Namibia (2008) | Denmark (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 13 regions; Caprivi, Erongo, Hardap, Karas, Khomas, Kunene, Ohangwena, Okavango, Omaheke, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa | metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 2 boroughs* (amtskommuner, singular - amtskommune); Arhus, Bornholm, Frederiksberg*, Frederiksborg, Fyn, Kobenhavn, Kobenhavn (Copenhagen)*, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkobing, Roskilde, Sonderjylland, Storstrom, Vejle, Vestsjalland, Viborg
note: since 2005 Bornholm may have become a borough; in the future the counties may be replaced by regions; see separate entries for the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are part of the Kingdom of Denmark and are self-governing overseas administrative divisions |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 37.7% (male 390,448/female 383,698)
15-64 years: 58.6% (male 606,239/female 597,512) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 34,926/female 42,257) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 18.8% (male 524,250/female 497,683)
15-64 years: 66.1% (male 1,811,787/female 1,780,907) 65 years and over: 15.1% (male 349,458/female 468,250) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | millet, sorghum, peanuts, grapes; livestock; fish | barley, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets; pork, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 137 (2007) | 97 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 21
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2007) |
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 116
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 72 under 914 m: 20 (2007) |
total: 69
914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 63 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 825,418 sq km
land: 825,418 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 43,094 sq km
land: 42,394 sq km water: 700 sq km note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark (the Jutland Peninsula, and the major islands of Sjaelland and Fyn), but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland |
Area - comparative | slightly more than half the size of Alaska | slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts |
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 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. | Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the general political and economic integration of Europe. It joined NATO in 1949 and the EEC (now the EU) in 1973. However, the country has opted out of certain elements of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), European defense cooperation, and issues concerning certain justice and home affairs. |
Birth rate | 23.52 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 11.36 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.561 billion
expenditures: $2.483 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $136.1 billion
expenditures: $133.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $500 million (2004 est.) |
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 |
Copenhagen |
Climate | desert; hot, dry; rainfall sparse and erratic | temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers |
Coastline | 1,572 km | 7,314 km |
Constitution | ratified 9 February 1990, effective 12 March 1990 | 5 June 1849 adoption of original constitution; a major overhaul of 5 June 1953 allowed for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Namibia
conventional short form: Namibia local long form: Republic of Namibia local short form: Namibia former: German Southwest Africa, South-West Africa |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Denmark
conventional short form: Denmark local long form: Kongeriget Danmark local short form: Danmark |
Death rate | 19.15 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.43 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.429 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $21.7 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador G. Dennise MATHIEU
embassy: 14 Lossen Street, Windhoek mailing address: Private Bag 12029 Ausspannplatz, Windhoek telephone: [264] (61) 295-8500 FAX: [264] (61) 295-8603 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Sally M. LIGHT
embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen mailing address: PSC 73, APO AE 09716 telephone: [45] 35 55 31 44 FAX: [45] 35 43 02 23 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Patrick NANDAGO
chancery: 1605 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 986-0540 FAX: [1] (202) 986-0443 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Friis PETERSEN
chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300 FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470 consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York |
Disputes - international | concerns from international experts and local populations over the Okavango Delta ecology in Botswana and human displacement scuttled Namibian plans to construct a hydroelectric dam on Popa Falls along the Angola-Namibia border; managed dispute with South Africa over the location of the boundary in the Orange River; Namibia has supported, and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to, plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river | Iceland disputes the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm; Faroese continue to study proposals for full independence; uncontested sovereignty dispute with Canada over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.63 billion (1999) |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $123.4 million (2005 est.) | - |
Economy - overview | The economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals for export. Mining accounts for 8% of GDP, but provides more than 50% of foreign exchange earnings. 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 one of the world's most unequal income distributions. The Namibian economy is closely linked to South Africa with the Namibian dollar pegged one-to-one to the South African rand. Increased payments from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) put Namibia's budget into surplus in 2007 for the first time since independence, but SACU payments will decline after 2008 as part of a new revenue sharing formula. Increased fish production and mining of zinc, copper, uranium, and silver spurred growth in 2003-07, but growth in recent years was undercut by poor fish catches and high costs for metal inputs. | This thoroughly modern market economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, a stable currency, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is a net exporter of food and energy and enjoys a comfortable balance of payments surplus. Government objectives include streamlining the bureaucracy and further privatization of state assets. The government has been successful in meeting, and even exceeding, the economic convergence criteria for participating in the third phase (a common European currency) of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), but Denmark has decided not to join 12 other EU members in the euro; even so, the Danish krone remains pegged to the euro. Growth in 2004 was sluggish, yet above the scanty 0.3% of 2003. Because of high GDP per capita, welfare benefits, a low Gini index, and political stability, the Danish people enjoy living standards topped by no other nation. A major long-term issue will be the sharp decline in the ratio of workers to retirees. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.863 billion kWh (2005) | 31.63 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 78 million kWh (2005) | 11.1 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 1.567 billion kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005) | 8.9 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 1.688 billion kWh (2005) | 36.38 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Konigstein 2,606 m |
lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m |
Environment - current issues | very limited natural fresh water resources; desertification; wildlife poaching; land degradation has led to few conservation areas | air pollution, principally from vehicle and power plant emissions; nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes and pesticides |
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 |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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 includes Herero 7%, Damara 7%, Nama 5%, Caprivian 4%, Bushmen 3%, Baster 2%, Tswana 0.5% |
Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali |
Exchange rates | Namibian dollars per US dollar - 7.18 (2007), 6.7649 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003) | Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002), 8.3228 (2001), 8.0831 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Hifikepunye POHAMBA (since 21 March 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Nahas ANGULA (since 21 March 2005) 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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 15 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2009) election results: Hifikepunye POHAMBA elected president; percent of vote - Hifikepunye POHAMBA 76.4%, Den ULENGA 7.3%, Katuutire KAURA 5.1%, Kuaima RIRUAKO 4.2%, Justus GAROEB 3.8%, other 3.2% |
chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972); Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the monarch (born 26 May 1968)
head of government: Prime Minister Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN (since 27 November 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | 332,100 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, copper, gold, zinc, lead, uranium; cattle, processed fish, karakul skins | machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills |
Exports - partners | South Africa 33.4%, US 4% (2006) | Germany 18%, Sweden 13.2%, UK 8.7%, US 5.8%, Netherlands 5.5%, Norway 5.4%, France 5% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | a wide red stripe edged by narrow white stripes divides the flag diagonally from lower hoist corner to upper fly corner; the upper hoist-side triangle is blue and charged with a yellow, 12-rayed sunburst; the lower fly-side triangle is green | red with a white cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side, and that design element of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10.6%
industry: 30.8% services: 58.6% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 2.2%
industry: 25.5% services: 72.3% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $32,200 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.5% (2007 est.) | 2.1% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 S, 17 00 E | 56 00 N, 10 00 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 | controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen |
Highways | - | total: 71,847 km
paved: 71,847 km (including 918 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 64.5% (2003) |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.) |
Imports | 17,580 bbl/day (2004) | 195,000 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs; petroleum products and fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals | machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | South Africa 85.2%, US (2006) | Germany 22.3%, Sweden 13.5%, Netherlands 6.8%, UK 6.1%, France 4.5%, Norway 4.5%, Italy 4.1%, China 4% (2004) |
Independence | 21 March 1990 (from South African mandate) | first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.6% (2007 est.) | 1.7% (2004 est.) |
Industries | meatpacking, fish processing, dairy products; mining (diamonds, lead, zinc, tin, silver, tungsten, uranium, copper) | iron, steel, nonferrous metals, chemicals, food processing, machinery and transportation equipment, textiles and clothing, electronics, construction, furniture and other wood products, shipbuilding and refurbishment, windmills |
Infant mortality rate | total: 47.23 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 51.03 deaths/1,000 live births female: 43.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 4.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.7% (2007 est.) | 1.4% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 80 sq km (2003) | 4,760 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life) |
Labor force | 660,000 (2007 est.) | 2.87 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 47%
industry: 20% services: 33% (1999 est.) |
agriculture 4%, industry 17%, services 79% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 3,936 km
border countries: Angola 1,376 km, Botswana 1,360 km, South Africa 967 km, Zambia 233 km |
total: 68 km
border countries: Germany 68 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.99%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 99% (2005) |
arable land: 54.02%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 45.79% (2001) |
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) | Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language |
Legal system | based on Roman-Dutch law and 1990 constitution | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 29-30 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2010); National Assembly - last held 15-16 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2009) election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - SWAPO 89.7%, UDF 4.7%, NUDO 2.8%, DTA 1.9%, other 0.9%; seats by party - SWAPO 24, UDF 1, DTA 1; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - SWAPO 76.1%, COD 7.3%, DTA 5.1%, NUDO 4.2%, UDF 3.6%, RP 1.9%, MAG 0.8%, other 1.0%; seats by party - SWAPO 55, COD 5, DTA 4, NUDO 3, UDF 3, RP 1, MAG 1 note: the National Council is primarily an advisory body |
unicameral People's Assembly or Folketinget (179 seats, including 2 from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe Islands; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 8 February 2005 (next to be held February 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Party 29%, Social Democrats 25.9%, Danish People's Party 13.2%, Conservative Party 10.3%, Social Liberal Party 9.2%, Socialist People's Party 6%, Unity List 3.4%; seats by party - Liberal Party 52, Social Democrats 47, Danish People's Party 24, Conservative Party 18, Social Liberal Party 17, Socialist People's Party 11, Unity List 6; note - does not include the 2 seats from Greenland and the 2 seats from the Faroe Islands |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 43.11 years
