Namibia exports N$90.4bn in 2025
Namibia exported goods worth N$90.4 billion in 2025, with four product groups, uranium, gold, fish and diamonds, accounting for 80% of all export revenue, according to new trade data.
The country's exports were equally concentrated by destination. South Africa received N$26.6 billion worth of goods, followed by China at N$22 billion, the European Union (EU) at N$17.6 billion and Botswana at N$9.3 billion. Together, those four markets absorbed more than 80% of Namibia's total exports.
The commodity mix varied sharply by destination. Diamonds dominate exports to Botswana, uranium to China and gold to South Africa. Exports to the EU, by contrast, are far more varied, covering fish, uranium, meat, fruit, charcoal, crustaceans, diamonds, dimension stone and base metal ores. Six EU member states, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and Germany, received 95% of all goods shipped to the bloc.
The trade data has put fresh scrutiny on Namibia's economic diversification. Economist Robin Sherbourne said the composition of the country's export base has a direct bearing on job creation.
"Export diversification increases local value addition, economic growth and employment creation and reduces vulnerability to sector specific shocks. In general, a Namibia dollar invested in a capital-intensive sector such as mining generates fewer jobs than a Namibia dollar invested in labour-intensive sectors such as agriculture, fishing or charcoal," Sherbourne said.
The numbers bear that out. The fruit and vegetables sector supports an estimated 35,572 jobs in total, of which around 19,316 are tied to EU trade, the highest of any sector. Fish and crustaceans support nearly 19,440 jobs overall, with more than 10,400 linked to EU market access. Livestock for export employs 12,166 people, of whom 83.4% are tied to EU-bound trade.
The charcoal sector, which employs around 9,500 people, directs 57.5% of its output to the EU. Meat processing employs a further 1,000 workers, with the same share of output heading to Europe.
Capital-intensive extraction sectors tell a starker story. Uranium supports 2,744 jobs in total, with only 428 linked to EU exports.
In total across the sectors, export-linked employment stands at 83,571, of which 46,762 positions more than half, depend on trade with the European Union.
