Botswana's Economy Hit by Diamond Slump
June 19, 24
(IDEX Online) - Botswana, which relies on diamonds for 80 per cent of its export revenue, says its economy is being hit by a global slump in demand.
The country may fall short of a target set earlier this year for the economy to grow by 4.2 per cent, Innocent Molalapata, the central bank's director of research and financial stability, told an economic briefing, according to a Reuters report.
"From what we have seen in the first half of the year, unfavourable global economic conditions … as well as domestic structural constraints, one would expect that we are unlikely to attain the projected economic growth," she said.
Rough diamond sales in 2023 fell by just over a quarter (25.1 per cent) to $3.44bn, according to figures released by the Bank of Botswana in March.
Botswana boasts the highest per capita GDP of any continental African nation, thanks largely to its diamond production, which allows it to provide free education for its 2.3m population.