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Namibia

Desert elephants in the Etosha National Park of Namibia.
Image: ER Bauer

Location of Namibia in Africa. Where in Africa is Namibia?

Location map of Namibia

Flag of Namibia

Namibia in brief

Destination Namibia, a Nations Online country profile of the African nation in the southwestern part of the continent. The country borders Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean in the west. The Orange River to the south marks the southern border with South Africa. The Kunene River and the Okavango River create sections of the nation's northern border with Angola.

Only on 21 March 1990, Namibia gained independence from South Africa. The country's name is derived from the Namib Desert.

With an area of 824,292 km² (318,260 sq. mi.), Namibia is 1.5 times the size of France or about half the size of the US state of Alaska.

The country has a population of 2.5 million people (in 2020), it is the second least densely populated country in the world (after Mongolia). The capital is Windhoek, the country's largest city is situated in the central highlands. The main spoken languages are English, Ovambo, Khoekhoe, and Afrikaans.

Republic of Namibia | Republiek van Namibië

Background:
The Republic of Namibia is a vast, sparsely populated country situated along the south Atlantic coast of Africa. It is the first country in the world that has incorporated the protection of the environment into its constitution.

South Africa occupied the German colony of Süd-West Afrika during World War I and administered it as a mandate until after World War II when it annexed the territory.
In 1966 the Marxist South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) guerrilla group launched a war of independence for the area that was soon named Namibia. Still, it was not until 1988 that the apartheid regime of South Africa agreed to end its administration in accordance with a UN peace plan for the entire region. Independence came in 1990.

Country Profile

Official Name:
Republic of Namibia
short form: Namibia
formerly: German Southwest Africa, South West Africa (SWA)

ISO Country Code: NA, NAM

Time:
Local Time = UTC +1 in Summer (September to April) +2h
Actual Time: Sun-Oct-6 21:04

Country Calling Code: +264

Capital City: Windhoek (pop. 240 000)

Official Sites of Namibia

Note: External links will open in a new browser window.

Namibiaian National Congress building in Brasilia

Tintenpalast with parliament garden in Windhoek. The Tintenpalast (German for "Ink Palace") is home to both chambers of the Parliament of Namibia.
Image: ilf_

Political system
The Republic of Namibia is a sovereign, secular, democratic, and unitary State. Its government is divided into the usual three powers: Executive, Legislative, and the Judiciary. Head of State and government is the President. He is elected in a national election every five years.

Republic of Namibia
The Government of Namibia online.

Office of the President of the Republic of Namibia
Official website of the President.

Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Namibia
Official website of the Prime Minister.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Namibia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was renamed to the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation.

Diplomatic Missions
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Namibia to the UN
Namibia's Permanent Mission to the United Nations.

Namibia Diplomatic List 2019
Diplomatic List 2019; list of Namibian embassies abroad and foreign embassies accredited to Namibia.

Statistics
Namibia Statistics Agency
Homepage of the Namibia Statistics Agency.

Maps of Namibia

Map of Namibia (click map to enlarge)
Image: © nationsonline.org

Maps

Map of Namibia
Political Map of Namibia.

Administrative Map of Namibia
Map of Namibia showing the country's administrative regions.

Atlas of Namibia
The atlas provides basic reference material on the geography of Namibia, including social, demographic, economic, infrastructural, physical, climatic, and biological features of Namibia.

Google Earth Namibia
Searchable satellite view of Namibia.

Google Earth Windhoek
Searchable satellite view of Namibia's capital city.

Political Map of Africa
The 54 countries of Africa.

Map of Africa
A Relief Map of Africa.

News from Namibia

Namibia News

Freedom of the press in Namibia
Namibia is one of the more media-friendly countries in Africa. Broadcasters and the private press report on the opposition, including views critical of the government. Namibia is Africa's best ranked country in RSF's World Press Freedom Index. ^[1]

Online News from Namibia News

Allgemeine Zeitung Namibia
The oldest daily newspaper in Namibia covers national and international news in German (for registered users only).

The Namibian Newspaper
Namibia's independent daily newspaper (in English and Oshiwambo).

Die Republikein
Namibia news (in Afrikaans)

The Economist
News and views from Namibia's weekly independent business newspaper.

Mail & Guardian
Leading newspaper from South Africa covers all Africa with current information.

Radio/TV
Namibian Broadcasting Corporation
Radio, TV, News.

Arts & Culture of Namibia

Lion Petroglyph, Twyfelfontein, Namibia

Lion Petroglyph, ancient rock engravings in Twyfelfontein, a valley in the Kunene region of Namibia.
Image: Thomas Schoch

Arts & Culture

National Library
Namibia's National Library.

Museums Association of Namibia
Official website of the umbrella organization of Namibia's museums.

National Museum of Namibia
Namibia's National Museum.

