Republic of Namibia Name in national languages Afrikaans:Republiek van Namibië[1]German:Republik Namibia[2]Khoekhoegowab:Republiki Namibiab dib[3]Oshiwambo:Orepublika yaNamibia[4]Otjiherero:Orepublika yaNamibia[5]RuKwangali:Republika zaNamibia[6]Setswana:Rephaboliki ya Namibia[7]siLozi:Namibia ye Lukuluhile[8] Flag Coat of arms Motto: "Unity, Liberty, Justice"Anthem: "Namibia, Land of the Bre"Show globeShow map of AfricaCapitaland largest cityWindhoek22°34′S 17°5′E / 22.567°S 17.083°E / -22.567; 17.083Official languagesEnglish[9]Recognised national languagesAfrikaansGermanKhoekhoegowabOshiwamboOtjihereroRuKwangaliSetswanasiLoziRecognised regional languagesǃKungGcirikuThimbukushuEthnic groups (2023)[10]93.2% African[A]3.6% Coloured and Basters1.8% White1.4% Asian / otherReligion (2023)[11][B] 87.9% Christianity 43.7% Lutheranism 22.8% Catholicism 17.0% Anglicanism 4.4% other Christian 10.5% other1.6% no religionDemonymNamibianGovernmentUnitary semi-presidential republic[12][needs update]• President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah• Vice President Lucia Witbooi• Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare• Deputy Prime Minister Vacant• Chief Justice Peter Shivute LegislatureParliament• Upper houseNational Council• Lower houseNational AssemblyIndependence from South Africa• Constitution 9 February 1990• Independence 21 March 1990 Area • Total825,615 km2 (318,772 sq mi) (34th)• Water (%)negligiblePopulation• 2025 census 3,022,401 [13][10] (136th)• Density3.7/km2 (9.6/sq mi)GDP (PPP)2025 estimate• Total $37.73 billion[14] (145th)• Per capita $12,370[14] (117th)GDP (nominal)2025 estimate• Total $14.21 billion[14] (145th)• Per capita $4,660[14] (120th)Gini (2015)59.1[15]high inequalityHDI (2023) 0.665[16]medium (136th)CurrencyNamibian dollar (NAD) South African rand (ZAR)Time zoneUTC+2 (CAT)Date formatdd/mm/yyyyCalling code+264ISO 3166 codeNAInternet TLD.na
Namibia,[C] officially the Republic of Namibia,[D] is a country in Southern Africa.[21] Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the northeast, approximating a quadripoint,[22] Zimbabwe lies less than 200 metres (660 feet) away along the Zambezi river near Kazungula, Zambia. Namibia's capital and largest city is Windhoek.
Namibia is the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa,[23] and has been inhabited since prehistoric times by the Khoi, San, Damara and Nama people. Around the 14th century, immigrating Bantu peoples arrived as part of the Bantu expansion. From 1600 the Owambo formed kingdoms, such as Ondonga and Oukwanyama.[24] In 1884, the German Empire established rule over most of the territory, forming a colony known as German South West Africa. Between 1904-08, German troops waged a punitive campaign against the Herero and Nama which escalated into the first genocide of the 20th century. German rule ended during the First World War with a 1915 defeat by South African forces. In 2021, German and Namibian diplomats created a "reconciliation agreement" acknowledging atrocities from the German colonial period.[25]
In 1920 the League of Nations mandated administration of the colony to South Africa. The National Party, elected to power in 1948 in South Africa, applied apartheid to what was then known as South West Africa. Uprisings and demands for political representation resulted in the United Nations assuming direct responsibility over the territory in 1966, but South Africa maintained de facto rule until 1973. That year the UN recognised the South West Africa People's Organisation, SWAPO, as the official representative of the Namibian people. Namibia gained independence from South Africa in March 1990, following the South African Border War. However, Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands remained under South African control until 1994.
Namibia is a stable parliamentary democracy. Agriculture, tourism and the mining industry – including mining for gem diamonds, uranium, gold, silver and base metals – form the basis of its economy, while the manufacturing sector is comparatively small. Despite significant GDP growth since its independence,[26] poverty and inequality remain significant. 41% of the population is affected by multidimensional poverty,[27] and more than 400,000 people live in informal housing.[28] Income disparity is one of the world's highest with a Gini coefficient of 59 in 2015.[29]
With a population of 3.1 million people, Namibia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. Since the end of the Cold War, it has attracted notable immigration from Germany, Angola, and Zimbabwe.[30] Namibia is a member state of the United Nations, the Southern African Development Community, the African Union and the Commonwealth of Nations.
