Population
Namibia has an estimated 2.2 million inhabitants. The overall population growth rate is 0.947 percent, according to recent estimates. Urban population growth has been significant -- around 5 percent annually.
Ethnicity
Today, the population of Namibia has five major ethnic groups: the Ovambo, Kavango, Damara, Herero and descendants of Europeans. The Ovambo and Kavango groups together constitute close to 60 percent of the total population. The Herero and the Damara each account for about 7 percent of the population. Europeans make up about 6 percent of which only 25 percent claim German ancestry and almost 75 percent are of South African descent. There is also a minority of people of mixed ethnic ancestry numbering about 7 percent. Various other African groups account for the remainder.
Language
The official language is English, but Oshivambo, Nama, Herero, Afrikaans and German are also spoken.
Religion
Most Namibians today classify themselves as Christian but many also follow indigenous religious practices.
Literacy
The literacy rate in Namibia is higher than many other African countries at 84 percent of the total population. About 6.4 percent of GDP is spent on educational expenditures.
Health and Welfare
Life expectancy rates, however, are low. Namibians currently have an average life expectancy at birth of close to 50 years of age, according to recent estimates. The infant mortality rate is 45.64 deaths per 1,000 live births. Meanwhile, HIV/AIDS currently afflicts an estimated 21.3 percent of the population. It is believed that the high rate of HIV/AIDS likely contributes to the low life expectancy rates.
About 5.9 percent of GDP in this country is spent on health expenditures.
Human Development
One notable indicator used to measure a country's quality of life is the Human Development Index (HDI), which is compiled annually since 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country's achievements in three main areas of human development: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. In a ranking of 169 countries, the HDI places Namibia in the medium human development category, at 105th place. Note: Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.
Written by Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman, Editor in Chief at www.countrywatch.com. See Bibliography for list of research sources.