Namibia (2004) | West Bank (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 13 regions; Caprivi, Erongo, Hardap, Karas, Khomas, Kunene, Ohangwena, Okavango, Omaheke, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.4% (male 419,700; female 409,156)
15-64 years: 54% (male 527,553; female 528,386) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 30,427; female 38,811) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years:
44.61% (male 478,232; female 454,439) 15-64 years: 51.8% (male 552,661; female 530,230) 65 years and over: 3.59% (male 32,629; female 42,522) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | millet, sorghum, peanuts; livestock; fish | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 136 (2003 est.) | 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 21
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2004 est.) |
total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 115
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 71 under 914 m: 20 (2004 est.) |
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Area | total: 825,418 sq km
land: 825,418 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
Area - comparative | slightly more than half the size of Alaska | slightly smaller than Delaware |
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 was soon named 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 won its independence in 1990 and has been governed by SWAPO since. 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. | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Permanent status is to be determined through direct negotiations, which resumed in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus. An intifadah broke out in September 2000; the resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability in the Palestinian Authority are undermining progress toward a permanent settlement. |
Birth rate | 33.51 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 35.83 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.434 billion
expenditures: $1.62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003) |
revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
Capital | Windhoek | - |
Climate | desert; hot, dry; rainfall sparse and erratic | temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters |
Coastline | 1,572 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | ratified 9 February 1990; effective 12 March 1990 | - |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Namibia
conventional short form: Namibia former: German Southwest Africa, South-West Africa |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: West Bank |
Currency | Namibian dollar (NAD); South African rand (ZAR) | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) |
Death rate | 21.02 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 4.37 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.04 billion (2003 est.) | $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Kevin J. McGUIRE
embassy: Ausplan Building, 14 Lossen Street, Windhoek mailing address: Private Bag 12029 Ausspannplatz, Windhoek telephone: [264] (61) 221601 FAX: [264] (61) 229792 |
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Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Leonard Nangolo IIPUMBU
chancery: 1605 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 986-0540 FAX: [1] (202) 986-0443 |
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Disputes - international | commission established with Botswana to resolve small residual disputes along the Caprivi Strip, including the Situngu marshlands along the Linyanti River; Botswana residents protest Namibia's planned construction of the Okavango hydroelectric dam on Popa Falls; managed dispute with South Africa over the location of the boundary in the Orange River; Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe boundary convergence is not clearly defined or delimited; Angolan rebels and refugees still reside in Namibia | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA $160 million (2000 est.) | $121 million disbursed (includes Gaza Strip) (2000) |
Economy - overview | The economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals for export. Mining accounts for 20% of GDP. Rich alluvial diamond deposits make Namibia a primary source for gem-quality diamonds. Namibia is the fourth-largest exporter of nonfuel minerals in Africa, the world's fifth-largest producer of uranium, and the producer of large quantities of lead, zinc, tin, silver, and tungsten. The mining sector employs only about 3% of the population while about half of the population depends on subsistence agriculture for its livelihood. Namibia normally imports about 50% of its cereal requirements; in drought years food shortages are a major problem in rural areas. A high per capita GDP, relative to the region, hides the great inequality of income distribution; nearly one-third of Namibians had annual incomes of less than $1,400 in constant 1994 dollars, according to a 1993 study. The Namibian economy is closely linked to South Africa with the Namibian dollar pegged to the South African rand. Privatization of several enterprises in coming years may stimulate long-run foreign investment. Mining of zinc, copper, and silver and increased fish production led growth in 2003. | Economic output in the West Bank is governed by the Paris Economic Protocol of April 1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by 36.1% between 1992 and 1996 owing to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe disruption of trade and labor movements. |
Electricity - consumption | 603.1 million kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 578 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | 26.95 million kWh (2001) | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Konigstein 2,606 m |
lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
Environment - current issues | very limited natural fresh water resources; desertification; wildlife poaching; land degradation has led to few conservation areas | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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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 are: Herero 7%, Damara 7%, Nama 5%, Caprivian 4%, Bushmen 3%, Baster 2%, Tswana 0.5% |
Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% |
Exchange rates | Namibian dollars per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999) | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.0810 (December 2000), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Hifikepunye POHAMBA (since November 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Theo-Ben GURIRAB (since 28 August 2002) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 15 November 2004 (next to be held November 2009) election results: Hifikepunye POHAMBA elected president; percent of vote - NA% |
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Exports | NA (2001) | $682 million (includes Gaza Strip) (f.o.b., 1998 est.) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, copper, gold, zinc, lead, uranium; cattle, processed fish, karakul skins | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone |
Exports - partners | EU 79%, US 4% (2001) | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year (since 1 January 1992) |