History[edit] Main article: History of Namibia Etymology[edit]The name of the country is derived from the Namib desert, the oldest desert in the world.[31] The word Namib itself is of Khoi origin and means "vast place". The name was chosen by Mburumba Kerina, who originally proposed "Republic of Namib".[32] Before Namibia became independent in 1990, its territory was known first as German South-West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika), and then as South West Africa, reflecting its colonial occupation by Germans and South Africans, respectively.
Pre-colonial period[edit]The dry lands of Namibia he been inhabited since prehistoric times by the San, Damara, and Nama. For thousands of years, the Khoisan peoples of Southern Africa maintained a nomadic life, the Khoikhoi as pastoralists and the San people as hunter-gatherers. Around the 14th century, immigrating Bantu people began to arrive during the Bantu expansion from central Africa.[33]
From the late 18th century onward, Oorlam people from Cape Colony crossed the Orange River and moved into the area that today is southern Namibia.[34] Their encounters with the nomadic Nama tribes were largely peaceful. They received the missionaries accompanying the Oorlam very well,[35] granting them the right to use waterholes and grazing against an annual payment.[36] On their way further north, however, the Oorlam encountered clans of the OvaHerero at Windhoek, Gobabis, and Okahandja, who resisted their encroachment. The Nama-Herero War broke out in 1880, with hostilities ebbing only after the German Empire deployed troops to the contested places and cemented the status quo among the Nama, Oorlam, and Herero.[37]
In 1878, the Cape of Good Hope, then a British colony, annexed the port of Walvis Bay and the offshore Penguin Islands; these became an integral part of the new Union of South Africa at its creation in 1910.
The first Europeans to disembark and explore the region were the Portuguese nigators Diogo Cão in 1485[38] and Bartolomeu Dias in 1486, but the Portuguese did not try to claim the area. Like most of the interior of Sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia was not extensively explored by Europeans until the 19th century. At that time traders and settlers came principally from Germany and Sweden. In 1870, Finnish missionaries came to the northern part of Namibia to spread the Lutheran religion among the Owambo and Kango people.[39] In the late 19th century, Dorsland Trekkers crossed the area on their way from the Transvaal to Angola. Some of them settled in Namibia instead of continuing their journey.
German rule[edit] See also: German South West Africa and Herero and Nama genocideNamibia became a German colony in 1884 under Otto von Bismarck to forestall perceived British encroachment and was known as German South West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika).[40] The Palgre Commission by the British governor in Cape Town determined that only the natural deep-water harbour of Walvis Bay was worth occupying and thus annexed it to the Cape province of British South Africa.
In 1897, a rinderpest epidemic caused massive cattle die-offs of an estimated 95% of cattle in southern and central Namibia. In response the German colonisers set up a veterinary cordon fence known as the Red Line.[41] In 1907 this fence then broadly defined the boundaries for the first Police Zone.[42]
From 1904 to 1907, the Herero and the Nama took up arms against ruthless German settlers. In a calculated punitive action by the German settlers, government officials ordered the extinction of the natives in the OvaHerero and Nama genocide. In what has been called the "first genocide of the 20th century",[43] the Germans systematically killed 10,000 Nama (half the population) and approximately 65,000 Herero (about 80% of the population).[44][45] The survivors, when finally released from detention, were subjected to a policy of dispossession, deportation, forced labour, racial segregation, and discrimination in a system that in many ways foreshadowed the apartheid established by South Africa in 1948. Most Africans were confined to so-called native territories, which under South African rule after 1949 were turned into "homelands" (Bantustans).
