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Namibia
Area: 824,269 sq. km
Population:2.06 million (2007 estimate)
Capital City: Windhoek
People: There are 12 major indigenous ethnic groups, including the San. There are also small white (primarily German, Afrikaans and English-speaking) minorities.
Languages: English (official), Afrikaans, German and several indigenous languages
Religion(s): Predominantly Christian
Currency: Namibian dollar (pegged to the South African rand)
Major political parties: South West Africa Peoples Organisation (SWAPO), Congress of Democrats (CoD), Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA)
Head of State: President Hifikepunye Pohamba
Membership of international groupings/organisations: Southern African Development Community (SADC), African Union (AU), Non-Aligned Movement, Southern Africa Customs Union, (SACU) United Nations, the Commonwealth.
GEOGRAPHYNamibia is bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean and shares land borders with South Africa, Botswana and Angola. The northeastern Caprivi Strip also connects it to Zambia and Zimbabwe. The climate varies from arid in the west, to semi-arid and sub-humid in the central and northeastern regions. There are frequent prolonged periods of drought. Rainfall is largely confined to the summer months (November to March). Due to the nutrient-rich Benguela Current, flowing from the Antarctic and the source of Namibia's rich fishing, the country's coastline is cooler than the rest of the country, with frequent sea fog. Namibia is well known for its diversity of plants and wildlife.
HISTORYIn accordance with Bismarck's policy of finding 'a place in the sun' (and just in time to be a bargaining chip at the 1885 Berlin Conference which divided Africa among the European powers), Germany declared a protectorate over the area in 1884. Colonial settlement provoked a series of uprisings at the beginning of the 20th century, in which the Herero and the Nama peoples were almost wiped out. During the First World War South Africa, in pursuit of its own colonial ambitions, invaded and occupied German South-West Africa and was awarded a League of Nations Mandate. The territory was administered as a de facto South African colony; many Afrikaners settled there and, after 1948, elements of apartheid were introduced.
The UN terminated South Africa's Mandate in 1966. One year later, the UN changed the name of the territory from South West Africa to Namibia. In 1971, the International Court of Justice declared in a landmark advisory opinion that South Africa's presence in the territory was 'illegal' and that it should withdraw. South Africa ignored the Court. Angola's independence in late 1975 created the opportunity for SWAPO, which was founded in 1960, to step up its armed struggle for independence from bases in neighbouring Angola. A UN Plan for Namibian independence was adopted in 1978. But, fearful of 'communist' domination of the region, South Africa refused to implement its terms for another decade. Finally, in 1988, under US pressure and after a series of major cross-border campaigns by the South African military (ostensibly intended to destroy SWAPO bases) the South Africans conceded independence in return for a Cuban withdrawal from Angola. In the pre-independence election to the Constituent Assembly, SWAPO won 41 of the 72 seats. This body drew up the independence constitution, elected Sam Nujoma to be the country's first President, and became Namibia's first National Assembly when formal independence was achieved on 21 March 1990. Namibia joined the Commonwealth on the same day.
POLITICSThe Namibian Constitution, which came into force in March 1990, provides for a unitary state with a democratic multi-party system, executive power shared between the President and Cabinet, a limit to Presidential tenure of two five-year terms, an elected 72-member National Assembly with a five year term, and a 26-member National Council, composed of two members from each of the 13 Regional Councils, with a six-year term.
SWAPO has dominated Namibian politics since independence. In all post-independence elections (1994, 1999 and 2004), the SWAPO President has consistently taken just over 76% of the vote, while SWAPO has increased its seats in Parliament from 53 in 1994 to 55 in 1999 and 2004, giving it a two-thirds majority. Nujoma handed over to his successor, Hifikepunye Pohamba in March 2005 although he remains Chairman of SWAPO - until 2007 at least. Pohamba's nearest rival, Ben Ulenga of the CoD won just 7% of the vote. CoD is the main opposition party in the National Assembly but with only 5 seats. The balance of seats is shared by three minor parties. The opposition is crippled by ethnic rivalries. Part of SWAPO's success can be ascribed to its Ovambo support base (the Ovambo represent a fraction over half of the Namibian population). But notwithstanding Nujoma’s increasing tendency to stray from the party line when speaking out on various subjects (including sexual orientation and colonialism), Pohamba’s record indicates SWAPO continues along a pragmatic policy course.
