That dollar amount results from a 46.6% increase from 5 years earlier in 2021 when Namibian exports totaled $4.46 billion.
Year over year, the value of Namibia’s exported goods flatlined to a 0.2% gain compared to $6.52 billion starting from 2024.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2025, the Namibia dollar appreciated by 5.6% against the US dollar since 2021 but depreciated by -8.2% from 2024 to 2025. Namibia’s weaker local currency versus 2024 makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers starting from American currency.
Namibia’s Major Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 86.6% of products exported from Namibia was bought by importers in: South Africa (24.7% of the Namibian total), mainland China (16.7%), Botswana (12.1%), Zambia (10.6%), Spain (4.2%), United States of America (3.9%), France (3.8%), Netherlands (2.5%), United Arab Emirates (2.23%), Canada (2.17%), Democratic Republic Congo (2%) and India (1.9%).
From a continental perspective, 45% of Namibia’s exports by value was delivered to fellow African countries while 20.7% was sold to importers in Asia.
Namibia shipped another 14.46% each worth of goods both to Europe and Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Smaller percentages went to buyers in North America (5.2%) then Oceania (0.1%) led by Australia and Marshall Islands.
Given Namibia’s population of 3.1 million people, its total US$6.54 billion in 2025 exports translates to $2,150 for every resident in the southwest African country. That dollar metric lags the average $2,200 per capita calculated for one year earlier during 2024.
Namibia’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Namibian global shipments during 2025. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Namibia.
- Gems, precious metals: US$1.9 billion (29.7% of total exports)
- Ores, slag, ash: $1.8 billion (28.2%)
- Fish: $757.1 million (11.6%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $269.6 million (4.1%)
- Copper: $227.4 million (3.5%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $211.7 million (3.2%)
- Meat: $142.5 million (2.2%)
- Fertilizers: $106.6 million (1.6%)
- Machinery including computers: $106.3 million (1.6%)
- Fruits, nuts: $101 million (1.5%)
Namibia’s top 10 exports accounted for 84.6% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Meat represents the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 45.1% from 2024 to 2025.
In second place for improving export sales was the salt, sulphur, stone and cement group via a 28.5% advance.
Namibia’s shipments of ores, slag or ash posted the third-fastest gain in value up by 26.6%.
The leading decliner among Namibia’s top 10 export categories was machinery including computers, thanks to a -43.9% year-over-year drop.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, uranium or thorium ores and concentrates represent Namibia’s most valuable exported product at 20.8% of the country’s total. In second place were unwrought gold (17.2%) trailed by unmounted and unset diamonds (12.5%), frozen whole fish (5.4%), fish fillets plus other pieces (5.2%), processed petroleum oils (4%), refined copper plus unwrought alloys (3.2%), zinc ores and concentrates (3%), nickel ores and concentrates (also 3%) then non-sublimed sulphur (1.4%).
Products Generating Namibia’s Best Trade Surpluses
The following types of Namibian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Gems, precious metals: US$1.8 billion (Up by 9.8% since 2024)
- Ores, slag, ash: $1.3 billion (Up by 88.4%)
- Fish: $725.8 million (Down by -3.3%)
- Copper: $216.6 million (Down by -40.6%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $148.1 million (Up by 54%)
- Meat: $96.5 million (Up by 68.9%)
- Fruits, nuts: $73.3 million (Up by 0.5%)
- Live animals: $64.5 million (Down by -42.5%)
- Wood: $24.5 million (Down by -9.9%)
- Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $8.3 million (Down by -3.5%)
Historically, Namibia has highly positive net exports in the international trade of diamonds and gold. In turn, these cashflows indicate Namibia’s strong competitive advantages under the gems and precious metals category.
Products Causing Namibia’s Worst Trade Deficits
Overall Namibia incurred a -US$1.45 billion trade deficit for 2025, reducing by -36.8% from -$2.3 billion one year earlier in 2024.
Below are exports from Namibia that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Namibia’s goods trail Namibian importer spending on foreign products.
- Machinery including computers: -US$805.2 million (Up by 2.8% since 2024)
- Mineral fuels including oil: -$801.7 million (Down by -2m5.2%)
- Vehicles: -$723.1 million (Up by 12.4%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$456.2 million (Up by 2.4%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$221.5 million (Down by -5.4%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$181.7 million (Up by 13.6%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$169.2 million (Down by -13.1%)
- Cereals: -$146.9 million (Down by -15.6%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: -$137.1 million (Up by 21.6%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$126 million (Up by 6.2%)
Namibia has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the machinery including computers and energy-related product categories.
Namibian Export Companies
Not one Namibian corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia lists companies from Namibia that participate in international trade transactions. Selected examples are shown below.
- Air Namibia (airliner)
- BidFish (fishery, fish processor)
- FIDES Bank Namibia (commercial bank)
- MTC Namibia (mobile telecommunications)
- Namib Mills (grain processor)
- Ohorongo Cement (cement)
- TN Mobile (mobile telecommunications)
In macroeconomic terms, Namibia’s total exported goods represent 17.3% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2025 ($37.7 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 17.3% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2025 compares to 18.4% for 2024. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Namibia’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic health is its unemployment rate. Namibia’s jobless rate averaged 19.29% for 2025, up from an average 19.16% for 2024 based on Statista metrics.
Namibia’s capital city is Windhoek, a term that translates to “windy corner” in the Afrikaans language.
See also Botswana’s Top 10 Exports, Uganda’s Top 10 Exports, Somalia’s Top 10 Exports and Top African Export Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles. Accessed on October 2, 2026
EXCHANGE-RATES.org UK Exchange Rates History, Namibia dollar to US dollar. Accessed on October 2, 2026
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 2, 2026
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on October 2, 2026
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 2, 2026
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 2, 2026
Wikipedia, Flag of Namibia. Accessed on October 2, 2026
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on October 2, 2026
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Namibia. Accessed on October 2, 2026
Wikipedia, Namibia. Accessed on October 2, 2026
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on October 2, 2026