Botswana’s real GDP shrank 5.4% year on year in the fourth quarter of last year, data showed on Tuesday, mainly due to weakness in its mining sector.
A breakdown by Statistics Botswana showed the mining and quarrying industry recorded a 47% decrease in value added during the last three months of 2025.
Other sectors that contracted included construction and water and electricity, the statistics agency said.
Botswana’s economy has been hit hard by a prolonged downturn in the global diamond market, driven by economic uncertainty and the rising popularity of lab-grown stones. The Southern African country’s GDP decreased 0.7% in 2025, after a 2.8% decline in 2024.
Before the diamond market slump, Botswana had been viewed as an African economic success story, partly because of its low public debt.
Finance minister Ndaba Gaolathe said last month the economy was projected to rebound this year, but debt is expected to rise because of another large budget deficit. Gaolathe sought parliamentary approval last week to raise the country’s statutory debt ceiling from 40% to 60% of GDP.
Diamonds normally contribute about one third of Botswana’s national revenues and three quarters of its foreign-exchange receipts.
Reuters
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