Namibia: Adjusted savings, net forest depletion (% of GNI)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Namibia's adjusted savings, net forest depletion (% of GNI) fell 0.02 percentage points on 2020 (from 0.9% to 0.88%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was +0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.13 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.26 percentage points in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.29 percentage points in 2018. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 13% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2021, Namibia had the 38th highest value of the 168 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Namibia in the 2021 ranking

• Paraguay — 34th of 168: 1.31%
• Kenya — 35th of 168: 1.24%
• Fiji — 36th of 168: 1.2%
• Angola — 38th of 168: 0.74%
• Mauritania — 39th of 168: 0.65%
• Tajikistan — 40th of 168: 0.64%

What this measures

Net forest depletion is calculated as the product of unit resource rents and the excess of roundwood harvest over natural growth. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross National Income (GNI) which is the total income earned by all residents within an economic territory during an accounting period. It is equal to gross domestic product plus earned income receivable from abroad minus earned income payable abroad.

Limitations: A positive net depletion figure for forest resources implies that the harvest rate exceeds the rate of natural growth; this is not the same as deforestation, which represents a change in land use. In principle, there should be an addition to savings in countries where growth exceeds harvest, but empirical estimates suggest that most of this net growth is in forested areas that cannot currently be exploited economically. Because the depletion estimates reflect only timber values, they ignore all the external and nontimber benefits associated with standing forests.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 42 values

Adjusted savings, net forest depletion (% of GNI) in nearby economies

• Angola — 0.74% (2021)
• Benin — 0% (2021)
• Botswana — 0.31% (2021)
• Burkina Faso — 0% (2021)
• Burundi — 13.92% (2021)
• Cabo Verde — 0.3% (2021)
• Cameroon — 2.64% (2021)
• Central African Republic — 0% (2021)
• Chad — 3.96% (2021)
• Comoros

More economic policy & debt data for Namibia

• Adjusted savings, education expenditure (% of GNI) — 8.92% (2021)
• Adjusted savings, net forest depletion (current US$) — US$106.2 million (2021)
• Adjusted savings, mineral depletion (current US$) — US$262.77 million (2021)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$3.36 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 60.11 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$3.51 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) — 45.2 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 22.28% (2025)

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Questions people ask

What is Namibia's adjusted savings, net forest depletion (% of GNI)?

0.88% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1980?

It is up 0.42 percentage points from 0.45% in 1980. The highest value was 0.99% in 2016 and the lowest 0.31% in 1999.

How does Namibia rank?

38th highest of 168 economies with data for 2021.

Is the latest change in adjusted savings, net forest depletion (% of GNI) unusual for Namibia?

In 2021, Namibia's adjusted savings, net forest depletion (% of GNI) fell 0.02 percentage points on 2020 (from 0.9% to 0.88%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was +0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.13 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NY.ADJ.DFOR.GN.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB); The Changing Wealth of Nations: Measuring Sustainable Development in the New Millennium, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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