CHAMWE KAIRA
The country’s economy grew by 4.8% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, accelerating from the 1.7% growth recorded during the same quarter last year, according to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA).
In nominal terms, the economy was estimated at N$70.6 billion during the quarter, up N$5.3 billion from N$65.3 billion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
The NSA said the tertiary industries remained the main drivers of economic growth, expanding by 6.1% in real value added, compared with 3.8% in the second quarter of 2025.
Health recorded the strongest growth among the tertiary activities, expanding by 17.6%, compared with 2.7% a year earlier.
Wholesale and retail trade grew by 9.0%, compared with 6.5%, while information and communication expanded by 8.2%, down from 12.3% in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
Financial services activities recovered, recording growth of 5.5% compared with a 0.7% contraction in the second quarter of 2025.
Hotels and restaurants grew by 5.5%, compared with 5.3% a year earlier, while real estate and professional services activities expanded by 5.2%, compared with 0.3%.
Primary industries also returned to growth, expanding by 3.0% in real value added, compared with a 2.4% contraction in the second quarter of 2025.
The NSA attributed the improvement mainly to agriculture and forestry, as well as fishing and fish processing on board. Agriculture and forestry grew by 17.8%, while fishing and fish processing on board expanded by 2.8%.
The agency said the performance reflected a significant increase in estimated crop production and higher volumes of fish landed.
Secondary industries also improved, growing by 0.8% in real value added during the quarter, compared with a 1.5% contraction in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
The improvement was mainly driven by manufacturing, which grew by 3.9%, compared with a 7.9% contraction a year earlier.
On the expenditure side, private final consumption expenditure increased by 11.6% in the second quarter, reversing a 5.9% decline recorded in the same quarter of 2025.
Government final consumption expenditure increased by 6.6%, compared with growth of 4.1% a year earlier. The NSA attributed the increase to a rise in the number of public servants.
Gross fixed capital formation also recorded double-digit growth, increasing by 14.4% compared with a 4.4% decline in the second quarter of 2025. The increase was attributed to higher investment in machinery and transport equipment.
However, exports of goods and services grew by only 0.3% during the quarter, while imports accelerated by 12.9%, resulting in an expansion of the external balance deficit.
