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Namibia Swaziland COUNTRY PROFILE 2001 Namibia Swaziland This Country Profile is a reference tool, which provides analysis of historical political, infrastructural and economic trends. It is revised and updated annually. The EIU’s Country Reports analyse current trends and provide a two-year forecast The full publishing schedule for Country Profiles is now available on our website at http://www.eiu.com/schedule The Economist Intelligence Unit 15 Regent St, London SW1Y 4LR United Kingdom The Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit is a specialist publisher serving companies establishing and managing operations across national borders. For over 50 years it has been a source of information on business developments, economic and political trends, government regulations and corporate practice worldwide. The EIU delivers its information in four ways: through our digital portfolio, where our latest analysis is updated daily; through printed subscription products ranging from newsletters to annual reference works; through research reports; and by organising seminars and presentations. The firm is a member of The Economist Group. London New York Hong Kong The Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit 15 Regent St The Economist Building 60/F, Central Plaza London 111 West 57th Street 18 Harbour Road SW1Y 4LR New York Wanchai United Kingdom NY 10019, US Hong Kong Tel: (44.20) 7830 1007 Tel: (1.212) 554 0600 Tel: (852) 2585 3888 Fax: (44.20) 7830 1023 Fax: (1.212) 586 0248 Fax: (852) 2802 7638 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.eiu.com Electronic delivery This publication can be viewed by subscribing online at www.store.eiu.com Reports are also available in various other electronic formats, such as CD-ROM, Lotus Notes, on-line databases and as direct feeds to corporate intranets. For further information, please contact your nearest Economist Intelligence Unit office Copyright © 2001 The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited. All rights reserved. Neither this publication nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited. All information in this report is verified to the best of the author’s and the publisher’s ability. However, the EIU does not accept responsibility for any loss arising from reliance on it. ISSN 1352-0857 Symbols for tables “n/a” means not available; “–” means not applicable Printed and distributed by Patersons Dartford, Questor Trade Park, 151 Avery Way, Dartford, Kent DA1 1JS, UK. Comparative economic indicators, 2000 EIU Country Profile 2001 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2001 1 Contents Namibia 4 Basic data 5 Political background 5 Historical background 10 Constitution and institutions 11 Political forces 14 International relations and defence 16 Resources and infrastructure 16 Population 17 Education and health 20 Natural resources and the environment 21 Transport and communications 23 Energy provision 25 The economy 25 Economic structure 26 Economic policy 30 Economic performance 32 Economic sectors 32 Agriculture and fishing 36 Mining and semi-processing 39 Manufacturing 40 Construction 40 Financial services 42 Other services 43 The external sector 43 Trade in goods 45 Invisibles and the current account 45 Capital flows and foreign debt 47 Foreign reserves and the exchange rate 48 Appendices 48 Regional organisations 48 Sources of information 51 Reference tables 51 Population 52 Transport statistics 52 Port of Walvis Bay traffic 53 Electricity generation and sales 53 Gross domestic product 54 Gross domestic product by expenditure 55 Gross domestic product by sector 56 Government finances 57 Money supply and credit 57 Interest rates 57 Domestic public debt EIU Country Profile 2001 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2001 2 58 Consumer price inflation 58 Cereal production 59 Livestock marketing 59 Fish catch 60 Minerals production 60 Private construction activities 61 Assets and liabilities of deposit money banks 61 Namibian Stock Exchange 62 Tourist accommodation 62 Foreign trade indices 63 Exports of goods and services 64 Imports of goods and services 65 Balance of payments, IMF series 66 Balance of payments, national series 67 External debt 67 Net official development assistance 68 Foreign reserves 68 Exchange rates Swaziland 69 Basic data 70 Political background 70 Historical background 71 Constitution and institution 72 Political forces 73 International relations and defence 74 Resources and infrastructure 74 Population 74 Education and health 75 Natural resources and the environment 75 Transport and communications 76 Energy provision 76 The economy 76 Economic structure 77 Economic policy 78 Economic performance 