Surface area: 824 292 km2

Inhabitants: 2 millions

Life expectancy: 40.5 year (decreasing because of AIDS)

Population growth: 1.25 %

Unemployment rate: 35 %

Ovambos 50%, Kavangos 9%, Hereros, Namas, Damaras, San people, Coloureds, Basters, Afrikaners, Germans, Portuguese, Englishmen, the remains 41%.

Religion: 80-90% of the population is Christian. The Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Dutch Reformed Church, the Methodist Church. - The pioneers of the Finnish Evangelical Mission arrived in Ovamboland in 1870.

Capital: Windhoek, over 250 000 inhabitants

Economy: stock farming, agriculture in the north (millet, sorghum, maize), deep-sea fishing, mining (diamonds, uranium, copper), tourism. Factories are few in Namibia.

Tourism: About 300 000 tourists trom South Africa and Europe visit Namibia annually. The Etosha National Game Reserve and several small parks. the Namib Desert, the Ruacana and Epupa Falls, the Kunene River, the Kavango River and the Zambezi River in the north and the Orange River in the south. The main roads are good (left hand traffic, several car hire services). Hotels and restaurants are of high standard. Lufthansa and Air Namibia fly from Frankfurt and London several times a week, in addition daily flights from Johannesburg.

Unit of money: (Namibian dollar) N$ 1 is about EUR 0.129. Inflation 8%. The Gross National Product, about EUR 1900, is unevenly divided between the small well-to-do minority and the poor majority.

Independence: Namibia became independent on March 21st, 1990, after a long-drawn-out war. The implementation of the settlement plan (Resolution 435) was overseen by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Martti Ahtisaari. SWAPO won more than half of the seats in the Constituent Assembly and has even increased its support since. Sam Nujoma was elected for the first president of the Republic of Namibia. Until 2004 the president has been Hifikepunye Pohamba.

Development coperation: Namibia is a partner in Finland's bilateral development cooperation. Several citizen organizations, the FELM and the Finn Church Aid, support health, education and economic projects in Namibia.

Embassy of Finland in Namibia
Visiting address: 2 Crohn Street (Corner of Bahnhof Street)
Postal address: PO Box 3649, Windhoek, Namibia
Telephone: +264-61-221355
Fax: +264-61-221349
Home page:www.finland.org.na
E-mail: sanomat.win@formin.fi.

Embassy of Namibia in Stockholm, Sweden
(for Nordic countries)
Ambassador H.E. Mrs Theresia Samaria
Visiting address: Luntmakargatan 86-88, 113 51 Stockholm, Sweden
Postal address: P.O. Box 19151, SE-104 32 Stockholm, Sweden
Telephone: +46-8-442 98 00/05
Fax: +46-8-612 66 55
Homepage:www.embassyofnamibia.se
E-mail: info@embassyofnamibia.se.