![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/03\/Namibia-on-the-Globe-300x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>The driest country in Sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia has been inhabited since early times by the San<\/a>, Damara<\/a> and Nama<\/a> people. Around the 14th century, immigrating Bantu peoples arrived as part of the Bantu expansion<\/a>. Since then, the Bantu groups, the largest being the Ovambo<\/a>, have dominated the population of the country; since the late 19th century, they have constituted a majority.<\/p>\n In 1878, the Cape of Good Hope<\/a>, then a British colony, annexed the port of Walvis Bay<\/a> and the offshore Penguin Islands<\/a>; these became an integral part of the new Union of South Africa<\/a> at its creation in 1910. In 1884 the German Empire established rule over most of the territory, forming a colony known as German South West Africa<\/a>. It developed farming and infrastructure. Between 1904 and 1908 it perpetrated a genocide against the Herero and Nama people. German rule ended in 1915 with a defeat by South African forces. In 1920, after the end of World War I, the League of Nations mandated administration of the colony to South Africa. As Mandatory power, South Africa imposed its laws, including racial classifications and rules. From 1948, with the National Party elected to power, this included South Africa applying apartheid to what was then known as South West Africa.<\/p>\n In the later 20th century, uprisings and demands for political representation by native African political activists seeking independence resulted in the UN assuming direct responsibility over the territory in 1966, but South Africa maintained de facto rule. In 1973 the UN recognized the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO)<\/a> as the official representative of the Namibian people; the party is dominated by the Ovambo, who are a large plurality in the territory. Following continued guerrilla warfare, South Africa installed an interim administration in Namibia in 1985. Namibia obtained full independence from South Africa in 1990. However, Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands remained under South African control until 1994.<\/p>\n Namibia has a population of 2.6 million people and a stable multi-party parliamentary democracy. Agriculture, tourism and the mining industry \u2013 including mining for gem diamonds, uranium, gold, silver and base metals \u2013 form the basis of its economy, while the manufacturing sector is comparatively small. The large, arid Namib Desert from which the country derived its name has resulted in Namibia being overall one of the least densely populated countries in the world.<\/p>\n The dry lands of Namibia have been inhabited since early times by San, Damara, and Nama. Around the 14th century, immigrating Bantu people began to arrive during the Bantu expansion from central Africa.<\/p>\n Namibia became a German colony in 1884 under Otto von Bismarck<\/a> to forestall perceived British encroachment and was known as German South West Africa (Deutsch-S\u00fcdwestafrika). The Palgrave Commission<\/a> by the British governor in Cape Town determined that only the natural deep-water harbor of Walvis Bay was worth occupying and thus annexed it to the Cape province of British South Africa.<\/p>\n From 1904 to 1907, the Herero<\/a> and the Namaqua took up arms<\/a> against brutal German colonialism. In a calculated punitive action by the German occupiers, government officials ordered extinction of the natives in the OvaHerero and Namaqua genocide<\/a>. In what has been called the “first genocide of the 20th century”, the Germans systematically killed 10,000 Nama (half the population) and approximately 65,000 Herero (about 80% of the population). The survivors, when finally released from detention, were subjected to a policy of dispossession, deportation, forced labor, racial segregation, and discrimination in a system that in many ways anticipated the apartheid established by South Africa in 1948.<\/p>\n Most Africans were confined to so-called native territories, which under South African rule after 1949 were turned into “homelands” (Bantustans<\/a>). The memory of genocide remains relevant to ethnic identity in independent Namibia and to relations with Germany. The German government formally apologised for the Namibian genocide in 2004.<\/p>\n During World War I, South African troops under General Louis Botha<\/a> occupied the territory<\/a> and deposed the German colonial administration. The end of the war and the Treaty of Versailles<\/a> resulted in South West Africa remaining a possession of South Africa as a League of Nations mandate until 1990. The mandate system was formed as a compromise between those who advocated for an Allied annexation of former German and Turkish territories and a proposition put forward by those who wished to grant them to an international trusteeship until they could govern themselves. It permitted the South African government to administer South West Africa until that territory’s inhabitants were prepared for political self-determination. South Africa interpreted the mandate as a veiled annexation and made no attempt to prepare South West Africa for future autonomy.