How usable is the D language without a garbage collector?

[LinguisticMystic]

I'm looking for a modestly mature language to be a C++ 
replacement for my hobby needs. D seems to be a good one as it 
ticks all the boxes of C++ while fixing most (all?) of its flaws. 
However, what confuses me is the fact that D has a garbage 
collector. My necessary requirement is that the runtime should 
not include any such thing. And D does have some sort of @nogc 
switch. My question is, how usable is the scenario of GC-free 
programs in reality? Does the switch apply globally, so that the 
compiled binary is free from GC code? How many essential 
libraries can work without GC? Is it better for me to look 
elsewhere if I don't want GC?

Thanks for your clarifications!