German colony[edit]

South African rule[edit]

Namibia

Namibia (/nəˈmɪbiə/ ^ⓘ, /næˈ-/),^[15][16] officially the Republicof Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa.Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean.It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa tothe south and east. Although it does not border Zimbabwe, less than 200 metres (660 feet) ofthe Botswanan right bank of the Zambezi River separates the twocountries. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek.

The driest country in sub-Saharan Africa,^[17] Namibia has been inhabitedsince pre-historic times by the Khoi, San, Damara and Nama people.Around the 14th century, immigrating Bantu peoples arrivedas part of the Bantu expansion. Since then, the Bantu groups,the largest being the Ovambo, have dominated the population of the country; sincethe late 19th century, they have constituted a majority. With a population ofan estimated 2.77 million people today, Namibia is one of the most sparselypopulated countries in the world.

In 1884, the German Empire establishedrule over most of the territory, forming a colony known as German South West Africa. Between 1904 and1908, German troops waged a punitive campaign against the Herero and Nama whichescalated into the first genocide of the 20th century.German rule ended during the First World War witha 1915 defeat by South African forces. In 1920, after theend of the war, the League of Nations mandated administration of the colony toSouth Africa. From 1948, with the National Party elected to power, thisincluded South Africa applying apartheid towhat was then known as South West Africa.In the later 20th century, uprisings and demands for political representationby native African political activists seeking independence resulted in the United Nations assumingdirect responsibility over the territory in 1966, but the country of SouthAfrica maintained de facto rule. In 1973, the UNrecognized the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) as the official representative of theNamibian people. Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. However, Walvis Bay andthe Penguin Islands remained under SouthAfrican control until 1994.

Namibia is a stable parliamentary democracy. Agriculture, tourism and the mining industry –including mining for gem diamonds, uranium, gold, silver and base metals –form the basis of its economy, while the manufacturing sector iscomparatively small. Namibia is a member state of the United Nations,the Southern African Development Community, the African Union andthe Commonwealth of Nations.

Main article: History of Namibia

Etymology[edit]

The name of the country is derived from the Namib desert, the oldest desert in theworld.^[18] Theword Namib itself is of Nama originand means "vast place". The name was chosen by Mburumba Kerina,who originally proposed "Republic of Namib".^[19] Before Namibia becameindependent in 1990, its territory was known first as German South-West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika),and then as South West Africa, reflecting its colonialoccupation by Germans and South Africans, respectively.

Pre-colonial period[edit]

The dry lands of Namibia have been inhabited since prehistorictimes by the San, Damara,and Nama.For thousands of years, the Khoisan peoplesof Southern Africa maintained a nomadic life, the Khoikhoi as pastoralists and the Sanpeople as hunter-gatherers. Around the 14th century, immigrating Bantu people beganto arrive during the Bantu expansion fromcentral Africa.^[20]

From the late 18th century onward, Oorlam people fromCape Colony crossed the Orange River andmoved into the area that today is southern Namibia.^[21] Their encounters with thenomadic Nama tribes were largely peaceful. They received the missionariesaccompanying the Oorlam very well,^[22] grantingthem the right to use waterholes and grazing against an annual payment.^[23] Ontheir way further north, however, the Oorlam encountered clans of the OvaHerero atWindhoek, Gobabis,and Okahandja,who resisted their encroachment. The Nama-Herero War broke out in 1880, withhostilities ebbing only after the German Empire deployedtroops to the contested places and cemented the status quo among the Nama,Oorlam, and Herero.^[24]

In 1878, the Cape of Good Hope,then a British colony, annexed the port of Walvis Bay and the offshore Penguin Islands;these became an integral part of the new Union of South Africa at its creation in1910.