<\/p>\n South Africa began imposing apartheid<\/a>, its codified system of racial segregation and discrimination, on South West Africa during the late 1940s. Black South West Africans were subject to pass laws<\/a>, curfews, and a host of draconian residential regulations that heavily restricted their movement. Development was concentrated in the region of the country immediately adjacent to South Africa, formally called the “Police Zone”, where most of the German colonial era settlements and mines were. Outside the Police Zone, indigenous peoples were restricted to theoretically self-governing tribal homelands.<\/p>\n During the late 1950s and early 1960s, pressure for global decolonization and national self-determination began mounting on the African continent; these factors had a radical impact on South West African nationalism. Early nationalist organizations such as the South West African National Union (SWANU)<\/a> and South West African People’s Organisation (SWAPO)<\/a> made determined attempts to establish indigenous political structures for an independent South West Africa. In 1966, following the ICJ’s controversial ruling that it had no legal standing to consider the question of South African rule, SWAPO launched an armed insurgency that escalated into part of a wider regional conflict known as the South African Border War.<\/p>\n As SWAPO’s insurgency intensified, South Africa’s case for annexation in the international community continued to decline. The UN declared that South Africa had failed in its obligations to ensure the moral and material well-being of South West Africa’s indigenous inhabitants and had thus disavowed its own mandate. On 12 June 1968, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming that, in accordance with the desires of its people, South West Africa be renamed Namibia. United Nations Security Council Resolution 269, adopted in August 1969, declared South Africa’s continued occupation of Namibia illegal. In recognition of this landmark decision, SWAPO’s armed wing was renamed the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN).<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Namibia became one of several flashpoints for Cold War proxy conflicts in southern Africa during the latter years of the PLAN insurgency. The insurgents sought out weapons and sent recruits to the Soviet Union for military training. SWAPO’s political leadership, dependent on military aid from the Soviets, Cuba, and Angola, positioned the movement within the socialist bloc by 1975. This practical alliance reinforced the prevailing perspective of SWAPO as a Soviet proxy, which dominated Cold War ideology in South Africa and the United States. For its part, the Soviet Union supported SWAPO partly because it viewed South Africa as a regional Western ally.<\/p>\n Growing war weariness and the reduction of tensions between the superpowers compelled South Africa, Angola, and Cuba to accede to the Tripartite Accord<\/a>, under pressure from both the Soviet Union and the United States. South Africa accepted Namibian independence in exchange for Cuban military withdrawal from the region and an Angolan commitment to cease all aid to PLAN. PLAN and South Africa adopted an informal ceasefire in August 1988, and a United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG)<\/a> was formed to monitor the Namibian peace process and supervise the return of refugees. The ceasefire was broken after PLAN made a final incursion into the territory, possibly as a result of misunderstanding UNTAG’s directives, in March 1989. A new ceasefire was later imposed with the condition that the insurgents were to be confined to their external bases in Angola until they could be disarmed and demobilized by UNTAG.<\/p>\n By the end of the 11-month transition period, the last South African troops had been withdrawn from Namibia, all political prisoners granted amnesty, racially discriminatory legislation repealed, and 42,000 Namibian refugees returned to their homes. Just over 97% of eligible voters participated in the country’s first parliamentary elections held under a universal franchise. The United Nations plan included oversight by foreign election observers in an effort to ensure a free and fair election. SWAPO won a plurality of seats in the Constituent Assembly with 57% of the popular vote. This gave the party 41 seats, but not a two-thirds majority, which would have enabled it to draft the constitution on its own.<\/p>\n The Namibian Constitution was adopted in February 1990. It incorporated protection for human rights and compensation for state expropriations of private property, and established an independent judiciary, legislature, and an executive presidency (the constituent assembly became the national assembly). The country officially became independent on 21 March 1990. Sam Nujoma<\/a> was sworn in as the first President of Namibia at a ceremony attended by Nelson Mandela of South Africa (who had been released from prison the previous month) and representatives from 147 countries, including 20 heads of state.