Botswana vs Namibia

Botswana vs Namibia: Government debt

Government debt: 30.5% of GDP in Botswana in 2024 and 67.6% of GDP in Namibia in 2025, by IMF estimates. In 2024 the value was higher in Namibia, by 38 percentage points, or 2.25 times that in Botswana.

Watch it change on the map

% of GDP · IMF

Botswana vs Namibia: Government debtGovernment debt: 30.5% of GDP in Botswana in 2024 and 67.6% of GDP in Namibia in 2025, by IMF estimates. In 2024 the value was higher in Namibia, by 38 percentage points, or 2.25 times that in Botswana.
BotswanaNamibiaIMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026)

What the numbers say

  • Namibia has been higher since 2013, when it overtook Botswana.
  • The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Botswana at 64.4% of GDP and Namibia at 71.2% of GDP in 2031.

Every year

% of GDP · IMF

YearBotswanaNamibia
20253467.6
202430.568.5
202322.567.2
20222070.1
202122.369.6
202023.564.3
201921.557.6
201819.648.7
201719.643.8
201622.345.8
201524.542.1
201423.927.6
201323.826.1
201226.524.6
201127.927.5
201026.616.3
200922.415.9
20087.819.1
20075.919.4
20066.126.1
20057.526.9
200410.829.2
20037.127.2
20028.422.2
20017.524.4
20008.220.9
19999.321.8
199811.319.6
1997–17.7
1996–18.7
1995–18
1994–16.4
1993–17.2
  • 12.3Projected
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
YearBotswanaNamibia
202640.367.6
202745.567.8
20285068.5
202954.469.2
203059.170.2
203164.471.2

Each country on its own

Good to know

  • What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
  • Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
  • The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
  • Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.

How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time

Botswana vs Namibia

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