The first Europeans to disembark and explore the region were thePortuguese navigators Diogo Cão in1485^[25] and Bartolomeu Dias in1486, but the Portuguese did not try to claim the area. Like most of theinterior of Sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia was notextensively explored by Europeans until the 19th century. At that time tradersand settlers came principally from Germany and Sweden. In 1870, Finnish missionaries came to the northernpart of Namibia to spread the Lutheran religion amongthe Ovambo and Kavango people.^[26] Inthe late 19th century, Dorsland Trekkers crossedthe area on their way from the Transvaal to Angola. Some of them settledin Namibia instead of continuing their journey.

German rule[edit]

See also: German South West Africa and Herero and Namaqua genocide

Namibia became a German colony in 1884 under Otto von Bismarck toforestall perceived British encroachment and was known as German South West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika).^[27] The Palgrave Commission by the Britishgovernor in Cape Town determined that only the natural deep-water harbour ofWalvis Bay was worth occupying and thus annexed it to the Cape province ofBritish South Africa.

In 1897, a rinderpest epidemic caused massive cattledie-offs of an estimated 95% of cattle in southern and central Namibia. Inresponse the German colonizers set up a veterinary cordon fence known as the Red Line.^[28] In 1907 this fence thenbroadly defined the boundaries for the first Police Zone.^[29]

From 1904 to 1907, the Herero andthe Namaqua took up arms againstruthless German settlers. In a calculated punitive action by the Germansettlers, government officials ordered the extinction of the natives in the OvaHerero and Namaqua genocide. In what hasbeen called the "first genocide of the 20th century",^[30] the Germans systematicallykilled 10,000 Nama (half the population) and approximately 65,000 Herero (about80% of the population).^[31][32] Thesurvivors, when finally released from detention, were subjected to a policy ofdispossession, deportation, forced labour, racial segregation, anddiscrimination in a system that in many ways foreshadowed the apartheid establishedby South Africa in 1948. Most Africans were confined to so-called nativeterritories, which under South African rule after 1949 were turned into"homelands" (Bantustans).Some historians have speculated that the downfall of the Herero in Namibia wasa model for the Nazis in the Holocaust.^[33] Thememory of what happened under German rule has contributed to shape the ethnicidentity in independent Namibia and has kept its significance in today’srelations with Germany.^[34]

The German minister for development aid apologised for theNamibian genocide in 2004. However, the German government distanced itself fromthis apology.^[35] Only in 2021 did the German government acknowledge thegenocide and agreed to pay €1.1 billion over 30 years in community aid.^[36]

South African mandate[edit]

See also: South West Africa

German church and monument to colonists in Windhoek,Namibia.

During World War I, South African troops under General Louis Botha occupied the territory and deposed theGerman colonial administration. The end of the war and the Treaty of Versailles resulted in SouthWest Africa remaining a possession of South Africa, at first as a League of Nations mandate, until 1990.^[37] Themandate system was formed as a compromise between those who advocated for anAllied annexation of former German and Ottoman territories and a propositionput forward by those who wished to grant them to an international trusteeshipuntil they could govern themselves.^[37] Itpermitted the South African government to administer South West Africa untilthat territory's inhabitants were prepared for political self-determination.^[38] SouthAfrica interpreted the mandate as a veiled annexation and made no attempt toprepare South West Africa for future autonomy.^[38]

Hendrik Witbooi (left) and Samuel Maharero (right)were prominent leaders against German colonial rule.

As a result of the Conference onInternational Organization in 1945, the League of Nations wasformally superseded by the United Nations (UN)and former League mandates by a trusteeship system. Article 77 of the United Nations Charter stated that UNtrusteeship "shall apply...to territories now held under mandate";furthermore, it would "be a matter of subsequent agreement as to whichterritories in the foregoing territories will be brought under the trusteeshipsystem and under what terms".^[39] TheUN requested all former League of Nations mandates be surrendered to its Trusteeship Council in anticipation oftheir independence.^[39] SouthAfrica declined to do so and instead requested permission from the UN toformally annex South West Africa, for which it received considerable criticism.^[39] Whenthe UN General Assembly rejected this proposal, South Africa dismissed itsopinion and began solidifying control of the territory.^[39] TheUN General Assembly and Security Council responded by referring the issue tothe International Court of Justice (ICJ),which held a number of discussions on the legality of South African rulebetween 1949 and 1966.^[40]

Map depicting the Police Zone (in tan) and tribal homelands(in red) as they existed in 1978. Self-governing tribal homelands appear as tanwith red stripes.

