The State of the Namibian Economy

Namibia had a GDP of about 10.3 billion USD in 2016. According to the world bank, the country technically qualifies as an "upper-middle-income country." About 56% of the population live on less than $2 per days and unemployment checks in at 52%. These numbers may sound far from "upper-middle" by our standards-- the World Bank acknowledges that Namibia still suffers as a result of the debilitating socioeconomic disparities, part of apartheid's legacy, despite political stability.

One can see from this chart that the country experienced explosive growth during the early 2000s, but has recently slowed, most likely due to economic detonation of the mining sector. The economy is about 47% agricultural and 12% mining. However, one report notes that annual GDP growth is expected to reach 3% soon-- for context, the U.S.'s is about 2.6%.

Signs of increasing economic growth included the fact that farm workers' minimum wage has recently increased 130%, going from N $690 per month to N $900 (N $1 is approximately 0.083 USD).

A picture of Namibian currency.


-Michelle Howard, 2/4

References:
http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/namibia/overview
https://tradingeconomics.com/namibia/gdp
https://www.namibian.com.na/171665/archive-read/Farm-workers-get-new-minimum-wage