NAMIBIA



Republic of Namibia

CAPITAL : Windhoek

FLAG : Top left triangle is blue, center diagonal band is red, and the bottom right triangle is green. Colors are separated by narrow white bands. On the blue triangle is a golden sun with twelve triangular rays.

ANTHEM : Namibia Land of the Brave , music and words by Axali Doeseb.

MONETARY UNIT : The Namibian dollar ( N $) of 100 cents is in use; N $1 = $0.13297 (or $1 = N $7.52) as of May 2003.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES : The metric system is in use.

HOLIDAYS : New Year's Day, 1 January; Independence Day, 21 March; Easter, 1–4 April; Workers' Day, 1 May; Casinga Day, 4 May; Ascension Day, 12 May; Africa Day, 25 May; Heroes' Day, 26 August; Day of Goodwill, 7 October; Human Rights Day, 10 December; Christmas, 25–26 December.

TIME : 2 PM = noon GMT.


LANGUAGES

The official language of Namibia is English; however, it is only used by about 7% of the population. Afrikaans is the common language used by most people, including about 60% of the white population. Approximately 32% speak German. Ovambo, in any of several dialects, is widely used throughout the country, and Herero is widely spoken in Windhoek. Other indigenous languages are also used by the various tribes.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

There are 13 regions in Namibia. The most populous is Ohangwena, followed by Oshikoto, Khomas, Oshana, Omusati, Okavango, Erongo, Caprivi, Otjozondjupa, Hardap, Karas, Kunene, and Omaheke. They are governed by elected councils. Local governments (municipalities, towns and villages) have elected councils.

ARMED FORCES

The armed forces in Namibia numbered 9,000 in 2002 including the Presidential guard and an air wing. The coast guard numbered around 200 and operated two patrol craft for fishery protection. The paramilitary consisted of a special field force of 6,000 which included border guards. Namibia participated in the peacekeeping effort in Ethiopia/Eritrea. Defense spending was $104.4 million in 2001.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Namibia is a member of the UN and agencies including the FAO, IAEA, ILO, ITU, UNESCO, and WHO. It also belongs to ECA and participates in the African Development Bank, G-77, the AU and the WTO. In the sub-region, Namibia belongs to the South Africa Customs Union (SACU) and to the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).

FORESTRY

About 10% of Namibia consists of forests and woodland, including woodland savanna, all in the north and northeast. Most of the timber is used locally.

FAMOUS NAMIBIANS

Herman Toivo ja Toivo (b.1915?), the founder of SWAPO and the leader of Namibian nationalism, languished in a South African prison from 1966, when he was convicted of treason, until his release in March 1984. Sam Nujoma (b. 1929) has been leader of SWAPO since 1966.

DEPENDENCIES

Namibia has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Amukugo, Elizabeth Magano. Education and Politics in Namibia: Past Trends and Future Prospects. Windhoek: New Namibia Books, 1993.

Berat, Lynn. Walvis Bay: Decolonization and International Law. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990.

Cliffe, Lionel et al., The Transition to Independence in Namibia. Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1994.

Forrest, Joshua. Namibia's Post-Apartheid Regional Institutions: the Founding Year. Rochester, N.Y.: University of Rochester Press, 1998.

Gewald, Jan-Bart. Herero Heroes: A Socio-political History of the Herero of Namibia, 1890–1923. Athens: Ohio University Press, 1999.

Gordon, Robert J. The Bushman Myth: The Making of a Namibian Underclass. 2nd ed. Boulder: Westview Press, 2000.

Grotpeter, John J. Historical Dictionary of Namibia. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1994.

——. Historical Dictionary of Namibia. [computer file] Boulder, Colo.: net Library, Inc., 2000.

Hartmann, Wolfram, et al., eds. The Colonizing Camera: Photographs in the Making of Namibian History. Athens: Ohio University Press, 1998.

Jaster, Robert S. The 1988 Peace Accords and the Future of Southwestern Africa. London: Brassey's for the International Institute for Strategic Studies, 1990.

Kaela, Laurent C. W. The Question of Namibia. Houndmills, U.K.: Macmillan Press, 1996.

Leys, Colin. Namibia's Liberation Struggle: The Two-Edged Sword. London: J. Curry, 1995.

McElrath, Karen (ed.). HIV and AIDS: A Global View. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002.

Minahan, James. Miniature Empires: A Historical Dictionary of the Newly Independent States. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998.

Orizio, Riccardo. Lost White Tribes: The End of Privilege and the Last Colonials in Sri Lanka, Jamaica, Brazil, Haiti, Namibia, and Guadeloupe. New York: Free Press, 2001.

Rotberg, Robert I. Ending Autocracy, Enabling Democracy: The Tribulations of Southern Africa, 1960–2000. Cambridge, Mass.: World Peace Foundation, 2002.

Sparks, Donald L. Namibia: The Nation After Independence. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1992.

Also read article about Namibia from Wikipedia

User Contributions:

To which namibian institution do provide local government falculties and what requairements? please help to find .
Do local governments in Namibia get subsidies from central government? do we have local goverment in every region in Namibia?

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