South Africa began imposing apartheid, itscodified system of racial segregation and discrimination, on South West Africaduring the late 1940s.^[41] BlackSouth West Africans were subject to pass laws,curfews, and a host of residential regulations that restricted their movement.^[41] Developmentwas concentrated in the southern region of the territory adjacent to SouthAfrica, known as the "Police Zone", where most of the majorsettlements and commercial economic activity were located.^[42] Outsidethe Police Zone, indigenous peoples were restricted to theoreticallyself-governing tribalhomelands.^[42]

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the accelerated decolonisation of Africa and mountingpressure on the remaining colonial powers to grant their coloniesself-determination resulted in the formation of nascent nationalist parties inSouth West Africa.^[43] Movementssuch as the South West African National Union (SWANU)and the South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO)advocated for the formal termination of South Africa's mandate and independencefor the territory.^[43] In1966, following the ICJ's controversial ruling that it had no legal standing toconsider the question of South African rule, SWAPO launched an armed insurgencythat escalated into part of a wider regional conflict known as the South African Border War.^[44]

Foreign Observer identification badgeissued during the 1989 Namibian election

In 1971 Namibian contract workers led a general strike against the contract system andin support of independence.^[45] Someof the striking workers would later join SWAPO's PLAN^[46] aspart of the South African Border War.

Independence[edit]

As SWAPO's insurgency intensified, South Africa's case forannexation in the international community continued to decline.^[47] TheUN declared that South Africa had failed in its obligations to ensure the moraland material well-being of South West Africa's indigenous inhabitants, and hadthus disavowed its own mandate.^[48] On12 June 1968, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming that, inaccordance with the desires of its people, South West Africa be renamed Namibia.^[48] United Nations Security Council Resolution 269,adopted in August 1969, declared South Africa's continued occupation of Namibiaillegal.^[48][49] In recognition of thislandmark decision, SWAPO's armed wing was renamed the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN).^[50]

Namibia became one of several flashpoints for Cold War proxyconflicts in southern Africa during the latter years of the PLAN insurgency.^[51] Theinsurgents sought out weapons and sent recruits to the Soviet Union formilitary training.^[52] Asthe PLAN war effort gained momentum, the Soviet Union and other sympatheticstates such as Cuba continued to increase their support, deploying advisers totrain the insurgents directly as well as supplying more weapons and ammunition.^[53] SWAPO'sleadership, dependent on Soviet, Angolan, and Cuban military aid, positionedthe movement firmly within the socialist bloc by 1975.^[54] Thispractical alliance reinforced the external perception of SWAPO as a Sovietproxy, which dominated Cold War rhetoric in South Africa and the United States.^[42] Forits part, the Soviet Union supported SWAPO partly because it viewed SouthAfrica as a regional Western ally.^[55]

South African troops patrol the border region for PLANinsurgents, 1980s.

Growing war weariness and the reduction of tensions between thesuperpowers compelled South Africa, Angola, and Cuba to accede to the Tripartite Accord, under pressure from boththe Soviet Union and the United States.^[56] SouthAfrica accepted Namibian independence in exchange for Cuban military withdrawalfrom the region and an Angolan commitment to cease all aid to PLAN.^[57] PLANand South Africa adopted an informal ceasefire in August 1988, and a United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG)was formed to monitor the Namibian peace process and supervise the return ofrefugees.^[58] Theceasefire was broken after PLAN made a final incursion into the territory,possibly as a result of misunderstanding UNTAG's directives, in March 1989.^[59] Anew ceasefire was later imposed with the condition that the insurgents were tobe confined to their external bases in Angola until they could be disarmed anddemobilised by UNTAG.^[58][60]

South African-occupied South West Africa (1915–1990)and maximum extent of South African and UNITA operations in Angola and Zambiaduring the South African Border War.

