Namibia Location:
22°33'S, 17°15'E
Namibia Geography:
At 318,696 mi2 (825,418 km2[2]), Namibia is the world's thirty-fourth largest country (after Venezuela). It is comparable in size to Pakistan, and is about half the size of the US state of Alaska. After Mongolia, Namibia is the least densely populated country in the world (2.5 persons per km2).
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 precipitation.
The Central Plateau runs from north to south, bordered by the Skeleton Coast to the northwest, the Namib Desert and its coastal plains to the southwest, the Orange River to the south, and the Kalahari Desert to the east. The Central Plateau is home to the highest point in Namibia at Königstein elevation 2,606 metres (8,411 feet)[4]. Within the wide, flat Central Plateau is the majority of Namibia’s population and economic activity. Windhoek, the nation’s capital, is located here, as well as most of the arable land. Although arable land accounts for only 1% of Namibia, nearly half of the population is employed in agriculture[5]. The abiotic conditions here are similar to those found along the Escarpment, described below; however the topographic complexity is reduced. Summer temperatures in the area can reach 40° C during the summer, and in the winter, frosts are common.
The Namib Desert is a broad expanse of hyper-arid gravel plains and dunes that stretches along the entire coastline, which varies in width between 100 to many hundreds of kilometers. Areas within the Namib include the Skeleton Coast and the Kaokoveld in the north and the extensive Namib Sand Sea along the central coast[7]. The sands that make up the sand sea are a consequence of erosional processes that take place within the Orange River valley and areas further to the south. As sand-laden waters drop their suspended loads into the Atlantic, onshore currents deposit them along the shore. The prevailing southwest winds then pick up and redeposit the sand in the form of massive dunes in the widespread sand sea. In areas where the supply of sand is reduced because of the inability of the sand to cross riverbeds, the winds also scour the land to form large gravel plains. In many areas within the Namib Desert, there is little vegetation with the exception of lichens found in the gravel plains, and in dry river beds where plants can access subterranean water.
Namibia People:
Population
- July 2005 estimate 2,031,0002 (144th)
- 2002 census 1,820,916
- Density 2.5 /km2 (225th)
6.5 /sq mi
Namibia Government:
Government Republic
- President Hifikepunye Pohamba
- Prime minister Nahas Angula
Namibia Economy:
Namibia’s economy consists primarily of mining and manufacturing which represent 74% and 11% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) respectively. Namibia has a 30-40% unemployment rate and recently passed a 2004 labor act to protect people from job discrimination stemming from pregnancy and HIV/AIDS status. Namibia’s economy is tied closely to South Africa’s due to their shared history [11][12]. The Central Plateau serves as a transportation corridor from the more densely populated north to South Africa, the source of four-fifths of Namibia’s imports[5]. Namibia is the fourth largest exporter of non-fuel minerals in Africa, and the world's fifth largest producer of uranium. Rich alluvial diamond deposits make Namibia a primary source for gem-quality diamonds. Namibia also produces large quantities of lead, zinc, tin, silver, and tungsten. About half of the population depends on agriculture (largely subsistence agriculture) for its livelihood, but Namibia must still import some of its food. Although per capita GDP is five times the per capita GDP of Africa's poorest countries, the majority of Namibia's people live in pronounced poverty because of large-scale unemployment. Namibia has one of the highest rates of income inequality in the world. Agreement has been reached on the privatisation of several more enterprises in coming years, which should stimulate long-run foreign investment. However, reinvestment of environmentally derived capital has hobbled Namibian per capita income [13]. One of the fastest growing areas of economic development in Namibia is the growth of wildlife conservancies. These conservancies are particularly important to the rural generally unemployed population.
Child labour occurs in Namibia, and the country is in the process of formulating an Action Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, which is expected to be adopted in the period 2006-2007. For more information, see this article.
Namibia More Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namibia | 
