +1.6 pp |
| 1983 | -1.82% | -1.4 pp |
| 1982 | -0.4% | -1.4 pp |
| 1981 | 0.97% | — |
Frequently asked questions
What was Namibia’s GDP growth in 1982?
-0.4% (1982). The full year-by-year table above lists every published year, most recent first.
Are changes in this series measured in percentage points?
Yes. The series is a share expressed in annual %, so year-over-year movements in the Change column are percentage points (pp), not percent.
Is Namibia’s GDP growth growing or shrinking?
Between 1981 and 2025 the series was growing overall: +78.1% in total — about 1.3% a year compounded.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank Open Data (CC BY-4.0), indicator NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG. Values are reproduced as published; this page only computes summary statistics such as change, CAGR and extremes.
What are the most recent published figures?
The last five published years: 2025: 1.73%; 2024: 3.78%; 2023: 4.32%; 2022: 5.4%; 2021: 3.6%. Earlier years are in the full-history table below.
Related data
NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG — GDP Growth (Annual %). Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.