male: 44.39 years female: 41.79 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 77.62 years
male: 75.34 years female: 80.03 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85% male: 86.8% female: 83.5% (2001 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% |
Location | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and South Africa | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany (Jutland); also includes two major islands (Sjaelland and Fyn) |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 2,265 GRT/3,605 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2007) |
total: 287 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,952,473 GRT/9,030,444 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 67, chemical tanker 40, container 79, liquefied gas 10, livestock carrier 2, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 42, petroleum tanker 25, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 8, specialized tanker 4 foreign-owned: 23 (Bahamas 14, France 1, Greece 1, Greenland 1, Norway 2, Sweden 2, UAE 1, Vietnam 1) registered in other countries: 487 (2005) |
Military branches | Namibian Defense Force: Army, Navy, Air Wing (2006) | Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home Guard (Hjemmevaernet) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $3,271.6 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.7% (2006) | 1.5% (2004) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 21 March (1990) | none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June (1849) is generally viewed as the National Day |
Nationality | noun: Namibian(s)
adjective: Namibian |
noun: Dane(s)
adjective: Danish |
Natural hazards | prolonged periods of drought | flooding is a threat in some areas of the country (e.g., parts of Jutland, along the southern coast of the island of Lolland) that are protected from the sea by a system of dikes |
Natural resources | diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, silver, lead, tin, lithium, cadmium, tungsten, zinc, salt, hydropower, fish
note: suspected deposits of oil, coal, and iron ore |
petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, chalk, stone, gravel and sand |
Net migration rate | 0.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 2.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 12 km; gas 3,892 km; oil 455 km; oil/gas/water 2 km; unknown (oil/water) 64 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Congress of Democrats or COD [Ben ULENGA]; Democratic Turnhalle Alliance of Namibia or DTA [Katuutire KAURA]; Monitor Action Group or MAG [Jurie VILJOEN]; National Democratic Movement for Change or NamDMC; National Unity Democratic Organization or NUDO [Kuaima RIRUAKO]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Hidipo HAMUTENYA]; Republican Party or RP [Henk MUDGE]; South West Africa National Union or SWANU [Rihupisa KANDANDO]; South West Africa People's Organization or SWAPO [Hifikepunye POHAMBA]; United Democratic Front or UDF [Justus GAROEB] | Center Democratic Party [Mimi JAKOBSEN]; Christian Democrats (was Christian People's Party) [Marianne KARLSMOSE]; Conservative Party (sometimes known as Conservative People's Party) [Bendt BENDTSEN]; Danish People's Party [Pia KJAERSGAARD]; Liberal Party [Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN]; Social Democratic Party [Helle THORNING-SCHMIDT]; Social Liberal Party (sometimes called the Radical Left) [Marianne JELVED, leader; Soren BALD, chairman]; Socialist People's Party [Villy SOEVNDAL]; Red-Green Unity List (bloc includes Left Socialist Party, Communist Party of Denmark, Socialist Workers' Party) [collective leadership] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 2,055,080
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 2007 est.) |
5,432,335 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | the UNDP's 2005 Human Development Report indicated that 34.9% of the population live on $1 per day and 55.8% live on $2 per day | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.478% (2007 est.) | 0.34% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Aalborg, Aarhus, Asnaesvaerkets, Copenhagen, Elsinore, Ensted, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Frederikshavn, Graasten, Kalundborg, Odense, Roenne |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 39, shortwave 4 (2001) | AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 2,382 km
narrow gauge: 2,382 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
total: 2,628 km
standard gauge: 2,628 km 1.435-m gauge (595 km electrified) (2004) |
Religions | Christian 80% to 90% (Lutheran 50% at least), indigenous beliefs 10% to 20% | Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, Muslim 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.018 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.015 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.827 male(s)/female total population: 1.008 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: good system with a combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity of about 30 per 100 persons
domestic: core fiber-optic network links most centers and connections are now digital; Namibia's first mobile-phone network, launched in 1994, provides coverage to 86 percent of Namibia by area international: country code - 264; fiber-optic cable to South Africa, microwave radio relay link to Botswana, direct links to other neighboring countries; connected to the South African Far East (SAFE) submarine cable through South Africa; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat |
general assessment: excellent telephone and telegraph services
domestic: buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay form trunk network, 4 cellular mobile communications systems international: country code - 45; 18 submarine fiber-optic cables linking Denmark with Canada, Faroe Islands, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and UK; satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 10 Eutelsat, 1 Orion, 1 Inmarsat (Blaavand-Atlantic-East); note - the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) share the Danish earth station and the Eik, Norway, station for worldwide Inmarsat access (1997) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 138,900 (2005) | 3,610,100 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 495,000 (2005) | 4,785,300 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2007) | 26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari Desert in east | low and flat to gently rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | 2.94 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.74 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.3% (2006 est.) | 6.2% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | - | 417 km (2001) |