Namibia: Mineral rents (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Namibia's mineral rents (% of GDP) rose 2.13 percentage points on 2020 (from 1.04% to 3.17%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was −0.31 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.01 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations above 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 37.73 percentage points in 1988 and the biggest yearly fall was 21.35 percentage points in 1990. 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 20% 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 32nd highest value of the 197 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

• South Africa — 28th of 197: 3.83%
• Panama — 29th of 197: 3.58%
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 30th of 197: 3.36%
• Senegal — 32nd of 197: 2.9%
• Nicaragua — 33rd of 197: 2.68%
• Côte d'Ivoire — 34th of 197: 2.5%

What this measures

Mineral rents are the difference between the value of production for a stock of minerals at world prices and their total costs of production. Minerals included in the calculation are tin, gold, lead, zinc, iron, copper, nickel, silver, bauxite, and phosphate.

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

All 42 values

Mineral rents (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Angola — 0% (2021)
• Benin — 0% (2021)
• Botswana — 0.24% (2021)
• Burkina Faso — 15.45% (2021)
• Burundi — 0% (2021)
• Cabo Verde — 0% (2021)
• Cameroon — 0% (2021)
• Central African Republic — 0.77% (2021)
• Chad — 0% (2021)
• Comoros — 0% (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 28.81% (2021)
• Congo, Rep.

More environment data for Namibia

• Population in largest city — 511,369 (2025)
• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 32.5% (2025)
• Rural population — 1.52 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 49.13% (2025)
• Urban population — 1.57 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 50.87% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 340 (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons) — 381,230 (2024)
• Total fisheries production (metric tons) — 381,570 (2024)
• Rural population growth (annual %) — 1.12% (2025)

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Questions people ask

What is Namibia's mineral rents (% of GDP)?

3.17% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1980?

It is down 2.77 percentage points from 5.94% in 1980. The highest value was 39.67% in 1988 and the lowest 0.12% in 1996.

How does Namibia rank?

32nd highest of 197 economies with data for 2021.

Is the latest change in mineral rents (% of GDP) unusual for Namibia?

In 2021, Namibia's mineral rents (% of GDP) rose 2.13 percentage points on 2020 (from 1.04% to 3.17%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was −0.31 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.01 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations above 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 NY.GDP.MINR.RT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank (WB), uri: https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/changing-wealth-of-nations/data, note: World Bank staff estimates based on sources and methods described in the World Bank's The Changing Wealth of Nations., publisher: World Bank (WB); Staff estimates, Wo… 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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