Namibia Economy

Mining is probably Namibia's most famous economic sector, accounting for about 20% of the country's GDP but employing only about 3% of its population.

Because of its rich alluvial deposits, especially along the west coast and near the mouth of the Orange River, Namibia is an international source of gem-quality diamonds. Some of its desert geography is so diamond-rich, and diamond exporting is so important to the country's economy that about 8000 km² of coastal southern Namibia has been designated a Spergebied (restricted area) under the control of international diamond-mining company De Beers since the early 1900s.

Namibia is also the world's fifth-largest producer of Uranium, and produces large quantities of lead, zinc, tin, silver, and tungsten.

Agriculture is another important sector of Namibia's economy - it contributes approximately 12% of GDP, and 70% of the Namibian population is reliant upon farming (mostly subsistence) for its livelihood. The country is so arid that drought years present a serious threat of food shortages in rural areas. Namibia therefore imports about half of its cereal requirements.

Fishing is a fast-growing sector of the Namibian economy - the waters off the country's west coast could potentially generate a sustainable yield of up to 1.5 million metric tons a year, consisting mostly of pilchards, anchovy, hake, and horse mackerel. The fishing industry is concentrated mostly at Walvis Bay, a well-developed port that the Namibian government expects to develop into a key access point for the southern African region.

Manufacturing contributes about 20% of Namibia's GDP, but this is restrained by the country's small domestic market, its import dependence, limited local capital, dispersed workforce, and subsidised manufacturing competition from neighbouring South Africa.

Namibia's high per-capita GDP (relative to the rest of the southern African region) obscures the fact that the country's income distribution is extremely unequal. In 1993 a study found that nearly a third of Namibians had annual incomes of less than US$1400 (in 1994 dollars).

Namibia's economy is closely linked to that of South Africa (the source of most of Namibia's imports) and the Namibian dollar is pegged to the South African rand.

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