Namibia: 29 Interesting Facts You Might Not Know

Namibia is one of South Africa’s neighbouring countries. I’ve not visited this country yet, but I would like to someday. The country is bordered to the South by South Africa, to the East by Botswana and to the North by Angola. It’s also one of the youngest democratic countries in Africa.

Here are 29 Interesting Facts about Namibia

1. The first Europeans to disembark and explore the region were the Portuguese navigators Diogo Cão in 1485 and Bartolomeu Dias in 1486 but the region was not claimed by the Portuguese crown. Namibia was not extensively explored by Europeans until the 19th century, when traders and settlers arrived, principally from Germany and Sweden.

2. Namibia became a German colony in 1884, although Walvis Bay (in the Southern part of the colony) was under British rule.

3. South Africa occupied German South West Africa (as it was known back then) during World War I and continued to administrate the region as a “5th province” until 1988. During this period the military wing of the South West African Peoples Organization (SWAPO) started a war for indepedence (in 1966).

4. Transition for Namibian independence started in 1989. The country declared indepence from South Africa on the 21st of March 1990.

5. Walvis Bay was founded at the end of the 18th century as a stopover for sea travel between Cape Town and the Netherlands.  Walvis Bay only became part of Namibia in 1994 when Apartheid ended in South Africa. It’s the second biggest city in Namibia today (with a population of more than 62,000).

6. The country has a population of just over 2.53 million people (according to 2021 estimates). More than 431,000 people live in Windhoek (the capital city of the country).

7. The Namib desert occupies an area of around 80 900 square kilometres (31 200 square miles) stretching for about 1600 km (1000 miles) along the Atlantic Ocean coast of the country.

8. Dune 7 is one of the highest dunes of its kind in the world. It’s located 13 km from Walvis Bay. It has been measured at over 1,256 feet (383 meters). It’s the seventh dune that one encounters after crossing the river Tsauchab – that’s where it gets its name if you were wondering.

9. The Etosha National Park was established under German rule in 1907 and was the largest game reserve in the world when it was established (over 100,000 square kilometres).

10. Frankie Fredericks (Namibian Olympic Silver medalist), Trevor Dodds (International Golfer), Percy Montgomery (Springbok rugby player) and Behati Prinsloo (International Supermodel) were all born in Namibia. Prinsloo appeared in the music video for Maroon 5‘s “Animals”.

11. The name of the country is derived from the Namib desert (which is the the oldest desert in the world). The name “Namib” itself is of Nama origin and means “vast place”. That word for the country was chosen by Mburumba Kerina who originally proposed the name the “Republic of Namib”.

12. Namibia has had three presidents since independence: Sam Nujoma (from 1990 to 2005), Hifikepunye Pohamba (from 2005 to 2015) and Hage Geingob (2015 until present day). All three presidents are members of the ruling party (SWAPO).

13. Windhoek developed rapidly after Jonker Afrikaner, Captain of the Orlam, settled here in 1840. Jonker built a stone church for his community and in the decades following, multiple wars and armed hostilities resulted in the neglect and destruction of the new settlement. Windhoek was founded a second time in 1890 by Imperial German Army Major Curt von François, when the territory was colonised by the German Empire.

14. Football is the most popular sport in the country. Namibia has qaulified for the African Cup of Nations, but has never qualified for a FIFA World Cup. Rugby is also a popular – The Welwitchias (the country’s national team) has competed in seven IRB Rugby World Cup Tournaments (1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023).

15. The Namibian town of Swakopmund is the fourth biggest population centre in Namibia (with a population of more than 44,000). It was founded as the main harbour for German South West Africa in 1892. All harbour operations ceased in 1915. In that year Walvis Bay (then occupied by the Union of South Africa) became the colony’s main harbour.

16. English is the official language of the country, but only 3.4% of the population actually speak English. Oshiwambo is actually the most-spoken language (spoken by 48.9% of the population). Afrikaans (one of the official languages of South Africa) is spoken by 10.4% of the population. German is spoken by less than 1% of the population.

17. Namibia is home to the world’s largest population of free-roaming cheetahs. The are between 2500 and 3000 cheetahs in the country. It’s also the home of the world’s largest population of black rhinos.

18. The list of movies that have been shot in the Namibian desert include Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), 10,000 BC (2008), Flight Of The Phoenix (2004) and The Cell (2000).

19. Namibia’s Skeleton Coast from get its name from the whale and seal bones that once littered the shore from the whaling industry, but in modern times the coast actually harbours the skeletal remains of the shipwrecks caught by offshore rocks and fog. More than 1000 vessels of various sizes litter the coast (which is located on the northern part of the Atlantic coast of Namibia and south of Angola from the Kunene River south to the Swakop River).

20. Namibia is the second least densely populated country in the world (behind Mongolia). The country is twice the size of California, but has a population density of 3 people per square kilmometre (8 people per square mile).

21. Namibia’s Fish River Canyon is located close to the border with South Africa. It’s one of the oldest canyons in the world. Researchers have determined that the canyon was formed at least 500 million years ago through water and wind erosion, coupled with the collapse of the valley floor.

22. When the country was under South African rule, they only used the South African Rand to transact and only started using the Namibian dollar after independence. Currently, both currencies are accepted in the country. This means that if you are doing a safari in South Africa and go into  Namibia, you won’t have to go through the effort of exchanging any currencies.

23. Namibia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, Twyfelfontein, has the largest known concentration of rock engravings in Africa. Over 5,000 individual figures between 2,000 and 6,000 years old have been recorded there.

24. Earth’s largest (non-subglacial) underground lake is hidden beneath the Kalahari Desert in Dragon’s Breath Cave in Namibia. The lake is located at least 100 metres (330 feet) below the surface.

25. Discovered in 1920 near the town of Grootfontein, the Hoba meteorite is the world’s largest. Weighing 54,000kg, it’s thought to have fallen to Earth around 80,000 years ago.

26. Namibia is one of only two countries (Mali being the other) that has desert-adapted elephants. Although not a different subspecies of savannah elephants, they have adapted to the desert environment.

27. Namibia’s current prime minister, Saara Kuugongelwa, is its first female leader and currently the only female leader in Africa.

28. Former US President Donald Trump can’t pronounce the country’s name. In 2017, he twice referred to Namibia as ‘Nambia’, incurring plenty of ridicule online.

29. Namibia inherited a significant amount of Roman-Dutch law from its time under South African administration. Some of these older, archaic laws technically remain on the statute books—such as various colonial-era vagrancy or public order ordinances – even though they are widely considered obsolete and have been superseded by the modern Namibian Constitution, which guarantees fundamental human rights.

Well, there you have it, 29 interesting facts about Namibia. I trust that you learned something today, If you did, feel free to share this post with your friends on social media. Sharing is caring after all.

Watch this space for updates in the Facts category on Running Wolf’s Rant.