Namibia

Demographics

Namibia has the 53rd lowest Human Development Index rating in the world

• Population: 2,088,669 (UK: 61 million)
• Birth rate: 23.19/1,000 (UK: 11 births/1,000)
• Life expectancy at birth: 50 (UK: 79 years)
• Population under 15 years: 37% (UK: 17%)
• High infant mortality: more than 1 in 22 die at birth (UK: 1 in 200 die at birth)
• Population below the poverty line: 56%
• HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate: 21.3%(UK: 0.2%)
• Literacy rate: 85% (UK: 99%)

Infrastructure

• Area of the country: 318,696 sq miles (UK: 94,525 sq miles)
• 26,249 miles of roads, but only 3,359 miles of paved roads (UK: 241,104 miles – all paved)
• 137 landing strips of which only 21 are paved

Economy

Namibia’s economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals for export. About half of the population depends on subsistence agriculture for its livelihood.

• 47% of the population employed in agriculture
• Main exports include diamonds, copper, gold, zinc, lead, uranium, cattle, processed fish, karakul skins

Environment
Namibia was the first country in the world to incorporate the protection of the environment into its constitution. Current environmental concerns include:

• Limited natural fresh water resources
• Desertification
• Wildlife poaching
• Land degradation has led to few conservation areas

Climate

The driest African land south of the equator - predominantly arid, semi-desert

• Prolonged periods of drought