Namibia Independence Day

People all across the Republic of NAMIBIA are celebrating their country's Independence Day today. Namibia achieved independence from South Africa in 1990. Happy Independence Day!

New Blog Map of Namibia

The new and detailed map of NAMIBIA on the GeoFact of the Day Blog provides locations of cities/towns, major physical features, and country borders. Visit the Namibia post (↗) to enjoy the newest addition to GeoFact of the Day's cartographic collection! To tell me what you think about this map, comment down below or send an email! What country should be the subject of my next map?

A government leader thought Bhutan and Nepal are part of India

The author of GeoFact of the Day would like to thank government leaders and personnel around the world for at least trying to learn more about the world around them. However, one such head of state allegedly mispronounced the names of BHUTAN and NEPAL in an intelligence briefing — but also said something that leaves geography nerds (like me) and international-relations wonks pulling their hair out! According to Politico (↗) based on two sources "with knowledge of the meeting," the U.S. President mispronounced Bhutan as something like "button," while Nepal was pronounced something like "nipple." Unfortunately, no recording of the incident is publicly available as far as I know. This leader also mispronounced NAMIBIA as "Nambia." I get it, sometimes countries have interesting names. When speaking, there is probably at least one countries' name that I am mispronouncing. However, the mispronunciation of Bhutan and Nepal as mentioned above is a far stretch in my opinion, and especially for a leader!

...But there's more (dun dun dun...)! According to John Wolcott's Time report (↗), the U.S. President thought that Bhutan and Nepal were entities within INDIA, rather than the separate and sovereign countries that they really are. OH THE HORROR!!! I have much respect for India, but as a proud geography whiz, hearing that a "world leader" thought Bhutan and Nepal were a part of another country rather than as their own is absolutely heart-wrenching! Nowadays, geographic information is thankfully at the fingertips for everyone with Internet and library access.

We make mistakes, so hopefully he can learn from these geographic mistakes and try better at learning more about other countries. Maybe GeoFact of the Day would be a great place for him to start (hint hint, wink wink), so at least he can sound smarter at his intelligence briefings! It feels strange knowing something that a world leader did not at the time, so maybe I will run for President one day!

Bhutan post (↗) ● Nepal post (↗) ● India post (↗) ● Namibia post (↗)

Flag of the Day: Windhoek, Namibia

Location of Windhoek, the capital of NAMIBIA: Practically right in the center of Namibia in the Region of Khomas. Surrounding towns and cities include Avis, Brakwater, Cimbebasia, Okahanja, Olympia, Otjomuise, and Seeis.

Based on population figures from previous years, GeoFact of the Day estimates the population to be 350,000 in January 2019.

Image above derived from CRW Flags (Flags of the World) (↗)

Namibia is Known for...

●    The Kalahari and Namib Deserts
●    Etosha Pan
●    Desert elephants
●    Caprivi Strip
●    Oktoberfest
●    Being sparsely populated
●    Skeleton Coast

Most items were listed in The Africa Book; the MLA citation is below. What are other "trademarks" of this African country? Feel free to share your thoughts with a comment!

Phillips et al. The Africa Book: A Journey through Every
          Country in the Continent. Lonely Planet, 2007.

— #AfricaWeek —

Namibia Exports

According to the International Trade Statistics at trademap.org, the following items are major exports of NAMIBIA: animal hides, beverages, building stones (granite, marble, etc.), cabbage, carrots, coal, copper, dairy products, diamonds and other gemstones, fruit (especially grapes, melons, and pineapple), gold, grain, iron and steel, jewelry, lead, livestock (especially cattle), machinery, manganese, meat, onions, peppers, petroleum, potatoes and sweet potatoes, salt, seafood, tomatoes, uranium, vehicles, watercraft, and zinc. According to the International Monetary Fund (data.imf.org), countries and territories buying and importing most of those exports (February 2017 statistics) include Switzerland (top importer), South Africa, Botswana, Angola, Canada, South Korea, France, the Bahamas, Germany, Zambia, the United States, Italy, Spain, Democratic Republic of the Congo, China, Israel, Mozambique, Belgium, Zimbabwe, Portugal, and Swaziland.

Namibia Endangered Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for NAMIBIA in Southern Africa lists 1 extinct species (Namibcypris costata crustacean), 13 critically endangered species, and 26 endangered species. Namibia's critically endangered species are as follows: Gazania Thermalis aster flowers, Giant Quiver Tree, Golden Cave Catfish, Hooded Vulture, Hook-Lipped Rhinoceros, Marais' Lace-Winged Katydid, Panicum pearsonii grass (possibly extinct), Sawback Angelshark, Smoothback Angelshark, Tilapia guinasana fish, Tristan Albatross bird, White-Backed Vulture, and White-Headed Vulture. These aforementioned species are endemic and therefore only live in Namibia: Gazania Thermalis, Giant Quiver Tree (also lives in South Africa's Northern Cape province), Golden Cave Catfish (Aigamas Cave), Marais' Lace-Winged Katydid, Panicum pearsonii grass (well, if this grass is still living and not extinct), and Tilapia guinasana fish (Lake Guinas).

Some endangered species include the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, Atlantic Petrel, Bank Cormorant, Cassava Croaker fish, Gray-Headed Albatross, Pollack Whale, Southern Crowned Crane, Steppe Eagle, Violinfish, and Yellow-Nosed Albatross. Species named after Namibia or the Namib Desert include the Herero Chat bird (Namibornis herero), Namib River Bream fish, Namib Round-Eared Elephant Shrew (pretty cute!), Namibian Agile Katydid, Namibian Black-Kneed Katydid, Namibian Clonia Katydid, Namibian Dimorphic Leaf Katydid, and Namibian Long-Eared Bat.

