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| Namibia | Plants and Animal | Back to Top |
Through the 1970s Namibia’s wildlife was vulnerable to high levels of poaching by the country’s rural inhabitants, who needed both the food that wild animals provided and the money from their skins. In the 1980s the government hit upon a creative solution for the problem. The administration began employing people from local communities to scout for and report poachers and, later, to act as guides for tourists all within close range of their homes.
| Namibia | Communications | Back to Top |
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: 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
| Namibia | Culture | Back to Top |
Namibian cultures are diverse. Just as the culture of the Afrikaners differs significantly from that of the German-speaking community and as both of those cultures differ from that of the more varied technical-assistance community, so do African and Creole cultures differ. The Rehobothers closely resemble the rural Afrikaner culture of the mid-20th century, while the Nama have more in common with the other pastoral black communities, and the “Cape Coloured” have a distinct urban culture with both black and European elements. The northern black cultures—while distinctive as to language and forms of music and dance—formed out of a mixed farming context unlike that of the Damara and Herero. The San are a tragic case. Their culture was ruined by ranch serfdom and wartime exploitation as trackers, and efforts to rebuild from the fragments have been limited by lack of knowledge, resources, and space as well as by the paternalism of many of their self-appointed “guardians.”
With the exception of the San, Namibian cultures appear to be alive and evolving, not least in the urban areas. However, rising unemployment may lead to the breakdown of neighbourhood and other social groupings and to the anomie and lawlessness that characterize the townships of many southern African cities, notably in both Zambia and South Africa. The black cultures are not well supported by formal institutions or the government, owing both to doubts as to what would enable rather than smother their development and to a lack of fiscal resources.
A number of holidays and festivals are observed, most of which are religious or historic in significance, albeit not necessarily of specific current content. Sports are popular among both spectators and participants. A wide variety of sports are followed by the white communities, but the black communities concentrate on football (soccer). Radio and television broadcasting services are government-owned, as is one daily newspaper. All appear to have substantial intellectual and programmatic freedom. A fluctuating band of party, semiparty, and (in one case) independent newspapers exist and are not subject to censorship, but the survival of most is in doubt for economic reasons. They are supplemented by an array of religious, trade union, and other specialized papers that also have complete freedom of expression.
| Namibia | Defence | Back to Top |
Military branches: National Defense Force (Army), Police
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 427,067 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 255,016 (2001 est.)
| Namibia | International Disputes | Back to Top |
None
| Namibia | Economy | Back to Top |
The principal occupations are livestock raising (primarily cattle, Karakul sheep, and goats), and subsistence agriculture, which, because of scanty rainfall, is largely confined to the north. Gross domestic product (GDP) in 1999 was $3.1 billion, or $1,810 per person. Industry, principally mining, contributes the largest portion of the GDP, 33 percent in 1999. Namibia has some of the richest diamond fields in the world. Nearly all diamonds extracted are of gem quality. Gem-quality diamond output in 1999 was 2 million carats. Other important mineral products include uranium, copper, tin, lead, silver, vanadium, tungsten, and salt. The waters off Namibia’s coast are rich in marine life, which thrives in the cold waters of the Benguela Current. Because of overfishing, the catch has dropped since the early 1970s; the catch in 1997 was 291,164 metric tons. Mackerel, pilchard, hakes, and anchovies were the principal species caught.
Nominally Namibia is a lower-middle-income economy with a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) that is significantly above average for countries in sub-Saharan Africa. But that summary is misleading. Only one-quarter of all Namibians and only one-sixth of black Namibians have adequate incomes; up to two-thirds live in abject poverty with limited access to public services. Economic growth remains problematic because of a shrinking productive sector, lack of capital stock, and severe world market problems for base metals and uranium oxide. Furthermore, the prudent fiscal policy instituted by the government after independence means that, unless foreign assistance commitments rapidly turn into large actual inflows and private external investment in mining, manufacturing, and fishing emerges, the one segment of the GDP that grew rapidly in the 1980s will decline. Superimposed on these factors are near-stagnant wage employment and the collapse of the local economy that arose owing to the presence of South African troops and, later, UNTAG units in the northern towns.
The economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals for export. Mining accounts for 20% of GDP. Namibia is the fourth-largest exporter of nonfuel 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. 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 four times the per capita GDP of Africa's poorer 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 close links to South Africa. GDP growth in 2000 was led by gains in the diamond and fish sectors. Agreement has been reached on the privatization of several more enterprises in coming years, which should stimulate long-run foreign investment. Growth in 2001 could be 5.5% provided the world economy remains stable.
| Namibia | Education | Back to Top |
Education is officially compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16. The government has initiated programs to improve adult literacy, which stands at only 92 percent. In 1998 some 400,300 students attended primary schools and 115,200 attended secondary schools.
| Namibia | Government | Back to Top |
After 80 days, the Constituent Assembly produced a constitution which established a multi-party system and a bill of rights. It also limited the executive president to two 5-year terms and provided for the private ownership of property. The three branches of government are subject to checks and balances, and a provision is made for judicial review. The constitution also states that Namibia should have a mixed economy, and foreign investment should be encouraged.
While the ethnic-based three-tier South African-imposed governing authorities have been dissolved, the current government pledged for the sake of national reconciliation to retain civil servants employed during the colonial period. The government is still organizing itself both on a national and regional level.
The Constituent Assembly converted itself into the National Assembly on February 16, 1990, retaining all the members elected on a straight party ticket.
The judicial structure in Namibia parallels that of South Africa. In 1919, Roman-Dutch law was declared the common law of the territory and remains so to the present.
Elections were held in 1992, to elect members of 13 newly established Regional Councils, as well as new municipal officials. Two members from each Regional Council serve simultaneously as members of the National Council, the country's second house of Parliament. Nineteen of its members are from the ruling SWAPO party, and seven are from the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA). In 1994 and 1999, elections were held for the President and the National Assembly, and the next presidential and parliamentary elections are expected in late 2004. President Nujoma has said that he will not seek a fourth term.
| Namibia | History | Back to Top |
Bushmen (or San) are generally assumed to have been the earliest inhabitants of the region. Later inhabitants include the Nama and the Damara or Berg Dama. The Bantu-speaking Ovambo and Herero migrated from the north in about the 14th century A.D.
The inhospitable Namib Desert constituted a formidable barrier to European exploration until the late 18th century, when successions of travelers, traders, hunters, and missionaries explored the area. The 1878, the United Kingdom annexed Walvis Bay on behalf of Cape Colony, and the area was incorporated into the Cape of Good Hope in 1884. In 1883, a German trader, Adolf Luderitz, claimed the rest of the coastal region after negotiations with a local chief. Negotiations between the United Kingdom and Germany resulted in Germany's annexation of the coastal region, excluding Walvis Bay. The following year, the United Kingdom recognized the hinterland up to 20 degrees east longitude as a German sphere of influence. A region, Caprivi Strip, became a part of South West Africa after an agreement on July 1, 1890, between the United Kingdom and Germany. The British recognized that the strip would fall under German administration to provide access to the Zambezi River and German colonies in East Africa. In exchange, the British received the islands of Zanzibar and Heligoland.
German colonial power was consolidated, and prime grazing land passed to white control as a result of the Herero and Nama wars of 1904-08. German administration ended during World War I following South African occupation in 1915.
On December 17, 1920, South Africa undertook administration of South West Africa under the terms of Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations and a mandate agreement by the League Council. The mandate agreement gave South Africa full power of administration and legislation over the territory. It required that South Africa promote the material and moral well-being and social progress of the people.
When the League of Nations was dissolved in 1946, the newly formed United Nations inherited its supervisory authority for the territory. South Africa refused UN requests to place the territory under a trusteeship agreement. During the 1960s, as the European powers granted independence to their colonies and trust territories in Africa, pressure mounted on South Africa to do so in Namibia, which was then South West Africa. In 1966, the UN General Assembly revoked South Africa's mandate.
Also in 1966, the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) began guerrilla attacks on Namibia, infiltrating the territory from bases in Zambia. After Angola became independent in 1975, SWAPO established bases in the southern part of the country. Hostilities intensified over the years, especially in Ovamboland.
In a 1971 advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice upheld UN authority over Namibia, determining that the South African presence in Namibia was illegal and that South Africa therefore was obligated to withdraw its administration from Namibia immediately. The Court also advised UN member states to refrain from implying legal recognition or assistance to the South African presence.
| Namibia | Introduction | Back to Top |
Namibia, formerly South West Africa, republic in south-western Africa, bounded on the north by Angola and Zambia, on the east by Botswana and South Africa, on the south by South Africa, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. The total land area is 824,268 sq km (318,252 sq mi). The capital of Namibia is Windhoek.
