Namibia - Transportation

Namibia is traversed by 2,382 km (1,481 mi) of railway, with a main line from South Africa connecting east of Karasburg and continuing to Keetmanshoop (with a side branch to Lüderitz), Mariental, and Windhoek before heading eastward to the ranching area of Gobabis and north to the copper-mining area of Tsumeb. Westward from Windhoek and also southwestward from Tsumeb, the main rail lines link the interior with Swakopmund and Walvis Bay. Of Namibia's 64,800 km (40,266 mi) of road, 5,378 km (3,342 mi) were paved in 2002. The Trans-Kalahari Highway links Namibia and Gauteng Province in South Africa. The Trans-Caprivi Highway links Namibia to Zambia, Zimbabwe and northern Botswana.

Walvis Bay, a South African enclave from 1977 to 1994, has been the main handler of Namibia's imports and exports and the home of the territory's once-vital fishing fleet since the 1920s; about 95% of all Namibian seaborne trade is transshipped there. Lüderitz, the site of the first German entry in 1883, has lost its status as a port because of harbor silting and poor transport links; however, it remains a center of the territory's crayfish industry.

In 2001, there were 137 airports, 21 of which had paved runways. Namibia's international airport (Windhoek International) is near Windhoek, with other modern facilities at Rundu, Grootfontein, Walvis Bay, Lüderitz, Keetmanshoop, and Oranjemund. Other towns have dirt airstrips, and many white Namibians fly their own aircraft from their farms to the urban centers. Air Namibia flew 214,000 international and domestic passengers in 1997. South African Airways links Windhoek to Europe and to the principal cities in South Africa. In 2001, 212,200 passengers were carried by domestic and international airlines.