The Republic of Namibia

Date of Independence: March 21, 1990 Capital: Windhoek Languages: English (official), Afrikaans, German, Oshivambo, Herero, Nama Ethnic groups: Ovimbundu, Mbundu, Bakong, Lunda-Chokwe, Nganguela, Mestico (mixed European and African) Currency: Namibian dollar Major Religion: ChristianityPopulation: 2 million (2005) Main Exports: Diamonds, copper, gold, zinc, lead, uranium, livestock

Namibia is one of the youngest countries in the world, having achieved independence in 1990 after decades under South African rule. Namibia is mostly desert; the Namib desert along the coast and the Kalahari desert in the east are known for their fiery sand dunes, which seem to change colors with the seasons. It is the first country in the world to include the protection of the environment in its constitution.

Khosian-speaking people, the San or the Bushmen, as they are more commonly known, are generally accepted to be the first inhabitants of the area that is today known as Namibia. It was later inhabited during the fourteenth century by the Bantu people, migrating from the South.

Europeans began to explore the region in the 19 th century, and Germany laid claim, declaring it a colony and naming it South West Africa. The discovery of diamonds in the early 20 th century led to an influx of Europeans. As a result, Namibia has the second largest population of whites in sub-Saharan Africa, after South Africa.

After Germany’s defeat during World War I, South Africa annexed the territory, administering it as a League of Nations mandate territory and establishing an all-white congress to lobby for the territory’s incorporation of the South West Africa into South Africa.

In 1960 the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO), led by Sam Nujoma, formed to advocate before the United Nations for the independence of Namibia from South African rule. In 1966 the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 2145 revoking the SA Mandate and in 1968 the territory’s name was changed to Namibia. An armed struggle for independence began in 1966 when fighting broke out between the armed faction of SWAPO, the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia, and South African police. Thus began a guerilla war for independence that lasted 25 years.

The majority of the Namibian population consists of mostly Bantu peoples, mostly of the Ovambo tribe, which forms about half of the population. There are also still large numbers of Khoisan-speaking peoples, descendants of the original inhabitants of Southern Africa. Whites make up about 8% of the population.

Finally there also two smaller groups of people with mixed racial origins, called Coloureds/Griquas and "Basters", who together make up 8% of the population. The term Baster derives from the Dutch word for “mixed race” and are considered a separate ethnic group from the larger Coloured population in South Africa. Basters migrated from South Africa in 1868 in search of land and settled in Rehebok in central Nambia. There they established the Free Republic of Reheboth and developed a constitution, the tenets of which many Baster still follow today. Many Basters continue to seek autonomy for their affairs, and Baster nationalism is represented in the Namibian political process through the Rehoboth Freedom Party.

Sources:

The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, available at : http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/wa.html

Country Profile: Namibia, BBC News, available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1063245.stm

Namibia, MSN Encarta, available at: http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761574992/Namibia.html

Nambia, Wikipedia, available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namibia