Namibia:
Economy

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Other pages in this profile of Namibia:
Geography, People, Government, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Economy - overview	Definition The economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals for export. Mining accounts for 8% of GDP, but provides more than 50% of foreign exchange earnings. Rich alluvial diamond deposits make Namibia a primary source for gem-quality diamonds. Namibia is the fourth-largest exporter of nonfuel minerals in Africa, the world's fifth-largest producer of uranium, and the producer of large quantities of lead, zinc, tin, silver, and tungsten. The mining sector employs only about 3% of the population while about half of the population depends on subsistence agriculture for its livelihood. Namibia normally imports about 50% of its cereal requirements; in drought years food shortages are a major problem in rural areas. A high per capita GDP, relative to the region, hides one of the world's most unequal income distributions. The Namibian economy is closely linked to South Africa with the Namibian dollar pegged one-to-one to the South African rand. Increased payments from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) put Namibia's budget into surplus in 2007 for the first time since independence, but SACU payments will decline after 2008 as part of a new revenue sharing formula. Increased fish production and mining of zinc, copper, uranium, and silver spurred growth in 2003-07, but growth in recent years was undercut by poor fish catches and high costs for metal inputs.
GDP (purchasing power parity)	Definition - World rank and map $10.72 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)	Definition $7.4 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	Definition - World rank and map 4.4% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita	Definition - World rank and map $5,200 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	Definition agriculture: 10.8% industry: 33.4% services: 55.8% (2007 est.)
Labor force	Definition 660,000 (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	Definition agriculture: 47% industry: 20% services: 33% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate	Definition - World rank and map 5.2% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	Definition the UNDP's 2005 Human Development Report indicated that 34.9% of the population live on $1 per day and 55.8% live on $2 per day
Household income or consumption by percentage share	Definition lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 64.5% (2003)
Distribution of family income - Gini index	Definition - World rank and map 70.7 (2003)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	Definition - World rank and map 6.7% (2007 est.)
Investment (gross fixed)	Definition - World rank and map 27.7% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget	Definition revenues: $2.765 billion expenditures: $2.515 billion (2007 est.)
Public debt	Definition - World rank and map 21.8% of GDP (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	Definition millet, sorghum, peanuts, grapes; livestock; fish
Industries	Definition meatpacking, fish processing, dairy products; mining (diamonds, lead, zinc, tin, silver, tungsten, uranium, copper)
Industrial production growth rate	Definition - World rank and map 4% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production	Definition - World rank and map 1.688 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption	Definition - World rank and map 2.863 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption per capita	Definition - World rank and map 1,370.8 kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	Definition 78 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	Definition 1.567 billion kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005)
Oil - production	Definition - World rank and map 0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption	Definition - World rank and map 18,400 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption per 1,000 people	Definition - World rank and map 8.8 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports	Definition - World rank and map 0 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports	Definition - World rank and map 17,580 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves	Definition - World rank and map 0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption per capita	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves	Definition - World rank and map 59.75 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance	Definition - World rank and map $1.36 billion (2007 est.)
Exports	Definition - World rank and map $2.916 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities	Definition diamonds, copper, gold, zinc, lead, uranium; cattle, processed fish, karakul skins
Exports - partners	Definition South Africa 33.4%, US 4% (2006)
Imports	Definition - World rank and map $2.977 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities	Definition foodstuffs; petroleum products and fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Imports - partners	Definition South Africa 85.2%, US (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold	Definition - World rank and map $896 million (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external	Definition - World rank and map $941.1 million (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home	Definition $NA
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad	Definition $NA
Market value of publicly traded shares	Definition $541.8 million (2006)
Economic aid - recipient	Definition ODA, $123.4 million (2005 est.)
Currency (code)	Definition Namibian dollar (NAD); South African rand (ZAR)
Exchange rates	Definition Namibian dollars per US dollar - 7.18 (2007), 6.7649 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003)
Fiscal year	Definition 1 April - 31 March

Namibia: Economy

Namibia:
Economy