CHAMWE KAIRA
Namibia produced diamonds worth US$721.5 million in 2025, with an average value of US$343.88 per carat, according to newly released figures from the Annual Global Summary report.
The country mined 2.1 million carats during the year, placing its average production value per carat above that of major diamond producers such as Botswana, Angola and South Africa.
Namibia exported 2.05 million carats of rough diamonds valued at US$578.5 million, at an average export value of US$282.54 per carat.
The country also imported 70 716.12 carats worth US$62.65 million, representing an average import value of US$885.98 per carat.
Namibia Diamond Trading Company (Namdia) said it achieved an average price of US$339.87 per carat, according to the information provided.
Beverley Coussement, public relations and communications officer at Namdia, said the figures demonstrated the company’s ability to achieve strong prices for Namibian diamonds on international markets.
She said this supported Namdia’s mandate of price discovery and maximising value from the country’s diamond resources.
The figures come amid challenging conditions in the global diamond industry, with the value achieved for rough diamonds remaining an important measure of performance.
In Southern Africa, Botswana produced 15.5 million carats valued at US$1.98 billion, averaging US$127.66 per carat.
Angola produced 15.2 million carats worth US$1.81 billion, at an average of US$119.22 per carat.
South Africa recorded production of 5.57 million carats valued at US$598.6 million, averaging US$107.43 per carat.
Although these countries recorded substantially higher production volumes than Namibia, their average values per carat were lower.
Globally, the Russian Federation was the largest producer by volume, mining 31.5 million carats valued at US$2.72 billion, at an average of US$86.46 per carat.
The United Arab Emirates recorded rough diamond exports exceeding US$9.28 billion, while India imported rough diamonds valued at US$11.07 billion to supply its cutting and polishing industry.
The report put global diamond production in 2025 at 98.82 million carats, with a total value of US$9.23 billion.
Namibia’s production accounted for just over 2% of global carat volume but a substantially larger share of total production value, reflecting the higher average value recorded for its diamonds.
