How is Namibia’s economy compared to South Africa? Comparison In 2021, South Africa ranked 59 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI 0.098), and 34 in total exports ($143B). That same year, Namibia ranked 97 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI -0.77), and 124 in total exports ($4.72B) Gross Domestic Product & Income Stat Namibia South Africa GDP $14.5B $368.3B GDP growth, 1 year -0.1% 0.8% GDP growth, 5-years average 2.4% 1.1% Population 2.5M 57.7M GDP per capita $5.9k $6.4k GDP per capita growth -2.4% -0.57% Purchasing Power Parity conversion factor 7.07 6.16 Price level ratio of PPP conversion factor GDP to market exchange rate 0.53 0.47 GDP per capita, PPP adjusted $11k $14k GNI, Atlas method $12.8B $332.3B GNI per capita $5.2k $5.8k GNI, PPP adjusted $26.6B $765.8B GNI per capita, PPP adjusted Government debt & reserves “South Africa is Namibia’s major import partner of about 66 percent to 80 percent of total imports. It is early to tell if economic sanctions will be imposed against South Africa, should it be true as alleged by Western countries that South Africa aids material support to countries in conflict, the effects of any sanction will affect Namibia’s economy and local market, even if we don’t have the same problems as South Africa, we are still exposed to all the external factors,” he told Xinhua. Sheehama said with Namibia’s current narrow industrial and export base, it is going to be difficult to withstand the external shocks. “Our economy is reliant on a portion of sectors such as fishing, diamonds, and uranium mining. Therefore, should the variables influencing the pair continue at their current state, the rand/Namibia dollar will find it difficult to regain any momentum,” he said. According to Sheehama, there is a need to understand that a weaker currency could increase the cost of imports, as Namibia uses U.S. dollars to buy oil and other commodities and the negative market sentiments cause capital flight. Sheehama is of the view that the geopolitical shifts are likely to put incremental pressure on the rand/Namibia dollar over time. “However, cumulatively, they may start to change investors’ minds on the currency. If they do, the rand/Namibia dollar has a long way to fall given relative depreciation. If momentum builds behind a weakening rand/Namibia dollar, it will have significant repercussions across financial markets,” he concluded. According to the Bank of Namibia’s economic outlook update report in March, Namibia’s economic growth already is expected to weaken over the next two years as global demand declines and consumer spending power reduces. Stat Namibia South Africa Central government debt, % of GDP 47.1% 56.7% External debt stocks, % of GNI N/A 50.6% External debt stocks N/A $179.3B Short-term debt, % of total reserves N/A 70.9% Total debt service, % of exports and primary income N/A 19.9% Adjusted net savings including particulate emission damage, % of GNI 4.5% 0.6% Gross savings, % of GDP 14% 14.9% Gross capital formation, % of GDP 12.6% 17.9% Total reserves including gold $2.1B $51.6B Foreign direct investment net inflows $199.6M $5.5B $11k Financial system and Human development Stat Namibia South Africa Income Tax Rate 37% 45% Corporate Tax Rate 34% 28% Inflation, consumer prices 4.3% 4.6% Inflation, GDP deflator 7% 3.9% Unemployment 23.1% 27% Economic Freedom Index 60.9 58.8 Personal Freedom Index 7.15 6.92 Human Freedom Index 6.97 6.78 Property Rights Index 58.9 58.4 Judical Effectiveness Index 58.5 38 Business Freedom Index 65.6 62 Fiscal Health Index 28.7 64 Labor Freedom Index 84.9 58.8 Investment Freedom Index 65 45 Financial Freedom Index 40 50 Trade Freedom Index 83.2 75.8 Monetary Freedom Index 75.9 75.9 Government Spending Index 58.1 67.4 Tax Burden Index 65.7 63.7 Government Integrity Index 46 46.6 Corruption Perceptions Index 53 43 Life expectancy at birth, years 63 63.5 Suicide mortality rate, per 100,000 people 8.7 11.6 Mortality caused by road traffic injury, per 100,000 people 30.4 25.9 Intentional homicides, per 100,000 people 17.1 35.9 International tourism, number of arrivals 1.5M 10.5M $13k Exports, imports and economic structure Stat Namibia South Africa Exports of goods and services, % of GDP 38.7% 29.9% Imports of goods and services, % of GDP 44.9% 29.6% Current account balance (balance of payments) -$354.5M -$13.4B Revenue excluding grants, % of GDP 31.6% 30.9% Grants excluding technical cooperation, BoP $127.9M $817.9M Personal remittances received $53.7M $929M Industry including construction value added, % of GDP 29.3% 25.9% Agriculture, forestry and fishing value added, % of GDP 7.2% 2.2% Charges for the use of intellectual property, payments BoP $1.3M $1.8B Charges for the use of intellectual property, receipts BoP $1.4M $120.7M Expense, % of GDP 31.1% 34.4% Government Expenditure, % of GDP 37.4% 33% “South Africa is Namibia’s major import partner of about 66 percent to 80 percent of total imports. It is early to tell if economic sanctions will be imposed against South Africa, should it be true as alleged by Western countries that South Africa aids material support to countries in conflict, the effects of any sanction will affect Namibia’s economy and local market, even if we don’t have the same problems as South Africa, we are still exposed to all the external factors,” he told Xinhua. Sheehama said with Namibia’s current narrow industrial and export base, it is going to be difficult to withstand the external shocks. “Our economy is reliant on a portion of sectors such as fishing, diamonds, and uranium mining. Therefore, should the variables influencing the pair continue at their current state, the rand/Namibia dollar will find it difficult to regain any momentum,” he said. According to Sheehama, there is a need to understand that a weaker currency could increase the cost of imports, as Namibia uses U.S. dollars to buy oil and other commodities and the negative market sentiments cause capital flight. Sheehama is of the view that the geopolitical shifts are likely to put incremental pressure on the rand/Namibia dollar over time. “However, cumulatively, they may start to change investors’ minds on the currency. If they do, the rand/Namibia dollar has a long way to fall given relative depreciation. If momentum builds behind a weakening rand/Namibia dollar, it will have significant repercussions across financial markets,” he concluded. According to the Bank of Namibia’s economic outlook update report in March, Namibia’s economic growth already is expected to weaken over the next two years as global demand declines and consumer spending power reduces.