Old Wheelers Museum
A display of Namibia's Motoring history - classic cars, motorcycles, engines, tools, and much more.

Dead trees in Deadvlei, a clay pan near the salt pan of Sossusvlei.

Dead trees in Deadvlei, a clay pan near the salt pan of Sossusvlei.

Dead Trees in Dead Vlei, a white clay pan near the salt pan of Sossusvlei, inside the Namib-Naukluft Park. The Dead Vlei is surrounded by some of the highest sand dunes in the world.
Image: ER Bauer

Business & Economy of Namibia

Downtown Windhoek, Namibia's capital and largest city

Downtown Windhoek. Namibia's capital and largest city is the economic center of the country.
Image: elvirahattingh1

Economy of Namibia
Namibia is a lower-middle-income country. The main economic sectors are mining, fishing and fish processing, agriculture and tourism. Its economy is based on income from the export of primary raw materials in some important sectors, such as minerals, especially diamonds, livestock, and fish.

Mining accounts for about 12.5% of the GDP but provides more than 50% of foreign exchange earnings. Rich alluvial diamond deposits make Namibia a primary source for gem-quality diamonds, whereby marine diamond mining became increasingly important. The country is also among the world's largest producer of uranium.
Namibia's economy remains vulnerable to fluctuations in global commodity prices and natural disasters such as drought. In drought years, food shortages in rural areas are a major problem.

Bank of Namibia
The central bank of Namibia, located in the capital city of Windhoek.

The Namibian Stock Exchange
The Namibian Stock Exchange is based in Windhoek; it is the only stock exchange in the country.

First National Bank of Namibia (FNB)
First National Bank is one of South Africa's "big four" banks.

Standard Bank Namibia
The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited is one of South Africa's largest financial services groups, operating in 20 countries across Africa.

Namibian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI)
The NCCI is the leading business representative and support organization in the country.

Namibia Trade Directory
Namibia Information and Business Directory.

Diamond Board of Namibia
State-owned enterprise for control measures relating to the possession, purchase and sale, processing, import, and export of diamonds.

Transportation
Namibia has one of the best-developed road networks in Africa. The country has two modern ports, one at Walvis Bay and the port of Lüderitz. The state also benefits from a robust rail network of 2,687 km, which connects all major towns and cities in Namibia.

Air
Air Namibia
Air Namibia, formerly Namib Air (until 1991), is the principal airline of Namibia. The airline serves destinations in South Africa and Europe. The national airline of Namibia is headquartered at Hosea Kutako International Airport, Windhoek.

Namibia Airports Company
The Namibia Airports Company (NAC) is a state-owned enterprise and the operator of Namibia's airports.

Rail
TransNamib
TransNamib is a government-owned holding company that provides freight by rail and road as well as passenger and port services.

Tourism in Namibia

White and black Birds, Caprivi Strip, Namibia

White and black birds are taking off on the wetland between Salambala and Kasika Conservancies in eastern Caprivi Strip, Namibia.
Image: Becky McCray

Destination Namibia - Travel and Tour Guides

Discover Namibia

The country is divided into 13 regions:
the Caprivi, Kavango, Kunene, Omusati, Ohangwena, Oshana and Oshikoto regions in the north,
the Omaheke, Otjozondjupa, Erongo and Khomas Regions in the central areas and the Hardap and Karas regions in the south.

Discover Namibia:
Etosha National Park, a vast white-green salt flat, has lions, elephants, black rhinos, and giraffes.
Bwabwata National Park is a national park in the Zambezi and Kavango East regions, extending along the Caprivi Strip.
Sossusvlei and Deadvlei are high red dunes surrounding a salt and clay pan.
Fish River Canyon is the largest canyon in Africa.
At Twyfelfontein are ancient rock engravings).
The Spitzkoppe is a group of granite peaks in the Namib desert.
The National Marine Aquarium of Namibia is a small aquarium with very few fish in Swakopmund.
Alte Feste, a fortress and museum in Windhoek.

Find accommodation, hotels, attractions, festivals, events, tourist boards, safari, hiking, quad bike drives, ballooning, tours, and much more.

Namibia Tourism Board
Official website of the Tourism Board with comprehensive tourism information.

Ministry of Environment and Tourism
Official website of the ministry.

Wikivoyage - Namibia
The free worldwide travel guide's page about travel in Namibia.

Namibia Wildlife Resorts Ltd Online
A guide to Namibia's prime tourist attractions.

NamibWeb
An online guide to Namibia.

Travel News Namibia
Travel news, accommodations, facts and info, and travel services.

