Location:
Southern Africa
Capital City:
Windhoek
Area:
total: 824,292 sq km
land: 823,290 sq km
water: 1,002 sq km
Land boundaries:
Total: 4,220 km
border countries (4):
Angola 1,427 km,
Botswana 1,544 km,
South Africa 1,005 km,
Zambia 244 km
Coastline: 1,572 km
Total: 5792 km

Namibia


Climate:
desert; hot, dry;
rainfall sparse and erratic
Terrain:
mostly high plateau;
The Namib Desert along the coast;
The Kalahari Desert in east
Elevation:
mean elevation: 1,141 m
elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Konigstein on Brandberg 2,573 m
Natural resources:
diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, silver, lead, tin, lithium, cadmium, tungsten, zinc, salt, hydropower, fish
Land use:
agricultural land: 47.2%
arable land 1%; permanent crops 0%; permanent pasture 46.2%
forest: 8.8%
other: 44% (2011 est.)
Irrigated land:
80 sq km (2012)
Population – distribution:
population density is very low, with the largest clustering found in the extreme north-central area along the border with Angola
Natural hazards:
prolonged periods of drought

People and Society
Namibia has the second-lowest population density of any sovereign country, after Mongolia. The majority of Namibians are rural dwellers (about 55%) and live in the better-watered north and northeast parts of the country. Migration, historically male-dominated, generally flows from northern communal areas – non-agricultural lands where blacks were sequestered under the apartheid system – to agricultural, mining, and manufacturing centers in the center and south. After independence from South Africa, restrictions on internal movement eased, and rural-urban migration increased, bolstering urban growth.
Namibians concentrated along the country’s other borders make unauthorized visits to Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, or Botswana, to visit family and to trade agricultural goods. Few Namibians express interest in permanently settling in other countries; they prefer the safety of their homeland, have a strong national identity, and enjoy a well-supplied retail sector. Although Namibia is receptive to foreign investment and cross-border trade, intolerance toward non-citizens is widespread.
Population:
2,484,780
Nationality:
Namibian(s)
Ethnic groups:
black 87.5%, white 6%, mixed 6.5%
Languages:
Tigrinya (official), Arabic (official), English (official), Tigre, Kunama, Afar, other Cushitic languages
Religions:
Oshivambo languages 48.9%, Nama/Damara 11.3%, Afrikaans 10.4% , Otjiherero languages 8.6%, Kavango languages 8.5%, Caprivi languages 4.8%, English (official) 3.4%, other African languages 2.3%, other 1.7%
Ethnicity, Language, and Religion
Namibia’s population can be divided into (at least) 11 ethnic groups, the biggest group of which is the Owambo people. The majority of the Namibian population is of Bantu-speaking origin mostly of the Ovambo ethnicity, which forms about half of the population residing mainly in the north of the country, although many are now resident in towns throughout Namibia. Other ethnic groups are the Herero and Himba people, who speak a similar language, and the Damara, who speak the same “click” language as the Nama. In addition to the Bantu majority, there are large groups of Khoisan (such as Nama and San), who are descendants of the original inhabitants of Southern Africa.
The country also contains some descendants of refugees from Angola. There are also two smaller groups of people with mixed racial origins, called “Coloureds” and “Basters”, who together make up 8.0% (with the Coloureds outnumbering the Basters two to one). Whites (mainly of Afrikaner, German, British and Portuguese origin) make up between 4.0 and 7.0% of the population. Although their percentage of the population decreased after independence due to emigration and lower birth rates they still form the second-largest population of European ancestry, both in terms of percentage and actual numbers, in Sub-Saharan Africa (after South Africa).
The Christian community makes up 80%–90% of the population of Namibia, with at least 75% being Protestant, and at least 50% Lutheran. Lutherans are the largest religious group – a legacy of the German and Finnish missionary work during the country’s colonial times. 10%–20% of the population hold indigenous beliefs. Islam in Namibia is subscribed to by about 9,000 Muslims, many of whom are Nama. Namibia is home to a small Jewish community of about 100 members.
According to the 2011 census, the most common languages are Oshiwambo (the most spoken language for 49% of households), Nama/Damara (11.3%), Afrikaans (10.4%), Kavango (9%), Otjiherero (9%). The most widely understood and spoken language is English. Both Afrikaans and English are used primarily as a second language reserved for public communication.
Education
The constitution of the new government guaranteed the right to education for all of its citizens. Specifically, free primary education, grades 1-7, and access to secondary education contingent on the success of the student and ability for that student to pay tuition. Along with guaranteeing education as a right, the new constitution abolished the apartheid-style funding system that had previously existed. Between 1990 and the early 2000s, the country made great strides in terms of improving education. Enrollment in primary education increased from 60 to 95 percent. Education in Namibia and Namibia as a whole is dependent on economic development. Its economy is not well-diversified and is far too reliant on the mining industry.
