transitional government note: following a successful referendum on independence for the Autonomous Region of Eritrea on 23-25 April 1993, a National Assembly, composed entirely of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, was established as a transitional legislature; a Constitutional Commission was also established to draft a constitution; ISAIAS Afworki was elected president by the transitional legislature; the constitution, ratified in May 1997, did not enter into effect, pending parliamentary and presidential elections; parliamentary elections were scheduled in December 2001, but were postponed indefinitely; currently the sole legal party is the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ)
Independence date
21 March 1990 (from South African mandate)
Religions
Christian 80% to 90% (Lutheran 50% at least), indigenous beliefs 10% to 20%
Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
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)
Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
Namibian dollars (NAD) per US dollar - 7.75 (2008 est.), 7.18 (2007), 6.7649 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
3.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and South Africa
Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Area
824,292 km sq
117,600 km sq
Coastline
1,572 km
2,234 km
Climate
desert; hot, dry; rainfall sparse and erratic
hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually, heaviest June to September); semiarid in western hills and lowlands
