Namibia - the country

Geography, people and languages

Namibia is located in Southern Africa and has common borders with South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Angola. There are only 2 inhabitans per sq km (all in all 1.8 million inhabitants) Namibia is one of the least populated countries in the world. For land mass, though, it is more than three times the size of the United Kingdom.The capital Windhoek has 240,000 inhabitants. The 1.8 million Namibians represent 13 ethnic cultures with 16 languages and dialects, including Herero, Nama, Ovambo, Kavango, San, Damara, Germans, British and the so called Rehoboth Baster (descendants of 17th- and 18th-century Dutch and French men and indigenous Nama [Khoekhoe] women). Africaans is widely spoken, but since independece the national language is English.

Economy

Main economic sectors are mining, fishing, tourism and agriculture. The country exports include diamonds, lithium minerals, lead, zinc, tin, silver, tungsten, uranium, copper and many semi-precious stones). Tourism is the fastest growing sector.

Politics

Namibia gained its independence from South Africa in 1990. Before that the country was colonized by people from both Germany and Great Britain. Today, Namibia is a democratic and secular state with freedom of religion (90 percent christians) as well as freedom of press and media.

Climate and weather

Namibia is a sunny ( 300 sunny days a year) and semi-arid country. Rainfall generally occurs only in the summer months (November to February). Only the extreme northern areas have ample rainfall.

Travelling in Namibia is recommended throughout the year, though the best months are from April to June. Then, the temperature during the day lies at about 25 degrees.

The dry winter months (July to September) are also a good time to see the desert country. Daytime temperatures rarely sink below 20 C degrees. However, on the interior plateau and in the Namib, desert night frosts can occur.
The summer months are quite hot. Then, Namibians prefer the pleasantly cool coast, especially Swakopmund. The frequent sea mists usually dissolve by midday.

One can cope with the summer temperatures in Windhoek because of the altitude (1650 m). However, the Namib desert should be avoided in summer when temperatures can often rise above 40 degrees Celsius. If travelling during those months, bring along plenty of drinking water. The same applies to the tropically humid northeastern sector.