Windhoek

Windhoek ǀAi-ǁGams (Khoekhoegowab) Otjomuise (Otjiherero) Windhuk (German)
City of Windhoek
Clockwise from top: Windhoek CBD, Parliament building, Windhoek railway station, State House, Christ Church
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  Suum Cuique (Latin for "To each his own")
Windhoek Location of Windhoek in Namibia Show map of Namibia Windhoek Windhoek (Africa) Show map of Africa
Coordinates: 22°34′12″S 17°5′1″E / 22.57000°S 17.08361°E / -22.57000; 17.08361
Country	Namibia
Region	Khomas Region
First settled	1840
Government
• Type	Mayor-council government
• Mayor	Queen Kamati (SWAPO)
• Deputy Mayor	Joseph Uapingene (NUDO)
Area
• Total	5,133 km2 (1,982 sq mi)
Elevation	1,655 m (5,430 ft)
Population  (2023 census)[1]
• Total	486,169
• Density	95/km2 (250/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code	10005
Area code	061
Climate	BSh
Website	www.windhoekcc.org.na

Windhoek (/ˈwɪndhʊk/, Afrikaans: [ˈvəntɦuk], German: [ˈvɪnthʊk]) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around 1,700 m (5,600 ft) above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which was 486,169 in 2023,^[2] is constantly growing due to a continued migration from other regions in Namibia.

Windhoek is the social, economic, political, and cultural centre of the country. Nearly every Namibian national enterprise, governmental body, educational and cultural institution is headquartered there.

The city developed at the site of a permanent hot spring known to the local pastoral tribes. It developed rapidly after Jonker Afrikaner, Captain of the Orlam, settled there in 1840 and built a stone church for his community. In the decades following, multiple wars and armed hostilities resulted in the neglect and destruction of the new settlement. Windhoek was founded a second time in 1890 by Imperial German Army Major Curt von François, when the territory was colonised by the German Empire.