Namibia Import Data: $7.30B in 2023, Down 6.35%

South Africa Supplies Nearly Four in Ten Import Dollars

Namibia imported $7.30 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 6.35% from $7.80 billion in 2022. South Africa supplied 38.44% of that total, worth $2.81 billion. That single country accounted for more than the next five countries on this list combined. Namibia belongs to the Southern African Customs Union alongside Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa and Eswatini, with South Africa setting the bloc's common external tariff schedule. That customs-union membership sits on top of decades of retail and logistics integration between the two countries. Many consumer goods and manufactured products reach Namibia by way of South Africa regardless of where they were originally made, since South African retailers, distributors and freight networks effectively serve as the default route into the Namibian market.

China supplied a distant second at 9.75% of imports ($712 million), and India added 6.84% ($499 million). Neither country comes close to matching South Africa's share, but together they show Namibia diversifying at least some of its sourcing toward Asia. The United Arab Emirates contributed 4.27% ($312 million), and the USA supplied 3.47% ($253 million). An additional 3.10% ($227 million) fell under "Areas, nes." That is a catch-all UN Comtrade classification for shipments trade statisticians could not attribute to a single specific country, rather than an actual trading partner in its own right. Germany rounded out the top ten at 2.15% ($157 million). Together, South Africa, China and India made up 55.03% of total import value, one of the more concentrated top-three shares in this dataset.

A Copper Smelter Explains the Peru Connection

Ores, slag and ash made up 4.71% of imports, worth $344 million, an unusual entry given Namibia is itself a major exporter of ore, mostly uranium, covered in the companion export data for this country. Namibia's Tsumeb smelter operates as a toll smelter, importing copper concentrate from Bulgaria, Chile, Peru, Greece, Zambia and South Africa rather than processing only domestic ore, a model it has followed since 2009. That single detail also explains why Peru, a country with no obvious trade relationship with Namibia otherwise, ranks eighth among import partners at 2.95% ($215 million). Peru is one of the world's largest copper producers. Its concentrate travels across two oceans to be smelted in the town of Tsumeb rather than processed closer to home, a reminder that raw trade figures sometimes reflect one specialized industrial facility rather than any broader economic relationship between two countries.

Namibia Still Imports the Fuel Its Own Offshore Discoveries Haven't Replaced

Mineral fuels led every import category at 21.02% of the total, worth $1.53 billion. That single category is worth more than machinery and vehicles combined. Namibia's offshore Venus oil discovery had not started production as of early 2026, with a final investment decision still pending and first oil years away. That means Namibia currently pumps no crude oil of its own despite years of exploration excitement around Venus and other nearby offshore finds. Every liter of the mineral fuels the country consumes still has to be imported instead. Saudi Arabia supplied 3.20% ($234 million) and Oman added 2.21% ($162 million), both Gulf oil-exporting nations helping fill that gap.

Refined petroleum, motor vehicles, and machinery and equipment rank among Namibia's top import categories, according to the country's official trade portal. Machinery added 10.53% ($769 million) and vehicles contributed 9.20% ($671 million), Namibia's second- and third-largest import categories overall, reflecting continued investment in mining equipment, construction machinery and the vehicle fleet needed to serve a large, sparsely populated country. Electrical machinery supplied 6.31% ($461 million). Iron and steel articles added 2.79% ($203 million), and plastics contributed 2.42% ($177 million), both feeding construction and light manufacturing. Beverages, spirits and vinegar supplied 2.13% ($156 million), rubber added 1.99% ($145 million), and pharmaceutical products closed out the top ten at 1.89% ($138 million), a category Namibia's small domestic industry cannot supply on its own. Import totals swung over the past five years. The total fell from $6.20 billion in 2019 to $5.04 billion in 2020 as the pandemic disrupted trade. It then climbed to $6.38 billion in 2021 and further to $7.80 billion in 2022, the high point of the period. That growth eased back to $7.30 billion in 2023.