The Republic of Namibia, which is situated on Africa’s southwest coast, exported goods worth USD 4.23 billion in 2021.

This anticipated dollar sum represents a -18.3% decline in exports from Namibia, which reached a total of $5.18 billion in 2017.

Namibia’s exports decreased in value year over year from $5.42 billion in 2020 by -22%.

Namibia’s major trading partners

According to the most recent data available, importers in the following countries purchased 87% of Namibia’s exports; mainland China (36% of Namibia’s total global exports), South Africa (15.3%), Botswana (8.5%), Belgium (5.5%), Spain (4.9%), Zambia (4.5%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2.8%), Germany (2.5%), United Arab Emirates (2.1%), Netherlands (1.9%), Italy (1.6%), and Hong Kong (1.5%).

From a continental standpoint, 33.2% of Namibia’s value was sold to buyers in other African countries, while 43.4% was shipped to Asian countries. Another 20.3% of Namibia’s exports went to Europe.

North America received a smaller share (2.8%), followed by Latin America (0.2%), which includes the Caribbean but excludes Mexico, and Oceania (0.1%), which is headed by Australia.

With a population of 2.55 million, Namibia’s total exports of $4.23 billion in 2021 correspond to an estimated $1,660 for each citizen of the southwest African nation. This amount is in comparison to the average per capita estimate for 2020, which was $2,150.

Ten of Namibia’s top exports

The following product categories will account for the bulk of Namibia’s 2021 international shipments in terms of dollar value. The proportion of each category’s total share of Namibia’s exports is also displayed.

• Gems, precious metals: US$890.6 million (21% of total exports)
• Fish: $694 million (16.4%)
• Inorganic chemicals: $599.7 million (14.2%)
• Copper: $588.3 million (13.9%)
• Aircraft, spacecraft: $264 million (6.2%)
• Ships, boats: $245.7 million (5.8%)
• Ores, slag, ash: $133.3 million (3.1%)
• Mineral fuels including oil: $128.1 million (3%)
• Live animals: $101.5 million (2.4%)
• Salt, sulfur, stone, cement: $78.2 million (1.8%)

The value of Namibia’s top 10 exports made up 88.0% of its total international shipments.

Out of the top 10 export categories, aircraft and spacecraft saw the highest growth, increasing by 3,316% between 2020 and 2021.

Inorganic chemicals came ranked second for increasing export sales with a 677.2% increase.

Ship and boat shipments from Namibia experienced the third-fastest increase in value, increasing by 300.7%.

Owing to a -82.4% yearly fall, the top export category for Namibia was ores, slag, and ash.

The most valuable export from Namibia is radioactive chemical elements, which account for 14.2% of all exports at the four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level. Unrefined copper (12.8%) came in second, followed by gold (10.4%), unset diamonds (10.4%), fish fillets and other fish parts (8%), frozen whole fish (6.7%), aircraft or spacecraft (6.2%), light vessels (including fireboats) (5.6%), asphalt or petroleum bitumen mixes (2.3%), and zinc ores or concentrates (2.2%).

Products creating the best trade surpluses in Namibia

The shipments of the following Namibian goods show positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. According to Investopedia, net exports are calculated as total exports less total imports for a certain nation.

In a word, net exports are the difference between domestic spending on goods and services and domestic expenditure on goods and services from abroad.

• Gems, precious metals: US$876.9 million (Down by -18.9% since 2020)
• Fish: $664.5 million (Up by 19.8%)
• Copper: $582.5 million (Up by 235.8%)
• Inorganic chemicals: $564.5 million (Reversing a -$72.8 million deficit)
• Aircraft, spacecraft: $250.6 million (Reversing a -$2.4 million deficit)
• Live animals: $99.7 million (Up by 22.1%)
• $70.8 million for salt, sulfur, stone, and cement (Up by 79%)
• $57.7 million for fruits and nuts (Up by 61.4%)
• $25.1 million for wood (Up by 7.3%)
• $12.4 million in collectibles, art, and antiques (Up by 288.4%)