Norfolk Island (2005) | Namibia (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 13 regions; Caprivi, Erongo, Hardap, Karas, Khomas, Kunene, Ohangwena, Okavango, Omaheke, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | millet, sorghum, peanuts; livestock; fish |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 136 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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.) |
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.) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 825,418 sq km
land: 825,418 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly more than half the size of Alaska |
Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | 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. |
Birth rate | NA | 33.51 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $1.434 billion
expenditures: $1.62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003) |
Capital | Kingston | Windhoek |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | desert; hot, dry; rainfall sparse and erratic |
Coastline | 32 km | 1,572 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | ratified 9 February 1990; effective 12 March 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
conventional long form: Republic of Namibia
conventional short form: Namibia former: German Southwest Africa, South-West Africa |
Currency | - | Namibian dollar (NAD); South African rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | NA | 21.02 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $1.04 billion (2003 est.) |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | 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 |
Disputes - international | none | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | ODA $160 million (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 603.1 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 578 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 26.95 million kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Konigstein 2,606 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | very limited natural fresh water resources; desertification; wildlife poaching; land degradation has led to few conservation areas |
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 |
Ethnic groups | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | 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% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | Namibian dollars per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
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% |
Exports | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | diamonds, copper, gold, zinc, lead, uranium; cattle, processed fish, karakul skins |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | EU 79%, US 4% (2001) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | 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.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 11.5%
industry: 29.8% services: 58.7% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $7,200 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 3.3% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 22 00 S, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | 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 |
Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
total: 66,467 km
paved: 9,172 km unpaved: 57,285 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | NA | foodstuffs; petroleum products and fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | US 50%, EU 31% (2001) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 21 March 1990 (from South African mandate) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | meatpacking, fish processing, dairy products; mining (diamond, lead, zinc, tin, silver, tungsten, uranium, copper) |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 7.3% (2003) |
International organization participation | UPU | 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 |
Irrigated land | NA | 70 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission) |
Labor force | 1,345 | 760,000 (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | agriculture 47%, industry 20%, services 33% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 3,936 km
border countries: Angola 1,376 km, Botswana 1,360 km, South Africa 967 km, Zambia 233 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 0.99%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.01% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | 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 |
Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | based on Roman-Dutch law and 1990 constitution |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 40.53 years
male: 42.36 years female: 38.64 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84% male: 84.4% female: 83.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and South Africa |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | none (2004 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | - |
Military branches | - | Namibian Defense Force: Army (including Naval Wing, Air Wing), Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $111.6 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.5% (2003) |
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 | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | Independence Day, 21 March (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun: Namibian(s)
adjective: Namibian |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | prolonged periods of drought |
Natural resources | fish | diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, lead, tin, lithium, cadmium, zinc, salt, vanadium, natural gas, hydropower, fish
note: suspected deposits of oil, coal, and iron ore |
Net migration rate | NA | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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 | none | NA |
Population | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 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.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 50% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | 1.25% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | Luderitz, Walvis Bay |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 2, FM 39, shortwave 4 (2001) |
Railways | - | total: 2,382 km
narrow gauge: 2,382 km 1.067-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | Christian 80% to 90% (Lutheran 50% at least), indigenous beliefs 10% to 20% |
Sex ratio | NA | 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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 127,400 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | 223,700 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 8 (plus about 20 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari Desert in east |
Total fertility rate | NA | 4.65 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 35% (1998) |