Skip to content
Palmera Investments CC
Aerial view of the B2 coastal road between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, with Namib dunes on one side and the Atlantic on the other

Market access

Why Namibia

Namibia is a small market of about three million people. The reason to trade through it is access: a deep-water Atlantic port, four road corridors and a five-country customs union.

The B2, Swakopmund to Walvis Bay

Population
3.02 million
2023 census1
Customs union
5 countries
One common external tariff2
Currency
N$1 = R1
Pegged to the rand. The peg does not remove currency risk.3
Official language
English
Article 3 of the Constitution4

The port

Walvis Bay

Walvis Bay lies about halfway down Namibia’s Atlantic coast, in a natural bay with deep-water anchorage. On Namport’s figures, the container terminal opened in August 2019 can handle 750,000 TEU a year, with 16 m of water at the new quay.5

In January 2025 MSC listed its Namibia Express as linking Walvis Bay directly with London Gateway, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Bremerhaven, Le Havre, Sines and Las Palmas.6 Your forwarder can confirm the current rotation.

Our logistics work

An offshore drilling tender and a supply vessel berthed in the Port of Walvis Bay, with small boats being launched in the foreground

Overland

Four road corridors inland

The Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) promotes four road corridors from Namibia’s ports. The times are its published figures.

AtlanticWalvis Bay
  1. Trans-CuneneSouthern AngolaLubango, 1 to 2 days7
  2. Walvis Bay-Ndola-LubumbashiZambia and the DRCLusaka, 3 to 5 days8
  3. Trans-KalahariBotswana and GautengJohannesburg via Windhoek, 2 days9
  4. Trans-OranjeNorthern CapeUpington, 1 day from Lüderitz10
Schematic, not to scale
The WBCG itself reports non-tariff barriers and border-post bottlenecks on the Zambia and DRC route.8
Distances and transit times from Walvis Bay
Road distances and transit times from Walvis Bay
ToRoadTransit
Trans-Cunene7
Oshikango, Angola border1,059 km1 day
Lubango, Angola1,129 km1 to 2 days
Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi8
Lusaka, Zambia2,072 km3 to 5 days
Ndola, Zambia2,390 km3 to 5 days
Kitwe, Zambia2,429 km3 to 5 days
Lubumbashi, DRC2,615 km6 to 7 days
Trans-Kalahari9
Ghanzi, Botswana921 km1 to 2 days
Gaborone, Botswana1,484 km2 to 3 days
Johannesburg, South Africa1,768 km2 days
Harare, Zimbabwe2,280 km3 to 7 days
Trans-Oranje10
Upington, from Lüderitz804 km1 day

Customs and trade

One tariff across five countries

Namibia is in the Southern African Customs Union with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and South Africa. All five apply one common external tariff to goods from outside, and goods cleared in one member move to the others without further customs duty.2

SADC Free Trade Area
Since 2008
About 85% of trade between members reached zero duty in January 2008.11
SADC-EU EPA
Duty free into the EU
No quotas, for goods of Namibian origin. Provisionally applied since October 2016.12
AfCFTA
Ratified 2019
Trading began in 2021. In 2026 tariff schedules and rules of origin were still being agreed.13

Detail

Further questions

What paperwork does an import into Namibia need?

Customs is run by the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA). Goods are declared on the SAD 500 bill of entry, with the commercial invoice, bill of lading or air waybill, packing list, certificate of origin and any permit or licence.14

None of these documents is specific to Namibia. The Namibian obligations fall on the importer of record.

Is there a preferential tariff for goods from Asia?

No. We found no SACU free trade agreement with any Asian economy. Goods from Asia enter on the common external tariff, at the same rates as South Africa, and once cleared they move within SACU without further customs duty.14

What does the rand peg mean for pricing?

The Namibian dollar is pegged one to one to the rand, and the rand is also legal tender in Namibia.3 In practice, Namibian dollar exposure is rand exposure, so a supplier can price and hedge a Namibian contract in rand.

The peg does not remove currency risk. It ties Namibia to South African monetary policy and inflation.

How do I get to Windhoek from Europe?

In September 2026, carriers flying direct from Windhoek (WDH) included Discover Airlines, year round to Frankfurt and Munich, and Condor, seasonally to Frankfurt.15 Route networks change, so check before you book.

What has this page left out?

A “days closer to Europe” figure. It is often repeated, but we found no primary source for one. MSC’s published rotation, under Walvis Bay above, is the fact you can check.

Investment incentives and credit ratings. Both change too often to print here.

Sources

Facts checked: September 2026

  1. 12023 census, preliminary results. UNFPA Namibia
  2. 2Southern African Customs Union
  3. 3The Common Monetary Area. Bank of Namibia
  4. 4Constitution of Namibia
  5. 5Port of Walvis Bay. Namport
  6. 6MSC enhances connectivity in Southern Africa, January 2025
  7. 7Trans-Cunene Corridor. WBCG
  8. 8Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Corridor. WBCG
  9. 9Trans-Kalahari Corridor. WBCG
  10. 10Trans-Oranje Corridor. WBCG
  11. 11The SADC Free Trade Area. SADC
  12. 12EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement. European Commission
  13. 13African Continental Free Trade Area. Namibia Trade Portal
  14. 14Importation of goods. NamRA
  15. 15Flights from Windhoek. FlightConnections

Talk to us about your market

Tell us what you make and where you want to sell it.

Make an enquiry
T
+264 61 24 87 77
M
+264 81 437 1790