Namibia
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Where is Namibia located?
Namibia is in southwestern Africa, bordered by Angola to the north, Zambia to the northeast, Botswana to the east, and South Africa to the southeast and south. To its west lies the Atlantic Ocean. Namibia's landscape varies from arid in the north to desert along the coast and in the east. The capital of Namibia is Windhoek. The country is divided into three main topographic zones from west to east: the coastal Namib Desert, the Central Plateau, and the Kalahari.
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What kind of climate does Namibia have?
Namibia, located on the southern margin of the tropics, has distinct seasons. Its coastal climate is influenced by the cold Benguela Current, resulting in low rainfall, averaging less than 2 inches (50 millimeters) annually. The coast experiences minimal temperature variation between day and night or between seasons, with temperatures generally ranging from 50 to 60 °F (10 to 16 °C).
The Central Plateau and the Kalahari feature significant diurnal temperature ranges, exceeding 50 °F (30 °C) during summer days and dropping below 20 °F (10 °C) in winter. Rainfall increases from approximately 10 inches (250 millimeters) in the southern and western parts of the plateau to over 24 inches on the Caprivi Strip and Otavi Mountains. Multiyear droughts are common, and groundwater is crucial in the north and near mountains.
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What are some important natural features of Namibia?
Namibia's landscape is characterized by three main topographic zones: the Namib Desert, the Central Plateau, and the Kalahari. The Namib Desert is a coastal desert known for its dunes and mineral deposits. The Central Plateau, the core of Namibia's agriculture, features hills, mountains, and the massive Fish River Canyon. The eastern savanna merges into the Kalahari, where herding and cultivation are possible due to hardpan, rocks, and more rainfall.
Namibia's highest mountain, Brandberg, is located along the plateau's western escarpment. The country's rivers consist of the border rivers, the Orange and Kunene, as well as the Swakop and Kuiseb rivers.
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Who are the main groups of people living in Namibia?
About 85% of Namibians are Black, 5% are of European ancestry, and 10% are Coloured (Cape Coloured, Nama, and Rehobother). The Black majority is composed of Ovambo (about two-thirds), followed by Kavango, Herero, Damara, and Caprivian peoples.
The earliest Namibians were the nomadic San people. The Nama were the first conquerors in Southern Namibia, and were closely linked with the Damara. The Herero built up interlocked clan systems, and the Ovambo people developed several kingdoms.
Afrikaners and Germans account for two-thirds and one-fifth of the European population, respectively. Most ethnic Europeans are Namibian citizens, though some have retained South African citizenship.
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What languages are commonly spoken in Namibia?
Namibia's official language is English. While it serves as the national language, only about 3% of the population speaks it at home.
Ovambo languages are spoken by over 80% of Namibians, while Nama-Damara is spoken by about 6%. Additionally, Kavango, Caprivian languages, Herero, and Afrikaans are each spoken by approximately 4% of the population. Many Namibians speak two or more Indigenous languages and have some knowledge of two or three European languages, including English, Afrikaans, and German.
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What are Namibia’s main industries and natural resources?
Namibia's economy relies heavily on mining, which accounts for nearly 30% of its GDP. Key resources extracted include diamonds, uranium oxide, and base metals, with gold and natural gas becoming increasingly significant. Manufacturing contributes about 5% of the GDP, focusing on meat and fish processing, brewing, and light engineering. Additionally, tourism is expanding due to the country's diverse landscapes. Agriculture, particularly commercial farming of Karakul sheep and beef, is also vital, with efforts to support small farmers for agricultural improvements.
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News •
Namibia, country located on the southwestern coast of Africa. It is bordered by Angola to the north, Zambia to the northeast, Botswana to the east, South Africa to the southeast and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It ranges from arid in the north to desert on the coast and in the east. The landscape is spectacular, but the desert, mountains, canyons, and savannas are perhaps better to see than to occupy.
The only permanent rivers are the Kunene (Cunene), the Okavango (Cubango), the Mashi (Kwando), and the Zambezi on the northern border and the Orange on the southern. Only the northern frontier—and not all of it—is readily passable. The coastal Namib desert, the treacherous reefs and shoals of the coast (half aptly named the “Skeleton Coast”), the near deserts along the Orange River, and the dry Kalahari region to the east explain the late conquest of Namibia and form a geographic frame around the country.
