Namibia

=__All About Namibia //Geography of Namibia//__=

Namibia is located the southern part of Africa. It is the driest country in the sub-Saharan Africa. Two deserts border the central plateau. The Kalaharito is to east, and the Namib is along the west. The central plateau covers about half of Namibia, reaching to about 3,300 feet high. The Benguela Current is a cold ocean current off the west coast of Africa. Due to the Benguela Current, the coast is usually foggy and cool. Namibia holds one of the largest canyons, The Fish River Canyon. From mid October to November, is the country's shortest rainy season of the year. From January to April is the country's longest season of rain. The rain patterns are unexpected and unpredictable. The bordering countries are Angola, Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa.

//__Statistics and Facts__//
__**Population Growth Rate:**__ 95% __**Net Migration Rate**__:.3 migrants per 1000 people __**Infant Mortality Rate:**__ 46 per 1000 __**GDP per Capital:**__$7,586 __**Capital;**__ Windhoek __**Religion:**__ Christianity, Islam, Unknown, Indeginous, Lutheran __**Inports:**__ food, fuel, capital goods,energy __**Exports:**__ cattle,smaller livestock, fish,sheepskin,diamonds, uranium, copper __**Natual Resources:**__ uranium, copper __**Military Expenditures:**__ 3.7% of GDP __**Sufrage:**__ 18 years of age __**Natural Hazards:**__ long periods of drought
 * __Area:__** 317,816 sq. ft. (33rd)
 * __Population:__** 2,088,669 (144th)
 * __Life Expectancy:__** 51(male) 52(female)
 * __Literacy:__** Male- 87% Female- 84%
 * __Unemployment Rate:__** 5%
 * __Currency:__** Namibian Dollar
 * __Exchange Rate:__**$8.456 billion (2008 est.)
 * __Ethnic Groups:__**Ovambo,Kavango,Caprivians,Herero,Himba,Nama,Damara,Bushmen,Basters,Whites,Blacks, Twsana
 * __Leader of the Country:__** Hifikepunye Pohamba
 * __Languages:__** English, German, Indeginous

__Namibia's Flag__
The Flag was adopted on March 21st 1990. The upper blue triangle symbolizes the sky, ocean, and rain. The lower green triangle symbolizes the land. The two triangles are seperated by a red stripe bordered by two smaller white stripes parallel to the red. The red represents the Namibian people and bravery. The white represents peace. The sun in the upper blue triangle represents life

__Education__
Children of Namibia go to school year round. They have their breaks in May, September, and December through January. To graduate from school, Namibians must pass a difficult exam in 10th and 12th grade. The cost of school can be quite expensive. Most of the professionals have studied abroad__.__

__Government__
The president of Namibia is Hifikepuyne Pohamba. There government is Republic. They have two branches of govenment: the National Assembly and the Natioanl Council. The upper brach is the National Assembly while the lower branch is the National Council. The National Assembly members are elected for five year terms. The National Council members are elected for six year terms.

__Current Environment Issues__
The current environmental issues that are occuring in Namibia are: limited fresh water sources, desertification, wildlife poaching, and land degradation.

Economy
The largest wage employment is to be a government offical. Most Namibians are farmers and fishermen. Tourism is a up and coming growth to the economy.Namibians heavily rely on South Africa's economy.

__Background and History of Namibia__
1884- Southwest Africa (later Namibia) was made a German protectorate 1915- 1916- 1918-
 * 1904-**
 * Germans opened fired on the Herero people. The Herero rebelled, but were defeated.
 * General Lothar von Trotha arrived in SW Africa from Germany to take over from the colonial Governor, Theodor Leutwein
 * Dec 24, German SW Africa abolished the slavery of young children
 * Germany’s South West Africa surrendered to Gen. Botha of the Union of South Africa
 * The beginning of 73 years of occupation [by South Africa]
 * The British declared the 1915 truce between Germany’s SW Africa and the Union of South Africa invalid.

1919- 1959- 1967- 1982- 1989- 1990- 1995- 2005-
 * The League of Nations assigned the colony to South Africa to govern as a "Class A" mandate.
 * Hifikepunye Pohamba and Sam Nujoma of Namibia founded the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO).
 * A 23-year brush war began with the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) rebel movement demanding independence from South Africa.
 * South Africa backed down on a plan to install black rule in neighboring Namibia
 * The South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) ended its rebellion against South African rule
 * UN supervised elections that elected Sam Nujoma as President.
 * A new constitution was written
 * Namibia became an independent nation
 * Namibia separatist rebels for the independence of the Caprivi border
 * Sam Nujoma, president of Namibia, retired

__Culture__
Namibia holds a variey of culture. Namibians greet each other with respect. Men shake hands and women also shake hands but hug and kiss on the cheek with close family and friends. To Namibians, visiting each other is very important even if relatives live far away. Families usually eat three meals a day while using westenized utensils with their right hand. In urban areas, westen housing is normally what you see. These houses have running water and electricity. In rural areas, houses made of common material is still being built today. These are huts made out of tree branched frames and thatched roofs. Most of these huts do not have running water and electricity. As the same as everywhere else, young Namibians usually meet at clubs or dances. The young men usually ask the women to marry them, but the women do occasionally ask. Some Namibian families stick to strict family cultures. The groom has to give the bride's family labola meaning bride price. Rural families normally grow their own crops for food. Urban Namibians buy their food, if they can afford it. The most popular sport is soccer. Other sports are rugby, basketball, volleyball, and track and field. Music often differs by the ethnic group of people. Hip-hop and rap are still a favorite style of music for younger kids. Also, each ethnic group has its own tradtioanl arts.

__Tourism__
Namibia holds the potential for a great vacation trip. There are several activities that you and your family can do. Some of the activities are: capming, caneoing, dining out, dune and sandboarding, ski diving, and visting the beach. Some historical places that you can visit is the Fish River Canyon, one of the world's largest canyons. This place is great for sight-seeing. Othe places you can visit is the Alte Feste Fort, or the Christus Kirch in Windhoek. There are also number of art and museums around the towns of Namibia.

__Current Event__
October 22, 2009- The Namibian

The NAMPower and the Namibia Nature Foundation, (NNF), partnered up to spread the awareness and obtaining knowledge on power lines involving wild animals, mainly birds. They have set up workshops for farmers and land owners that have power lines on their property. They plan on conducting a servey to watch the birds and hopfuls try to relocate birds farther away from the power lines as necessary. They have also came up with ideas to build platforms underneath the power lines for the birds to have their nests safely built under the power lines.

__Works cited__
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