   #copyright

Namibia

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: African Countries;
Countries

   SOS Children works in Namibia. For more information see SOS Children in
   Namibia, Africa
                           Republic of Namibia

   Flag of Namibia Coat of arms of Namibia
   Flag            Coat of arms
   Motto: "Unity, Liberty, Justice"
   Anthem: Namibia, Land of the Brave
   Location of Namibia
   Capital
   (and largest city)    Windhoek
                         22°33′S 17°15′E
    Official languages   English^1
   Government            Republic
    - President          Hifikepunye Pohamba
    - Prime minister     Nahas Angula
       Independence      from South Africa
    - Date               March 21, 1990
                                   Area
    - Total              824,292 km² ( 34th)
                         318,259 sq mi
    - Water (%)          negligible
                                Population
    - July 2005 estimate 2,031,000^2 ( 144th)
    - 2002 census        1,820,916
    - Density            2.5/km² ( 224th)
                         6.5/sq mi
        GDP ( PPP)       2005 estimate
    - Total              $15.14 billion ( 123rd)
    - Per capita         $7,101 ( 88th)
        HDI  (2003)      0.627 (medium) ( 125th)
         Currency        Namibian dollar ( NAD)
         Time zone       WAT ( UTC+1)
    - Summer ( DST)      WAST ( UTC+2)
       Internet TLD      .na
       Calling code      +264
   ^1 German and Afrikaans were official languages until independence in
   1990. The majority of the population speaks Afrikaans as a second
   language, while Oshiwambo is the first language of half the population.
   German is spoken by 32% of the European community whereas English is
   only spoken by 7%. 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.

   Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern
   Africa on the Atlantic coast. It shares borders with Angola, and Zambia
   to the north, Botswana to the east, and South Africa to the south. It
   gained independence from South Africa in 1990 and its capital city is
   Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the Southern African Development
   Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Commonwealth of
   Nations.

History

   The dry lands of Namibia were inhabited since early times by Bushmen,
   Damara, Namaqua, and since about the fourteenth century AD, by
   immigrating Bantu who came with the Bantu expansion. The region was not
   extensively explored by Europeans until the 19th century, when the land
   came under German control as South-West Africa -- apart from Walvis Bay
   under British control. South Africa occupied the colony during World
   War I and administered it as a League of Nations mandate territory
   until after World War II, when it unilaterally annexed the territory,
   albeit without international recognition.

   In 1966 the Marxist South-West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO)
   guerrilla group launched a war of independence, but it was not until
   1988 that South Africa agreed to end its administration of Namibia, in
   accordance with a United Nations peace plan for the entire region.
   Independence came in 1990, and Walvis Bay was ceded to Namibia in 1994.

Administrative divisions

   Namibia is divided into thirteen regions and subdivided into 102
   constituencies.

Geography

   A detailed map of Namibia, based on radar images from The Map Library.
   Enlarge
   A detailed map of Namibia, based on radar images from The Map Library.

   At 318,674  mi² (825,418  km² ), Namibia is the world's thirty-fourth
   largest country (after Venezuela). It is comparable in size to
   Pakistan, and is about half the size of the US state of Alaska. After
   Mongolia, Namibia is the least densely populated country in the world
   (1.5 persons per km²).
   Dune in Namibia
   Enlarge
   Dune in Namibia

   The Namibian landscape consists primarily of central highlands, of
   which the highest point is the Brandberg at 2,606 metres (8,550  ft).
   The central plateau runs from north to south, bordered by the Namib
   Desert and its coastal plains to the west, the Orange River to the
   south, and the Kalahari Desert to the east.

   A remarkable strip of land in the northeast, known as the Caprivi Strip
   is the vestige of a narrow corridor demarcated for the German Empire to
   access the Zambezi River.

   The Namibian climate ranges from desert to subtropical, and is
   generally hot and dry; precipitation is sparse and erratic. The cold,
   north-flowing Benguela current accounts for some of the low
   precipitation. Besides the capital city Windhoek in the centre of the
   country, other important towns are the ports of Walvis Bay and
   Swakopmund, as well as Oshakati, Grootfontein, Tsumeb and Keetmanshoop.

Economy

   The economy is very dependent on the extraction and processing of
   minerals for export. Mining accounts for 20% of the GDP. Namibia is the
   fourth largest exporter of non-fuel minerals in Africa, and the world's
   fifth largest producer of uranium. Rich alluvial diamond deposits make
   Namibia a primary source for gem-quality diamonds. Namibia also
   produces large quantities of lead, zinc, tin, silver, and tungsten.

   About half of the population depends on agriculture (largely
   subsistence agriculture) for its livelihood. Namibia must import some
   of its food. Although per capita GDP is five times the per capita GDP
   of Africa's poorest countries, the majority of Namibia's people live in
   pronounced poverty because of large-scale unemployment, the great
   inequality of income distribution, and the large amount of wealth going
   to foreigners. The Namibian economy has many close links to South
   Africa. Agreement has been reached on the privatisation of several more
   enterprises in coming years, which should stimulate long-run foreign
   investment.

   Child labour occurs in Namibia, and the country is in the process of
   formulating an Action Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour,
   which is expected to be adopted in the period 2006-2007. For more
   information, see this article. Namibia is also one of the largest
   source of pollutants in the continent of Africa.

