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Namibia
*** Shopping-Tip: Namibia
{{cleanup-date|April 2006}}
{{Infobox_Country
|native_name = Republic of Namibia
|common_name =Namibia
|image_flag =Flag of Namibia.svg
|image_coat =Namibia_coa.png
|image_map =LocationNamibia.png
|national_motto =Unity, Liberty, Justice
|national_anthem =
Namibia, Land of the Brave
|official_languages =
English language English1
|capital =
Windhoek
|latd=22 |latm=33 |latNS=S |longd=17 |longm=15 |longEW=E
|largest_city =
Walvis Bay
|government_type =Republic
|leader_titles =
President of Namibia PresidentPrime minister of Namibia Prime minister
|leader_names =
Hifikepunye PohambaNahas Angula
|area_rank = 33rd
|area_magnitude =1 E11
|area=825,418
|areami²=318,696
|percent_water =Negligible
|population_estimate =2,030,692
2
|population_estimate_rank =147th
|population_estimate_year =July 2005
|population_census =1,820,916
|population_census_year =2002
|population_density =2.5
|population_densitymi² =6.5
|population_density_rank = 192nd
|GDP_PPP = $15.78 billion
|GDP_PPP_rank = 127th
|GDP_PPP_year= 2005
|GDP_PPP_per_capita =$7,800
|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 103rd
|sovereignty_type =Independence
|established_events =
from South African mandate
|established_dates =
21 March 1990
|HDI = 0.627
|HDI_rank = 125th
|HDI_year = 2003
|HDI_category =
medium
|currency =
Namibian dollar
|currency_code =NAD
|country_code =
|time_zone =
|utc_offset = +1
|time_zone_DST =
|utc_offset_DST =
|cctld =
.na
|calling_code = 264
|footnotes = 1.)
German language German and
Afrikaans were official languages until independence in
1990. The majority of the population speaks Afrikaans as a
second language, while
Oshiwambo is the
first language of half the population. German is spoken by 32% whereas English is only spoken by 7%.
2.) Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.
}}
The '''Republic of Namibia''' is a country in
southern Africa on the
Atlantic Ocean Atlantic coast. It is bordered by
Angola,
Zambia, and
Zimbabwe to the north,
Botswana to the east, and
South Africa to the south. It gained independence from South Africa in
1990, and as such it is one of the youngest nations in the world. Its capital is
Windhoek.
History
Image:Herero.jpg Herero.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|left|200px|The [[Herero, circa 1910..html" title="Meaning of left|200px|The [[Herero">thumb|left|200px|The [[Herero, circa 1910.">left|200px|The [[Herero">thumb|left|200px|The [[Herero, circa 1910.
{{main|History of Namibia}}
The dry lands of Namibia were inhabited since early times by
Bushmen,
Damara (people) Damara,
Namaqua, and since about the fourteenth century AD, by immigrating
Bantu who came with the
Bantu expansion. The region was not extensively explored by
Europeans until the
19th century, when the land came under
Germany German control as
South-West Africa -- apart from
Walvis Bay under
United Kingdom British control.
South Africa occupied the colony during
World War I and administered it as a
League of Nations mandate territory until after
World War II, when it unilaterally annexed the territory, albeit without international recognition.
In
1966 the
Marxism Marxist South-West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO)
guerrilla warfare guerrilla group launched a war of independence, but it was not until
1988 that South Africa agreed to end its administration of Namibia, in accordance with a
United Nations peace plan for the entire region. Independence came in
1990, and Walvis Bay was ceded to Namibia in
1994.
Politics
{{main|Politics of Namibia}}
The Namibian
head of state is the
president, elected by popular vote every five years. The government is headed by the
prime minister, who, together with his
cabinet, is appointed by the president. SWAPO, the primary force behind independence, has since moved away from its
Marxism Marxist roots, and is still currently the country's largest party.
Image:Hifikepunye Pohamba 2005.jpg thumb|Hifikepunye Pohamba, President of Namibia
Namibia's
bicameral Parliament of Namibia parliament consists of the
National Council of Namibia National Council with twenty six seats, occupied by two members chosen from each regional council to serve six-year terms; and the
National Assembly of Namibia National Assembly of seventy eight seats, of which seventy two members are elected by popular vote, and six non-voting members are appointed by the president. All seventy eight serve five-year terms.
