Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
Independence date
21 March 1990 (from South African mandate)
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
Religions
Christian 80% to 90% (Lutheran 50% at least), indigenous beliefs 10% to 20%
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)
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)
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii
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%
4.060%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
110
Location
Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and South Africa
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Area
824,292 km sq
9,826,675 km sq
Coastline
1,572 km
19,924 km
Climate
desert; hot, dry; rainfall sparse and erratic
mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
