"Real GDP declined by 6.0 percent in 2009 from the revised 3.1 percent in 2008," says a CSO statement. "The drivers to the decline was mining and manufacturing industries, with mining being the major contributor to the decline at 9.9 percent." GDP bounced back by a positive 7.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 after shrinking by 20.9 percent, 2.5 percent and 7.9 percent in the first three quarters of the year respectively.
GDP is a primary health indicator of an economy that shows the total market value of goods and services produced in a country in a year. The 7.2 growth in the last quarter of last year was largely attributed to a rebound in the mining and agriculture sectors as the country shook off the effects of the global recession after a disappointing start of the year when diamond mines, the country's mainstay, were mothballed. Diamond giant, Debswana, which contributes a third of the country's GDP, produced just above half of its usual output as demand for diamonds was suppressed by the global credit crunch.