Some historians he speculated that the downfall of the Herero in Namibia was a model for the Nazis in the Holocaust.[46] The memory of what happened under German rule has contributed to shape the ethnic identity in independent Namibia and has kept its significance in today's relations with Germany.[47]
The German minister for development aid apologised for the Namibian genocide in 2004. However, the German government distanced itself from this apology.[48] Only in 2021 did the German government acknowledge the genocide and agree to pay €1.1 billion over 30 years in community aid.[49]
South African mandate[edit] See also: South West AfricaDuring World War I, South African troops under General Louis Botha occupied the territory and deposed the German colonial administration. The end of the war and the Treaty of Versailles resulted in South West Africa remaining a possession of South Africa, at first as a League of Nations mandate, until 1990.[50] The mandate system was formed as a compromise between those who advocated for an Allied annexation of former German and Ottoman territories and a proposition put forward by those who wished to grant them to an international trusteeship until they could govern themselves.[50] It permitted the South African government to administer South West Africa until that territory's inhabitants were prepared for political self-determination.[51] South Africa interpreted the mandate as a veiled annexation and made no attempt to prepare South West Africa for future autonomy.[51]
Hendrik Witbooi (left) and Samuel Maharero (right) were prominent leaders against German colonial rule.As a result of the Conference on International Organization in 1945, the League of Nations was formally superseded by the United Nations (UN) and former League mandates by a trusteeship system. Article 77 of the United Nations Charter stated that UN trusteeship "shall apply...to territories now held under mandate"; furthermore, it would "be a matter of subsequent agreement as to which territories in the foregoing territories will be brought under the trusteeship system and under what terms".[52] The UN requested all former League of Nations mandates be surrendered to its Trusteeship Council in anticipation of their independence.[52] South Africa declined to do so and instead requested permission from the UN to formally annex South West Africa, for which it received considerable criticism.[52] When the UN General Assembly rejected this proposal, South Africa dismissed its opinion and began solidifying control of the territory.[52] The UN General Assembly and Security Council responded by referring the issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which held a number of discussions on the legality of South African rule between 1949 and 1966.[53]
South Africa began imposing apartheid, its codified system of racial segregation and discrimination, on South West Africa during the late 1940s.[54] Black South West Africans were subject to pass laws, curfews, and a host of residential regulations that restricted their movement.[54] Development was concentrated in the southern region of the territory adjacent to South Africa, known as the "Police Zone", where most of the major settlements and commercial economic activity were located.[55] Outside the Police Zone, indigenous peoples were restricted to theoretically self-governing tribal homelands.[55]
During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the accelerated decolonisation of Africa and mounting pressure on the remaining colonial powers to grant their colonies self-determination resulted in the formation of nascent nationalist parties in South West Africa.[56] Movements such as the South West African National Union (SWANU) and the South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) advocated for the formal termination of South Africa's mandate and independence for the territory.[56] In 1966, following the ICJ's controversial ruling that it had no legal standing to consider the question of South African rule, SWAPO launched an armed insurgency that escalated into part of a wider regional conflict known as the South African Border War.[57]
Foreign Observer identification badge issued during the 1989 Namibian electionIn 1971 Namibian contract workers led a general strike against the contract system and in support of independence.[58] Some of the striking workers would later join SWAPO's PLAN[59] as part of the South African Border War.
Independence[edit]As SWAPO's insurgency intensified, South Africa's case for annexation in the international community continued to decline.[60] The UN declared that South Africa had failed in its obligations to ensure the moral and material well-being of South West Africa's indigenous inhabitants, and had thus disowed its own mandate.[61] On 12 June 1968, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming that, in accordance with the desires of its people, South West Africa be renamed Namibia.[61] United Nations Security Council Resolution 269, adopted in August 1969, declared South Africa's continued occupation of Namibia illegal.[61][62] In recognition of this landmark decision, SWAPO's armed wing was renamed the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN).[63]
Namibia became one of several flashpoints for Cold War proxy conflicts in southern Africa during the latter years of the PLAN insurgency.[64] The insurgents sought out weapons and sent recruits to the Soviet Union for military training.[65] As the PLAN war effort gained momentum, the Soviet Union and other sympathetic states such as Cuba continued to increase their support, deploying advisers to train the insurgents directly as well as supplying more weapons and ammunition.[66] SWAPO's leadership, dependent on Soviet, Angolan, and Cuban military aid, positioned the movement firmly within the socialist bloc by 1975.[67] This practical alliance reinforced the external perception of SWAPO as a Soviet proxy, which dominated Cold War rhetoric in South Africa and the United States.[55] For its part, the Soviet Union supported SWAPO partly because it viewed South Africa as a regional Western ally.[68]
