Merchandise trade in Namibia
Namibia: Merchandise trade was 102.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Namibia, 1980–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise trade in Namibia is 102.4%, measured in 2025.
The figure is down 9.4% on the previous year and down 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Namibia peaked at 115.3% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 63.9%, in 2004.
Namibia ranks 25th of 204 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 46 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Namibia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 108.0% | — |
| 1981 | 103.6% | -4.0% |
| 1982 | 93.2% | -10.1% |
| 1983 | 76.9% | -17.4% |
| 1984 | 81.2% | +5.5% |
| 1985 | 81.3% | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 103.0% | +26.6% |
| 1987 | 95.8% | -7.0% |
| 1988 | 93.3% | -2.7% |
| 1989 | 93.9% | +0.7% |
| 1990 | 80.6% | -14.2% |
| 1991 | 78.8% | -2.2% |
| 1992 | 76.5% | -2.9% |
| 1993 | 78.9% | +3.2% |
| 1994 | 74.2% | -6.0% |
| 1995 | 76.0% | +2.5% |
| 1996 | 77.4% | +1.8% |
| 1997 | 74.4% | -3.9% |
| 1998 | 74.4% | -0.0% |
| 1999 | 73.5% | -1.1% |
| 2000 | 73.2% | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 76.6% | +4.7% |
| 2002 | 75.9% | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 65.8% | -13.3% |
| 2004 | 63.9% | -2.9% |
| 2005 | 64.1% | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 69.1% | +7.8% |
| 2007 | 72.9% | +5.4% |
| 2008 | 86.9% | +19.3% |
| 2009 | 90.9% | +4.6% |
| 2010 | 83.9% | -7.7% |
| 2011 | 87.8% | +4.6% |
| 2012 | 89.3% | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 101.7% | +13.9% |
| 2014 | 105.6% | +3.8% |
| 2015 | 103.8% | -1.7% |
| 2016 | 100.3% | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 93.1% | -7.2% |
| 2018 | 115.3% | +23.8% |
| 2019 | 87.2% | -24.4% |
| 2020 | 84.1% | -3.5% |
| 2021 | 87.0% | +3.4% |
| 2022 | 108.4% | +24.5% |
| 2023 | 102.4% | -5.5% |
| 2024 | 113.1% | +10.4% |
| 2025 | 102.4% | -9.4% |
Namibia compared with similar countries
- Namibia's 102.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 52.4%, 2.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Namibia's 102.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 44.5%, 2.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 93.0% | 76.9% | 108.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 76.5% | 73.5% | 80.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 73.9% | 63.9% | 90.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 96.8% | 83.9% | 115.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 99.6% | 84.1% | 113.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Namibia
More private sector data for Namibia
- Food imports 13.2% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 60.4% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 8.43 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 28.0% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 18.4% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 7.02 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 2,271 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.4658 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 7.33 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 2,724 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Namibia?
- Merchandise trade in Namibia was 102.4% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Namibia?
- The highest recorded value was 115.3% in 2018.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Namibia?
- The lowest recorded value was 63.9% in 2004.
- How does Namibia rank for merchandise trade?
- Namibia ranks 25th out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Namibia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Namibia data come from?
- The figures come from World Trade Organization (WTO), published as part of Merchandise trade (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 46 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
General merchandise trade includes goods whose economic ownership is changed between a resident and a non-resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e. It is the total of merchandise exports plus merchandise imports. 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.