By the end of the 11-month transition period, the last SouthAfrican troops had been withdrawn from Namibia, all political prisoners grantedamnesty, racially discriminatory legislation repealed, and 42,000 Namibianrefugees returned to their homes.^[54] Justover 97% of eligible voters participated in the country's first parliamentary elections held under a universal franchise.^[61] TheUnited Nations plan included oversight by foreign election observers in an effortto ensure a freeand fair election. SWAPO won a plurality of seats in the Constituent Assembly with 57% of thepopular vote.^[61] Thisgave the party 41 seats, but not a two-thirds majority, which would haveenabled it to draft the constitution on its own.^[61]

The Namibian Constitution was adopted in February 1990. Itincorporated protection for human rights and compensation for stateexpropriations of private property and established an independent judiciary,legislature, and an executive presidency (the constituent assembly became thenational assembly). The country officially became independent on 21 March 1990.^[62][26] Sam Nujoma wassworn in as the first President of Namibia at a ceremonyattended by Nelson Mandela of South Africa (who hadbeen released from prison the previous month) and representatives from 147countries, including 20 heads of state.^[63] In1994, shortly before the first multiracial elections in South Africa, thatcountry ceded Walvis Bay to Namibia.^[64]

After independence[edit]

Since independence Namibia has completed the transition fromwhite minority apartheid rule to parliamentary democracy. Multiparty democracy was introduced andhas been maintained, with local, regional and national elections held regularly.Several registered political parties are active and represented in the NationalAssembly, although the SWAPO haswon every election since independence.^[65] Thetransition from the 15-year rule of President Nujoma tohis successor Hifikepunye Pohamba in 2005 went smoothly.^[66]

Since independence, the Namibian government has promoted apolicy of national reconciliation. It issued an amnesty for those who fought oneither side during the liberation war. The civil war in Angola spilled over andadversely affected Namibians living in the north of the country. In 1998, Namibia Defence Force (NDF) troops weresent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo as partof a Southern African Development Community (SADC)contingent.

In 1999, the national government quashed a secessionist attemptin the northeastern Caprivi Strip.^[66] The Caprivi conflict wasinitiated by the Caprivi Liberation Army (CLA), a rebel groupled by Mishake Muyongo. It wanted the Caprivi Stripto secede and form its own society.

In December 2014, Prime Minister Hage Geingob,the candidate of ruling SWAPO, won the presidential elections, taking 87% of thevote. His predecessor, President Hifikepunye Pohamba, also of SWAPO, had servedthe maximum two terms allowed by the constitution.^[67] In December 2019, PresidentHage Geingob was re-elected for a second term, taking56.3% of the vote.^[68]

On 4 February 2024, President Hage Geingob died and he wasimmediately succeeded by vice-president Nangolo Mbumba asnew President of Namibia.^[69]

Main article: Geography of Namibia

Sand dunes in the Namib, NamibiaFish River Canyon

At 825,615 km² (318,772 sq mi),^[70] Namibia is the world'sthirty-fourth largest country (after Venezuela). It lies mostly betweenlatitudes 17° and 29°S (a small area is north of 17°), andlongitudes 11° and 26°E.

Being situated between the Namib and the Kalahari deserts,Namibia has the least rainfall of any country in sub-Saharan Africa.^[71]

The Namibian landscape consists generally of five geographicalareas, each with characteristic abioticconditions and vegetation, with some variation within andoverlap between them: the Central Plateau, the Namib, the Great Escarpment, the Bushveld, and the Kalahari Desert.