South African troops patrol the border region for PLAN insurgents, 1980s.Growing war weariness and the reduction of tensions between the superpowers compelled South Africa, Angola, and Cuba to accede to the Tripartite Accord, under pressure from both the Soviet Union and the United States.[69] South Africa accepted Namibian independence in exchange for Cuban military withdrawal from the region and an Angolan commitment to cease all aid to PLAN.[70] PLAN and South Africa adopted an informal ceasefire in August 1988, and a United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) was formed to monitor the Namibian peace process and supervise the return of refugees.[71] The ceasefire was broken after PLAN made a final incursion into the territory, possibly as a result of misunderstanding UNTAG's directives, in March 1989.[72] A new ceasefire was later imposed with the condition that the insurgents were to be confined to their external bases in Angola until they could be disarmed and demobilised by UNTAG.[71][73]
By the end of the 11-month transition period, the last South African troops had been withdrawn from Namibia, all political prisoners granted amnesty, racially discriminatory legislation repealed, and 42,000 Namibian refugees returned to their homes.[67] Just over 97% of eligible voters participated in the country's first parliamentary elections held under a universal franchise.[74] The United Nations plan included oversight by foreign election observers in an effort to ensure a free and fair election. SWAPO won a plurality of seats in the Constituent Assembly with 57% of the popular vote.[74] This ge the party 41 seats, but not a two-thirds majority, which would he enabled it to draft the constitution on its own.[74]
The Namibian Constitution was adopted in February 1990. It incorporated protection for human rights and compensation for state expropriations of private property and established an independent judiciary, legislature, and an executive presidency (the constituent assembly became the national assembly). The country officially became independent on 21 March 1990.[75][39] Sam Nujoma was sworn in as the first President of Namibia at a ceremony attended by Nelson Mandela of South Africa (who had been released from prison the previous month) and representatives from 147 countries, including 20 heads of state.[76] In 1994, shortly before the first multiracial elections in South Africa, that country ceded Walvis Bay to Namibia.[77]
After independence[edit]Since independence Namibia has completed the transition from white minority apartheid rule to parliamentary democracy. Multiparty democracy was introduced and has been maintained, with local, regional and national elections held regularly. Several registered political parties are active and represented in the National Assembly, although the SWAPO has won every election since independence.[78] The transition from the 15-year rule of President Nujoma to his successor Hifikepunye Pohamba in 2005 went smoothly.[79]
Since independence, the Namibian government has promoted a policy of national reconciliation. It issued an amnesty for those who fought on either side during the liberation war. The civil war in Angola spilled over and adversely affected Namibians living in the north of the country. In 1998, Namibia Defence Force (NDF) troops were sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of a Southern African Development Community (SADC) contingent. In 1999, the national government quashed a secessionist attempt in the northeastern Caprivi Strip.[79] The Caprivi conflict was initiated by the Caprivi Liberation Army (CLA), a rebel group led by Mishake Muyongo. It wanted the Caprivi Strip to secede and form its own society.[80]
In 2007, Twyfelfontein was inscribed as a cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site, a prehistoric site with one of the largest concentrations of rock engrings on the African continent.[81] In December 2014, Prime Minister Hage Geingob, the candidate of ruling SWAPO, won the presidential elections, taking 87% of the vote. His predecessor, President Hifikepunye Pohamba, also of SWAPO, had served the maximum two terms allowed by the constitution.[82] In December 2019, President Hage Geingob was re-elected for a second term, taking 56.3% of the vote.[83] On 4 February 2024, President Hage Geingob died and he was immediately succeeded by vice-president Nangolo Mbumba as new President of Namibia who finished the late President's term as it came to an end in March 2025.[84] SWAPO's first female presidential candidate, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, was declared the winner of the 2024 elections with 57% of the vote.[85] On 21 March 2025, she was sworn in as Namibia's new president.[86]
Geography[edit] Main article: Geography of Namibia Sand dunes of the Namib desert Fish River CanyonAt 825,615 km2 (318,772 sq mi),[87] Namibia is the world's 34th largest country (after Venezuela). It lies mostly between latitudes 17° and 29°S (a small area is north of 17°), and longitudes 11° and 26°E.
The Namibian landscape consists generally of five geographical areas, each with characteristic abiotic conditions and vegetation, with some variation within and overlap between them: the Central Plateau, the Namib Desert, the Great Escarpment, the Bushveld, and the Kalahari Desert.