Curriculum development, educational research, and professional development of school teachers are centrally organized by the National Institute for Educational Development (NIED) in Okahandja. Compulsory education starts at the primary education level at an age of 6. Primary education consists of seven years from Grade 1 to Grade 7 to prepare children for secondary education. The Namibian Government introduced free primary education in 2013.
Secondary education stretches over a period of 5 years from Grade 8 to Grade 12. Children are presented with a Junior Secondary School Certificate after successful completion of Grade 10. After successful completion of Grade 12 learners are presented with a Namibia Senior Secondary Education Certificate. This certification can either be the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) or the Higher International General Certificate of Secondary Education (HIGCSE).
Namibia has two public tertiary institutions of general education, the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) and the University of Namibia (UNAM). At NUST admission is based on grade 12 certificate with a maximum of five qualifying subjects with a total score of 25 points or more and a symbol or better in English. At the University of Namibia’s basic requirement for entrance to undergraduate degree programmes is a Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSC) with a pass in five subjects with a total score of 25 points, on the UNAM evaluation scale, or more in not more than three examination sittings.

Economy
Namibia’s economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals for export. Mining accounts for about 12.5% of GDP but provides more than 50% of foreign exchange earnings. The country’s natural mineral riches and a tiny population of about 2.5 million (2016) have made it an upper-middle-income country. Political stability and sound economic management have helped anchor poverty reduction, however, this has not yet been accompanied by job creation, and extreme socio-economic inequalities inherited from the years it was run as under an apartheid system still persist, despite generous public spending on social programs.
Real economic activity contracted 1% in 2017, registering a contraction for four consecutive quarters. The continuation of the fiscal consolidation process led domestic consumption to stall. This process was done mostly through the reduction in the capital expenditures that affected most sectors of the economy, especially construction and tertiary sector activities. The construction activity shrank in 2017 by more than 30% on annual basis. This reflects the base effect from last year due to the completion of the Husab mine, without any additional large construction projects to offset this impact. Within the manufacturing sector, a contraction is also noticed in the electricity production sub-sector because of the closure of two power plants (Van Eck and Paratus) due to regular maintenance.
Namibia is one of the world’s largest producers of uranium. The Chinese-owned Husab uranium mine began producing uranium ore in 2017 and is expected to reach full production in August 2018 and produce 15 million pounds of uranium a year. Namibia also produces large quantities of zinc and is a smaller producer of gold and copper. Namibia’s economy remains vulnerable to world commodity price fluctuations and drought.
A positive signal for the Namibian economy came from the mining and agricultural activities. The mining sector activity increased by more than 15% on annual basis in 2017, due to the higher diamond and uranium production. The diamond production in 2017 has expanded by more than 10% and reflects the base effect from the previous year when some of the offshore diamond extraction vessels were closed due to regular maintenance. The uranium production increased by more than 25% in 2017 and this is mostly a result of the start-up of operation of the Husab mine. The agricultural production also rebounded in 2017 from the previous droughts with a solid growth of 5%.
Namibia’s government continues to exercise the requisite leadership in developing and financing the policies it needs to address its development challenges, policies such as the Harambee Prosperity Plan, and the fifth National Development Plan. Program implementation and delivery of public services lags behind and undermines sound policies.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$27.02 billion (2017 est.)
$26.81 billion (2016 est.)
$26.52 billion (2015 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$12.56 billion (2017 est.)
GDP – real growth rate:
0.8% (2017 est.)
1.1% (2016 est.)
6% (2015 est.)
GDP – per capita (PPP):
$11,500 (2017 est.)
$11,500 (2016 est.)
$11,600 (2015 est.)
Gross national saving:
18% of GDP (2017 est.)
11.6% of GDP (2016 est.)
20.9% of GDP (2015 est.)
GDP – composition, by sector of origin:
agriculture: 6.6%
industry: 25.8%
services: 67.6% (2017 est.)
Agriculture – products:
millet, sorghum, peanuts, grapes; livestock; fish
Industries:
meatpacking, fish processing, dairy products, pasta, beverages; mining (diamonds, lead, zinc, tin, silver, tungsten, uranium, copper)
Population below poverty line:
28.7% (2010 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $3.967 billion
expenditures: $4.759 billion (2017 est.)
