Namibia - Tourism and Travel

The Republic of Namibia is a country in southern Africa, on the Atlantic Coast.

Namibia has an area of 318,261 square miles (824,292 square kilometers).

The Namib desert runs along the coast.

Mountain ranges divide the Namib desert from a plateau in the interior of the country.

The Kalahari desert borders this plateau in the south and in the east.

Iron oxide gives the sand of the Kalahari a unique red color.

The Kalahari Desert is the Earth's largest continuous sand surface.

The Etosha Pan in northern Namibia is one of the world's largest salt flats. Located in the Kalahari Basin, the Etosha Pan was formed as water evaporated over thousands of years. There are lake and river sediments in the region, showing that it was once much wetter.

The Orange River runs through Namibia. It is the only major river in southern Africa that flows west, into the Atlantic Ocean, rather than east, into the Indian Ocean.

The Okavango River runs along the border between Namibia and Angola.

Finger Rock, near Khorixas, in Namibia, is a remnant of a land surface that has been worn down by erosion during the past 5 million years.

Namibia has a hot, dry climate.

In the north, it rains in the summer.

Windhoek is the capital of Namibia.

2,171,000 people live in Namibia.

50% are Ovambo, 9% are Kavango, 8% are Damara and 8% are Herero.

English is the official language. Other languages spoken include Afrikaans, German, Ovambo, Kavango and Bergdama.

90% of the people are Christian and 10% practice traditional religions.

The extraction of minerals, such as diamonds, silver, uranium , lead and and zinc, forms the basis of the economy.

There are large diamond deposits underneath the sands of the Namib desert.

A large percentage of the workforce is involved in fishing and agriculture. Cyclical drought tends to limit farming to extensive pastoralism.

Namibia is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. It has a presidential system of government.

The official currency of Namibia is the Namibian dollar, which equals 100 cents.

Namibia was once a German colony, known as Southwest Africa.

During World War I, the colony of Southwest Africa was occupied by South Africa.

South Africa imposed its system of apartheid on Southwest Africa.

Namibia became independent in 1990.