Household debt reaches N$77 billion as borrowing growth slows

By: Hertha Ekandjo

Namibia’s household debt stood at N$77 billion by the end of June 2025, marking a slowdown in borrowing as growth eased to just 0.3 percent during the first half of the year.

This represents a decline of 2.3 percentage points compared to the previous period, reflecting weaker demand for credit among consumers.

According to the Bank of Namibia (BoN) and the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA) 2025 October Financial Stability report, moderation in household debt growth was largely attributed to subdued credit extension by the banking sector, which expanded by only 0.7 percent.

The Bank noted that most of the lending activity was driven by consumption-based credit such as instalment sales, leasing facilities, and other personal loans.

On the corporate front, Namibia’s total debt stock increased marginally by 0.7 percent to N$182.1 billion in the second quarter of 2025, mainly due to higher domestic borrowing.

Furthermore, the report explained that despite this slight increase, corporate debt as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined from 73.8 percent at the end of 2024 to 70.8 percent by mid-2025.

The drop in the corporate debt-to-GDP ratio was supported by a rise in nominal GDP and a reduction in foreign corporate debt.