Agriculture
About 70% of the Namibian population depends on agricultural activities for livelihood, mostly in the subsistence sector. Agriculture in Namibia contributes around 5.1% of the GDP of which 70 % represents the output of the livestock sub-sector. Over the years, the sector’s performance has been minimal as a result of among others, low and delayed rainfall experienced in the 2014/15 season led to a drought that is estimated to lead to a contraction in both livestock farming and crop production. Despite the declining or small share contribution to GDP, the sector remains the backbone of the economy and prosperity for many Namibians.
The sector’s significance, largely because of its potential for growth and job creation. As such, agriculture has continued to receive enormous support by the government through support programmes aimed at increasing productivity to ensure food security, the creation of employment and poverty eradication as highlighted in both NDP4 and Harambee Prosperity Plan. The government has devised programs and projects to ensure food security at both the national and household level. In this regard, an agency (AMTA) was established to coordinate and manage the marketing and trading of Agricultural Produce in Namibia through Fresh Produce Business Hubs (FPBH) and National Strategic Food Reserves (NSFR) facilities ensuring high-quality standard to achieve food security.
Despite its arid and semi-arid climate, Namibia is able to produce a variety of crops ranging from cereals, fruits and horticulture products. The horticulture covers fresh agricultural produce including tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, butternuts, beans and groundnuts, dates, grapes, watermelons, span speck, citrus and others under irrigation’s. Cereals crops include maize, pear millet (mahangu), wheat and sunflower. The Namibian livestock sector consists of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs, accounting to about 76% of livestock production of the overall agricultural output value of which 70% is from the commercial areas and 6% from communal areas.
Electricity access:
population without electricity: 1,600,000
electrification – total population: 32%
electrification – urban areas: 50%
electrification – rural areas: 17% (2013)
Electricity – production:
1.519 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Electricity – consumption:
3.771 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Electricity – exports:
88 million kWh (2015 est.)
Electricity – imports:
2.623 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Electricity – installed generating capacity:
514,200 kW (2015 est.)
Electricity – from fossil fuels:
30.1% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Electricity – from nuclear fuels:
0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Telephones – fixed lines:
total subscriptions: 187,853
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 8 (July 2016 est.)
Telephones – mobile cellular:
total: 2,659,951
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 107 (July 2016 est.)
Internet country code:
.na
Internet users:
total: 756,118
percent of population: 31.0% (July 2016 est.)
Manufacturing
According to a World Bank report, the industrial sector in Namibia contributed 19.61% to the country’s total GDP for 2010 (2011). The manufacturing sector contributed 14.4 % to GDP; this represents NAD$11.7billion from a total GDP of NAD$81.5 billion. The Industrial sector is Namibia’s second highest employer and employed 22.4% of the total Namibian labor force in 2008. The manufacturing sector as a whole recorded a growth of 9.1 % in 2010 compared to 5.6% in 2009 (Namibia National Planning Commission, 2010).
The main manufacturing activities in Namibia are light industry-based and directly link with the country’s agricultural sector. They include meatpacking, fish processing, and dairy processing. Since Namibia’s independence in 1990, fisheries have become increasingly important to the economy of the country.
Fishing is the third-largest sector of the Namibian economy and has grown considerably in recent years, the value of fish exports are now approximately six times greater than in 1990. Namibia is one of the top 10 fishing countries in the world and has the largest estimated national fish reserves in Southern Africa. Hangana Seafood (Pty) Ltd, is one of the largest fish production companies in Namibia and operates a wet fish factory with the capacity to process between 55 and 70 tonnes of hake per day. In 2013 Hangana Seafood employed roughly 1,200 people.
The diamond production also makes a large contribution to the Namibian economy, with approximately 1.6million carats produced per year. While traditional land-based mining of diamonds still takes place in Namibia this has been largely surpassed by marine diamond recovery, which now accounts for over 60% of Namibia’s total diamond production. The major diamond producing company in Namibia is Namdeb Diamond Corporation (Pty) Ltd.
Exports from Namibia are mainly comprised of diamonds which make up 25% of the country’s total exports. Other exported produce includes uranium, lead, zinc, tin, silver, tungsten, and food products. Over 25% of total exports from Namibia go to South Africa. Europe and the US also major trade partners with the country.
The manufacturing sector in Namibia currently faces many challenges including a lack of skilled workers in the labor market and unfavorable trade practices within the South African Development Community (SADC). In 2010 the Namibian Manufacturing Association (NMA) highlighted these issues as potential concerns to the Namibian economy. The NMA suggested that the approval and implementation of policies and strategies developed to help combat these issues, including the National Export Strategy, Private Sector Development Strategy and Foreign Direct Investment Act, is essential in order to accelerate growth in the manufacturing sector.