The Central Plateau runs from north to south, bordered by the Skeleton Coast tothe northwest, the Namib Desert and its coastal plains to the southwest, the Orange River tothe south, and the Kalahari Desert to the east. The Central Plateau is home tothe highest point in Namibia at Königstein elevation 2,606 metres(8,550 ft).^[72]

The Namib is a broad expanse of hyper-arid gravel plains anddunes that stretches along Namibia's entire coastline. It varies between 100and 200 kilometres (60 and 120 mi) in width. Areas within the Namibinclude the Skeleton Coast and the Kaokoveld inthe north and the extensive Namib Sand Sea along the central coast.^[18]

The Great Escarpment swiftly rises to over 2,000 metres(7,000 ft). Average temperatures and temperature ranges increase furtherinland from the cold Atlantic waters, while the lingering coastal fogs slowlydiminish. Although the area is rocky with poorly developed soils, it issignificantly more productive than the Namib Desert. As summer winds are forcedover the Escarpment, moisture is extracted as precipitation.^[73]

The Bushveld is found in north-eastern Namibia along the Angolanborder and in the Caprivi Strip. The area receives a significantly greateramount of precipitation than the rest of the country, averaging around400 mm (16 in) per year. The area is generally flat and the soilssandy, limiting their ability to retain water and support agriculture.^[74]

The Kalahari Desert, an arid region that extends into SouthAfrica and Botswana, is one of Namibia's well-known geographical features. TheKalahari, while popularly known as a desert, has a variety of localisedenvironments, including some verdant and technically non-desert areas. The Succulent Karoo ishome to over 5,000 species of plants, nearly half of them endemic; approximately 10 percent of theworld's succulents arefound in the Karoo.^[75][76] The reason behind this highproductivity and endemism may be the relatively stable nature of precipitation.^[77]

Namibia's Coastal Desert is one of the oldest deserts in theworld. Its sand dunes, created by the strong onshore winds, are the highest inthe world.^[78] Because of the location of theshoreline, at the point where the Atlantic's cold water reaches Africa's hotclimate, often extremely dense fog forms along the coast.^[79] Near the coast there are areaswhere the dune-hummocks are vegetated.^[80] Namibiahas rich coastal and marine resources that remain largely unexplored.^[81] The Caprivi Strip extendseast from the northeastern corner of the country.

Urban settlements[edit]

Main article: List of cities and towns in Namibia

Namibia has 13 cities, governed by municipalities and 26 towns,governed by town councils.^[82][83] The capital Windhoek is by farthe largest urban settlement in Namibia.

Climate[edit]

Köppenclimate types of NamibiaNamibia is primarily a large desert and semi-desertplateau.

Namibia extends from 17°S to 25°S latitude: climatically therange of the sub-Tropical High Pressure Belt. Its overall climate descriptionis arid, descending from the Sub-Humid [mean rain above 500 mm(20 in)] through Semi-Arid [between 300 and 500 mm (12 and20 in)] (embracing most of the waterless Kalahari) and Arid [from 150 to300 mm (6 to 12 in)] (these three regions are inland from the western escarpment) to the Hyper-Arid coastal plain[less than 100 mm (4 in)]. Temperature maxima are limited by theoverall elevation of the entire region: only in the far south, Warmbad forinstance, are maxima above 40 °C (104 °F) recorded.^[85]

Typically the sub-Tropical High Pressure Belt, with frequentclear skies, provides more than 300 days of sunshine per year. It is situatedat the southern edge of the tropics; the Tropic of Capricorn cuts the countryabout in half. The winter (June – August) is generally dry. Both rainyseasons occur in summer: the small rainy season between September and November,and the big one between February and April.^[86] Humidity is low, and average rainfall varies from almost zero in the coastal desert tomore than 600 mm (24 in) in the Caprivi Strip. Rainfall is highlyvariable, and droughts are common.^[87] Inthe summer of 2006/07 the rainfall was recorded far below the annual average.^[88] InMay 2019, Namibia declared a state of emergency in response to the drought,^[89] and extended it by anadditional 6 months in October 2019.^[90]