   It has been estimated that the total economic value (in real dollars)
   put into MMOGs is equivalent to Namibia's GDP .

Tourism

   Windhoek skyline
   Enlarge
   Windhoek skyline

   Namibia generally attracts eco-tourists with the majority visiting to
   experience the different climates and natural geographical landscapes
   such as the great eastern desert and plains. There are many lodges and
   reserves for eco-tourists to travel to and stay over.

Politics

   The politics of Namibia takes place in a framework of a presidential
   representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Namibia is
   both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform
   multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government.
   Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers
   of parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the
   legislature.

Demographics

   A group of Herero women, Windhoek, Namibia
   Enlarge
   A group of Herero women, Windhoek, Namibia
   A group of Himba women, near Opuwo, Namibia
   Enlarge
   A group of Himba women, near Opuwo, Namibia
   Although its official language is English, Namibia is a multilingual
   country as it is illustrated on these examples in English, German,
   Afrikaans and Ovambo.
   Enlarge
   Although its official language is English, Namibia is a multilingual
   country as it is illustrated on these examples in English, German,
   Afrikaans and Ovambo.

   Namibia is among the three sovereign countries with the lowest
   population density. The majority of the Namibian population is black
   African – mostly of the Ovambo tribe, which forms about half of the
   population – and concentrated in the north of the country. In addition
   to the black Bantu majority, there are large groups of Khoisan (e.g.
   Nama and Bushmen), who are descendants of the original inhabitants of
   Southern Africa. Khoisan differ significantly in appearance from both
   Bantu and White Africans. Blacks of other Bantu descent are descendants
   of refugees from Angola. There are also two smaller groups of people
   with mixed racial origins, called " Coloureds" and " Basters", who
   together make up 8% (with the Coloureds outnumbering the Basters two to
   one). Whites of Dutch, German, British, French and Portuguese ancestry
   make up about 8% of the population – which is the second largest
   proportion in sub-Saharan Africa, after South Africa. Most of Namibian
   whites and nearly all those of mixed race are Afrikaans speakers and
   share similar origins, culture, religion and genealogy as the white and
   coloured populations of neighbouring South Africa. A smaller proportion
   of whites (around 30,000) trace their family origins directly back to
   German settlers and maintain German cultural and educational
   institutions. Nearly all Portuguese are white miners and settlers from
   their former colony of Angola.

   Half of all Namibians speak Oshiwambo (Ovambo) as their first language,
   whereas the most widely understood language is Afrikaans. Among the
   younger generation, the most widely understood language is English.
   Both Afrikaans and English are used primarily as a second language
   reserved for public sphere communication, but small first language
   groups exist throughout the country. While the official language is
   English, most of the white population speaks either Afrikaans or
   German, both official languages until 1990 when Namibia became
   independent. Portuguese is spoken by blacks and whites from Angola.
   Christianity is the major religion, with the Lutheran Church being the
   largest then followed by the Roman Catholic.

Foreign relations

   Namibia follows a largely independent foreign policy, with lingering
   affiliations with states that aided the independence struggle,
   including Libya and Cuba.

   With a small army and a fragile economy, the Namibian Government's
   principal foreign policy concern is developing strengthened ties within
   the Southern African region. A dynamic member of the Southern African
   Development Community, Namibia is a vocal advocate for greater regional
   integration.

   Namibia became the 160th member of the United Nations on April 23,
   1990. On its independence it became the fiftieth member of the
   Commonwealth of Nations.
     * The Reporters Without Borders' Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2003
       ranks Namibia as fifty-sixth out of 166 countries, as compared with
       thirty-first out of 139 countries in 2002.

International disputes

   Namibia is involved in several minor international disputes, including:
     * Small residual disputes with Botswana along the Caprivi Strip,
       including the Situngu marshlands~Kasikili Island as known in the
       Namibian side along the Linyanti River, for which a commission to
       seek a resolution has been established;
     * Protests from Botswanan residents against Namibia's planned
       construction of the Okavango hydroelectric dam at the Popa Falls;
     * A managed dispute with South Africa over the location of the
       boundary in the Orange River;
     * A dormant dispute over where the boundaries of Botswana, Namibia,
       Zambia and Zimbabwe converge;
     * Angolan rebels and refugees that still reside in Namibia.

Military

   The constitution of Namibia defined the role of the military as
   "defending the territory and national interests." Namibia formed the
   National Defence Force (NDF), comprising former enemies in a 23-year
   bush war: the Peoples Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) and South West
   African Territorial Force ( SWATF). The British formulated the force
   integration plan and began training the NDF, which consists of five
   battalions and a small headquarters element. The United Nations
   Transitional Assistance Group (UNTAG)'s Kenyan infantry battalion
   remained in Namibia for three months after independence to assist in
   training the NDF and stabilize the north. According to the Namibian
   Defence Ministry, enlistments of both men and women will number no more
   than 7,500. Defence and security account for less than 8% of government
   spending.

Notables

     * Frankie Fredericks
     * Marcel du Plessis
     * Adolph Jentsch
     * List of Namibians

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namibia"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
