 |
|
Register Domains
|
|
|
|
Namibian Towns
|
|
|
|
Languages
|
|
|
|  |  |
Welcome Namibia Internet Gateway
The Republic of Namibia is a country in southwestern Africa, on the Atlantic
coast. It is bordered by Angola, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to the north, Botswana to
the east, and South Africa to the south. It gained independence from South
Africa in 1990, and as such it is one of the youngest nations in the world. Its
capital is Windhoek.
History
The dry lands of Namibia were inhabited since early times by Bushmen, Damara,
Namaqua, and since about the fourteenth century AD, by immigrating Bantu who
came with the Bantu expansion. The region was not extensively explored by
Europeans until the 19th century, when the land came under German control as
South-West Africa -- apart from Walvis Bay under British control. South Africa
occupied the colony during World War I and administered it as a League of
Nations mandate territory until after World War II, when it unilaterally annexed
the territory, albeit without international recognition.
In 1966 the Marxist South-West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) guerrilla
group launched a war of independence, but it was not until 1988 that South
Africa agreed to end its administration of Namibia, in accordance with a United
Nations peace plan for the entire region. Independence came in 1990, and Walvis
Bay was ceded to Namibia in 1994.
Politics
The Namibian head of state is the president, elected by popular vote every five
years. The government is headed by the prime minister, who, together with his
cabinet, is appointed by the president. SWAPO, the primary force behind
independence, has since moved away from its Marxist roots, and is still
currently the country's largest party.
Hifikepunye Pohamba, President of NamibiaNamibia's bicameral parliament consists
of the National Council with twenty six seats, occupied by two members chosen
from each regional council to serve six-year terms; and the National Assembly of
seventy eight seats, of which seventy two members are elected by popular vote,
and six non-voting members are appointed by the president. All seventy eight
serve five-year terms.
The Assembly is the primary legislative body, with the Council playing more of
an advisory role. The 1990 constitution is noted for being one of the first to
incorporate protection of the environment into its text. The highest judicial
body is the Supreme Court, whose judges are appointed by the president on the
recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission.
Geography
The Namibian landscape consists primarily of central highlands, of which the
highest point is the Brandberg at 2,606 m. The central plateau runs from north
to south, bordered by the Namib Desert and its coastal plains to the west, the
Orange River to the south, and the Kalahari Desert to the east. A remarkable
strip of land in the northeast, known as the Caprivi Strip is the vestige of a
narrow corridor demarcated for Germany to access the Zambezi River.
The Namibian climate ranges from desert to subtropical, and is generally hot and
dry; precipitation is sparse and erratic. The cold, north-flowing Benguela
current accounts for some of the low precipitation. Besides the capital city
Windhoek in the centre of the country, other important towns are the ports of
Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, as well as Oshakati, Grootfontein, Tsumeb and
Keetmanshoop.
Economy
The economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals
for export. Mining accounts for 20% of the GDP. Namibia is the fourth largest
exporter of non-fuel minerals in Africa, and the world's fifth largest producer
of uranium. Rich alluvial diamond deposits make Namibia a primary source for
gem-quality diamonds. Namibia also produces large quantities of lead, zinc, tin,
silver, and tungsten.
About half of the population depends on agriculture (largely subsistence
agriculture) for its livelihood. Namibia must import some of its food. Although
per capita GDP is five times the per capita GDP of Africa's poorest countries,
the majority of Namibia's people live in pronounced poverty because of
large-scale unemployment, the great inequality of income distribution, and the
large amount of wealth going to foreigners. The Namibian economy has many close
links to South Africa. Agreement has been reached on the privatisation of
several more enterprises in coming years, which should stimulate long-run
foreign investment.
Demographics
Namibia is among three sovereign countries with lowest population density. The
majority of the Namibian population consists of a mostly black African (Bantu
and Khoisan) (84%) - mostly of the Ovambo tribe, which forms about half of the
population, concentrated in the north of the country. In addition to the black
Bantu majority, there are large groups of Khoisan (e.g. Nama and Bushmen), who
are descendants of the original inhabitants of Southern Africa. Khoisan differ
significantly in appearance from both Bantu and whites. There are also two
smaller groups of people with mixed racial origins, called "Coloureds" and "Basters",
who together make up 8% (with the Coloureds outnumbering the Basters two to
one). Whites of Dutch, German, British, French and Portuguese ancestry make up
about 8% of the population�which is the second largest proportion in sub-Saharan
Africa, after South Africa). Most of Namibian whites and nearly all those of
mixed race are Afrikaans speakers and share similar origins, culture, religion
and genealogy as the white and coloured populations of neighbouring South
Africa. A smaller proportion of whites (around 20,000) trace their family
origins directly back to German settlers and maintain German cultural and
educational institutions.
Half of all Namibians speak Oshiwambo (Ovambo) as their first language, whereas
the most widely understood language is Afrikaans. Among the younger generation,
the most widely understood language is English. Both Afrikaans and English are
used primarily as a second language reserved for public sphere communication,
but small first language groups exist throughout the country. While the official
language is English, most of the white population speaks either Afrikaans or
German, both official languages until 1990 when Namibia became independent.
Christianity is the major religion, with the Lutheran Church being the largest.
! ! PREMIUM DOMAIN NAMES ! !
1 Time Offer Only - U$ 5000.00/yr
Some examples of Premium Domain names
First come first serve. We do not guarantee that these names
are available.
|
Posted by: Admin on Thursday, November 15, 2007 - 01:30 AM (344 Reads)
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by: Admin on Thursday, November 15, 2007 - 01:28 AM (301 Reads)
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by: Admin on Thursday, November 15, 2007 - 01:27 AM (328 Reads)
|
|
|
CABINET has announced lower total allowable catches (TACs) for the new fishing season for horse mackerel and red crab after it was found that stocks had not bounced back as expected.
Read full article: 'Cabinet cuts fishing quotas' (222 words more)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by: Admin on Thursday, November 15, 2007 - 01:26 AM (311 Reads)
|
|
|
THE Swapo Youth League either does not understand the workings of the Electoral Commission or is out to dramatise events surrounding the registration of the new Rally for Democracy and Progress party, Director of Elections Philemon Kanime told The Namibian yesterday.
Read full article: 'Kanime raps SPYL over the knuckles' (495 words more)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by: Admin on Monday, June 11, 2007 - 09:07 AM (2906 Reads)
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by: Admin on Monday, June 11, 2007 - 09:01 AM (2815 Reads)
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by: Admin on Monday, June 11, 2007 - 08:53 AM (2371 Reads)
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by: Admin on Monday, June 11, 2007 - 08:50 AM (2411 Reads)
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by: Admin on Monday, June 11, 2007 - 08:45 AM (2096 Reads)
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by: Admin on Monday, June 11, 2007 - 08:43 AM (2364 Reads)
|
|
|
|
|  |
|
News Categories
|
|
|
|
Main Menu
|
|
|
|
Login
|
|
|
|
Online
|
|
|
|
Ads
|
|
|
|  |