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| Country | Namibia | | | Flag |  | | | Capital | name: Windhoek geographic coordinates: 22 34 S, 17 05 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in September; ends first Sunday in April | | | Population | 2,108,665 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2009 est.) | | | GMT | +2 | | | Location | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and South Africa
see map | | | Area | total: 825,418 sq km land: 825,418 sq km water: 0 sq km | | | Ethnic groups | black 87.5%, white 6%, mixed 6.5% note: about 50% of the population belong to the Ovambo tribe and 9% to the Kavangos tribe; other ethnic groups include Herero 7%, Damara 7%, Nama 5%, Caprivian 4%, Bushmen 3%, Baster 2%, Tswana 0.5% | | | Religions | Christian 80% to 90% (Lutheran 50% at least), indigenous beliefs 10% to 20% | | | Languages | English 7% (official), Afrikaans common language of most of the population and about 60% of the white population, German 32%, indigenous languages 1% (includes Oshivambo, Herero, Nama) | | | Government type | republic | | | National holiday | Independence Day, 21 March (1990) | | | Constitution | ratified 9 February 1990, effective 12 March 1990 | | | Legal system | based on Roman-Dutch law and 1990 constitution; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | | | Background | South Africa occupied the German colony of South-West Africa during World War I and administered it as a mandate until after World War II, when it annexed the territory. In 1966 the Marxist South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) guerrilla group launched a war of independence for the area that became Namibia, but it was not until 1988 that South Africa agreed to end its administration in accordance with a UN peace plan for the entire region. Namibia has been governed by SWAPO since the country won independence in 1990. Hifikepunye POHAMBA was elected president in November 2004 in a landslide victory replacing Sam NUJOMA who led the country during its first 14 years of self rule. | | Internet country code | .na | |
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