Weather and climate in the coastal area are dominated by thecold, north-flowing Benguela Current ofthe Atlantic Ocean, which accounts for very low precipitation (50 mm (2 in) peryear or less), frequent dense fog, and overall lower temperatures than in therest of the country.^[87] InWinter, occasionally a condition known as Bergwind (Germanfor "mountain wind") or Oosweer (Afrikaans for"east weather") occurs, a hot dry wind blowing from the inland to thecoast. As the area behind the coast is a desert, these winds can develop intosand storms, leaving sand deposits in the Atlantic Ocean that are visible onsatellite images.^[91]

The Central Plateau and Kalahari areas have wide diurnal temperature ranges of up to 30C(54F).^[87]

Efundja, the annual seasonal flooding of thenorthern parts of the country, often causes not only damage to infrastructurebut loss of life.^[92] The rains that cause thesefloods originate in Angola, flow into Namibia's Cuvelai-Etosha Basin, and fill the oshanas (Oshiwambo:flood plains) there. The worst floods so far occurred in March 2011 anddisplaced 21,000 people.^[93]

Water sources[edit]

Main article: Water supply and sanitation in Namibia

Namibia is the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa and depends largely ongroundwater. With an average rainfall of about 350 mm (14 in) perannum, the highest rainfall occurs in the Caprivi Strip in the northeast (about600 mm (24 in) per annum) and decreases in a westerly and southwesterlydirection to as little as 50 mm (2 in) and less per annum at thecoast. The only perennial rivers are found on the national borders with SouthAfrica, Angola, Zambia, and the short border with Botswana in the CapriviStrip. In the interior of the country, surface water is available only in thesummer months when rivers are in flood after exceptional rainfalls. Otherwise,surface water is restricted to a few large storage dams retaining and dammingup these seasonal floods and their run-off. Where people do not live nearperennial rivers or make use of the storage dams, they are dependent ongroundwater. Even isolated communities and those economic activities locatedfar from good surface water sources, such as mining, agriculture, and tourism,can be supplied from groundwater over nearly 80% of the country.^[94]

More than 100,000 boreholes have been drilled in Namibiaover the past century. One third of these boreholes have been drilled dry.^[95] An aquifer called Ohangwena II, on bothsides of the Angola-Namibia border, was discovered in 2012. It has beenestimated to be capable of supplying a population of 800,000 people in theNorth for 400 years, at the current (2018) rate of consumption.^[96] Expertsestimate that Namibia has 7,720 km³ (1,850 cu mi)of underground water.^[97][98]

According to African Folder, a sewage-to-watertreatment project in Namibia not only provides citizens with safe drinkingwater, but also boosts productivity by 6% per year. All pollutants andimpurities are removed using cutting-edge "multi-barrier" technology,which includes residual chlorination, ozone treatment, and ultra membranefiltration. Strict bio-monitoring methods are also used throughout the processto ensure high-quality, safe drinking water.^[99]

On June 8, 2023, Namibia became the first Southern Africancountry and the eighth country in Africa to accede to the Convention on theProtection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (UNWater Convention).^[100]

Communal Wildlife Conservancies[edit]

Quivertree Forest, Bushveld

Main article: Communal Wildlife Conservancies in Namibia

Namibia is one of few countries in the world to specificallyaddress conservation and protection of natural resources inits constitution.^[101] Article95 states, "The State shall actively promote and maintain the welfare ofthe people by adopting international policies aimed at the following:maintenance of ecosystems,essential ecological processes, and biological diversity of Namibia, andutilisation of living natural resources on a sustainable basis for the benefitof all Namibians, both present and future."^[101]

In 1993, Namibia's newly formed government received funding fromthe United States Agency for International Development (USAID)through its Living in a Finite Environment (LIFE) Project.^[102] The Ministry of Environmentand Tourism, with financial support from organisations such as USAID, Endangered Wildlife Trust, WWF, and Canadian Ambassador's Fund, togetherform a Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) support structure.The project's main goal is to promote sustainable natural resource managementby giving local communities rights to wildlife management and tourism.^[103]

