Niel Terblanche
Namibia’s economy expanded at a steady pace in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023. According to the Bank of Namibia’s June 2023 quarterly bulletin, the real gross domestic product (GDP) year on year in Q1 grew to a strong five percent.
“In the primary industry, buoyant growth was recorded in the mining and quarrying sector during the first quarter of 2023 owing to higher production of diamonds, uranium, gold, and zinc concentrate, whereas the pace of growth slowed in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors. Furthermore, growth slowed in the secondary industry on the back of a contraction in the manufacturing sector, offsetting the strong growth in the electricity and water sector as well as a slight recovery in the construction sector,” the report states.
In the tertiary industry, contractions were recorded in the financial services and public administration, and defence sectors, but strong growth was registered in the wholesale and retail as well as the tourism and transport sectors.
During the period under review, the inflation rate rose slightly on a quarterly basis during the first quarter of 2023 on the back of higher food and housing inflation.
“Inflation rose to 7.1 percent during the first quarter of 2023, compared to 7 percent in the previous quarter. The rise in inflation was predominantly driven by an increase in the inflation for food, which rose to 14.2 percent,” the report states.
The BoN blamed factors such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the weaker exchange rate, and housing which ticked higher to 2.9 percent due to the annual upward adjustment in rental prices for the inflation rate hike.