The Assembly is the primary
legislative body, with the Council playing more of an advisory role. The
1990 constitution is noted for being one of the first to incorporate protection of the
Natural environment environment into its text. The highest
judiciary judicial body is the Supreme Court, whose judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission.
Administrative Divisions
''Main articles:
Regions of Namibia,
Constituencies of Namibia''
Image:Namibia_Regions_numbered_300px.png thumb|left|300px|Regions of Namibia
Namibia is divided into 13
regions and subdivided into 102 constituencies.
The
Regions of Namibia regions are:
*1.
Caprivi
*2.
Erongo Region Erongo
*3.
Hardap
*4.
Karas Region Karas
*5.
Kavango Region Kavango
*6.
Khomas Region Khomas
*7.
Kunene Region Kunene
*8.
Ohangwena Region Ohangwena
*9.
Omaheke
*10.
Omusati Region Omusati
*11.
Oshana Region Oshana
*12.
Oshikoto Region Oshikoto
*13.
Otjozondjupa
Constituencies: see
Constituencies of Namibia
Geography
Image:wa-map.gif framed|Map of Namibia
:''Main articles:
Geography of Namibia'',
Towns in Namibia
The Namibian landscape consists primarily of central highlands, of which the highest point is the
Brandberg Massif Brandberg at 2,606 metres (8,550
foot (unit of length) ft). The central plateau runs from north to south, bordered by the
Namib Desert and its coastal plains to the west, the
Orange River to the south, and the
Kalahari Desert to the east.
Image:Windhoek-Skyline.jpg thumb|left|Windhoek skyline
Image:Dune in Namibia.jpg thumb|left| Dune in Namibia
A remarkable strip of land in the northeast, known as the
Caprivi Caprivi Strip is the vestige of a narrow corridor demarcated for
Germany to access the
Zambezi River.
The Namibian
climate ranges from
desert climate desert to subtropical, and is generally hot and dry;
precipitation (meteorology) precipitation is sparse and erratic. The cold, north-flowing
Benguela current accounts for some of the low precipitation. Besides the capital city
Windhoek in the centre of the country, other important towns are the ports of
Walvis Bay and
Swakopmund, as well as
Oshakati,
Grootfontein,
Tsumeb and
Keetmanshoop.
Economy
{{main|Economy of Namibia}}
The economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and processing of
minerals for export.
Mining accounts for 20% of the
Gross Domestic Product GDP. Namibia is the fourth largest exporter of non-fuel 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.
About 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 five times the per capita GDP of Africa's poorest 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 many close links to
South Africa. Agreement has been reached on the
privatisation of several more enterprises in coming years, which should stimulate long-run foreign investment.
Demographics
Image:Herero women.jpg thumb|A group of Herero women, Windhoek, Namibia
Image:Himba women.jpg thumb|a group of Himba women, near Opuwo, Namibia
{{main|Demographics of Namibia}}
Namibia is among three sovereign countries with lowest population density. The majority of the Namibian population consists of a mostly black African (
Bantu and
Khoisan) (84%) - mostly of the
Ovambo tribe, which forms about half of the population, concentrated in the north of the country. In addition to the
black people black Bantu majority, there are large groups of
Khoisan (e.g.
Nama language Nama and
Bushmen), who are descendants of the original inhabitants of Southern Africa. Khoisan differ significantly in appearance from both
Bantu and
white people whites. There are also two smaller groups of people with mixed racial origins, called "
Coloureds" and "
Basters", who together make up 8% (with the
Coloureds outnumbering the
Basters two to one). Whites of
Dutch people Dutch,
German People German,
United Kingdom British,
French people French and
Portuguese people Portuguese ancestry make up about 8% of the population—which is the second largest proportion in sub-Saharan Africa, after
South Africa). Most of Namibian whites and nearly all those of mixed race are
Afrikaans speakers and share similar origins, culture, religion and genealogy as the white and coloured populations of neighbouring South Africa. A smaller proportion of whites (around 20,000) trace their family origins directly back to German settlers and maintain German cultural and educational institutions.
Half of all Namibians speak
Ovambo Oshiwambo (Ovambo) as their first language, whereas the most widely understood language is
Afrikaans. Among the younger generation, the most widely understood language is
English language English. Both Afrikaans and English are used primarily as a second language reserved for public sphere communication, but small first language groups exist throughout the country. While the official language is
English language English, most of the white population speaks either
Afrikaans or
German language German, both official languages until
1990 when Namibia became independent.
