Botswana’s economic performance in 2025 has been primarily hindered by the struggling diamond sector, a sector vital for the nation’s expansion and acquisition of foreign currency. The World Bank predicts a 3 percent economic shrinkage for Botswana in 2025, a forecast they link to “ongoing difficulties within the diamond industry.
This contraction is felt across various areas, including the mining channel, public finances, foreign exchange availability, and consumer trust. The World Bank’s assessment points to a deteriorating balance of payments, a sharp reduction in reserves, and an increasing current account deficit, with the deficit already having expanded to 4.7 percent of GDP in 2024. Additionally, while inflation figures were expected to stay below the target range for some time in 2025, the same World Bank analysis suggests that the depreciation of the Pula could lead to higher import inflation, particularly for food items.
Support authors and subscribe to content
This is premium stuff. Subscribe to read the entire article.