Jacob Holdt's Namibia photos
Impressive images from Namibia and its people.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Naukluft Park in the Namib desert, Namibia

Ancient dunes in the Naukluft Park in the Namib desert, a coastal desert in southern Africa.
Image: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Namibia
There are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Namibia and eight sites on the Tentative List (see the List)

Twyfelfontein or /Ui-//aes
Twyfelfontein (/Ui-//aes) has one of the largest concentrations of petroglyphs in Africa. The rock engravings represent rhinoceroses, elephants, ostriches, lions, and giraffes, as well as human figures.

Namib Sand Sea
The Namib Sand Sea along the country's western coast is the only desert in the world that includes extensive dune fields influenced by fog. The desert covers an area of over 30,000 square kilometers.
The dunes are created by the transport of material carried thousands of kilometers from the hinterland by rivers, ocean currents, and wind. Fog is the primary source of water in this desert.

Education in Namibia

The main campus of the University of Namibia in Windhoek.
Image: University of Namibia

Namibia University of Science and Technology NUST
NUST, formerly known as Polytechnic of Namibia, is a Namibian institution for the development of Science and Technology.

University of Namibia
The National University, Windhoek.

SchoolNet Namibia
SchoolNet Namibia had established a network among schools and allied educational institutions in Namibia. In 2009, SchoolNet fell out of favor with the Namibian government and was dissolved. ^[2]

Environment & Nature

Oryx in Namib Rand Reserve

A pride of gemsbok (Oryx gazella) in Namib Rand Reserve.
Image: Johann S.

Ministry of Environment and Tourism
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism is responsible for environmental management, national parks and nature reserves, and tourism.

Desert Research Foundation of Namibia
The DRFN works collaboratively in all sectors involved in the management and use of natural resources.

Gobabeb Training and Research Centre
Gobabeb's mission is to be a catalyst for collecting, understanding, and sharing knowledge about arid environments, especially the hyperarid Namib Desert.

Namibia Nature Foundation
The main objectives of the NNF are the promotion of sustainable development, the conservation of biodiversity and natural ecosystems and the wise and ethical use of natural resources.

SADC - Southern African Development Community
The Southern Africa Development Community of 14 African nations. The main objectives of SADC are development, peace and security as well as economic growth, the alleviation of poverty and the improvement of the standard of living and quality of life of the peoples of Southern Africa.

Within Fish River Canyon, seen from Three Sisters. The Fish River Canyon in southern Namibia is the largest canyon in Africa and a popular tourist attraction.
Image: Rudi Bosbouer

Namibia History

Painting, German troops fight the Herero

German troops fight the native Herero.
Painting: Richard Knötel (1857-1914), published in a 1936 book

Namibia's history
A brief history of Namibia.

Colonial Picture Archive
Keyword searchable database of photographs from the German colonial history, the archive covers Namibia, Tanzania, Cameroon, Togo, and other former German colonies.

Chronology of Namibian History
From Pre-historical Times to Independent Namibia by Dr. Klaus Dierks (in German and English).

History of Namibia
Wikipedia entry about the history of Namibia.

Indigenous People of Namibia

The Himba are indigenous people in northern Namibia.

Himba village, the Himba in northern Namibia are an indigenous people with an estimated population of about 50,000 people.
Image: Heather Cowper

The indigenous peoples of Namibia include the San, Nama, Ovahimba, Ovazemba, Ovatjimba, Ovatwa, and their sub-groups; they constitute about 8% of the total population of the country.

The indigenous peoples of Namibia
Namibia page of the IWGIA, a global human rights organization dedicated to promoting, protecting, and defending indigenous peoples’ rights.

World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Namibia
Refworld entry for the indigenous peoples of Namibia.

Himba people - Wikipedia
Wikipedia page about the Himba people of northern Namibia.

Additional Information

Selected country profiles of Namibia published by international organizations.

Amnesty International: Namibia
Amnesty International is a non-governmental organization focused on human rights.

BBC Country Profile: Namibia
Country profiles by the British public service broadcaster.

The Commonwealth: Namibia
The Commonwealth Member countries: Namibia

FAO: Namibia
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a UN agency that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.

Freedom House: Namibia
The U.S. government-funded non-profit organization whose goal is to promote liberal democracies worldwide.

GlobalEDGE: Namibia
Namibia economic ranking by the Global business knowledge portal.

The Heritage Foundation: Namibia
Index of Economic Freedom by The Heritage Foundation, an American conservative think tank.

Human Rights Watch: Namibia
HRW conducts research and advocacy on human rights.

Namibia Library of Dr. Klaus Dierks
Comprehensive web site on Namibian history and engineering infrastructure (in German and English)

OEC: Namibia
The Observatory of Economic Complexity provides the latest international trade data.

Reporters Without Borders: Namibia
RSF (Reporters sans frontières) is an international NGO that defends and promotes media freedom.

Wikipedia: Namibia
Wikipedia's Namibia page in many languages.

The CIA World Factbook -- Namibia
The CIA World Factbook about Namibia.