The Republic of Namibia is a vast, sparsely populated country situated along the south Atlantic coast of Africa between 17 and 29 degrees south of the Equator.
With its surface area of 824,292 km2, Namibia is the 34 th largest country in the world. It stretches for about 1 300 km from south to north and varies from 480 to 930 km in width from west to east.
Namibia, previously known as South West Africa, is bordered by South Africa in the south, Angola and Zambia in the north and Botswana and Zimbabwe in the east. With its surface area of 824,292 km2, Namibia is the 34 th largest country in the world.
The country is demarcated into 13 regions, namely the Caprivi, Kavango, Kunene, Omusati, Ohangwena, Oshana and Oshikoto regions in the north, the Omaheke. Otjozondjupa, Erongo and Khomas Regions in the central areas and the Hardap and Karas regions in the south.
Windhoek is a cosmopolitan city with excellent hotels, restaurants, shops, banks and hospital facilities and houses the three branches of government, namely the executive, legislature and judiciary.
Climate
The Namibian climate varies from arid and semi-arid to subtropical with the generally temperate desert coast offering sometimes fog-ridden days with temperatures between 5° C and 20°C.
Landscape
The Namibian landscape consists generally of five geographical areas, each with characteristic abiotic conditions and vegetation with some variation within and overlap between them: the Central Plateau, the Namib Desert, the Escarpment, the Bushveld, and the Kalahari Desert. Although the climate is generally extremely dry, there are a few exceptions. The cold, north-flowing Benguela current accounts for some of the low precipitatio.
Another feature of many parts of Namibia are isolated mountains that create micro-climates and habitat for organisms not adapted to life in the surrounding desert matrix.
Perennial rivers are found only on the country’s borders, being the Orange River on the southern border and the Kunene, Okavango, Kwando and Zambesi Rivers on the northern border. In the south the Fish River Canyon is one of the wonders of Africa.
Namibian Culture
Namibians are a heterogeneous society of many cultures. The oldest inhabitants, the San, are great storytellers and love music, mimicry and dance. The Nama of the south also have a great oral tradition of poetry and prose and a natural talent for music. Eight Owambo sub-tribes live in Namibia, the largest being the Kwanyama.