Christianity is the major religion, with the
Lutheran Church being the largest.
See also:
Music of Namibia
Labour
Namibia is in the process or formulating an
Action Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (Namibia) Action Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, which is expected to be adopted in the period 2006-2007.
Miscellaneous topics
Image:namibiaarms4.png frame|Former coat of arms of Namibia
*
Communications in Namibia
*
Constituencies of Namibia
*
Foreign relations of Namibia
*
Frankie Fredericks
*
List of cities in Namibia
*
List of Namibian companies
*
List of Namibians
*
List of national parks of Namibia National parks
*
Military of Namibia
*
Namibia Breweries Limited
*
Namibian cricket team
*
Regions of Namibia
*
Reporters without borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2003: Rank 56 out of 166 countries (3-way tie) (31 out of 139 countries - 2002)
*
Transportation in Namibia
External links
{{sisterlinks|Namibia}}
Image:Namibian Canyon 2.jpg thumb|Namibian canyon
Image:Twyfelfontein.jpg thumb|Twyfelfontein in Namib Desert
Image:Welwitschia-mirabilis-female.jpg thumb|a Weltwitschia Mirabilis (female) in Namibia
Government
-
Republic of Namibia - Namibian Governmental Portal
News
-
http://www.az.com.na/ - Allgemeine Zeitung Namibia (in German)
-
http://www.namibian.com.na/ - The Namibian (in English)
-
http://www.newera.com.na/ - NewEra.com (in English)
-
http://www.republikein.com.na/ - Die Republikein (in Afrikaans)
Overviews
-
BBC News - ''Country Profile: Namibia''
-
CIA World Factbook - ''Namibia''
-
Open Directory Project - ''Namibia'' directory category
-
US State Department - ''Namibia'' includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports
Tourism
*{{wikitravel}}
Other
-
Goethe Institut Windhoek (in German)
-
Namibian Broadcasting Corporation - National TV and radio service
-
Desert Research Foundation of Namibia - Environmental and development NGO based in Windhoek
-
Gobabeb Training & Research Centre - Centre for ecological and development research and training in the Namib-Naukluft Park
{{Africa}}
Category:African Union member states
Category:Namibia *
af:Namibië
am:ናሚቢያ
ang:Namibia
ar:ناميبيا
an:Namibia
ast:Namibia
bg:Ð?амибиÑ?
zh-min-nan:Namibia
bs:Namibija
ca:NamÃbia
cs:Namibie
cy:Namibia
da:Namibia
de:Namibia
et:Namiibia
el:Î?αμίμπια
es:Namibia
eo:Namibio
eu:Namibia
fa:نامیبیا
fr:Namibie
gl:Namibia
ko:나미비아
hr:Namibija
io:Namibia
id:Namibia
is:NamibÃa
it:Namibia
he:× ×ž×™×‘×™×”
ks:नमीबिया
kw:Namibi
la:Namibia
lv:Namībija
lt:Namibija
lb:Namibien
ln:Namibia
hu:NamÃbia
mr:नामिबिया
ms:Namibia
nl:Namibië
nds:Namibia
ja:ナミビア
no:Namibia
nn:Namibia
oc:Namibia
pl:Namibia
pt:NamÃbia
ro:Namibia
ru:Ð?амибиÑ?
sa:नमीबिया
sq:Namibia
sh:Namibija
simple:Namibia
sk:NamÃbia
sl:Namibija
sr:Ð?амибија
fi:Namibia
sv:Namibia
tl:Namibia
tr:Namibya
uk:Ð?амібіÑ?
zh:纳米比亚
{{sisterlinkswp|Category:Namibia}}
{{catmore}}
Category:African countries
Category:Southern Africa
Category:Members of the Commonwealth of Nations
af:Kategorie:Namibië
ar:تصنيÙ?:ناميبيا
ca:Categoria:NamÃbia
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de:Kategorie:Namibia
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ko:분류:나미비아
io:Category:Namibia
id:Kategori:Namibia
lt:Kategorija:Namibija
nl:Categorie:Namibië
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pl:Kategoria:Namibia
pt:Categoria:NamÃbia
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