Namibia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shows growth of 2.8% in the third quarter of the year, up from 2.7% in the previous quarter.

The Namibian Statistics Agency (NSA) indicated the economy's size in the third quarter of 2024 reached N$61.6 billion, marking an increase of N$5.3 billion compared to the N$56.3 billion recorded in the third quarter of 2023.

NSA spokesperson Mirijam Shihepo noted, "In real terms, the domestic economy grew by 2.8% during the third quarter of 2024 compared to 3.1% growth registered in the parallel quarter of 2022." The growth was primarily driven by the tertiary industries, which posted a 4.9% increase in real value added in the third quarter of 2024—an improvement from the 1.9% growth recorded during the same period in 2023.

Sectors that contributed to the GDP growth are health, transport and storage, and financial service activities.

Additionally, the secondary industries showed a 1.5% growth in real value added during the review period, rebounding from a 4.4% decline in the corresponding quarter of 2023.

This recovery was supported by the manufacturing and construction sectors, which registered growth of 2.6% and 1.6%, respectively, compared to 9.4% and 7.3% seen in the same quarter of the previous year.

The primary industries recorded a 4.4% decline in real value added during the third quarter of 2024, compared to the 13.8% growth recorded in the same period of 2023.

This underperformance was primarily driven by the mining and quarrying and agriculture and forestry sectors, which recorded declines of 6.7% and 6.3%, respectively.

The decline was attributed to reduced livestock marketing, the impact of drought, and decreased diamond production.

On the demand side, private final consumption expenditure grew marginally by 0.5%, down from the 1% increase recorded in the third quarter of 2023, as household consumption slowed.

In contrast, government final consumption expenditure rose by 5.7% during the review period, recovering from a 0.7% decline in the corresponding quarter of 2023, driven by higher compensation for public sector employees.

Investment in oil and gas exploration declined during the quarter, leading to a 7.2% decrease in Gross Fixed Capital Formation compared to the 92.8% growth recorded in the same quarter of 2023.

Meanwhile, exports of goods and services increased by 19.3%, while imports grew by 7.3%. This resulted in a narrowing of the external balance deficit.