1 / 12

A profile of the Namibian Economy

A profile of the Namibian Economy. A paper presented to Norwegian delegates to the Polytechnic of Namibia Presenter: Mr Cyril A. Ogbokor B.Sc & M.Sc Economics H o D: Economics Department, Polytechnic of Na mibia. 1.1 Preamble and preliminary information. Official Name: Republic of Namibia

yovela
Download Presentation

A profile of the Namibian Economy

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. A profile of the Namibian Economy A paper presented to Norwegian delegates to the Polytechnic of Namibia Presenter: Mr Cyril A. Ogbokor B.Sc & M.Sc Economics HoD: Economics Department, Polytechnic of Namibia

  2. 1.1 Preamble and preliminary information • Official Name: Republic of Namibia • Namibia is heavy dependent on international trade, especially imports for its economic survival • The mining sector is the main propeller of its economy accounting for over 50% of foreign exchange earnings • Fishing and tourism are also among the leading sectors in terms of foreign exchange earnings

  3. It is a free enterprise economy • The government is the largest employer of labour accounting for about 60% of the labour force • It is the largest exporter of nonfuel minerals in Africa, especially diamonds The rest of the presentation is an attempt to focus on specific economic issues in the context of Namibia

  4. 1.2 Economic Parameters • Gini coefficient: swinging between 0.6 and 0.8 over the years • Unemployment rate: currently, it is about 40% • Inflation: currently the overall inflation rate is about 12% • Major industries: meatpacking, fish processing, dairy products, mining (diamonds, lead, zinc, tin, silver, copper, gold)

  5. Economic Parameters • Fiscal year: 1 April to 31 March • National budget: It has been deficitbudget over the years. There was a dramatic shift in recent time towards balanced budget • Public debt: about 23.9% of GDP • External debt:N$6.3b

  6. Economic Parameters • Domestic Debt: N$8.8b • Population: 2.1 million. It was about 1 million upon the attainment ofindependence in March 1990 • Labour force: 660,000, including 200,000 skilled workers • National currency: The Namibian Dollars. It is pegged to the South African Rand

  7. Economic Parameters • Stabilisation Policy: Mainly monetary and fiscal policies • Industrialisation Policy: Export Processing Zones plus others • GDP: $6.7b • GDP-real growth rate: 4.5% • GDP per capita: $5,200 • GDP – composition by sector: *Agriculture 10.6% *Industry 30.8% *Services 58.6%

  8. Economic Parameters • Labour force-by occupation Agriculture: 47% Industry: 20% Services: 33% • Natural resources: Diamond, uranium, zinc, gold, copper, lead, tin, fluorspar, salt, fisheries, and wildlife • Agriculture products: livestock and meat products, fish and fish products, grapes and others • Exports: Diamonds, uranium, zinc, copper, lead, beef, cattle, fish, karakul pelts, grapes • Imports: Foodstuffs, construction materials, manufactured goods • Major trading partners: South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Germany, U.K., USA • Membership of economic blocs: SACU, SADC and CMA

  9. 1.3 Challenges facing the Namibian economy • Natural disasters, especially drought and flooding • Rural – urban dichotomy • Heavy dependence on mining • High capital outflows • Highly skewed income distribution • Low industrialisation activity • Exchange rate volatility

  10. Challenges facing the Namibian economy • Economic growth without development • HIV/Aids pandemic • Inflation, especially imported inflation • Unemployment • Poverty • Cross border smuggling, especially Tobacco products and Marijuana • Human capital constraints • Dwindling energy supplies • others

  11. 1.4 Concluding Observation • Despite the challenges facing the Namibian economy, we still envisage a bright future prospect for this economy • Finally, we are hoping that Namibia will become an industrialised country in the year 2030 – The Magic year. “You will never find time for anything. You must create it”- Charles Buxton • THANK YOU AND FELICITATIONS

More Related