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Namibia

Republic of Namibia

English Namibian Dollar (NAD) Mixed: Roman-Dutch law, common law, customary law
AU, SADC, SACU, AfCFTA, Commonwealth, WTO

Namibia is a resource-rich, upper-middle-income country with one of Africa's highest GDP per capita levels. The economy is driven by mining (uranium, diamonds, zinc, gold), fishing, tourism, and agriculture. Namibia is the world's third-largest uranium producer.

The country is positioning itself as a global leader in green hydrogen, with the Hyphen Hydrogen Energy project (a $10 billion investment) planned for the Tsau Khaeb National Park. The Walvis Bay port is a key logistics hub for Southern African trade. Namibia benefits from its membership in SACU (common customs area with South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini) and has the Namibian dollar pegged at par to the South African rand.

Namibia's New Equitable Economic Empowerment Framework (NEEEF) aims to promote economic inclusion. Challenges include high inequality (one of the world's highest Gini coefficients), unemployment above 33%, and a small domestic market.

Snapshot

Population~3.1 MWorld Bank, 2025
GDP (current USD)$15.1 BWorld Bank, 2025
GDP per Capita$4,876World Bank, 2025
GDP Growth1.73%World Bank, 2025
Inflation (y/y)~3.51%World Bank, 2025
Repo rate (Bank of Namibia)7.75%Central Bank
Unemployment19.29%World Bank, ILO modelled estimate, 2025
Internet Use~64.87%World Bank, 2024
Electrification~56.00%World Bank WDI
CPI Score (Rank)49.0/100 (#59)Transparency Intl
HDI (Rank)0.615 (#139)UNDP HDR
Credit RatingBB+ (Fitch) / Ba3 (Moody's)S&P / Moody's / Fitch
MarketNamibian Stock Exchange (NSX)

World Bank Indicators Compare with another country

GDP (current USD)$15.1 BWorld Bank, 2025
GDP growth (annual)1.73%World Bank, 2025
GDP per capita (USD)$4,876World Bank, 2025
Population, total3.1 MWorld Bank, 2025
FDI net inflows (USD)$1.9 BWorld Bank, 2024
Inflation (consumer prices)3.51%World Bank, 2025
Unemployment (% labour force)19.29%World Bank, 2025
Internet use (% of people)64.87%World Bank, 2024
Trade (% of GDP)108.58%World Bank, 2025

Climate Readiness Full ranking

57out of 100
Established
Climate adaptation readiness for Namibia, from 5 of 5 measured indicators.
Energy access5656.0% · 30% weight
Governance readiness4949 / 100 CPI · 20% weight
Human readiness620.615 HDI · 20% weight
Economic readiness69$4,876, 2025 · 15% weight
Digital readiness5353.0% · 15% weight
This scores climate adaptation readiness (adaptive capacity), following the readiness dimension of the ND-GAIN framework. It is built only from measured values already held on this profile and normalised 0-100. It does not measure emissions or physical climate vulnerability: the platform does not yet hold emissions, hazard-exposure or natural-capital series. Energy access is the single most climate-specific indicator held; the other four are governance, economic, human-development and digital readiness proxies. The economic sub-score is relative to the African countries the platform covers.
How this is computed

Adaptive capacity to absorb climate finance and adapt, following the readiness dimension of the ND-GAIN framework. Built only from measured values already held on each country profile. It is not a measure of emissions or physical climate vulnerability, which the platform does not yet hold.

  • Energy access (30%) — World Bank, access to electricity (% of population). The single most climate and energy specific signal held: SDG 7 and the clean-energy transition.
  • Governance readiness (20%) — Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index (0-100). ND-GAIN governance readiness: the capacity to govern and deploy climate finance. Higher is cleaner.
  • Human readiness (20%) — UNDP, Human Development Index (0-1). ND-GAIN social readiness: the adaptive capacity of the population.
  • Economic readiness (15%) — World Bank, GDP per capita (current US$), latest measured year. ND-GAIN economic readiness: the capacity to finance adaptation. Scored relative to the covered set.
  • Digital readiness (15%) — World Bank, individuals using the Internet (% of population). Information systems for early warning and adaptation.

A country is scored only when at least 4 of the five indicators are held. Sub-scores are weighted and renormalised over the indicators that are present; nothing is estimated for one that is absent.

Country Facts

CapitalWindhoek
RegionSouthern Africa
CurrencyNamibian Dollar (NAD)
FX RegimeFixed peg to ZAR (NAD = ZAR at par)
Stock ExchangeNamibian Stock Exchange (NSX)
Investment Promotion AgencyNamibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB)
Legal SystemMixed: Roman-Dutch law, common law, customary law
Time ZoneAfrica/Windhoek

Focus Sectors

Mining (uranium
diamonds
zinc)
Fishing
Agriculture
Tourism
Manufacturing
Energy (green hydrogen potential)
Logistics (Walvis Bay port)
Financial Services
Construction
Retail

Regulations & Taxes

Corporate Income Tax32% standard (mining: varies by mineral)
VAT / Sales Tax15% standard