Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean, sharing land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. Although it does not border Zimbabwe, less than 200 metres of the Botswanan right bank of the Zambezi River separates the two countries. Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and the Commonwealth of Nations.
The economy of Namibia has a modern market sector, which produces most of the country's wealth, and a traditional subsistence sector. Although the majority of the population engages in subsistence agriculture and herding, Namibia has more than 200,000 skilled workers and a considerable number of well-trained professionals and managerials.
Walvis Bay is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The city covers a total area of 29 square kilometres (11 sq mi) of land.
South West Africa was the name for modern-day Namibia when it was under South African administration, from 1915 to 1990. It borders with Angola, Botswana, South Africa, and Zambia.
The history of Namibia has passed through several distinct stages from being colonised in the late nineteenth century to Namibia's independence on 21 March 1990.
Windhoek is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 2020 was 431,000 which is growing continually due to an influx from all over Namibia.
The South West Africa People’s Organisation, officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia. Founded in 1960, it has been the governing party in Namibia since the country achieved independence in 1990. The party continues to be dominated in number and influence by the Ovambo ethnic group.
The Namibia national rugby union team represents Namibia in men's international rugby union competitions nicknamed the Welwitschias, are a tier-two nation in the World Rugby tier system, and have participated in five Rugby World Cup competitions since their first appearance in 1999. They are governed by the Namibia Rugby Union.
The president of the Republic of Namibia is the head of state and the head of government of Namibia, as well as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, according to the Constitution of Namibia.
The Namibia national football team represents Namibia in men's international football and is controlled by the Namibia Football Association. They have never qualified for the FIFA World Cups but have made three appearances in the Africa Cup of Nations. The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Hage Gottfried Geingob is a Namibian politician, serving as the third president of Namibia since 21 March 2015. Geingob was the first Prime Minister of Namibia from 1990 to 2002, and served as prime minister again from 2012 to 2015. Between 2008 and 2012 Geingob served as Minister of Trade and Industry. He is also the current president of the ruling SWAPO Party since his election to the position in November 2017.
The Namibian is the largest daily newspaper in Namibia. It is published in English and a section in Oshiwambo on Fridays.
The Ovambo language is a dialect cluster spoken by the Ovambo people in southern Angola and northern Namibia, of which the written standards are Kwanyama and Ndonga.
The Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), formerly known as Polytechnic of Namibia, is a public university located in the city of Windhoek, Namibia. Andrew Niikondo is its acting vice-chancellor. NUST was headed by the founding vice-chancellor Tjama Tjivikua until March 2019. After two acting appointments, Erold Naomab was appointed vice-chancellor in January 2021. The largely ceremonial role of chancellor of the university is held by Peter Katjavivi.
Miss Namibia is a national beauty pageant in Namibia.
The Government of Namibia allows citizens of specific countries and territories to travel to Namibia for tourism, visiting friends and relatives as well as official purposes for three months with an ordinary, diplomatic and service passports without having to obtain a visa. All visitors must hold a passport valid for 6 months.
The Namibia national cricket team, nicknamed the Eagles, is the men's team that represents the Republic of Namibia in international cricket. It is organised by Cricket Namibia which became an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1992.
The Namibian Marines Corps is the Naval Infantry of the Republic of Namibia and is part of the Namibian Navy and the Namibian Defence Force.
The Military ranks of Namibia are the military insignia used by the Namibian Defence Force. Being a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, Namibia shares a rank structure similar to that of both the United Kingdom and South Africa.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Namibia is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, announced on 14 March 2020 that the virus had reached Namibia. A Romanian couple constituted the two first cases and recovered 79 days after their initial diagnosis.