Namibia: Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Namibia's risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) fell 0.12 percentage points on 2023 (from 2.36% to 2.24%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.12 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.81 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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 1.73 percentage points in 1999 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.41 percentage points in 2002. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 12% 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 2024, Namibia had the 7th highest value of the 11 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 2024 ranking

• Lesotho — 4th of 11: 4.34%
• Papua New Guinea — 5th of 11: 4.06%
• Albania — 6th of 11: 3.37%
• Angola — 8th of 11: 1.9%
• Eswatini — 9th of 11: 1.67%
• Kenya — 10th of 11: 1.32%

What this measures

Risk premium on lending is the interest rate charged by banks on loans to private sector customers minus the "risk free" treasury bill interest rate at which short-term government securities are issued or traded in the market. In some countries this spread may be negative, indicating that the market considers its best corporate clients to be lower risk than the government. The terms and conditions attached to lending rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability.

Limitations: Countries use a variety of reporting formats, sample designs, interest compounding formulas, averaging methods, and data presentations for indices and other data series on interest rates. The IMF's Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual does not provide guidelines beyond the general recommendation that such data should reflect market prices and effective (rather than nominal) interest rates and should be representative of the financial assets and markets to be covered. For more information, please see http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/mfs/manual/index.htm.

All 34 values

Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) in nearby economies

• Angola — 1.9% (2024)
• Cabo Verde — 6.44% (2025)
• Eswatini — 1.67% (2024)
• Gambia, The — 8.34% (2025)
• Kenya — 1.32% (2024)
• Lesotho — 4.34% (2024)
• Madagascar — 48.65% (2025)
• Malawi — 21.22% (2024)
• Mauritania

More financial sector data for Namibia

• DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$17.89 (2025)
• Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$17.89 (2025)
• GDP deflator (base year varies by country) — 168.48 (2025)
• Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — 6.06% (2025)
• Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 46.13% (2025)
• Net domestic credit (current LCU) — 179.55 billion (2025)
• Net foreign assets (current LCU) — 74.34 billion (2025)
• Monetary sector credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 46.21% (2025)
• Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) — 18.15% (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 risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %)?

2.24% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1991?

It is down 4.59 percentage points from 6.83% in 1991. The highest value was 6.83% in 1991 and the lowest 1.66% in 2017.

How does Namibia rank?

7th highest of 11 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) unusual for Namibia?

In 2024, Namibia's risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) fell 0.12 percentage points on 2023 (from 2.36% to 2.24%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.12 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.81 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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 FR.INR.RISK, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF) 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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.