Government spending as share of GDP in Namibia

Namibia: Government spending as share of GDP was 39.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
39.9%
Change on year
up 7.9%
World rank
42nd
of 151 countries
All-time high
43.7%
in 2015
All-time low
26.1%
in 2007
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Government spending as share of GDP in Namibia, 1990–2024

0102030401990200720241990: 30.2 % of GDP1991: 33 % of GDP1992: 32.8 % of GDP1993: 32.4 % of GDP1994: 28.7 % of GDP1995: 29.6 % of GDP1996: 30.4 % of GDP1997: 30.9 % of GDP1998: 31.3 % of GDP1999: 31.8 % of GDP2000: 30.1 % of GDP2001: 30.7 % of GDP2002: 29.8 % of GDP2003: 31.1 % of GDP2004: 28.4 % of GDP2005: 27.7 % of GDP2006: 27.4 % of GDP2007: 26.1 % of GDP2008: 28.4 % of GDP2009: 32 % of GDP2010: 33.5 % of GDP2011: 38.5 % of GDP2012: 35 % of GDP2013: 38.3 % of GDP2014: 41.8 % of GDP2015: 43.7 % of GDP2016: 41.8 % of GDP2017: 38.1 % of GDP2018: 36.3 % of GDP2019: 37.4 % of GDP2020: 41.5 % of GDP2021: 39.3 % of GDP2022: 36.6 % of GDP2023: 37 % of GDP2024: 39.9 % of GDP

Source: International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.

Analysis

Namibia recorded 39.9% for government spending as share of gdp in 2024.

That represents a change of up 7.9% on the previous year and down 4.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government spending as share of gdp in Namibia peaked at 43.7% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 26.1%, in 2007.

Namibia ranks 42nd of 151 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 31.1% 28.7% 33.0% 10
2000s 29.2% 26.1% 32.0% 10
2010s 38.4% 33.5% 43.7% 10
2020s 38.8% 36.6% 41.5% 5

Countries ranked near Namibia

  1. 39 Vanuatu 41.1% compare
  2. 40 Cyprus 40.0% compare
  3. 41 Romania 39.9% compare
  4. 43 Bolivia 39.8% compare
  5. 44 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 39.1% compare
  6. 45 Japan 39.1% compare

See the full ranking of 151 places →

More economy & growth data for Namibia

All data for Namibia →

Frequently asked questions

What is government spending as share of gdp in Namibia?
Government spending as share of gdp in Namibia was 39.9% in 2024, according to International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest government spending as share of gdp recorded in Namibia?
The highest recorded value was 43.7% in 2015.
What is the lowest government spending as share of gdp recorded in Namibia?
The lowest recorded value was 26.1% in 2007.
How does Namibia rank for government spending as share of gdp?
Namibia ranks 42nd out of 151 countries with data for 2024.
Is government spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Namibia?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Namibia data come from?
The figures come from International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government spending as share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Government spending as share of GDP
Unit
% of GDP
Source
International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
151 places, 9,265 data points, 1800–2024
Last refreshed

The sum of all the money spent by the government on goods and services, as a percentage of GDP. It includes interest paid on government debt.