Namibia is situated between the Namib and Kalahari Deserts. Namibia has the least rainfall of any country in sub-Saharan Africa.[88] The Namib is a broad expanse of hyper-arid grel plains and dunes that stretches along Namibia's entire coastline. It varies between 100 and 200 km (60 and 120 mi) in width. Areas within the Namib include the Skeleton Coast and the Kaokoveld in the north and the extensive Namib Sand Sea along the central coast.[31]
The Central Plateau runs from north to south, bordered by the Skeleton Coast (a coastal desert) to the northwest, the Namib Desert and its coastal plains to the southwest, the Orange River to the south, and the Kalahari Desert to the east. The Central Plateau is home to the highest point in Namibia at Königstein elevation 2,573 m (8,440 ft; 1.60 mi).[89][90]
The Great Escarpment swiftly rises to over 2,000 m (6,600 ft). Average temperatures and temperature ranges increase further inland from the cold Atlantic waters, while the lingering coastal fogs slowly diminish. Although the area is rocky with poorly developed soils, it is significantly more productive than the Namib Desert. As summer winds are forced over the Escarpment, moisture is extracted as precipitation.[91]
The Bushveld is found in north-eastern Namibia along the Angolan border and in the Caprivi Strip. The area receives a significantly greater amount of precipitation than the rest of the country, eraging around 400 mm (16 in) per year. The area is generally flat and the soils sandy, limiting their ability to retain water and support agriculture.[92]
The Kalahari Desert, an arid region that extends into South Africa and Botswana, is one of Namibia's well-known geographical features. The Kalahari, while popularly known as a desert, has a variety of localised environments, including some verdant and technically non-desert areas. The Succulent Karoo is home to over 5,000 species of plants, nearly half of them endemic; approximately 10 percent of the world's succulents are found in the Karoo.[93][94] The reason behind this high productivity and endemism may be the relatively stable nature of precipitation.[95]
Namibia's Coastal Desert is one of the oldest deserts in the world. Its sand dunes, created by the strong onshore winds, are the highest in the world.[96] Because of the location of the shoreline, at the point where the Atlantic's cold water reaches Africa's hot climate, often extremely dense fog forms along the coast.[97] Near the coast there are areas where the dune-hummocks are vegetated.[98] Namibia has rich coastal and marine resources that remain largely unexplored.[99] The Caprivi Strip extends east from the northeastern corner of the country.
Urban settlements[edit] Main article: List of cities and towns in NamibiaNamibia has 13 cities, governed by municipalities and 26 towns, governed by town councils.[100][101] The capital Windhoek is by far the largest urban settlement in Namibia.
Largest cities or towns in NamibiaAccording to the 2023 Census[102] Rank Name Region Pop. 1 Windhoek Khomas 486,169 2 Rundu Kango East 118,625 3 Walvis Bay Erongo 102,704 4 Swakopmund Erongo 75,921 5 Oshakati Oshana 58,696 6 Otjiwarongo Otjozondjupa 49,022 7 Katima Mulilo Zambezi 46,401 8 Okahandja Otjozondjupa 45,159 9 Rehoboth Hardap 40,788 10 Tsumeb Oshikoto 34,960 Climate[edit] Köppen climate types of Namibia Namibia is primarily a large desert and a semi-desert plateauNamibia extends from 17°S to 25°S latitude: climatically the range of the sub-Tropical High Pressure Belt. Its overall climate description is arid, descending from the Sub-Humid [mean rain above 500 mm (20 in)] through Semi-Arid [between 300 and 500 mm (12 and 20 in)] (embracing most of the waterless Kalahari) and Arid [from 150 to 300 mm (5.9 to 12 in)] (these three regions are inland from the western escarpment) to the Hyper-Arid coastal plain [less than 100 mm (3.9 in)]. Temperature maxima are limited by the overall elevation of the entire region: only in the far south, Warmbad for instance, are maxima above 40 °C (104 °F) recorded.[103]
Typically the sub-Tropical High Pressure Belt, with frequent clear skies, provides more than 300 days of sunshine per year. It is situated at the southern edge of the tropics; the Tropic of Capricorn cuts the country about in half. The winter (June–August) is generally dry. Both rainy seasons occur in summer: the small rainy season between September and November, and the big one between February and April.[104] Humidity is low, and erage rainfall varies from almost zero in the Skeleton Coast (a coastal desert) to more than 600 mm (24 in) in the Caprivi Strip. Rainfall is highly variable, and droughts are common.[105] In the summer of 2006–07 the rainfall was recorded far below the annual erage.[106] In May 2019, Namibia declared a state of emergency in response to the drought,[107] and extended it by an additional 6 months in October 2019.[108]
Weather and climate in the coastal area are dominated by the cold, north-flowing Benguela Current of the Atlantic Ocean, which accounts for very low precipitation (50 mm (2.0 in) per year or less), frequent dense fog, and overall lower temperatures than in the rest of the country.[105] In Winter, occasionally a condition known as Bergwind (German for "mountain wind") or Oosweer (Afrikaans for "east weather") occurs, a hot dry wind blowing from the inland to the coast. As the area behind the coast is a desert, these winds can develop into sand storms, leing sand deposits in the Atlantic Ocean that are visible on satellite images.[109]
The Central Plateau and Kalahari areas he wide diurnal temperature ranges of up to 30C (54F).[105]
