Namibia, a large and sparsely populated country on Africa’s south-west coast, has enjoyed stability since gaining independence in 1990 after a long struggle against rule by South Africa.
Germany took control of the area which it called South West Africa in the late 1800s.
The discovery of diamonds in 1908 prompted an influx of Europeans.
South Africa seized it during the First World War and administered it under a League of Nations mandate.
Namibians achieved independence in 1990 after a bush war of almost 25 years. Inter-racial reconciliation encouraged the country’s white people to remain and they still play a major role in farming and other economic sectors.
Namibia 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.
Facts about Namibia:
- Population: 2.6 million people (2022)
- Capital: Windhoek, which means ‘windy corner’ in the Afrikaans language, is the country’s largest city with 450,000 inhabitants.
- Nickname: ‘The Land of the Brave’
- Government: Republic
- Literacy Rate: 91.5% of all adults can read and write
- Language: English (official language), and 132 other recognised languages such as Oshivammbo, Nama/Damara, Afrikaans (spoken by most of the population), German (as Namibia was formerly a German colony) and several African languages
- Religion: over 80% are Christians (more than half of the people belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church)
- Unemployment: 34.3% of the people are jobless.
- Independence Day: March 21. Namibia gained independence only in 1990
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