The Republic of Namibia is located on the southwestern coast of Africa.
It is bordered by Botswana and Zimbabwe on the east, Angola and Zambia on the north, and South
Africa on the south. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean.
Namibia was administered by South Africa from 1915 to 1990 and was known then as South West Africa. Prior to 1915 it had been a German protectorate; its administration was entrusted to South Africa by the League of Nations in 1915. In 1950 the International Court of Justice ruled that Namibia (South West Africa at that time) should be administered by the United Nations; South Africa refused to honor this ruling, and in 1966 extended its security and apartheid laws to Namibia. Namibia attained its independence in 1990.
Namibia is governed by the Marxist South-West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO), which has controlled the country since 1966. The capital is Windhoek.
The population is 2,055,080 (July, 2007 est.), but mortality rates are high due to infant deaths and deaths from AIDS, so this figure is not exact. 87.5% of the Namibian population is Black and the largest tribe is the Ovambo tribe, followed by the Kvangos tribe. 6% of the population is White, and 6.5% are mixed.
There are 11,900 refugees from Angola (as of 2006).
Christianity, at 80—90 percent, is the dominant religion, (Lutheran at least 50 percent of these), indigenous beliefs are 10—20 percent.
The official language is English, though Afrikaans is the common language of most of the population and about 60 percent of the white population. The remainder of the white population speaks German (32 percent). Indigenous languages are spoken by 1 percent.
Namibia has a primarily semiarid or arid climate. Its main physical feature is the Namib Desert. The Etosha National Park and Game Reserve is a tourist attraction for hunters. Namibia is bordered by two deserts on the east, the Kalahari Desert and the Karoo Desert.
Major rivers on Namibia's borders include the Orange River, the Kuneni, the Kavango, the Zambezi, and the Kwando-Linyani, but no major rivers flow through the center of the country, which is frequently subject to drought. Water rights are a source of conflict between Namibia and its neighbors, such as a conflict with Botswana over diversion of water from the Kavango to provide drinking water to Namibian cities.
Agricultural crops are millet, sorghum, peanuts, grapes, livestock and fish.
Exports include diamonds, copper, gold, zinc, lead, uranium, cattle, processed fish, and skins.
Web Sites
- CIA: The World Factbook
- The African Studies Center of the University of Pennsylvania
- Namibia Tourist Board
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