PR TIMES AFRICA PRTimesAfrica (March 2016) | Page 73

NAMIBIA:
A GEM THAT IS INDEED
WORTH INVESTING IN
The Republic of Namibia (formerly German
South West Africa and later South West Afri-
ca) gained independence on March, 21st 1990
from South Africa. Namibia (whose name is
derived from the Namib Desert, considered to
be the oldest desert in the world) is bordered
on the west by the Atlantic Ocean while it has
land borders with Zambia and Angola to the
north, Botswana to the east and South Africa
to the south and east. Namibia is an active
member of the United Nations (UN), African
Union (AU), Southern African Development
Community (SADC) and the Commonwealth
of Nations. With a total land area of about
825,615 km2 (318,696 sq mi ), the 34th larg-
est, and a population of about 2.1milliom
people, Namibia has the second-lowest pop-
ulation density of any sovereign country, after
Mongolia.
Having established a multi-party, parliamen-
tary democracy, Namibia has become one of
the most politically and economically stable
countries in sib-Saharan. Namibia is admin-
istratively divided into 14 regions and sub-
divided into 121 constituencies. Compared
to neighbouring countries, Namibia has a
large degree of media freedom. Over the past
years, the country usually ranked in the upper
quarter of the Press Freedom Index of Re-
porters without Borders, reaching 21st posi-
tion in 2010, (being on par with Canada and
the best-ranked African country) while it was
19th & 22nd in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
In 2013, global business and financial news
provider, Bloomberg, named Namibia the top
emerging market economy in Africa and the
13th best in the world (one of only four Af-
rican countries to make the Top 20) ranking
above African countries like Morocco (19th),
South Africa (15th) and Zambia (14th), while
being rated ahead of emerging superpowers
like Brazil and Mexico.
Namibia’s economy, with a GDP of $18billion,
is supported with road, rail and air infrastruc-
ture that can rival the very best in the devel-
oped world .The largest economic sectors are
mining (10.4% of the gross domestic product
in 2009), agriculture (5.0%), manufacturing
(13.5%), and tourism. The vast array of avail-
able opportunities, stable political environ-
ment & generous profit repatriation, make
Namibia an investor’s dream destination. Its
strategic geographical location, with land-
locked neighbours, also positions Namibia as
a gateway to the southern African market of
over 190million people. Namibia belongs to
the Southern African Customs Union (SACU)
affording duty and quota free access to the
73 | PRTIMES AFRICA MARCH 2016