Efundja, the annual seasonal flooding of the northern parts of the country, often causes not only damage to infrastructure but loss of life.[110] The rains that cause these floods originate in Angola, flow into Namibia's Cuvelai-Etosha Basin, and fill the oshanas (Oshiwambo: flood plains) there. The worst floods so far[update] occurred in March 2011 and displaced 21,000 people.[111]
Water sources[edit] Main article: Water supply and sanitation in NamibiaNamibia is the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa and depends largely on groundwater. With an erage rainfall of about 350 mm (14 in) per annum, the highest rainfall occurs in the Caprivi Strip in the northeast (about 600 mm (24 in) per annum) and decreases in a westerly and southwesterly direction to as little as 50 mm (2.0 in) and less per annum at the coast. The only perennial rivers are found on the national borders with South Africa, Angola, Zambia, and the short border with Botswana in the Caprivi Strip. In the interior of the country, surface water is ailable only in the summer months when rivers are in flood after exceptional rainfalls. Otherwise, surface water is restricted to a few large storage dams retaining and damming up these seasonal floods and their run-off. Where people do not live near perennial rivers or make use of the storage dams, they are dependent on groundwater. Even isolated communities and those economic activities located far from good surface water sources, such as mining, agriculture, and tourism, can be supplied from groundwater over nearly 80% of the country.[112]
More than 100,000 boreholes he been drilled in Namibia over the past century. One third of these boreholes he been drilled dry.[113] An aquifer called Ohangwena II, on both sides of the Angola-Namibia border, was discovered in 2012. It has been estimated to be capable of supplying a population of 800,000 people in the North for 400 years, at the current (2018) rate of consumption.[114] Experts estimate that Namibia has 7,720 km3 (1,850 cu mi) of underground water.[115][116]
On 8 June 2023, Namibia became the first Southern African country and the eighth country in Africa to accede to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (UN Water Convention).[117]
Communal wildlife conservancies[edit] Main article: Communal wildlife conservancies in Namibia Quivertree Forest, BushveldNamibia is one of few countries in the world to specifically address conservation and protection of natural resources in its constitution.[118] Article 95 states, "The State shall actively promote and maintain the welfare of the people by adopting international policies aimed at the following: maintenance of ecosystems, essential ecological processes, and biological diversity of Namibia, and utilisation of living natural resources on a sustainable basis for the benefit of all Namibians, both present and future."[118]
In 1993, Namibia's newly formed government received funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Living in a Finite Environment (LIFE) Project.[119] The Ministry of Environment and Tourism, with financial support from organisations such as USAID, Endangered Wildlife Trust, World Wide Fund for Nature, and Canadian Ambassador's Fund, together form a Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) support structure. The project's main goal is to promote sustainable natural resource management by giving local communities rights to wildlife management and tourism.[120]
Wildlife[edit] Main article: Wildlife of NamibiaNamibia has various species of wildlife including the wild dog, dik dik and critically endangered black rhino. There are 200 terrestrial mammal species, 645 bird species and 115 fish species.[121][122]
Government and politics[edit] Tintenpalast, the centre of Namibia's government Main articles: Politics of Namibia and Elections in NamibiaNamibia is a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic.[12] The President of Namibia is elected to a five-year term and is both the head of state and the head of government.[123] All members of the government are individually and collectively responsible to the legislature.[124][125]
The Constitution of Namibia outlines the following as the organs of the country's government:[126]
Executive: executive power is exercised by the President and the Government. Legislature: Namibia has a bicameral Parliament with the National Assembly as lower house, and the National Council as the upper house.[127] Judiciary: Namibia has a system of courts that interpret and apply the law in the name of the state.While the constitution envisaged a multi-party system for Namibia's government, the SWAPO party has been dominant since independence in 1990.[128] According to 2023 V-Dem Democracy indices Namibia is ranked 66th electoral democracy worldwide and 8th electoral democracy in Africa.[129]
Foreign relations[edit] Main article: Foreign relations of Namibia Former President Hage Geingob (second row, first from the right) with other African leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russia–Africa Summit in Sochi, 24 October 2019Namibia has a largely independent foreign policy, with persisting affiliations with states that aided the independence struggle, including 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 member of the Southern African Development Community, Namibia is a vocal advocate for greater regional integration. It became the 160th member of the UN on 23 April 1990. On its independence it became the 50th member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
Military[edit] Main article: Namibian Defence ForceThe 2019 budget for the Ministry of Defence was N$5,885 million (a 1.2% decrease from the previous financial year).[130] With close to 6 billion Namibian dollars (US$411 million in 2021) the Ministry of Defence receives the fourth highest amount of money from government per ministry.
