Namibia Public Debt at 46.9%

Namibia’s public debt stood at 46.9% of the gross domestic product in 2017, while the budget deficit dropped from 6.3% in 2016 to 3.6% in 2017, AllAfrica reported. This was due to fiscal consolidation by government, which prevented debt from increasing by 0.1%. However, at the end of 2016, public debt stood at 41% of GDP, breaching the 35% government limit. This is contained in the recently released report by the African Development Bank on Namibia’s economic outlook. The report noted that expansionary fiscal policies stirred economic growth, raising the country’s budget deficit and public sector debt. Reduced inflationary pressures were attributed to less spending, as economic activity was sluggish. This resulted in inflation dropping by 0.2% in 2016 to 6.5% in 2017 on average. Inflation was 5,2% by December 2017. The inflation drop was driven by a decline in food prices. “Growth in credit to the private sector slowed to 7.3% at the end of the first half of 2017 from 11.7% the previous year,” the report said.