Namibia: Imports of goods and services (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Namibia's imports of goods and services (% of GDP) fell 3.03 percentage points on 2024 (from 66.94% to 63.9%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.72 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 6.01 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 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 13.66 percentage points in 2007 and the biggest yearly fall was 12.41 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 1.99 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 44% 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 33rd highest value of the 137 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

• Montenegro — 30th of 137: 65.71%
• Kyrgyz Republic — 31st of 137: 65.6%
• Malaysia — 32nd of 137: 65.43%
• Mongolia — 34th of 137: 62.64%
• Guinea — 35th of 137: 62.27%
• Czechia — 36th of 137: 61.09%

What this measures

Imports of goods includes change in the economic ownership of goods from non-residents to residents of the compiling economy, irrespective of physical movement of goods across national borders. Imports of services includes services provided by non-residents to residents. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Limitations: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Data on exports and imports are compiled from customs reports and balance of payments data.

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

All 46 values

Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Angola — 11.67% (2025)
• Benin — 20.06% (2025)
• Botswana — 37.51% (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 30.01% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 53.35% (2025)
• Cameroon — 20.3% (2025)
• Central African Republic — 33.56% (2025)
• Chad — 16.72% (2025)
• Comoros — 31.59% (2025)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 43.92% (2025)

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

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Questions people ask

What is Namibia's imports of goods and services (% of GDP)?

63.9% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1980?

It is up 7.63 percentage points from 56.27% in 1980. The highest value was 72.2% in 2009 and the lowest 40.12% in 1985.

How does Namibia rank?

33rd highest of 137 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in imports of goods and services (% of GDP) unusual for Namibia?

In 2025, Namibia's imports of goods and services (% of GDP) fell 3.03 percentage points on 2024 (from 66.94% to 63.9%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.72 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 6.01 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 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 NE.IMP.GNFS.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs); National Accounts data files, Central Banks; Staff estimates, 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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