People of the Cuvelai~Etosha Basin

Oshikango

Oshifo Mahenene Okalongo The great majority of people in the Ruacana Ontoko Ohangwena Eenhana Basin live in a broad zone between

Onesi Endola Okongo Omuthiya, Okahao, Ruacana Oshikuku Number of people and Eenhana. Outside this zone, per square kilometre densities are lower and people live in More than 40 more scattered places. Okahao 31 - 40 21 - 30 The density of people in rural areas Onathinge 15 - 20 Nipele is a consequence of several factors, 10 - 14 sub-basin 6 - 9 in particular: the fertility of soils, Onankali 3 - 5 availability of higher ground that will 1 - 2 not be flooded, and access to fresh Onamatanga Iishana Omuthiya 0 water, public services and towns. sub-basin Uutsathima Throughout the network of iishana channels, homes are spread quite evenly, each household being Olushandja Tsintsabis several hundredRoads metres from its sub-basin neighbours. Main Namutoni District In eastern Ohangwena and Halali Oshikoto, as well as in southern Towns and villages Omusati, all householdsLarge are Okaukuejo clustered into villages around old Tsumeb sub-basin pans where waterSmall is available and there are soils suited to some crops.

On the farms south of Etosha and in southern Oshikoto, most people live at farmsteads which are widely separated from their neighbours.

Population growth since 1876 Population growth between 2000 and 2010 Traditional authority areas 900,000 Ontoko Okalongo Oshikango Eenhana Ruacana Eenhana Ruacana Outapi Okalongo Okongo Onesi Okongo Outapi 800,000 Oshikuku Hei//Kom Ogongo Oshakati Herero Oshakati Density increase Okahao Kwambi 700,000 Ondangwa Okahao from 2000 to 2010 Ondangwa Kwanyama (people per 600,000 Onankali Ndonga square kilometre) Ombalantu Omuthiya 1 - 2 Omuthiya Ombandja 500,000 Onanke Uutsathima 3 - 5 Uutsathima . Ongandjera Oshivelo 6 - 9 Oshivelo .... Uukolonkadhi 400,000 Tsintsabis . .. . 10 - 14 ...... Uukwaluudhi Namutoni ...... 15 - 19 . . . . .Tsintsabis.. . . Etosha National Park ...... 300,000 20 - 29 ...... 30 - 39 ...... Tsumeb ...... 200,000 More than 40 . Okaukuejo ...... Hei//Kom population ...... Tsumeb...... in 1982 100,000 ...... 5 - 20 ...... 30 - 50 ...... 0 ...... 100 - 150 ...... 1876 1887 1898 1920 1928 1951 1970 1980 1991 2001 2010 .. . . . 250 The total population of the Basin was estimated Most growth over the past 10 years has been around Most residents live in one of eight major Owambo tribal to be about 900,000 people in 2010, having Oshakati, Ondangwa and Oshikango and also in the authority areas: Kwanyama, Ndonga, Ombalantu, grown from less than 100,000 in the early emerging towns of Okongo, Eenhana, Oshikuku, Outapi, Ombandja, Ongandjera, Uukolonkadhi, Uukwaluudhi and 20th Century. Over the past 30 years, the Okahao, Tsandi and Onesi. Further from towns, significant Uukwambi. Many Zemba people live close to the Kunene population has grown by about 2.2% each year. numbers of new homesteads have been established south of River, while a mix of people live south of Etosha and in Okahao, near Ruacana and around Onankali and Omuthiya. southern Oshikoto which was traditionally a Hei//Kom area.

The different structures of rural and urban populations Wealth and poverty Oshikango ANGOLA Ontoko Okalongo NAMIBIA Ruacana Eenhana Outapi Oshikuku Okongo Onesi Age Oshakati Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Ogongo ≥85 80-84 Okahao Ondangwa Annual expenditure 75-79 per person in 2010 (N$) 70-74 Onankali 65-69 60-64 Less than 1,000 55-59 Omuthiya 1,000 - 1,250 Onanke 50-54 1,250 - 1,500 45-49 Oshivelo 40-44 1,500 - 1,750 35-39 Tsintsabis 30-34 1,750 - 2,000 25-29 2,000 - 2,250 20-24 15-19 2,250 - 2,500 10-14 2,500 - 2,750 Tsumeb 5-9 2,750 - 3,000 0-4 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 20,000 40,000 60,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 20,000 40,000 60,000 8,000 4,000 0 4,000 8,000 8,000 4,000 0 4,000 8,000 More than 3,000 Rural 1991 Rural 2001 Urban 1991 Urban 2001 Rural populations consist of large numbers of people By contrast, urban areas have great numbers of working- younger than 20 years, and rather few people of working aged people but fewer children and people over 60. In 1991 Levels of wealth vary widely, the wealthiest people being ages in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. Above the age of 25, there were relatively few teenagers but they made up a in the freehold farms and in towns. Most people living in there are many more women than men in rural areas. significant proportion of urban dwellers in 2001. the densely populated zone between Omuthiya, Okahao, Ruacana and Oshikango are significantly wealthier than those in more remote areas. Fertility

Even though the number of people grew between 1991 and 2001, The Basin has a history of ‘boom and there were considerably fewer bust’. During times of plenty, surplus food young children in the population in is harvested and stored in large iigandhi 2001 than in 1991. This was due baskets. However, at other times droughts to a significant decline in fertility. and plagues of locusts and army worms have caused terrible famines. The average number of children born to each woman: The worst recorded famines occurred in 1877/1879, 1907/1908, 1915, 1920 and Region 1991 2001 1929-1931. Some of those famines caused Ohangwena 7.7 5.3 the death of 30-40% of the population. Omusati 5.7 4.0 Oshana 5.6 3.7 This image is of people building dams Oshikoto 6.7 4.6 during the 1929-1931 ‘Famine of the dams’.

This series of 10 posters about 1 The Cuvelai-Etosha Basin Photos: the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin was 2 Overview 5 Rainfall 8 Landscapes Children - Helge Denker; 3 People 6 Groundwater 9 Vegetation compiled in 2011 by RAISON: Famine - National Archives of Namibia. 4 Climate 7 Surface Water 10 Wildlife and Tourism