Namibia Geography Profile 2009

Location

Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and South Africa

Geographic coordinates

22 00 S, 17 00 E

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 824,292 sq km
land: 823,290 sq km
water: 1,002 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly more than half the size of Alaska

Land boundaries

total: 3,936 km
border countries: Angola 1,376 km, Botswana 1,360 km, South Africa 967 km, Zambia 233 km

Coastline

1,572 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate

desert; hot, dry; rainfall sparse and erratic

Terrain

mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari Desert in east

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Konigstein 2,606 m

Natural resources

diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, silver, lead, tin, lithium, cadmium, tungsten, zinc, salt, hydropower, fish
note: suspected deposits of oil, coal, and iron ore

Land use

arable land: 0.99%
permanent crops: 0.01%
other: 99% (2005)

Irrigated land

80 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources

45.5 cu km (1991)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 0.3 cu km/yr (24%/5%/71%)
per capita: 148 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards

prolonged periods of drought

Environment - current issues

limited natural fresh water resources; desertification; wildlife poaching; land degradation has led to few conservation areas

Environment - international agreements

party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

first country in the world to incorporate the protection of the environment into its constitution; some 14% of the land is protected, including virtually the entire Namib Desert coastal strip