Flag description | a large blue triangle with a yellow sunburst fills the upper left section and an equal green triangle (solid) fills the lower right section; the triangles are separated by a red stripe that is contrasted by two narrow white-edge borders | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $13.85 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 11.5%
industry: 29.8% services: 58.7% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
9% industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,200 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.3% (2003 est.) | -7.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 S, 17 00 E | 32 00 N, 35 15 E |
Geography - note | first country in the world to incorporate the protection of the environment into its constitution; some 14% of the land is protected, including virtually the entire Namib Desert coastal strip | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 231 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.) |
Highways | total: 66,467 km
paved: 9,172 km unpaved: 57,285 km (2000) |
total:
4,500 km paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km (1997 est.) note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | $2.5 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (c.i.f., 1998 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs; petroleum products and fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals | food, consumer goods, construction materials |
Imports - partners | US 50%, EU 31% (2001) | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip |
Independence | 21 March 1990 (from South African mandate) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | meatpacking, fish processing, dairy products; mining (diamond, lead, zinc, tin, silver, tungsten, uranium, copper) | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers |
Infant mortality rate | total: 69.58 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 72.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 66.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
21.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.3% (2003) | 3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 8 (1999) |
Irrigated land | 70 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission) | - |
Labor force | 760,000 (2003) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 47%, industry 20%, services 33% (1999 est.) | services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996) |
Land boundaries | total: 3,936 km
border countries: Angola 1,376 km, Botswana 1,360 km, South Africa 967 km, Zambia 233 km |
total:
404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.99%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.01% (2001) |
arable land:
27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 32% forests and woodland: 1% other: 40% |
Languages | English 7% (official), Afrikaans common language of most of the population and about 60% of the white population, German 32%, indigenous languages: Oshivambo, Herero, Nama | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
Legal system | based on Roman-Dutch law and 1990 constitution | - |
Legislative branch | bicameral legislature consists of the National Council (26 seats; two members are chosen from each regional council to serve six-year terms) and the National Assembly (72 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: National Council - elections for regional councils, to determine members of the National Council, held 15-16 November 2004 (next to be held November 2009); National Assembly - last held 15-16 November 2004 (next to be held November 2009) election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SWAPO 55, COD 5, DTA 4, UDF 3, MAG 1, other 4 note: the National Council is primarily an advisory body |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: 40.53 years
male: 42.36 years female: 38.64 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
72.28 years male: 70.58 years female: 74.07 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84% male: 84.4% female: 83.7% (2003 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and South Africa | Middle East, west of Jordan |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2004 est.) | - |
Military branches | Namibian Defense Force: Army (including Naval Wing, Air Wing), Police | NA |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $111.6 million (2003) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.5% (2003) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 468,934 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 279,755 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 21 March (1990) | - |
Nationality | noun: Namibian(s)
adjective: Namibian |
noun:
NA adjective: NA |
Natural hazards | prolonged periods of drought | droughts |
Natural resources | diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, lead, tin, lithium, cadmium, zinc, salt, vanadium, natural gas, hydropower, fish
note: suspected deposits of oil, coal, and iron ore |
arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 3.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Congress of Democrats or COD [Ben ULENGA]; Democratic Turnhalle Alliance of Namibia or DTA [Katuutire KAURA, president]; Monitor Action Group or MAG [Kosie PRETORIUS]; South West Africa People's Organization or SWAPO [Sam Shafishuna NUJOMA]; United Democratic Front or UDF [Justus GAROEB] | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | - |
Population | 1,954,033
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 and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.) |
2,090,713 (July 2001 est.)
note: in addition, there are some 176,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and about 173,000 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.25% (2004 est.) | 3.48% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Luderitz, Walvis Bay | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 39, shortwave 4 (2001) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000) |
Radios | - | NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999) |
Railways | total: 2,382 km
narrow gauge: 2,382 km 1.067-m gauge (2003) |
0 km |
Religions | Christian 80% to 90% (Lutheran 50% at least), indigenous beliefs 10% to 20% | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
Telephone system | general assessment: good system; about 6 telephones for each 100 persons
domestic: good urban services; fair rural service; microwave radio relay links major towns; connections to other populated places are by open wire; 100% digital international: country code - 264; fiber-optic cable to South Africa, microwave radio relay link to Botswana, direct links to other neighboring countries; connected to Africa ONE and South African Far East (SAFE) submarine cables through South Africa; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (2002) |
general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank |
Telephones - main lines in use | 127,400 (2003) | 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 223,700 (2003) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 8 (plus about 20 low-power repeaters) (1997) | NA |
Terrain | mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari Desert in east | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east |
Total fertility rate | 4.65 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 4.9 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 35% (1998) | 40% (includes Gaza Strip) (yearend 2000) |
Waterways | - | none |