79 Economic sectors 79 Agriculture and forestry 80 Mining 80 Manufacturing 80 Construction 81 Financial services 81 Other services 82 The external sector 82 Trade in goods 83 Invisibles and the current account 84 Capital flows and foreign debt 85 Foreign reserves and the exchange rate EIU Country Profile 2001 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2001 3 86 Appendices 86 Regional organisations 93 Sources of information 95 Reference tables 95 Population census results 96 Employment 96 Transport and communications 97 Electricity statistics 97 Central government finances 98 Monetary survey 98 Gross domestic product 99 Gross domestic product by expenditure 99 Gross domestic product by sector 99 Consumer prices 100 Agriculture 100 Minerals production 101 Agro-industry 101 Construction, Mbabane and Manzini 101 Swaziland stock exchange, end-Jun 102 Tourism statistics 102 Exports 102 Imports 103 Destination of exports 103 Origin of imports 103 Balance of payments, IMF series 104 Balance of payments, national series 104 External debt 105 Net official development assistance 105 Foreign reserves 105 Exchange rates © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2001 EIU Country Profile 2001 4 Namibia Namibia Basic data Land area 824,269 sq km Population 1.76m (2000 estimate)a Main towns Population in ’000 (2000 estimates) Windhoekb (capital) 230 Ondangwac 70 Oshakatib 60 Walvis Bayb 48 Swakopmunda 30 a Extrapolated from 1991 census. b Municipality figures. c EIU estimate. Climate Semi-arid and subtropical Weather in Windhoek Hottest months, January and February, 17-39°C (daily minimum and (altitude 1,833 metres) maximum); coldest months, June and July, 6-20°C; driest month, July, 1 mm average rainfall; wettest month, January, 350 mm average rainfall Languages English (official), Oshivambo, Afrikaans, Nama/Damara, Herero, German, Lozi, Kwangali and Tswana Measures Metric system Currency Namibia dollar (N$)=100 cents; introduced in September 1993, at par with the South African rand. Average exchange rate in 2000: N$6.94:US$1. Exchange rate on July 16th 2001: N$8.24:US$1 Fiscal year April to March Time 2 hours ahead of GMT Public holidays January 1st, March 21st (Independence Day), Good Friday, Easter Monday, May 1st (Workers’ Day), May 4th (Cassinga Day), Ascension Day, May 25th (Africa Day), August 26th (Heroes’ Day), December 10th (Human Rights Day), December 25th and 26th (Christmas Day and Family Day) EIU Country Profile 2001 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2001 Namibia 5 Political background Namibia is a unitary republic with a multiparty democratic system. The South West Africa Peoples’ Organisation (SWAPO) formed the first internationally recognised Namibian government after winning the UN-supervised pre- independence election in November 1989. SWAPO was re-elected in the parliamentary election in 1994, when it gained a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly (lower house). The SWAPO leader, Sam Nujoma, who had been appointed head of state by the first parliament, was directly elected at the concomitant presidential poll. Although the Namibian constitution stipulates that no individual can hold the presidency for more than two consecutive five-year terms, in 1998 SWAPO used its two-thirds majority in the lower house to enable Mr Nujoma to stand for a third term, on the grounds that he had only served one directly elected term. He was duly re-elected in the December 1999 presidential election with a virtually unchanged share of the vote, and SWAPO slightly increased its majority in the accompanying parliamentary election. The next presidential and legislative elections are scheduled for 2004. Historical background A violent colonial past The four key factors that have shaped contemporary Namibia are its geographical isolation, the small and diverse indigenous population, the violence of the colonial era, and the long independence struggle. The country’s name derives from the Namib Desert, which stretches along most of the coast and deterred systematic colonisation of the interior by Europeans until the 19th century. Germany’s colonisation began following the acquisition of the first land rights by a trader, Adolf Lüderitz, at Angra Pequena (now Lüderitz) in 1883, and a protectorate was proclaimed the following year. The gradual expropriation of land and cattle by settlers eventually provoked an uprising by the Herero and the Nama in 1904-08, which resulted in the decimation of the former. Namibia became commercially useful to Germany with the start of copper and diamond mining and the introduction of karakul sheep from Central Asia, which were farmed for their pelts. After South Africa
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