Namibia's Gross Domestic Product improved by 4,6% in 2022, compared to 3,5%, witnessed in 2021.

The annual national accounts were revealed during an Economic Statistics Workshop at Nkurenkuru in the Kavango West Region.

The GDP for 2022, measuring the size of the economy, is estimated at N$206,2 billion, compared to N$183,9 billion, recorded in 2021.

That equals a GDP expansion of N$22,3 billion over the year, thanks to improvements recorded in primary, secondary, and tertiary industries. 

Namibian Statistics Agency Statistician General Alex Shimuafeni says it appears that the country is moving in the right direction. 

"From the economic performance point of view yes the country is moving in the right direction because if we had a negative growth of 8.1 in 2020 and then we have now a positive growth of 3.5 in 2021 and then now also a positive of 5.6% in 2022 definitely there is an improvement and we hope to keep that trend up."

Shimuafeni called on the tertiary industries, in particular, to put more effort into ensuring quality service and production to help steer Namibia away from a status of dependency.

The tertiary industry in 2022 posted an increase of 2,2% compared to a growth of 1,8% recorded in 2021.

"If you are a net importer you are actually creating jobs outside the country because you are buying things or goods that were produced from outside but when you are producing them internally in the country, what it means is that we are creating jobs locally and then also creating income locally." 

Shimuafeni stated that the NSA will only be producing one 'Annual National Accounts' publication per year, expected to be distributed by March each year.

Governor of the Kavango West Region Sirkka Ausiku bemoaned the fact that, despite timely information disseminated by the NSA, effective implementation and utilization of these statistics are lacking at various offices and organizations. 

The Governor urged key ministries to send representatives to attend future engagement sessions.