Namibia's total reserves in months of imports was 3.96 in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 126.56% from 1.75 in 2014 (8.52% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 3.96 | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 3.83 | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 1.75 | 2014 |
| Highest | 5.04 | 2020 |
| Lowest | 0.29 | 1992 |
| Average since 2015 | 3.9 | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 0.29 | 1992 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Namibia's total reserves in months of imports rose 6.2% on 2023 (from 3.73 to 3.96).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +8.6% and a typical year strayed about 28.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 183.9% in 1993 and the biggest yearly fall was 31.4% 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 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 24% 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 19th highest value of the 36 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Namibia | 3.96 | 2024 |
| World | 8.62 | 2025 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 6.12 | 2025 |
| Lower middle income | 7.7 | 2025 |
Closest to Namibia in the 2024 ranking
- Tunisia — 16th of 36: 4.5
- Fiji — 17th of 36: 4.44
- Rwanda — 18th of 36: 4.18
- Bahamas, The — 20th of 36: 3.95
- Kyrgyz Republic — 21st of 36: 3.95
- Oman — 22nd of 36: 3.74
What this measures
Reserve assets are external assets, including monetary gold, that are readily available to and controlled by monetary authorities for meeting balance of payments financing needs, for intervention in exchange markets to affect the currency exchange rate, and for other related purposes (such as maintaining confidence in the currency and the economy, and serving as a basis for foreign borrowing). Reserve assets must be denominated and settled in foreign currency. This item is expressed in terms of the number of months of imports of goods and services they could pay for [X/(Imports/12)].
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 33 values
| Year | Total reserves in months of imports |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 3.96 |
| 2023 | 3.73 |
| 2022 | 4.05 |
| 2021 | 4.53 |
| 2020 | 5.04 |
| 2019 | 3.83 |
| 2018 | 3.58 |
| 2017 | 4.31 |
| 2016 | 3.22 |
| 2015 | 2.75 |
| 2014 |
Total reserves in months of imports in nearby economies
- Angola — 5.29 (2025)
- Botswana — 4.71 (2024)
- Burundi — 0.73 (2023)
- Cabo Verde — 8.69 (2025)
- Cameroon — 5.28 (2024)
- Comoros — 7.61 (2023)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 1.69 (2023)
- Congo, Rep. — 1.6 (2021)
- Eswatini — 1.91 (2024)
- Ethiopia — 1.78 (2024)
- Gabon
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
Questions people ask
- What is Namibia's total reserves in months of imports?
- 3.96 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1992?
- It is up 1,283% from 0.29 in 1992 (8.56% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 5.04 in 2020 and the lowest 0.29 in 1992.
- How does Namibia rank?
- 19th highest of 36 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in total reserves in months of imports unusual for Namibia?
- In 2024, Namibia's total reserves in months of imports rose 6.2% on 2023 (from 3.73 to 3.96). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +8.6% and a typical year strayed about 28.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 FI.RES.TOTL.MO, 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.
Legal entity
Devansh Yadav
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Governing law: Courts at Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Phone: +91 8433475698
Legal: legal@analyzeit.in