Chamwe Kaira
Namibia recorded net outflows of international remittances during the third quarter of 2025, pointing to a continued gap between remittance inflows and outflows, according to official data.
Net remittances declined by N$262 million on an annual basis and by N$156 million quarter-on-quarter.
This resulted in a net remittance outflow of N$151 million during the period.
The weaker position was driven by a sharp rise in remittance outflows.
Outflows increased by N$458 million year-on-year and by N$153 million on a quarterly basis, reaching N$800 million.
The increase was mainly linked to higher personal transfers, particularly personal remittances, and increased compensation of employees paid to non-residents.
These payments were largely associated with the fishing and mining sectors.
Remittance inflows rose by N$195 million year-on-year to N$650 million in the third quarter of 2025. However, this increase was not enough to offset the faster growth in outflows.
The annual rise in inflows was supported by higher personal transfers and capital transfers, including inheritances.
On a quarterly basis, remittance inflows declined. This was mainly due to lower receipts of compensation of employees, largely from the mining and transport sectors.
The surplus on the capital account also declined during the quarter.
This was recorded on both an annual and quarterly basis and was mainly driven by lower capital transfer inflows. Capital account inflows fell by 19.2% year-on-year and by 25% quarter-on-quarter to N$509 million.
The decline reflected reduced capital transfers directed towards fixed investment extended to non-government organisations.
Net borrowing increased during the third quarter of 2025, driven by a wider current account deficit. Net borrowing rose by 25.9% year-on-year and by 12.9% quarter-on-quarter to N$5.3 billion.
The increase largely reflected the higher current account deficit during the period.
The financial account recorded lower net borrowing from the rest of the world compared with the same quarter in 2024. Net inflows on the financial account amounted to N$3.8 billion, down from N$7 billion recorded a year earlier.
The annual decline in net inflows was mainly driven by large outflows in portfolio investment.
On a quarterly basis, net inflows increased slightly, supported by higher financial derivatives transactions by deposit-taking and other financial corporations.
The financial account balance stood at 5.7% of quarterly gross domestic product, compared with 5.2% in the previous quarter and 11.1% in the same quarter of 2024.
Caption
Remittance inflows rose by N$195 million to N$650 million in the third quarter of 2025.
- Photo: Contributed
