Politics - Research Africa > South of Africa > Namibia - - Afran Studies - AFRAN Study and Research Institute (Africa & Iran)

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1) Government

Administrative divisions 13 regions; Caprivi, Erongo, Hardap, Karas, Khomas, Kunene, Ohangwena, Okavango, Omaheke, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa
Ambassadors from Finland > Current Finnish Ambassadors > Ambassador	Heikki Tuunanen
Capital city	Windhoek
Capital city > Daylight saving time +1hr, begins first Sunday in September; ends first Sunday in April
Capital city > Geographic coordinates	22 34 S, 17 05 E
Capital city > Name	Windhoek
Capital city > Time difference UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Commonwealth Heads of Government > Current Heads > Head of Government	Nahas Angula
Commonwealth Heads of Government > Current Heads > Title	Prime Minister
Constitution ratified 9 February 1990, effective 12 March 1990
Copyright > Reference	s. 3,
Corruption	4.3	[49th of 160]
countries' copyright length > Usual term of copyright protection 50 pma; photographs 50 pd
Diplomatic representation from the US > Chief of mission Ambassador G. Dennise MATHIEU
Diplomatic representation from the US > Embassy 14 Lossen Street, Windhoek
Diplomatic representation from the US > FAX	[264] (61) 295-8603
Diplomatic representation from the US > Mailing address Private Bag 12029 Ausspannplatz, Windhoek
Diplomatic representation from the US > Telephone	[264] (61) 295-8500
Diplomatic representation in the US > Chancery 1605 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
Diplomatic representation in the US > Chief of mission Ambassador Patrick NANDAGO
Diplomatic representation in the US > FAX	[1] (202) 986-0443
Diplomatic representation in the US > Telephone	[1] (202) 986-0540
Elections > Head of state	Direct election
Executive branch > Cabinet Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly
Executive branch > Chief of state President Hifikepunye POHAMBA (since 21 March 2005)
Executive branch > Election results Hifikepunye POHAMBA elected president; percent of vote - Hifikepunye POHAMBA 76.4%, Den ULENGA 7.3%, Katuutire KAURA 5.1%, Kuaima RIRUAKO 4.2%, Justus GAROEB 3.8%, other 3.2%
Executive branch > Elections president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 15 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2009)
Executive branch > Head of government Prime Minister Nahas ANGULA (since 21 March 2005)
Flag description a wide red stripe edged by narrow white stripes divides the flag diagonally from lower hoist corner to upper fly corner; the upper hoist-side triangle is blue and charged with a yellow, 12-rayed sunburst; the lower fly-side triangle is green
Flag modification	21	[67th of 197]
Foreign relations of Western Sahara > States recognizing the SADR > Date of recognition	June 2, 1990
General government final consumption expenditure > annual % growth	-1.3 %	[104th of 147]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant 2000 US$	1,027,884,000 constant 2000 US$	[75th of 145]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant 2000 US$ (per capita)	506.035 constant 2000 US$ per c	[44th of 146]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant LCU	4667594000
General government final consumption expenditure > current LCU	9131851000
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$	1,436,051,000 $	[87th of 169]
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$ (per $ GDP)	0.234 $ per $1 of GDP	[19th of 184]
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$ (per capita)	706.978 $ per capita	[46th of 184]
Government type	republic
Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom	Alasdair MacDermott
Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom > Resident Heads of Missions > Type	High Commission
Independence 21 March 1990 (from South African mandate)
Independence Day > Date	March 21
International organization participation ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Judicial branch Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission)
Legal origin English
Legal system based on Roman-Dutch law and 1990 constitution; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch bicameral legislature consists of the National Council (26 seats; two members are chosen from each regional council to serve six-year terms) and the National Assembly (72 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Legislative branch > A note the National Council is primarily an advisory body
Legislative branch > Election results National Council - percent of vote by party - SWAPO 89.7%, UDF 4.7%, NUDO 2.8%, DTA 1.9%, other 0.9%; seats by party - SWAPO 24, UDF 1, DTA 1; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - SWAPO 76.1%, COD 7.3%, DTA 5.1%, NUDO 4.2%, UDF 3.6%, RP 1.9%, MAG 0.8%, other 1.0%; seats by party - SWAPO 55, COD 5, DTA 4, NUDO 3, UDF 3, RP 1, MAG 1
Legislative branch > Elections National Council - elections for regional councils to determine members of the National Council held 29-30 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2010); National Assembly - last held 15-16 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2009)
Legislative branch > Note the National Council is primarily an advisory body
Management time dealing with officials > % of management time	2.86 %	[25th of 38]
National holiday Independence Day, 21 March
Parliamentary seats > Female	22%	[15th of 143]
Policy uncertainty > % of managers surveyed ranking this as a major business constraint	0.78 %	[18th of 38]
political parties > Two party	•
Political parties and leaders Congress of Democrats or COD [Ben ULENGA]; Democratic Turnhalle Alliance of Namibia or DTA [Katuutire KAURA]; Monitor Action Group or MAG [Jurie VILJOEN]; National Democratic Movement for Change or NamDMC; National Unity Democratic Organization or NUDO [Kuaima RIRUAKO]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Hidipo HAMUTENYA]; Republican Party or RP [Henk MUDGE]; South West Africa National Union or SWANU [Rihupisa KANDANDO]; South West Africa People's Organization or SWAPO [Hifikepunye POHAMBA]; United Democratic Front or UDF [Justus GAROEB]
Political pressure groups and leaders Earthlife Namibia [Berthchen KOHRS] (environmentalist group); National Society for Human Rights or NSHR; The World Information Services of Energy or WISE (group against nuclear power)
Prime minister	Nahas Angula
Procedures to build a warehouse > number	11	[148th of 168]
Procedures to build a warehouse > number (per capita)	5.415 per 1 million people	[52nd of 170]
Procedures to enforce a contract > number	31	[93rd of 170]
Procedures to enforce a contract > number (per capita)	15.262 per 1 million people	[39th of 171]
Procedures to register property > number	9	[17th of 167]
Procedures to register property > number (per capita)	4,430.765 per 1 billion people	[29th of 167]
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament > %	26.9 %	[29th of 174]
Start-up procedures to register a business > number	10	[61st of 171]
Start-up procedures to register a business > number (per capita)	4.923 per 1 million people	[38th of 171]
Status	pseudo-democracy
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal
Time required to build a warehouse > days	105 days	[150th of 168]
Time required to enforce a contract > days	270 days	[147th of 171]
Time required to register property > days	23 days	[130th of 167]
Time required to start a business > days	95 days	[15th of 171]
Time to resolve insolvency > years	1.5 years	[128th of 151]
Trademarks, nonresidents	1,257	[70th of 99]
Trademarks, nonresidents (per capita)	809.798 per 1 million people	[41st of 146]
Trademarks, residents	57	[83rd of 98]
Trademarks, residents (per capita)	36.721 per 1 million people	[94th of 142]
Transnational Issues > Disputes > International concerns from international experts and local populations over the Okavango Delta ecology in Botswana and human displacement scuttled Namibian plans to construct a hydroelectric dam on Popa Falls along the Angola-Namibia border; managed dispute with South Africa over the location of the boundary in the Orange River; Namibia has supported, and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to, plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river
UN membership date	23 Apr. 1990
United Nations mission http://www.un.int/namibia/na_pgs/pg_1.htm