Namibia does not he any enemies in the region, though it has been involved in various disputes regarding borders and construction plans.[131]
The Namibian constitution defines the role of the military as "defending the territory and national interests." Namibia formed the Namibian Defence Force (NDF), comprising former enemies in a 23-year bush war: the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) and South West African Territorial Force (SWATF). The British government formulated the plan for integrating these forces and began training the NDF, which consists of a small headquarters and five battalions.
The United Nations Transitional Assistance Group (UNTAG)'s Kenyan infantry battalion remained in Namibia for three months after independence to help train the NDF and to stabilise the north. According to the Namibian Defence Ministry, enlistments of both men and women will number no more than 7,500.
The chief of the Namibian Defence Force is Air Vice Marshal Martin Kambulu Pinehas (with effect from 1 April 2020).
In 2017, Namibia signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.[132]
Administrative divisions[edit] Main article: Administrative divisions of Namibia Population density in Namibia by regions (census 2011)Namibia is divided into 14 regions which are subdivided into 121 constituencies. The administrative division of Namibia is tabled by Delimitation Commissions and accepted or declined by the National Assembly. Since state foundation four Delimitation Commissions he delivered their work, the last one in 2013 under the chairmanship of Judge Alfred Siboleka.[133] The most urbanised and economically active regions are the Khomas and Erongo regions, with Khomas home to the capital, Windhoek, and Erongo home to Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.
The table below shows statistics from the 2023 Namibia Population and Housing Census:
Region Population (2023) People per km2 Average household size Khomas 494,605 13.4 3.3 Ohangwena 337,729 31.5 4.8 Omusati 316,671 11.9 4.2 Oshikoto 257,302 6.7 4.1 Erongo 240,206 3.8 3.1 Oshana 230,801 26.7 3.7 Otjozondjupa 220,811 2.1 3.6 Kango East 218,421 9.1 5.3 Zambezi 142,373 9.7 3.7 Kango West 123,266 5.0 5.5 Kunene 120,762 1.0 3.8 Hardap 106,680 1.0 3.6 ǁKaras 109,893 0.7 3.1 Omaheke 102,881 1.2 3.3Regional councillors are directly elected through secret ballots (regional elections) by the inhabitants of their constituencies.[134]
Local authorities in Namibia can be in the form of municipalities (either Part 1 or Part 2 municipalities), town councils or villages.[135]
Human rights[edit] Main article: Human rights in NamibiaNamibia is one of the most free and democratic countries in Africa,[136] with a government that maintains and protects human rights and freedoms. However, significant issues include government corruption, policy inertia and prison overcrowding. Also, refugees are not permitted free movement.[137]
Homosexual acts were formerly illegal in Namibia,[138] although the respective law was not enforced.[139] Discrimination, as well as intolerance, against LGBT people is widespread, specifically in rural areas. Urban areas are generally neutral or supportive with a few LGBT-dedicated clubs and events.[140] Some Namibian government officials and high-profile figures, such as Namibia's Ombudsman John Walters and First Lady Monica Geingos, had called for sodomy and homosexuality to be decriminalised and are in four of LGBT rights.[138][141] In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriages legally made outside of Namibia must be recognized by the government.[142] In 2024 the Windhoek High Court ruled the ban on homosexual acts between men to be unconstitutional.[143]
In November 2018, it was reported that 32% of women aged 15–49 experienced violence and domestic abuse from their spouses/partners and 29.5% of men believe that physical abuse towards their wife/partner is acceptable, although this is typically in rural areas.[144] The Namibian constitution guarantees the rights, freedoms and equal treatment of women in Namibia[145] and SWAPO, the ruling party in Namibia, has adopted a "zebra system", which ensures a fair balance of both genders in government and equal representation of women in the Namibian government.[146][137]
Economy[edit] Main article: Economy of Namibia Namibia GDP per capita, 2000–2022 Downtown WindhoekThe trans-African automobile route – the Tripoli-Cape Town Highway and the Trans-Kalahari Corridor pass through Namibia. Namibia's economy is tied closely to South Africa's due to their shared history.[147][148] In Q3 2023, the largest economic sectors were mining (18.0% of GDP), public administration (12.9%), manufacturing (10.1%), and education (9.2%).[149]
Namibia has a highly developed banking and financial services sector with modern infrastructures, such as online banking and cellphone banking. The Bank of Namibia (BoN) is the central bank of Namibia responsible for performing all other functions ordinarily performed by a central bank. There are five BoN authorised commercial banks in Namibia: Bank Windhoek, First National Bank, Nedbank, Standard Bank and Small and Medium Enterprises Bank.[150] Namibia's economy is characterised by a divide between the formal and the informal economies, which is in part aggrated by the legacy of apartheid spatial planning.[151]
The country's unemployment rate was 33.4% in 2018, with a labour force of 1,090,153.[152] As of 2023, the country has a youth unemployment rate of 38.4%,[153] one of the highest in the world. However, Namibia has a high percentage of skilled labour relative to SADC countries and he relatively low unemployment rates for skilled workers. To fight high unemployment, particularly amongst the youth, the government approved the introduction of an Internship Tax Incentive Programme aimed at incentivising employers to enroll more interns by providing an additional corporate tax deduction. The total financial implication for the Government is estimated at N$126 million.
