Namibia

Republic of Namibia
Name in national languages
Motto: "Unity, Liberty, Justice"
Anthem: "Namibia, Land of the Brave"
Capital
and largest city
Windhoek
22°34′S 17°5′E / 22.567°S 17.083°E / -22.567; 17.083
Official languagesEnglish
Recognised national languages
Recognised regional languages
Ethnic groups
(2014)
Religion
(2013)[9]
  • 10.2% traditional faiths
  • 1.6% no religion
  • 0.3% others
Demonym(s)Namibian
GovernmentUnitary semi-presidential republic[10]
• President
Nangolo Mbumba
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah
Saara Kuugongelwa
John Mutorwa
Peter Shivute
LegislatureParliament
National Council
National Assembly
Independence from South Africa
09 February 1990
21 March 1990
Area
• Total
825,615 km2 (318,772 sq mi) (34th)
• Water (%)
negligible
Population
• Census
3,022,041[11]
• Density
3.7/km2 (9.6/sq mi) (235th)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $30.663 billion[12]
• Per capita
Increase $11,603[12] (45th)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $12.647 billion[12]
• Per capita
Decrease $4,786[12]
Gini (2015)59.1[13]
high
HDI (2022)Decrease 0.610[14]
medium (142nd)
CurrencyNamibian dollar
(NAD)
South African rand (ZAR)
Time zoneUTC+2 (CAT)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy
Driving sideleft
Calling code+264
ISO 3166 codeNA
Internet TLD.na

Namibia (/nəˈmɪbiə/ , /næˈ-/),[15][16] officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. Although it does not border Zimbabwe, less than 200 metres (660 feet) of the Botswanan right bank of the Zambezi River separates the two countries. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek.

The driest country in sub-Saharan Africa,[17] Namibia has been inhabited since pre-historic times by the Khoi, San, Damara and Nama people. Around the 14th century, immigrating Bantu peoples arrived as part of the Bantu expansion. Since then, the Bantu groups, the largest being the Ovambo, have dominated the population of the country; since the late 19th century, they have constituted a majority. With a population of 3,022,401 people today, Namibia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world.

In 1884, the German Empire established rule over most of the territory, forming a colony known as German South West Africa. Between 1904 and 1908, 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 1920, after the end of the war, the League of Nations mandated administration of the colony to South Africa. From 1948, with the National Party elected to power, this included South Africa applying apartheid to what was then known as South West Africa. In the later 20th century, uprisings and demands for political representation by native African political activists seeking independence resulted in the United Nations assuming direct responsibility over the territory in 1966, but the country of South Africa maintained de facto rule. In 1973, the UN recognized the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) as the official representative of the Namibian people. Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. 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. Namibia is a member state of the United Nations, the Southern African Development Community, the African Union and the Commonwealth of Nations.

  1. ^ "Communal Land Reform Act, German" (PDF). Government of Namibia. Retrieved 18 February 2016.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Communal Land Reform Act, Afrikaans" (PDF). Government of Namibia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  3. ^ "Communal Land Reform Act, Khoekhoegowab" (PDF). Government of Namibia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  4. ^ "Communal Land Reform Act, Oshiwambo" (PDF). Government of Namibia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Communal Land Reform Act, Otjiherero" (PDF). Government of Namibia. Retrieved 18 February 2016.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Communal Land Reform Act, Rukwangali" (PDF). Government of Namibia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  7. ^ "Communal Land Reform Act, Setswana" (PDF). Government of Namibia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  8. ^ "Communal Land Reform Act, Lozi" (PDF). Government of Namibia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  9. ^ "Namibia Demographic and Health Survey 2013" (PDF). The Namibia Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) and ICF International. September 2014. p. 30. Retrieved 5 July 2021. Only people between 15 and 49 years of age were surveyed.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Dual was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "Namibia". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 (Namibia)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  13. ^ "GINI index (World Bank estimate)". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  14. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/2024". United Nations Development Programme. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  15. ^ Wells, John C. (2008), Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.), Longman, ISBN 978-1405881180
  16. ^ Roach, Peter (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521152532
  17. ^ Peter Shadbolt (24 October 2012). "Namibia country profile: moving on from a difficult past". CNN.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · View on Wikipedia

Developed by Nelliwinne