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Namibia is an independent, democratically governed republic that lies on the South -Western coast of Africa and forms part of the Southern African region. The capital city is Windhoek. Other major towns are Tsumeb and Keetmanshoop and the ports of Luderitz Bay and Walvis Bay.
The official language is English but German and Afrikaans and various local languages are also spoken. Namibia has a market based economy. The local currency is the Namibian dollar (N$) which is linked to the South African Rand. (US$ / N$ - current exchange rate). The country has a small but active Stock Exchange established in 1992.
The international time zone for Namibia is GMT +2. The international dialling code for the country is +264. Most of the major European airlines fly to Namibia and Air Namibia is the national airline with three international airports: Hosea Kutako International, Walvis Bay and Keetmanshoop Airports. Air Namibia is looking to privatise over a period of five years with a reduced government stake. The Walvis Bay Port is being developed to achieve greater container capacity. Most visitors to Namibia require visas except nationals of Commonwealth and Scandinavian countries and the USA.
Rennies travel has expanded with a new operation opening in Namibia in 1999. Customers will enjoy links with Thomas Cook and Business Travel International.
Namibia is a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) as well as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). Namibia has signed the Lome IV Convention, thus gaining duty free and quota free access to goods on the European Market and has been added on to the General System of Preferences (GSP) of many countries.
Medical services may require advance payment and can be expensive. Vaccinations may also be required prior to arrival in Namibia and medical insurance should be arranged. The state of health, current immunisation status, location and the local disease situation create the risk of possible contraction of hepatitis A, malaria, and typhoid fever.
Namibia’s chief economic sectors include the extraction and processing of diamonds and the country is the world’s fifth largest producer of uranium. Within the mining sector of the economy, lead, zinc, tin, silver and tungsten are also extracted. Agriculture contributes 10% of the country’s GDP and consists mainly of cattle and sheep-raising. The country’s fishing grounds are some of the world’s richest and fish processing is one of the country’s main industrial activities.
The Namibian economy is one of moderate performance and growth (which has kept pace with regional trends). The country was rated 124th on the Human Development Index in 2003. Unemployment remains high at 35% and it is essential that GDP growth be increased in order to combat this problem. GDP in 2002 amounted to US$ 2.9 billion, made up of agriculture 10%, industry 30.9% and services 59.1%.
Namibia is a member of COMESA, whose main export commodities include copper, cut diamonds, gemstones, granite, lead products, marble, uranium and zinc. The main import commodities include petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, plastic products, rubber, spare parts, textiles and knitwear and timber.
The present foreign exchange control regulations are identical to South Africa's, except that the N$ 200,000 limit per individual to hold fund, in offshore accounts are not available to Namibia residents. There are no restrictions on foreign investors bringing funds into or taking investment capital, interest or dividends out of Namibia, however there is a 10% withholding tax on dividends and no withholding tax on interest. The Namibia Dollar is not legal tender in South Africa. But the Rand and Namibia Dollar are, however, legal tender in Namibia.
As Namibia is a member of the South African Customs Union (SACU), goods are traded openly between the two countries and are free of duties and quotas. Namibia has opened an Export Processing Zone in Walvis Bay.
Namibia's major trading partners are South Africa, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom.