Poverty and inequality remain significant in the country. 40.9% of the population is affected by multidimensional poverty while an additional 19.2 percent is classified as vulnerable to multidimensional poverty.[27] Income disparity in the country remains one of the world's highest with a Gini coefficient of 59.1 in 2015.[29]
In 2004 a labour act was passed to protect people from job discrimination stemming from pregnancy and HIV/AIDS status. In early 2010 the Government tender board announced that "henceforth 100 per cent of all unskilled and semi-skilled labour must be sourced, without exception, from within Namibia".[154]
In 2013, global business and financial news provider Bloomberg named Namibia the top emerging market economy in Africa and the 13th best in the world. Only four African countries made the Top 20 Emerging Markets list in the March 2013 issue of Bloomberg Markets magazine, and Namibia was rated ahead of Morocco (19th), South Africa (15th), and Zambia (14th). Worldwide, Namibia also fared better than Hungary, Brazil, and Mexico. Bloomberg Markets magazine ranked the top 20 based on more than a dozen criteria. The data came from Bloomberg's own financial-market statistics, IMF forecasts and the World Bank. The countries were also rated on areas of particular interest to foreign investors: the ease of doing business, the perceived level of corruption and economic freedom. To attract foreign investment, the government has made improvement in reducing red tape resulted from excessive government regulations, making Namibia one of the least bureaucratic places to do business in the region. Facilitation payments are occasionally demanded by customs due to cumbersome and costly customs procedures.[155] Namibia is also classified as an Upper Middle Income country by the World Bank, and ranks 87th out of 185 economies in terms of ease of doing business.[156]
The cost of living in Namibia is slightly above erage because most goods, including cereals, need to be imported. Its capital city, Windhoek, is the 150th most expensive place in the world for expatriates to live.[157]
Taxation in Namibia includes personal income tax, which is applicable to the total taxable income of an individual. All individuals are taxed at progressive marginal rates over a series of income brackets. Tax in Namibia is less than South African tax at monthly incomes greater than N$58,754, with the country's effective tax rates typically plateauing at a maximum of 30.8% while South Africa's plateaus at 37.4%.[158] This makes it fourable for wealthy South Africans to migrate to Namibia given their similar cost of living, cultures and socio-economic factors. In 2024, the government announced in its FY 2024/25 Budget Statement that personal income tax would be lowered, increasing the minimum taxable income from N$50,000 to N$100,000 and reducing taxable income in higher brackets as well.[159]
The value-added tax (VAT) is applicable to most of the commodities and services, except for staple goods such as bread.[160]
The B2 between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, NamibiaDespite the remote nature of much of the country, Namibia has seaports, airports, highways, well-maintained roads, infrastructure and railways (narrow-gauge). It is an important regional transportation hub for its seaports and trade with landlocked neighbouring countries. The Central Plateau already serves as a transportation corridor from the more densely populated north to South Africa, the source of four-fifths of Namibia's imports.[161]
Agriculture[edit] Main article: Agriculture in Namibia Welcoming sign of the Burgsdorf farm in HardapAbout half of the population depends on agriculture (largely subsistence agriculture) for its livelihood, but Namibia must still 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 rural areas and he a subsistence way of life. Namibia has one of the highest rates of income inequality in the world, due in part to the fact that there is an urban economy and a more rural cashless economy. The inequality figures thus take into account people who do not actually rely on the formal economy for their survival. Although arable land accounts for