Namibia: Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Namibia's foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) fell 4.59 percentage points on 2024 (from 14.18% to 9.6%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.38 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.76 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 9.92 percentage points in 2023 and the biggest yearly fall was 6.76 percentage points in 2010. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1.58 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 53% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

How it compares

In 2025, Namibia had the 21st highest value of the 182 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 2025 ranking

• Kosovo — 18th of 182: 10%
• Seychelles — 19th of 182: 10%
• Cambodia — 20th of 182: 9.95%
• Liberia — 22nd of 182: 9.53%
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines — 23rd of 182: 8.87%
• Lao PDR — 24th of 182: 7.68%

What this measures

Foreign direct investment is the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest (10 percent or more of voting stock) in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor. It is the sum of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in the balance of payments. This series shows net inflows (new investment inflows less disinvestment) in the reporting economy from foreign investors, and is divided by GDP.

Limitations: FDI data do not give a complete picture of international investment in an economy. Balance of payments data on FDI do not include capital raised locally, an important source of investment financing in some developing countries. In addition, FDI data omit nonequity cross-border transactions such as intra-unit flows of goods and services. The volume of global private financial flows reported by the World Bank generally differs from that reported by other sources because of differences in sources, classification of economies, and method used to adjust and disaggregate reported information.

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

All 41 values

Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Angola — 1.81% (2025)
• Benin — 1.96% (2025)
• Botswana — -3.26% (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 1.13% (2025)
• Burundi — 1.04% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 5.03% (2025)
• Cameroon — 1.02% (2025)
• Central African Republic — 1.43% (2025)
• Chad — 0.02% (2025)
• 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)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Namibia's foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP)?

9.6% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1985?

It is up 8.58 percentage points from 1.02% in 1985. The highest value was 18.32% in 2023 and the lowest -1.42% in 2020.

How does Namibia rank?

21st highest of 182 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) unusual for Namibia?

In 2025, Namibia's foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) fell 4.59 percentage points on 2024 (from 14.18% to 9.6%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.38 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.76 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics and Balance of Payments databases, International Monetary Fund (IMF); International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB); World Bank GDP estimates, World Bank (WB); OECD GDP estimates, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 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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