Current Environmental Issues: limited natural fresh water resources; desertification; wildlife poaching; land degradation has led to few conservation areas

Geography

Source: CIA

Location: Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and South Africa

Geographic Coordinates: 22 00 S, 17 00 E

Area:

total: 825,418 sq km
land: 825,418 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Land Boundaries:

total: 3,936 km
border countries: Angola 1,376 km, Botswana 1,360 km, South Africa 967 km, Zambia 233 km

Coastline: 1,572 km

Maritime Claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Natural Hazards: prolonged periods of drought

Terrain

Mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari Desert in east

Elevation Extremes:

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Konigstein 2,606 m

Climate

Desert; hot, dry; rainfall sparse and erratic

Government

Government Type: Republic

Capital: Windhoek

Independence Date: 21 March 1990 (from South African mandate)

Legal System: based on Roman-Dutch law and 1990 constitution; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

International Agreement

Environmental-international Agreement:

party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

People and Society

Population: 2,088,669

Age Structure:

0-14 years: 36.7% (male 386,252/female 379,426)
15-64 years: 59.5% (male 627,752/female 615,241)
65 years and over: 3.8% (male 35,960/female 44,038) (2008 est.)

Population Growth Rate: 0.947% (2008 est.)

Birth Rate: 23.19 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death Rate: 14.07 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net Migration Rate: 0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth:

total population: 49.89 years
male: 50.39 years
female: 49.38 years (2008 est.)

Total Fertility Rate: 2.81 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Languages: English 7% (official), Afrikaans common language of most of the population and about 60% of the white population, German 32%, indigenous languages 1% (includes Oshivambo, Herero, Nama)

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85%
male: 86.8%
female: 83.5% (2001 census)

Water

Total Renewable Water Resources: 45.5 cu km (1991)

Freshwater Withdrawal (domestic, industrial, agricultural):

total: 0.3 cu km/yr (24%/5%/71%)
per capita: 148 cu m/yr (2000)

Agriculture

Agricultural Products: millet, sorghum, peanuts, grapes; livestock; fish

Irrigated Land: 80 sq km (2003)

Resources

Natural Resources: diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, silver, lead, tin, lithium, cadmium, tungsten, zinc, salt, hydropower, fish
note: suspected deposits of oil, coal, and iron ore

Land Use:

arable land: 0.99%
permanent crops: 0.01%
other: 99% (2005)

Energy

Health

Prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Adults: 21.3% (2003 est.)

Major Infectious Diseases:

degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria
water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2008)

Conflict

International Disputes: concerns from international experts and local populations over the Okavango Delta ecology in Botswana and human displacement scuttled Namibian plans to construct a hydroelectric dam on Popa Falls along the Angola-Namibia border; managed dispute with South Africa over the location of the boundary in the Orange River; Namibia has supported, and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to, plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river

Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: refugees (country of origin): 4,700 (Angola) (2007)

Economy

The economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals for export. Mining accounts for 8% of GDP, but provides more than 50% of foreign exchange earnings. Rich alluvial diamond deposits make Namibia a primary source for gem-quality diamonds. Namibia is the fourth-largest exporter of nonfuel minerals in Africa, the world's fifth-largest producer of uranium, and the producer of large quantities of lead, zinc, tin, silver, and tungsten. The mining sector employs only about 3% of the population while about half of the population depends on subsistence agriculture for its livelihood. Namibia normally imports about 50% of its cereal requirements; in drought years food shortages are a major problem in rural areas. A high per capita GDP, relative to the region, hides one of the world's most unequal income distributions. The Namibian economy is closely linked to South Africa with the Namibian dollar pegged one-to-one to the South African rand. Increased payments from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) put Namibia's budget into surplus in 2007 for the first time since independence, but SACU payments will decline after 2008 as part of a new revenue sharing formula. Increased fish production and mining of zinc, copper, uranium, and silver spurred growth in 2003-07, but growth in recent years was undercut by poor fish catches and high costs for metal inputs.

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $10.72 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (Official Exchange Rate): $7.4 billion (2007 est.)

GDP- real growth rate: 4.4% (2007 est.)

GDP-per capita (PPP): $5,200 (2007 est.)

GDP- composition by sector:

agriculture: 10.8%
industry: 33.4%
services: 55.8% (2007 est.)

Population Below Poverty Line: the UNDP's 2005 Human Development Report indicated that 34.9% of the population live on $1 per day and 55.8% live on $2 per day

Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share:

lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 64.5% (2003)

Industries: meatpacking, fish processing, dairy products; mining (diamonds, lead, zinc, tin, silver, tungsten, uranium, copper)

Exports: diamonds, copper, gold, zinc, lead, uranium; cattle, processed fish, karakul skins

Export Partners: South Africa 33.4%, US 4% (2006)

Imports: foodstuffs; petroleum products and fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals

Import Partners: South Africa 85.2%, US (2006)

Economic Aid Recipient: ODA, $123.4 million (2005 est.)

Currency: Namibian dollar (NAD); South African rand (ZAR)

Communications

Telephones- main line in use: 138,900 (2005)

Telephones- mobile/cellular: 800,300 (2007)

Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 2, FM 39, shortwave 4 (2001)

Television Broadcast Stations: 2 (2007)

Internet Hosts: 3,717 (2007)

Internet Users: 80,600 (2005)

Transportation

Airports: 137 (2007)

Railways:

total: 2,382 km
narrow gauge: 2,382 km 1.067-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 42,237 km
paved: 5,406 km
unpaved: 36,831 km (2002)

Ports and Terminals: Luderitz, Walvis Bay