<\/p>\n In 1994, following the first multiracial elections in South Africa, that country ceded Walvis Bay to Namibia.<\/p>\n Since independence Namibia has completed the transition from white minority apartheid rule to parliamentary democracy. Multiparty democracy was introduced and has been maintained, with local, regional and national elections held regularly. Several registered political parties are active and represented in the National Assembly, although the SWAPO has won every election since independence. The transition from the 15-year rule of President Nujoma to his successor Hifikepunye Pohamba<\/a> in 2005 went smoothly.<\/p>\n Since independence, the Namibian government has promoted a policy of national reconciliation. It issued an amnesty for those who fought on either side during the liberation war. The civil war in Angola spilled over and adversely affected Namibians living in the north of the country. In 1998, Namibia Defence Force (NDF)<\/a> troops were sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo<\/a> as part of a Southern African Development Community (SADC) contingent.<\/p>\n In 1999, the national government quashed a secessionist attempt in the northeastern Caprivi Strip<\/a>. The Caprivi conflict was initiated by the Caprivi Liberation Army (CLA)<\/a>, a rebel group led by Mishake Muyongo<\/a>.<\/p>\n It wanted the Caprivi Strip to secede and form its own society.<\/p>\n At 825,615 km2 (318,772 sq mi), Namibia is the world’s thirty-fourth largest country (after Venezuela).<\/p>\n Being situated between the Namib<\/a> and the Kalahari<\/a> deserts, Namibia has the least rainfall of any country in sub-Saharan Africa.<\/p>\n The Central Plateau runs from north to south, bordered by the Skeleton Coast to the northwest, the Namib Desert and its coastal plains to the southwest, the Orange River to the south, and the Kalahari Desert to the east. The Central Plateau is home to the highest point in Namibia at K\u00f6nigstein elevation 2,606 metres (8,550 ft).<\/p>\n The Namib is a broad expanse of hyper-arid gravel plains and dunes that stretches along Namibia’s entire coastline. It varies between 100 km (60 miles) and 200 km (120 miles) in width. Areas within the Namib include the Skeleton Coast<\/a> and the Kaokoveld<\/a> in the north and the extensive Namib Sand Sea along the central coast.<\/p>\n The Great Escarpment<\/a> swiftly rises to over 2,000 metres (7,000 ft). Average temperatures and temperature ranges increase further inland from the cold Atlantic waters, while the lingering coastal fogs slowly diminish. Although the area is rocky with poorly developed soils, it is significantly more productive than the Namib Desert. As summer winds are forced over the Escarpment, moisture is extracted as precipitation.<\/p>\n The Bushveld<\/a> is found in north-eastern Namibia along the Angolan border and in the Caprivi Strip<\/a>. The area receives a significantly greater amount of precipitation than the rest of the country, averaging around 400 mm (16 in) per year. The area is generally flat and the soils sandy, limiting their ability to retain water and support agriculture.<\/p>\n The Kalahari Desert, an arid region that extends into South Africa and Botswana, is one of Namibia’s well-known geographical features. The Kalahari, while popularly known as a desert, has a variety of localized environments, including some verdant and technically non-desert areas. The Succulent Karoo<\/a> is home to over 5,000 species of plants, nearly half of them endemic; approximately 10 percent of the world’s succulents are found in the Karoo. The reason behind this high productivity and endemism may be the relatively stable nature of precipitation.<\/p>\n Namibia’s Coastal Desert is one of the oldest deserts in the world. Its sand dunes, created by the strong onshore winds, are the highest in the world. Because of the location of the shoreline, at the point where the Atlantic’s cold water reaches Africa’s hot climate, often extremely dense fog forms along the coast. Near the coast there are areas where the dune-hummocks are vegetated. Namibia has rich coastal and marine resources that remain largely unexplored.<\/p>\n Namibia’s economy is tied closely to South Africa\u2019s due to their shared history. The largest economic sectors are mining (10.4% of the gross domestic product in 2009), agriculture (5.0%), manufacturing (13.5%), and tourism.<\/p>\n Namibia has a highly developed banking sector with modern infrastructure, such as online banking and cellphone banking. The Bank of Namibia<\/a> (BoN) is the central bank of Namibia responsible for performing all other functions ordinarily performed by a central bank. There are 5 BoN authorised commercial banks in Namibia: Bank Windhoek, First National Bank, Nedbank, Standard Bank and Small and Medium Enterprises Bank.<\/p>\n The cost of living in Namibia is relatively high because most goods, including cereals, need to be imported.