HUMAN RIGHTSPartly as a result of achieving independence relatively late, Namibia's constitution is often regarded as a model of up to date legislation. It includes a list of 'fundamental rights and freedoms', and strictures against discrimination of any kind, as well as provision for independent entities – such as an Ombudsman – to protect human rights. There is a flourishing NGO community involved in political and civic education. But, notwithstanding a relatively benign environment, there are some challenges to human rights in Namibia. The abuse of prisoners by the police (particularly by para-military units) is a practice inherited from both the apartheid era security forces, and from SWAPO's days as an armed movement. Although the party has discarded the Marxist ideology that was de rigeur for southern Africa liberation movements in the 1970/80s, it shows occasional signs of authoritarianism, particularly in its attacks on the independent media. Former president Nujoma also voiced public criticism of various minorities on the grounds of their ethnicity or sexual orientation. The regional problem of protecting San/Bushmen minorities affects Namibia to a small degree, but much less than its eastern neighbour Botswana.
ECONOMYBasic economic factsGDP: US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$6.1 billion (2005)
Annual Growth: 4.2% (2005)
Inflation: 5% (2006 est.)
Major Industries: Mineral production, cattle ranching, fishing, tourism
Major trading partners: South Africa, UK, Spain, Japan and USA.
For historical and other reasons, the Namibian economy is dominated by South Africa, with (or through) which 80% of its trade is conducted. It is also unduly dependant on diamonds, uranium and zinc, which provide over half of the country's exports. Major economic challenges facing the government include reducing the public sector budget deficit, increasing efficiency and creating jobs (unemployment is estimated at 35%). A relatively high per capita GDP conceals wide economic disparities, many of which were inherited from apartheid. There are good prospects for economic diversification in fields like tourism, fisheries and manufacturing, but none has the potential on its own to significantly reduce unemployment. The government is encouraging foreign investment in order to develop a diverse economy that alleviates both unemployment and chronic rural poverty.
Land is an important issue. There are some 5000 commercial farmers in the country. Since 1990, the government has purchased farms on the 'willing-buyer willing-seller' principle, and redistributed the land to landless families. In 2004, a new policy to speed up land transfer was announced.
DEVELOPMENTNamibia has one of the highest rates – 22.5% - of HIV infection in the world, and it is the single biggest cause of death in the country. Access to education and health-care is uneven (a legacy of apartheid); there are good facilities available, but not in rural or poor urban areas.
The UK’s Department for International Development has an ongoing programme in the promotion of rural livelihoods in Namibia, worth about £2.5 million per year. Namibia is also included in DFID's Southern Africa regional work on HIV/AIDS. In addition to its direct spending, DFID contributes about £1 million per year through the EU programme in Namibia, and also contributes to the work of other multilateral agencies.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSNamibia has good relations with its neighbours, and internationally. There has been occasional friction with Botswana over disputed territorial boundaries, and the presence of Caprivi separatists (who fled Namibia after a failed 'uprising' in 1998) on the latter's territory. Relations with the Angolan government are particularly close, because of the latter's considerable support for SWAPO during the liberation struggle. SWAPO's – and especially ex-president Nujoma's – publicly-expressed sympathy with the current Zimbabwean regime is another relic of liberation struggle solidarity. The Namibian Defence Force participated in the unofficial, Zimbabwe-led SADC intervention in Congo in 1997, and has sent small contingents to UN operations in Cambodia, Angola and Liberia.
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