SOURCES
All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008; Wikipedia: List of Ambassadors from Finland ; CIA World Factbook, 14 June, 2007 ; Wikipedia: Commonwealth Heads of Government ; Wikipedia: List of countries' copyright length ; Transparency International; Wikipedia: Elections by country ; Flagspot; Wikipedia: Foreign relations of Western Sahara ; World Development Indicators database; Wikipedia: Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom ; Wikipedia: Independence Day ; CIA World Factbook, 28 July 2005; CIA World Factbook, December 2003; United Nations World Statistics Pocketbook and Statistical Yearbook; Wikipedia: List of political parties ; Wikipedia: Prime minister ; electionworld.org; Wisconsin High School Model United Nations

ALTERNATIVE NAMES
Namibia, Republic of Namibia

Democracy

Bertelsmann Transformation Index > Management Index 2006	5.98	[32nd of 118]
Bertelsmann Transformation Index > Status Index 2006	7.15	[26th of 119]
Bertelsmann Transformation Index>Political Transformation	7.7	[26th of 119]
Civil and political liberties	4.5	[50th of 140]
Electoral system	party list
Electoral system type	proportional
Female candidacy	1,989	[1st of 161]
Female ministers	11.1%	[67th of 125]
Female parliamentarians	20.4%	[33rd of 157]
Female suffrage	1989
First female parliamentarian	1989 (elected)
Gender Parity Index in primary level enrolment	1.01004407014218	[16th of 183]
Homosexuality laws of the world > Homosexuality laws > Laws against homosexuality	No
Parliamentary elections > Invalid votes	0.9%	[93rd of 110]
Parliamentary elections > Registered voter turnout	62.8%	[106th of 152]
Parliamentary elections > Total vote	541,114	[116th of 154]
Parliamentary elections > Turnout	61.7	[62nd of 117]
Parliamentary elections > Voter registration	861,848	[112nd of 152]
Parliamentary elections > Voting age population	876,828	[121st of 163]
Parliamentary elections > Voting age population (per capita)	431.722 per 1,000 people	[123rd of 162]
Presidential elections > Invalid votes	1.2%	[47th of 61]
Presidential elections > Registered voter turnout	62.1%	[59th of 86]
Presidential elections > Total vote	545,465	[75th of 87]
Presidential elections > Turnout	62.2	[52nd of 82]
Presidential elections > Voter registration	878,869	[75th of 86]
Presidential elections > Voting age population	876,828	[80th of 91]
Presidential elections > Voting age population (per capita)	431.722 per 1,000 people	[61st of 91]

SOURCES
Bertelsmann Transformation Index online, 2006; http://www.bertelsmann-transformation ... /BTI_2006_Ranking_GB.pdf; Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2000-2001, New York: Freedom House, 2001; No comment is being made on the state of democracy. Categorizations are based on the electoral law, or the last competitive election held; IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 1995. Women in Parliaments 1945-1995: A World Statistical Survey. Geneva and IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 2001. Correspondence on year women received the right to vote and to stand for election and year first woman was elected or appointed to parliament. March. Geneva; IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 2001. Correspondence on women in government at the ministerial level. March. Geneva; calculated on the basis of data on parliamentary seats from IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 2002. Parline Database. March 2002; IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 1995. Women in Parliaments 1945-1995: A World Statistical Survey. Geneva and IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 2001. Correspondence on year women received the right to vote and to stand for election and year first woman was elected or appointed to parliament. March. Geneva.; Source: Millennium Development Goals Database | United Nations Statistics Division; Wikipedia: Homosexuality laws of the world ; Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance 2003

ALTERNATIVE NAMES
Namibia, Republic of Namibia

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