Namibia has fallen by six places on the rankings for 2017-18 – down to 90th from 84th in 2016-17. Namibia’s score was also down – 3.99 from 4.02 last year. Namibia ranks highly for its institutions (44th), infrastructure (67th), financial market development (50th), and labour market efficiency (33rd) but is rated poorly for the quality of its higher education (111th), health and primary education (110th), business sophistication (87th), technological readiness (89th), macroeconomic environment (107th), and market size (111th).
Banking and Finance
Namibia has one of the most sophisticated, diverse, and developed financial systems in Africa. Most of the country’s financial institutions are privately owned and maintain strong links with South African institutions. The financial sector seems to have come out of the financial crisis in relatively good shape. The Bank of Namibia successfully migrated to the Basel II as a regulatory standard for capital adequacy in January 2010. Accordingly, all banking institutions in Namibia have since implemented the Standardized Approach for the measurements and calculation of capital charges for credit, operational and market risks.
The performance of the financial system has been shaped by the structural characteristics of the economy. Namibia suffers from very high economic inequality and from a huge disparity between its formal and informal sectors. The financial system serves the formal sector very well but has been unable to achieve a satisfactory level of access for the urban poor and the rural population. Owing to limited domestic investment opportunities, institutional investors invest heavily overseas. In addition, Namibia seems to have an acute deficit of skilled financial professionals. Given the structure of the economy, solutions to the policy challenges facing the financial sector go beyond the sector itself and include “real” sector policies such as education, land reform, and rural development.
The banking system consists of four private commercial banks and three specialized banks, including the Agribank, Nampost Savings Bank and the Development Bank of Namibia, Banks dominate the financial system with a share of nearly 40 of total assets, while pension funds accounted for about 35 percent and insurance companies for a further 20 percent.
Close ties with South Africa have significantly benefited financial institutions but also entail some risks.
Benefits include:
(i) access to regional and global financial markets that enable pension funds and insurance companies to diversify their risks;
(ii) more efficient capital allocation within the Common Monetary Area (CMA);
(iii) strong ownership ties and common good practices with reputable financial institutions in South Africa which help mitigate weaknesses in domestic supervision and regulation (see below) as well as limited domestic skills;
(iv) a peg that provides predictability in the exchange rate.
Nevertheless, there are possible risks that need to be managed including
(i) limited avenue for independent monetary and financial policies given the CMA;
(ii) more limited options for global diversification given the need to conform to South African exchange control practices for countries outside the CMA; and
(iii) the possibility that shocks in South Africa can be quickly propagated to Namibia.
Tourism
Tourism is a major contributor (14.5%) to Namibia’s GDP, creating tens of thousands of jobs (18.2% of all employment) directly or indirectly and servicing over a million tourists per year. The country is a prime destination in Africa and is known for ecotourism which features Namibia’s extensive wildlife.
There are many lodges and reserves to accommodate eco-tourists. Sports hunting is also a large, and growing component of the Namibian economy, accounting for 14% of total tourism in the year 2000, or $19.6 million US dollars, with Namibia boasting numerous species sought after by international sports hunters. In addition, extreme sports such as sandboarding, skydiving, and 4x4ing have become popular, and many cities have companies that provide tours. The most visited places include the capital city of Windhoek, Caprivi Strip, Fish River Canyon, Sossusvlei, the Skeleton Coast Park, Sesriem, Etosha Pan and the coastal towns of Swakopmund, Walvis Bay, and Lüderitz.
Major Attraction
Windhoek, the capital, and biggest city is the main entry point for people flying into the country, usually at Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, the main hub for Air Namibia. Important tourist sites in Windhoek include the Tintenpalast, Windhoek Country Club Resort. Zoo Park and other places. Windhoek also has the first five-star hotel in the country known as Hilton Windhoek.
Walvis Bay, as the fourth biggest town in Namibia, is host to the main part of the country, as well as the Walvis Bay International Airport. Geographically the town is uniquely situated, as it is the meeting place of extreme landscapes – on the one side the Namib desert, the oldest desert in the world, and on the other side a massive lagoon and harbor flowing from the Atlantic Ocean. Both of these landscapes lend themselves towards some of the most unusual sight-seeing opportunities in Namibia.
Swakopmund is a beach resort and an example of German colonial architecture. It was founded in 1892 as the main harbor for German South-West Africa. Attractions include spectacular sand dunes near Langstrand south of the Swakop River. The city is known for extreme sports. Nearby is a farm that offers camel rides to tourists and the Martin Luther steam locomotive, dating from 1896 and abandoned in the desert.
Namibia has many prominent National Parks, the oldest, most visited and best known is Etosha National Park. Other national parks in Namibia include Namib-Naukluft, Skeleton Coast, Ai-Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park with Fish River Canyon and Ai-Ais Hot Springs and Waterberg Plateau Park.