Economy keeps flexing its muscle

Namibia’s economy recorded its best third quarter since at least 2014, growing by 7.2% in real terms.

Data released by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) yesterday showed the past quarter was also the fifth best quarter overall since 2014.

The past quarter’s growth was only surpassed by the last quarter of 2014 (10.6%), the first quarter of 2015 (8.2%), the first quarter of 2022 (9.8%) and the first quarter of this year (8.3%).

Only four sectors contracted in the past quarter: manufacturing (-8.7%), construction (-30.6%), public administration (-1.1%) and health (-4.0%).

In nominal terms, nearly N$59.75 billion flowed through the economy in the past quarter – about N$3.8 billion more than the previous quarter and N$6.8 billion more than the third quarter of 2022.

“The positive performance is mainly attributable to the primary industry, which recorded an expansion of 38.3% in real value added,” the NSA said.



Mining

Mining and quarrying continued to be the main contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate, contributing 6.6 percentage points, according to the NSA.

The sector grew by 51.7%, recording the ninth consecutive quarter of positive growth.

The uranium subsector reported a substantial upturn, demonstrating a 29.9% increase in real value added for the past quarter. This contrasts with the modest 1.8% growth observed in the third quarter of 2022.

The mining exploration subsector has sustained its robust performance, growing by 315.8% in the quarter under review. This follows a substantial 354.4% surge reported in the corresponding quarter of 2022.

The remarkable growth can be attributed primarily to continued investments in oil exploration within the country, signaling a positive trend in the mining exploration industry.



Metal ores, diamonds

The metal ores subsector reported double-digit growth of 33.4%. This stands in stark contrast to the decline of 22.6% observed in the corresponding quarter of 2022.

The stellar performance in the subsector is credited to a substantial increase in the production of gold, signaling a positive trajectory for the metal ores industry.

The diamond mining subsector registered a marginal decrease of 0.2% in its growth rate in real value added. This marks the first downturn in nine consecutive quarters, presenting a stark contrast to the 32.6% growth witnessed during the same quarter in 2022.



Agriculture

The agriculture and forestry sector witnessed growth of 19.9% in the past quarter, compared to a deceleration of 10.6% recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2022.

The NSA attributed the upsurge to the livestock farming subsector, which experienced a growth of 25.6% during the three months under review, relative to a decline of 13.7% posted in the parallel quarter of 2022.

The performance is associated with improved livestock marketing during the period under review, the NSA said.



Construction

Construction experienced its second worst quarter since the beginning of 2018, contracting by 30.6%.

“The performance in the sector is mainly reflected in real value of government expenditure on construction that posted a contraction of 51.8% during the period under review compared to a contraction of 2.9% in the corresponding quarter of 2022,” the NSA said.

“The poor performance is mainly due to the reduction in government spending on construction related to transportation infrastructure projects,” it added.

The average real value of buildings plans approved and completed registered a contraction of 12.1% during the period under review, compared to a decline of 45.7% recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2022.



Trade

The wholesale and retail trade sector's economic activities increased by 6.1% in real value added during the past quarter, compared to an increase of 11.3% registered in the corresponding quarter of 2022.

The sector’s growth trajectory continued for the tenth consecutive quarter.

“The performance of the sector is reflected in the revenue of wholesalers and retailers that stood at N$17.0 billion compared to N$15.3 billion observed in the third quarter of 2022. This is a nominal increase of 11.1% compared to a growth of 17.9% recorded in the same quarter of 2022,” the NSA said.



Tourism

The hotels and restaurants sector – a proxy for tourism – recorded growth of 6.4% in real value added during the past quarter, compared to an increase of 3.2% in the same quarter of 2022.

“The sector's growth is reflected the increase in number of travellers from international, regional and domestic destinations, who demanded for hotels and restaurants services. Increased competitive sport activities within the country also added to the sector's expansion,” the NSA said.



Transport and storage

The transport and storage sector posted a growth of 8.8% in real value added during the past quarter, compared to a decline of 5% a year ago.

“The performance was supported by increased activities in all subsectors of transport with exception to railway transport which registered a decline of 31.5% during the period under review,” according to the NSA.

It continued: “The strong performance in air transport is attributed to increase in passengers and aircrafts movement due to improved activities related to tourism as well as business services. Passenger arrivals increased by 21.7% during the third quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, the freight transport subsector experienced a double digit increase of 11.3% during the third quarter of 2023.”