Wildlife[edit]

Main article: Wildlife of Namibia

Namibia has various species of wildlife including the wild dog, dik dik and critically endangered black rhino.There are 200 terrestrial mammal species, 645 bird species and 115 fish species.^[104][105]

Tintenpalast,the centre of Namibia's government

Mainarticles: Politics of Namibia and Elections in Namibia

Namibia is a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic.^[10] The President of Namibia is elected to afive-year term and is both the head of state andthe head of government.^[106] All members of the governmentare individually and collectively responsible to the legislature.^[107][108]

The Constitution of Namibia outlines thefollowing as the organs of the country's government:^[109]

·       Executive: executive power is exercised by the President and the Government.

·       Legislature: Namibia has a bicameral Parliament with the National Assembly as lower house,and the National Council as the upper house.^[110]

·       Judiciary:Namibia has a system of courts that interpret and apply the law in the name ofthe state.

While the constitution envisaged a multi-party system for Namibia'sgovernment, the SWAPO partyhas been dominant since independence in 1990.^[111] According to 2023 V-Dem Democracy indices Namibia is ranked66th electoral democracy worldwide and 8th electoral democracy in Africa.^[112]

Foreign relations[edit]

Main article: Foreign relations of Namibia

Former Namibian President Hage Geingob (inlight grey jacket) with African leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin atthe Russia–Africa Summit in Sochi, 24 October2019

Namibia has a largely independent foreign policy,with persisting affiliations with states that aided the independence struggle,including Cuba.With a small army and a fragile economy, the Namibian government's principalforeign policy concern is developing strengthened ties within the SouthernAfrican region. A member of the Southern African Development Community,Namibia is a vocal advocate for greater regional integration. It became the160th member of the UN on 23 April 1990. On its independence it became the 50thmember of the Commonwealth of Nations.^[113]

Military[edit]

Main article: Namibian Defence Force

In 2023, The Global Firepower Index (GFP) reported thatNamibia's military is ranked as one of the weakestin the world, at 123rd out of 145 countries. Among 34 African countries,Namibia is also poorly ranked at the 28th position.^[114] Despite this, governmentspending for the Ministry of Defence stood at N$5,885 million (a 1.2% decreasefrom the previous financial year).^[115] Withclose to 6 billion Namibian dollars (US$411 million in 2021) the Ministry of Defence receives the fourthhighest amount of money from Government per ministry.

Namibia does not have any enemies in the region, though it has been involved invarious disputes regarding borders and construction plans.^[116]

The Namibian constitution defines the role of themilitary as "defending the territory and national interests."Namibia formed the Namibian Defence Force (NDF), comprisingformer enemies in a 23-year bush war: the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN)and South West African Territorial Force (SWATF). The British formulated the plan forintegrating these forces and began training the NDF, which consists of a smallheadquarters and five battalions.

The United Nations Transitional Assistance Group (UNTAG)'sKenyan infantry battalion remained in Namibia for three months afterindependence to help train the NDF and to stabilise the north. According to the Namibian Defence Ministry, enlistments of bothmen and women will number no more than 7,500.

The chief of the Namibian Defence Force is Air Vice Marshal Martin KambuluPinehas (with effect from 1 April 2020).

In 2017, Namibia signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.^[117]

Administrative divisions[edit]

Main article: Administrative divisions of Namibia

Population density in Namibia byregions (census 2011)

Namibia is divided into 14 regions which are subdivided into 121constituencies. The administrative division of Namibia is tabled by DelimitationCommissions and accepted or declined by the National Assembly. Since state foundation fourDelimitation Commissions have delivered their work, the last one in 2013 underthe chairmanship of Judge Alfred Siboleka.^[118] The most urbanised andeconomically active regions are the Khomas and Erongo region, with Khomas hometo the capital, Windhoek, and Erongo home to Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.