- Head Of State And Government:
- President: Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, assisted by Vice President: Lucia Witbooi
- Capital:
- Windhoek
- Population:
- (2026 est.) 3,281,000
- Form Of Government:
- republic with two legislative houses (National Council [42]; National Assembly [961])
- Official Language:
- English
- Official Religion:
- none
- Official Name:
- Republic of Namibia
- Total Area (Sq Km):
- 824,292
- Total Area (Sq Mi):
- 318,261
- Monetary Unit:
- Namibian dollar (N$)
- Population Rank:
- (2026) 136
- Population Projection 2030:
- 2,927,000
- Density: Persons Per Sq Mi:
- (2026) 10.3
- Density: Persons Per Sq Km:
- (2026) 4
- Urban-Rural Population:
- Urban: (2023) 42.8%
- Rural: (2023) 57.2%
- Life Expectancy At Birth:
- Male: (2021) 57.3 years
- Female: (2021) 63.4 years
- Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000):
- (2024) 12,842
- Gni Per Capita (U.S.$):
- (2024) 4,240
- Officially:
- Republic of Namibia
- Also called (internationally until 1968):
- South West Africa
- Afrikaans:
- Namibië or Suidwesafrica
- Excludes up to eight nonvoting members that may be appointed by the president.
Roughly rectangular (600 by 300 to 450 miles [965 by 480 to 725 kilometers]), Namibia has a long, narrow eastern extension (the Caprivi Strip) based on a German misconception that access to the Zambezi—despite the Victoria Falls—meant access to the Indian Ocean.
After 106 years of German and South African rule, Namibia became independent on March 21, 1990, under a democratic multiparty constitution. The capital of the country is Windhoek.
Land
Relief
Namibia is divided from west to east into three main topographic zones: the coastal Namib desert, the Central Plateau, and the Kalahari. The Namib is partly rocky and partly (in the central stretch) dunes. While having complex flora and fauna, it is a fragile and sparsely covered environment unsuitable for pastoral or agricultural activities. Diamonds (probably washed down from the Basotho highlands by the Orange River) and uranium are found at Oranjemund in the south and Arandis in the center. The Namib, 50 to 80 miles wide over most of its length, is constricted in the north where the Kaokoveld, the western mountain scarp of the Central Plateau, abuts on the sea.
The Central Plateau, which varies in altitude from 3,200 to 6,500 feet (975 to 1,980 meters), is the core of the agricultural life of Namibia. In the north it abuts on the Kunene and Okavango river valleys and in the south on the Orange. Largely savanna and scrub, it is somewhat more wooded in parts of the north and is broken throughout by hills, mountains, ravines (including the massive Fish River Canyon), and salt pans (notably the Etosha Pan). Brandberg, also known as Mount Brand (8,442 feet [2,573 meters]), is Namibia’s highest mountain and is located along the plateau’s western escarpment.
In the east, Namibia slopes gradually downward, and the savanna merges into the Kalahari. In the north, hardpan and rock beneath the sand, in addition to more abundant river water and rainfall, make both herding and cultivation possible.
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Drainage and soils
As noted, only the border rivers are permanent. The Swakop and Kuiseb rivers rise on the plateau, descend the western escarpment, and die out in the Namib (except in rare flood years, when they reach the sea at Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, respectively). The Fish (Vis) River rises in the Central Plateau and (seasonally) flows south to the Orange. Various lesser rivers rise on the plateau and die out downstream in the Namib or Kalahari desert.
Namibia’s soils range from barren sand and rock to low-quality sand-dominated to relatively fertile soils. The best soils are in the north, in the Otavi Mountains, in parts of the central and southern portions of the plateau, and in the Caprivi Strip. Water—not soil fertility—is the primary constraint on agriculture. Both in the densely populated Ovambo region in the north and in the commercial farming areas, overuse of land has reduced tree and bush cover, compacted soils, led to serious erosion, and lowered the water table by as much as 100 feet in the 20th century.