<\/p>\n Namibia’s road network is regarded as one of the best on the continent; road construction and maintenance adheres to international standards. The country’s 48,875.27 km roads (2017) are administered by the Roads Authority, a state-owned enterprise established by Act #17 of 1999. Due to low traffic volumes the majority of roads are not tarred.<\/p>\n Rail transport in Namibia is operated on a 2,687-kilometre network by TransNamib<\/a>.<\/p>\n Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport<\/a> is the main international airport in the country. Two others international airports are Walvis Bay Airport<\/a> and Eros Airport<\/a> in Windhoek.<\/p>\n The flag of Namibia was adopted on 21 March 1990 upon independence from South Africa.<\/p>\n The National Symbols Sub-Committee received 870 entries for the national flag. Six designs were short-listed; this was reduced to three, those of three Namibians \u2013 Theo Jankowski of Rehoboth<\/a>, Don Stevenson of Windhoek<\/a> and Ortrud Clay of L\u00fcderitz<\/a>. These three designs were combined to form the Namibia national flag, adopted unanimously on 2 February 1990 by the Constituent Assembly. The three designers were publicly acknowledged by judge Hans Berker<\/a>, the chairman of the subcommittee, at the unveiling ceremony on 9 March 1990.<\/p>\n However, two other claims were made \u2013 South African Frederick Brownell<\/a> claimed that he had designed the flag in his role as South African State Herald. The other claimant was Briton Roy Allen, who claimed that the flag design was the result of a competition run by Hannes Smith<\/a> of the Windhoek Observer<\/a>, and that he had won.<\/p>\n The chairman explained the symbolism of the flag’s colors as follows:<\/p>\n Red \u2013 represents Namibia’s most important resource, its people. It refers to their heroism and their determination to build a future of equal opportunity for all. The chairman explained the symbolism of the flag’s colors as follows:<\/p>\n Red \u2013 represents Namibia’s most important resource, its people. It refers to their heroism and their determination to build a future of equal opportunity for all.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/03\/SWAPO-Sticker-300x199.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>History:<\/h2>\n
Pre-Colonial Period:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/03\/San-Woman-and-Children-300x202.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>German Rule:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/03\/German-Church-and-Monument-to-Colonists-in-Windhoek-Namibia.-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/03\/Map-of-Former-Bantustans-of-SW-Africa-300x188.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>South African Mandate:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/03\/Louis-Botha.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/03\/Apartheid-Sign-300x275.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Independence:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/03\/PLAN-Unit-in-Angola-251x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/03\/South-African-Troops-Patrol-for-PLAN-Insurgents-300x241.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/03\/Sam-Nujoma-191x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>After Independence:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/03\/Hifikepunye-Pohamba-193x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/03\/Albert-Mishake-Muyongo-225x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Geography:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/03\/Shaded-Relief-Map-of-Namibia-300x270.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/03\/Sand-Dunes-of-the-Namib-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Economy:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/03\/Treemap-Namibia-Exports-300x234.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Transportation:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/03\/Road-Map-of-Namibia-300x259.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/03\/Namibia-Rail-Network-231x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Flag of Namibia:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/03\/Flag-of-Namibia-300x200.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>
\nWhite \u2013 represents peace and unity.
\nGreen \u2013 symbolizes vegetation and agricultural resources.
\nBlue \u2013 represents the clear Namibian sky and the Atlantic Ocean, the country’s precious water resources and rain.
\nGolden-yellow sun \u2013 life and energy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nWhite \u2013 represents peace and unity.
\nGreen \u2013 symbolises vegetation and agricultural resources.
\nBlue \u2013 represents the clear Namibian sky and the Atlantic Ocean, the country’s precious water resources and rain.
\nGolden-yellow sun \u2013 life and energy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7733,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[19,66,59,5,6,7,20,60],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7582"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7582\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}