Namibia: Fact file
Updated March 2010
| Name | Republic of Namibia |
| Area | 824 292 sq km |
| Capital | Windhoek |
| Major towns | Rundu, Walvis Bay, Oshakati, Katima Mulilo, Rehoboth, Otjiwarongo, Keetmanshoop, Gobabis, Tsumeb (Frame 2008, 837) |
| Boundaries | South Atlantic, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa |
| Population | 2.1 million, 2007 (UNDP 2009) |
| Natural pop growth | 1.9, 2005-2010 (UNDP 2009) |
| Urbanisation | 27.7%, 1990 (UNDP 2009) |
| Life expectancy | Female 61.2 yrs, male 59.3 yrs; 2007 (UNDP 2009) |
| Infant mortality | 35/1000, 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2010a) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | 15-49 yrs: 15.3%; 2007 est (WHO 2008) |
| Adult literacy rate | Female 87.4%, male 88.6%; 2007 (UNDP 2009) |
| Military expenditure | 2.6% of GDP; 2005 (UN Statistics Division 2010b) |
| Health expenditure | 5.3% of GDP; 2006 (UN Statistics Division 2010c) |
| Legal system | Roman-Dutch and customary law (Geraldo & Skeffers 2007) |
| Independence | 21 March 1990 (South Africa) |
| GDP | US$7.4 billion, 2007 est (IMF 2008) |
| GDP per capita | US$2 800, 2007 (IMF 2009, 65) |
| GDP growth rate | 2.9%, 2008 (IMF 2009, 62) |
| Main exports | Fish, diamonds, beverages (Frame 2008, 841) |
| Currency | 100 cents = 1 Namibian dollar |
| Unemployment | 36.7%, 2006 (Mseyamwa 2006) |
| Inflation rate | 7.1%, 2008 (IMF 2009, 66) |
| External debt ratio | 4.5% of GDP, 2008 (IMF 2009, 84) |
| Roads | 42 000 km, 5 477 km tarred (SADC 2007, 194) |
| Rail | 2 382 km narrow gauge (SADC 2007, 194) |
| Airports | 16 tarred; 1 international (Windhoek) (Avigation Networks Undated) |
| Ethnic groups | Ovambo, Kavango, Damara, Herero, White, Nama, Coloured, Caprivian, Bushmen, Baster (Frame 2008, 826) |
| Languages | Official English; others Oshiwambo, Herero, Nama/Damara, Lozi, Kwangali,Tswana, Afrikaans and German (SADC 2007, 184) |
| Religion | Christian more than 90%, remainder mainly African Traditional (US Department of State 2009) |
References
AVIGATION NETWORKS UNDATED "Airports in Namibia", [www] http://worldaerodata.com/countries/Namibia.php [opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
FRAME, I 2008 (ed) Africa South of the Sahara 2008, Routledge.
GERALDO, GM & SKEFFERS, I 2007 "Researching Namibian Law and the Namibian Legal System", IN Globalex, [www] http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Namibia.htm [opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
IMF 2008 World Economic Outlook Database, April 2008, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/01/weodata/index.aspx [opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
IMF 2009 Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa, October, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2009/AFR/eng/sreo1009.pdf, [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
MSEYAMWA, N 2006 "A Range of Woes Underpins Unemployment", IPS, 26 October, [www] http://ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=35256 [opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
SADC 2007 "Namibia" IN Country Profiles, 78-79, [www] http://www.sadcreview.com/pdfs07/namibia2007_08.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
UNDP 2009 "Namibia HDI Rank - 128", IN Human Development Report 2009, [www] http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_NAM.html [opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010a "Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 births)" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=MExico&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3A77%3BcrID%3A484 [opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010b "Military expenditure (% of GDP)" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3AMS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS [opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010c "Total expenditure on health as percentage of gross domestic product" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Gross+domestic+product&d=WHO&f=inID%3AHSR20 [opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
US DEPARTMENT OF STATE 2009 "Namibia" IN International Religious Freedom Report 2009, [www] http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127247.htm [opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
WHO 2008 "Epidemiological Fact Sheet on HIV and AIDS Core data on epidemiology and response", [www] http://www.who.int/globalatlas/predefinedReports/EFS2008/full/EFS2008_NA.pdf [PDF document, opens in window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
