Botswana Economy Contracts for Fifth Straight Quarter

Botswana’s GDP contracted by 0.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, following a sharper 2% decline in the previous quarter, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of economic contraction.

The downturn was largely driven by continued weakness in key sectors, including agriculture, forestry, and fishing (-3.4% vs.

-2.5% in Q4), mining and quarrying (-7.7% vs.

-27.3%), diamond trading (-36.2% vs.

196.2%), and water and electricity (-29% vs.

43.7%).

In contrast, output in manufacturing showed a modest rebound (0.2% vs.

-6.5%), while growth slowed in finance and insurance (3.9% vs.

4.7%), real estate (3.3% vs.

5%), and public administration and defense (4.2% vs.

5.9%).

On a quarterly basis, the economy shrank by 0.1%, reversing the 1.3% growth recorded in the final quarter of 2024.