Official Name- The Republic of Namibia| Namibia | Land | Back to Top |
N/A
| Namibia | Languages | Back to Top |
Black Africans constitute about 86 percent of the population of Namibia; whites, about 6.6 percent; and people of mixed descent, about 7.4 percent. The principal nonwhite group is the Ovambo, an agricultural people who live primarily in the north and make up about one-half of the population. The Ovambo speak a Bantu language. Other nonwhite groups include the Kavango, the Herero, the Damara, the Khoikhoi, and the San. English is the official language, but Afrikaans and German are widely spoken. In addition, each African ethnic group has its own language. The white population and a majority of the black population are Christian; the remainder mostly adheres to traditional faiths.
| Namibia | Life | Back to Top |
The population of Namibia at the 1981 census was 1,033,196. The 2001 estimated population was 1,797,677, giving the country an overall population density of 2 persons per sq km (6 per sq mi). The only city of significant size is Windhoek (population, 1997 estimate, 169,000). Only 40 percent of the people were classified as urban residents in 1999. The population is estimated to be growing at 1.4 percent a year. Life expectancy at birth is 41 years.
| Namibia | organization | Back to Top |
AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO.
| Namibia | People | Back to Top |
About 85 percent of Namibians are black, 5 percent of European ancestry, and 10 percent, in South African terminology, Coloured (Cape Coloured, Nama, and Rehobother). Of the black majority, about two-thirds are Ovambo, with the Kavango, the Herero, the Damara, and the Caprivian peoples following in population size. Other ethnic groups have much smaller populations. Afrikaners and Germans constitute two-thirds and one-fifth of the European population, respectively. Most ethnic Europeans are Namibian citizens, though some have retained South African citizenship.
English is the national language, though it is the home language of only about 3 percent of the population. Ovambo languages are spoken by more than 80 percent of the population, followed by Nama-Damara with about 6 percent. Kavango and Caprivian languages and Herero, as well as Afrikaans, constitute about 4 percent of home languages. Many Namibians speak two or more indigenous languages and at least a little of two of the three European languages (English, Afrikaans, German) in common use.
Namibians are of diverse ethnic origins. The principal groups are the Ovambo, Kavango, Herero/Himba, Damara, mixed race ("colored" and Rehoboth Baster), white (Afrikaner, German, and Portuguese), Nama, Caprivian (Lozi), Bushman, and Tswana.
The Ovambo make up about half of Namibia's people. The Ovambo, Kavango, and East Caprivian peoples, who occupy the relatively well-watered and wooded northern part of the country, are settled farmers and herders. Historically, these groups had little contact with the Nama, Damara, and Herero, who roamed the central part of the country vying for control of sparse pastureland. German colonial rule destroyed the warmaking ability of the tribes but did not erase their identities or traditional organization. People from the more populous north have settled throughout the country in recent decades as a result of urbanization, industrialization, and the demand for labor.
The modern mining, farming, and industrial sectors of the economy, controlled by the white minority, have affected traditional African society without transforming it. Urban and migratory workers have adopted Western ways, but in rural areas, traditional society remains intact.
Missionary work during the 1800s drew many Namibians to Christianity. While most Namibian Christians are Lutheran, there also are Roman Catholic, Methodist, Anglican, African Methodist Episcopal, and Dutch Reformed Christians represented.
Modern education and medical care have been extended in varying degrees to most rural areas in recent years. The literacy rate of Africans is generally low except in sections where missionary and government education efforts have been concentrated, such as Ovamboland. The Africans speak various indigenous languages.
The minority white population is primarily of South African, British, and German descent. About 60% of the whites speak Afrikaans (a variation of Dutch), 30% speak German, and 10% speak English.
| Namibia | Politics | Back to Top |
Congress of Democrats or COD [Ben ULENGA]; Democratic Turnhalle Alliance of Namibia or DTA [Katuutire KAURA, president]; Monitor Action Group or MAG [Kosie PRETORIUS]; South West Africa People's Organization or SWAPO [Sam NUJOMA]; United Democratic Front or UDF [Justus GAROEB]
| Namibia | Provinces | Back to Top |
13 regions; Caprivi, Erongo, Hardap, Karas, Khomas, Kunene, Ohangwena, Okavango, Omaheke, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa
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