South Africa occupied the German colony of South-West Africa during World War I and administered it as a mandate until after World War II, when it annexed the territory. In 1966 the Marxist South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) guerrilla group launched a war of independence for the area that was soon named Namibia, but it was not until 1988 that South Africa agreed to end its administration in accordance with a UN peace plan for the entire region. Namibia won its independence in 1990 and has been governed by SWAPO since. Hifikepunye POHAMBA was elected president in November 2004 in a landslide victory replacing Sam NUJOMA who led the country during its first 14 years of self rule.

Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and South Africa

22 00 S, 17 00 E

total: 825,418 sq km
land: 825,418 sq km
water: 0 sq km

total: 3,936 km
border countries: Angola 1,376 km, Botswana 1,360 km, South Africa 967 km, Zambia 233 km

1,572 km

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

desert; hot, dry; rainfall sparse and erratic

mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari Desert in east

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Konigstein 2,606 m

diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, lead, tin, lithium, cadmium, zinc, salt, hydropower, fish
note: suspected deposits of oil, coal, and iron ore

arable land: 0.99%
permanent crops: 0.01%
other: 99% (2005)

80 sq km (2003)

prolonged periods of drought

very limited natural fresh water resources; desertification; wildlife poaching; land degradation has led to few conservation areas

first country in the world to incorporate the protection of the environment into its constitution; some 14% of the land is protected, including virtually the entire Namib Desert coastal strip

2,044,147
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 38.2% (male 393,878/female 387,147)
15-64 years: 58.1% (male 596,557/female 591,350)
65 years and over: 3.7% (male 34,245/female 40,970) (2006 est.)

total: 20 years
male: 19.8 years
female: 20.1 years (2006 est.)

0.59% (2006 est.)

24.32 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

18.86 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

0.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 48.1 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 51.99 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 44.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 43.39 years
male: 44.46 years
female: 42.29 years (2006 est.)

3.06 children born/woman (2006 est.)

21.3% (2003 est.)

210,000 (2001 est.)

16,000 (2003 est.)

degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria
water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2005)

noun: Namibian(s)
adjective: Namibian

black 87.5%, white 6%, mixed 6.5%
note: about 50% of the population belong to the Ovambo tribe and 9% to the Kavangos tribe; other ethnic groups includes Herero 7%, Damara 7%, Nama 5%, Caprivian 4%, Bushmen 3%, Baster 2%, Tswana 0.5%

Christian 80% to 90% (Lutheran 50% at least), indigenous beliefs 10% to 20%

English 7% (official), Afrikaans common language of most of the population and about 60% of the white population, German 32%, indigenous languages (Oshivambo, Herero, Nama)

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84%
male: 84.4%
female: 83.7% (2003 est.)

conventional long form: Republic of Namibia
conventional short form: Namibia
former: German Southwest Africa, South-West Africa

republic

Windhoek

13 regions; Caprivi, Erongo, Hardap, Karas, Khomas, Kunene, Ohangwena, Okavango, Omaheke, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa

21 March 1990 (from South African mandate)

Independence Day, 21 March (1990)

ratified 9 February 1990, effective 12 March 1990

based on Roman-Dutch law and 1990 constitution

18 years of age; universal

bicameral legislature consists of the National Council (26 seats; 2 members are chosen from each regional council to serve six-year terms) and the National Assembly (72 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: National Council - elections for regional councils, to determine members of the National Council, held 29-30 November 2004 (next to be held November 2010); National Assembly - last held 15-16 November 2004 (next to be held November 2009)
election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - SWAPO 89.7%, UDF 4.7%, NUDO 2.8%, DTA 1.9%; seats by party - SWAPO 24, UDF 1, DTA 1; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - SWAPO 75.1%, COD 7.2%, DTA 5%, NUDO 4.1%, UDF 3.5%, RP 1.9%, MAG 0.8%; seats by party - SWAPO 55, COD 5, DTA 4, NUDO 3, UDF 3, RP 1, MAG 1
note: the National Council is primarily an advisory body

Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission)

The economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals for export. Mining accounts for 20% of GDP. Rich alluvial diamond deposits make Namibia a primary source for gem-quality diamonds. Namibia is the fourth-largest exporter of nonfuel minerals in Africa, the world's fifth-largest producer of uranium, and the producer of large quantities of lead, zinc, tin, silver, and tungsten. The mining sector employs only about 3% of the population while about half of the population depends on subsistence agriculture for its livelihood. Namibia normally imports about 50% of its cereal requirements; in drought years food shortages are a major problem in rural areas. A high per capita GDP, relative to the region, hides the world's worst inequality of income distribution. The Namibian economy is closely linked to South Africa with the Namibian dollar pegged one-to-one to the South African rand. Privatization of several enterprises in coming years may stimulate long-run foreign investment. Increased fish production and mining of zinc, copper, uranium, and silver spurred growth in 2003-05.

$16.58 billion (2005 est.)

$4.952 billion (2005 est.)

4.2% (2005 est.)

$8,200 (2005 est.)

agriculture: 9.3%
industry: 27.8%
services: 62.9% (2005 est.)

820,000 (2005 est.)

agriculture: 47%
industry: 20%
services: 33% (1999 est.)

35% (1998)

the UNDP's 2005 Human Development Report indicated that 34.9% of the population live on $1 per day and 55.8% live on $2 per day

70.7 (2003)

2.7% (2005 est.)

21.2% of GDP (2005 est.)

revenues: $1.945 billion
expenditures: $2.039 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)

39.6% of GDP (2005 est.)

millet, sorghum, peanuts, grapes; livestock; fish

meatpacking, fish processing, dairy products; mining (diamonds, lead, zinc, tin, silver, tungsten, uranium, copper)

1.464 billion kWh (2003)

2.372 billion kWh (2003)

55 million kWh (2003)

1.065 billion kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2003)

16,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

62.3 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

$579 million (2005 est.)

$2.04 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

diamonds, copper, gold, zinc, lead, uranium; cattle, processed fish, karakul skins

South Africa 33.4%, US 4% (2004)

$2.35 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

foodstuffs; petroleum products and fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals

South Africa 85.2%, US (2004)

$365 million (2005 est.)

$1.164 billion (2005 est.)

ODA, $160 million (2000 est.)

Namibian dollar (NAD); South African rand (ZAR)

1 April - 31 March

127,900 (2004)

286,100 (2004)

general assessment: good system; about 6 telephones for each 100 persons
domestic: good urban services; fair rural service; microwave radio relay links major towns; connections to other populated places are by open wire; 100% digital
international: country code - 264; fiber-optic cable to South Africa, microwave radio relay link to Botswana, direct links to other neighboring countries; connected to Africa ONE and South African Far East (SAFE) submarine cables through South Africa; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (2002)

AM 2, FM 39, shortwave 4 (2001)

8 (plus about 20 low-power repeaters) (1997)

.na

3,273 (2005)

75,000 (2005)

136 (2005)

total: 21
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2005)

total: 115
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 22
914 to 1,523 m: 71
under 914 m: 20 (2005)

total: 2,382 km
narrow gauge: 2,382 km 1.067-m gauge (2004)

total: 42,237 km
paved: 5,406 km
unpaved: 36,831 km (2002)

total: 1 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,265 GRT/3,605 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2005)

Luderitz, Walvis Bay

Namibian Defense Force: Army (includes Air Wing), Navy, Police

border commission has yet to resolve small residual disputes with Botswana along the Caprivi Strip, including the Situngu marshlands along the Linyanti River; Botswana residents protest Namibia's planned construction of the Okavango hydroelectric dam on Popa Falls; managed dispute with South Africa over the location of the boundary in the Orange River; Namibia has supported and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river

refugees (country of origin): 12,618 (Angola) (2005)