Country Flags with Suns

Various countries have suns on their flags. They are ANTIGUA and BARBUDA, ARGENTINA, KAZAKHSTAN, KIRIBATI, KYRGYZSTAN, MALAWI, NAMIBIA, NEPAL, NORTH MACEDONIA (known as Macedonia or FYROM in 2015), The PHILIPPINES, RWANDA, and URUGUAY. Comprised of a main island and smaller islands, TAIWAN (Republic of China) is not exactly a country but it also has a sun on its flag. The sun on Taiwan's flag is featured in the top-left corner on top of a blue rectangle. The flags of BANGLADESH and JAPAN both feature a central red circle representing the sun. PALAU's yellow circle actually represents the moon!

Atlantic Coast Parks of Angola & Namibia

The countries of ANGOLA and NAMIBIA are located along the Atlantic Ocean coast of Southern Africa, and they protect their coastal land with national parks.

Angola
Located in the southwest corner of Angola, the Iona National Park (Parque Nacional da Iona in Portuguese) is just north of the Cunene River (also called Kunene River) - the horizontal border between Angola and Namibia. Located further north, the other coastal park of Angola is Quiçama National Park (PN da Quiçama). It is south of Angola's capital, Luanda.

Namibia
Skeleton Coast Park is found along the northern half of Namibia's coastline. The Wikipedia page about this area reveals the meaning of the strange name. A whaling industry left bones from whales and seal on the coast. Also, the 'skeletons' of shipwrecks are found along the coast. Lastly, the Namib-Naukluft Park is south of the Skeleton Coast Park. Paralleling the coast, the Namib Desert is part of both parks. Looking at a complete map of Namibia, you would see that most of the country's coastline is protected!

Christianity in Southern Africa

Out of all the countries in Southern Africa, the Kingdom of LESOTHO, MALAWI, and NAMIBIA have the highest percentage of Christians. Anywhere from 80 to 90% of the people in these countries are Christians, while many of the rest believe in indigenous beliefs. There is a small population of believers in other religions. Other Southern African countries with high percentages of Christians include ANGOLA, SOUTH AFRICA, SWAZILAND, and ZAMBIA. Christian missionaries from around the world played a pivotal role in introducing Christianity to Sub-Saharan Africa.

First African Country to Constitutionally Protect Land

NAMIBIA, located in Southern Africa, was the first country in Africa including the need to protect the local environment in its constitution. Around 14% of Namibia's land is reserved, including the coastal areas of the Namib Desert.

Credit: Rosenberg, Matthew T., and Jennifer E. Rosenberg. The Geography Bee Complete Preparation Book. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2002.

Highest Mountain in Namibia

The highest point in NAMIBIA is Brandberg Mountain, which stands at 8,445 feet, or 2574 meters.

Caprivi Strip

The narrow piece of land jutting out from NAMIBIA's northeast corner is named Caprivi Strip. According to The Handy Geography Answer Book, German Chancellor Georg Leo von Caprivi bought that land in 1890 from the British so that Namibia — known as German Southwest Africa at that time — would have access to the Zambezi River.

Source Citation: Tucci, Paul A., and Matthew T. Rosenberg. The Handy Geography Answer Book, Second Edition. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 2009.

Capital of Namibia

The capital of NAMIBIA is Windhoek. To learn more about Namibia, visit my Namibia post!

Namibia

A sparsely-populated country located in southwestern Africa, NAMIBIA has the second lowest population density of all countries in the world. Namibia truly borders four countries: Angola located in the north, Botswana to the east, South Africa to the south and southeast, and Zambia north of the Caprivi Strip (northeastern Namibia). Although a zoomed-out, large-scale map seems to show Namibia directly bordering Zimbabwe to the east, zooming in further reveals a small separation between Namibia and Zimbabwe. This separation between Namibia's easternmost point and Zimbabwe's westernmost point is separated less than 530 meters and 1,738 feet apart. A former German colony known as German South-West Africa, Namibia gained its independence on March 21st, 1990.

● ● ● ● ●  People and Places  ● ● ● ● ●  While about 30 languages are spoken throughout the country, Namibia's sole official language is a non-native language: English. Due to former colonization by Germany, German is still spoken among some residents. Native languages include Afrikaans, Chokwe, Diriku, Fwe, Haillom, Herero, Jul'hoan, Khoekhoe, Kwambi, Kwangali, Kwanyama, Luyana, Nama, Nyemba, Yeyi, and Zemba. The capital and most-populated city is Windhoek. Other Namibian cities and communities include Berseba, Lüderitz, Okahandja, Rehoboth, and Swakopmund. Namibians use the Namibian Dollar, and its ISO 4217 currency code is NAD.

● ● ● ● ●  Land Features  ● ● ● ● ●  Namibia is located east of the South Atlantic Ocean and straddles the Tropic of Capricorn. With its iconic, towering sand dunes, the Namib Desert is situated immediately east of Skeleton Coast off of northwestern Namibia and Diamond Coast off of southwestern Namibia. The Kalahari Desert in eastern Namibia extends into western Botswana and northern South Africa. Standing at 8,550 feet or about 2,606 meters in western Namibia, Brandberg is the country's highest mountain. Also known as the King's Stone, Königstein (or Konigstein) is Brandberg's highest point. No point in Namibia is lower than the Atlantic sea level at zero feet and meters.

I designed and posted the map of Namibia in December 2020.