Namibia

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

With an annual budget of US$410 million, Namibia spends four percent of its GDP on its military. This makes Namibia the 103rd highest military spender and represents 0.021 percent of total global military expenditure. A large part of its military equipment comes from China, but Namibia receives most of its training from Kenya.

The military of Namibia, called the Namibia defence force consists of a Navy, Air Force and Army.

Military membership

Namibia is also a member of four international military organizations which makes it the 127th most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
International Atomic Energy Agency
Non-Aligned Movement

Military membership

International wars

Since its independence, Namibia has taken in one international war. This is:

Second Congo War 1998-1003

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Namibia is a member of 10 international political organizations which makes it the 141st most politically connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member states of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
African Union
Commonwealth of Nations
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
International Criminal Court
Interpol
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
World Organisation for Animal Health
South Centre

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Despite having free, fair and regular elections, Namibia is dominated by a single political party. This makes Namibia the 51st most democratic state in the world.

Democracy/Dictatorship

The politics of Namibia are in the form of a presidential representative Republic where the president of Namibia is head of state as well as head of government.

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If you want to know more about other states, click on the flag on the right to discover Nauru.

Known for its desolate landscape as well as its abundance of mineral resources, Namibia has had a long road to towards independence. It was first inhabited by the San people around 2000 BC and was replaced by other tribes like the Ovambo and Bantu. Its first contact with Europeans was at the end of the 15th century when Portuguese explorers set foot on the Namibian coast. It was only until the end of the 19th century when Namibia became a German colony. In the years following, several uprisings began which were heavily put down by the German government. During the first world war, South Africa took control over the territory and retained it under heavy international pressure. After elections were made possible by the United Nations, the people of Namibia voted for their independence. Since then, it has had territorial disputes between South Africa and Botswana, but has remained relatively stable.

The geography of Namibia can be divided up into two plateaus along its coast and inland which are separated by a high mountain range that runs from north to south. Its terrain is lightly forested in the north, but mostly consists of steppe and desert terrain. It borders Angola to the north, Zambia to the northeast, Botswana to the east, south Africa to the south and has the Atlantic Ocean to the west.

It is the 74th largest state in the world with a total surface area of 829,743 square kilometers or 320,366 square miles. This makes Namibia slightly larger than Mozambique and slightly smaller than Pakistan.

Its total water surface area is 2437 square kilometers or 941 square miles which makes it the 85th state with the highest amount of surface water.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

The majority of its surface water is derived from rivers that flow along its northern border with Angola and Zambia and its southern border with South Africa. Another large source of water is the Etosha Pan lake. These sources of water, as well as desalination treatment plants are the main sources of drinking water.

Despite having a subtropical climate, Namibia is also characterized as a desert climate. Its average temperature is 20.5 degrees Celsius, or 68.9 degrees Fahrenheit which makes it the 106th warmest state in the world.

During its summer period, from December to February, the average temperature is 25.4 degrees Celsius or 77.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

During winter, from June to September, the average temperature is 13.5 degrees Celsius or 56.3 degrees Fahrenheit.

It is the 176th state with the highest amount of rainfall which is 31.1 centimetres or 12.2 inches per year. Its rainfall is unevenly spread out throughout Namibia with its southern part receiving 10 times less rainfall compared to its northern part.

The capital of Namibia, Windhoek, is a home to 300,000 people. The capital that is closest located to Windhoek is Gaborone of Botswana with a distance of 920 kilometers or 572 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Windhoek is Majuro of the Marshall Islands with a distance of 16,778 kilometers or 10,425 miles.

The economy of Namibia is mainly focused on the extraction of rare earth minerals such as diamonds, uranium and copper. This has made the Namibian economy heavily dependent on the international commodity prices for these minerals. In turn, Namibia has seen large expansions and contractions considering it's GDP which has led to an increase in poverty over the last three decades. Most of its export goes to China and South Africa which combined represent 40 percent of all exports. Most of its imports comes from south Africa alone which is nearly solely responsible for nearly 45 presents of all imports.

Namibia is a member of 11 international economic organizations which makes it the 133rd most economically connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Alliance for Financial Inclusion
African development Bank
International Monetary Fund
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States
Southern African Development Community
International Renewable Energy Agency
International Solar Alliance
Group of 77

Its GDP is just over US$12 billion which makes it the 141st highest in the world and represents 0.014 percent of total global GDP.

Its GDP per square kilometer is US$14,534 or US$37,643 per square mile. This ranks Namibia as the 188th state with the highest amount of GDP per surface area.

Its GDP per capita is US$4854 which makes it the 105th highest in the world.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power per capita is US$10,367 which is the 122nd highest in the world.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

With a total population of 2.5 million people, Namibia is the 141st most populous state in the world. Because of its many tribes, Namibia has more than 10 different languages. Despite the majority of the population speaking the Ovambo languages, Namibia has English has its official language which is spoken by less than five percent of the population.

It is the 193rd most densely populated state in the world with three people per square kilometer or eight people per square mile.

Approximately 8.5 percent of its population, or just over 200,000 people have migrated to other states. This makes Namibia the 137th state with the highest amount of emigration and represents 0.08 percent of total global emigration. The main reasons for emigration are social economic factors as well as political refuge. The largest recipient of Namibian migrants is South Africa which solely receives more than 90 percent of all emigrants.

Immigration to Namibia is represented by 4.14 percent of the population, or just over 100,000 people. This makes Namibia the 103rd state with the highest amount of immigrants and represents 0.04 percent of total global immigration. The largest supplier of immigrants to Namibia has been Angola which is responsible for more than 40 percent of all immigration.

The literacy rate in Namibia is 87.9 percent which is the 121st highest in the world. Its educational system has been renewed and has been made free and compulsory between the ages of six and 16. However, the government of Namibia does not finance school supplies which have to be paid by the parents of school going children.

The Namibian health care system has been struggling to combat serious health issues within Namibia. The average life expectancy is 64.9 years with women reaching 67.7 years and men reaching 61.8 years. With a rank of 168 Namibia has been mainly struggling with communicable diseases with HIV being the leading cause of death. Other communicable diseases that are prevalent in Namibia are tuberculosis and malaria.

The government of Namibia provides freedom of religion towards all religions and generally does not infringe on these rights.

With 81.4 percent of the population adhering to Christianity, Namibia is the 43rd most Christian state in the world. The largest denomination is Protestantism which has been introduced during the German colonial period.

On the right, the global share of Christians per state is displayed

Islam is represented by 0.3 percent of the population which makes it the 140th most Islamic state in the world. The majority of Muslims are located in the capital which houses 50 percent of all mosques.

There are no official Buddhist organizations in Namibia.

There are no official Hindu organizations in Namibia.

Judaism is practiced by less than 1000 people, or 0.03 percent of the population.

Other religions are practiced by minority tribes that also practice monotheism. These tribes combine this with witchcraft which is done by three percent of the population.

Irreligion is represented by 1.1 percent of the population.