Former Name: South West Africa

Capital: Windhoek (population 240 000)

Size: 824 292 sq km / 318 261 sq miles (31st largest country in the world)

Population: 1 757 000 

Ethnic Groups: Owambo, Kavango, Herero, Damara, Nama, Caprivian, San (Bushmen), Baster, Tswana (over 80% belong to these native African groups), Mixed, European 

Languages: English, Afrikaans, German, O(shi)vambo, (Otji)Herero, (Ru)Kwangali, Nama / Damara,(Si)Lozi, (Se)Tswana, other native languages

Local time: GMT +2

System: metric

Driving: On the left hand side of the road; you need an international driving license if you are not from a bordering African country, but a visitor from overseas

Namibia is generally divided into four geographic regions: the Namib Desert (with over 80 million years the oldest desert in the world) and the Skeleton Coast stretching along the Atlantic seaboard; the central high plateau with the capital Windhoek at 1 650 m / 5 414 ft; the Kalahari Desert to the south-east and the bush veld of the Okavango; and the Caprivi in the northern part. The country’s highest mountain is the Brandberg with a height of 2 621 m / 8 600 ft. The most important rivers are the Orange, Okavango, and Zambezi River. 

The arid Namib Desert has a typical desert climate, hot during the day, but very cold at night. Although Namibia sees over 300 sunny days per year, the coast can be quite foggy. Temperatures in the central high plateau are usually lower than in the regions closer to sea level. Namibia sees its wet season in summer, with the rains starting slowly in October and becoming the heaviest in the first quarter of the year.

Citizens of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the US do not need a visa for Namibia. They will be granted a visitors' entry permit until their expected departure up to a maximum of 90 days upon arrival. Passports must be valid for at least another six months after your planned departure date and you also need to have an onward or return ticket. Children ID's are accepted, but must have enough room for entry stamp.

Diplomatic Embassies and High Commissions of Namibia
 

Germany Wichmannstr. 5, 2nd Floor 10787 Berlin Germany .	Tel. ++49 30 25 40 95 0 Fax ++49 30 25 40 95 55 namibiaberlin@aol.com www.namibia-botschaft.de .
United Kingdom 6 Chandos St London W1M 0LQ United Kingdom .	Tel. ++44 20 7636 6244 Fax ++44 20 7637 5694 namibia.hicom@btconnect.com .  .
United States 1605 New Hampshire Ave NW Washington DC 20009 United States .	Tel. ++1 202 986 0540 Fax ++1 202 986 0443 embnamibia@aol.com www.grnnnet.gov.na .

Diplomatic Embassies and High Commissions in Namibia
 

European Union Sanlaam Centre (4th Floor) 154 Independence Ave (cnr. Fidel Castro Street) Windhoek Namibia Postal Address: Embassy of the European Union, P.O. Box 24443, Windhoek, Namibia .	Tel. ++264 61 2026 000 Fax ++264 61 2026 224 delnam@cec.eu.int www.delnam.cec.eu.int . . . .
Germany Sanlaam Centre, 6th Floor 154 Independence Ave Windhoek Namibia Postal address: Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, P.O. Box 231, Windhoek, Namibia .	Tel. ++264 61 223 100 Fax ++264 222 981 info@german-embassy-windhoek.org www.german-embassy-windhoek.org . . . .
United Kingdom 116 Robert Mugabe Ave Windhoek Namibia Postal Address: P.O. Box 22202, Windhoek, Namibia . . .	Tel. ++264 61 223 022; ++264 61 274 800 Fax ++264 61 228 895 bhc@mweb.com.na general.winhoek@fco.gov.uk (general) visa.windhoek@fco.gov.uk (visa) passports.windhoek@fco.gov.uk (passport) consular.windhoek@fco.gov.uk (consular) .
United States 14 Lossen St Ausspannplatz Windhoek Namibia Postal Address: Private Bag 12029, Windhoek, Namibia .	Tel. ++264 61 221 601 Fax ++264 61 229 792 HealyKC2@state.gov www.usembassy.namib.com www.usembassy.namibnet.com . .

1 Namibian Dollar (NAD) = 100 Cents
also South African Rand (ZAR)

The Namibian Dollar is tied to the South African Rand meaning the exchange rate is fixed at 1:1 (at least in Namibia, the rate might be lower in South Africa). The South African Rand is used as a parallel currency in Namibia, which saves you the trouble of exchanging if you are coming from / going to South Africa. You can exchange cash and traveller cheques at banks and foreign exchange bureaus for either Namibian Dollars or South African Rand. Credit cards are widely accepted, and can be used for cash advance and withdrawals from ATM's without problem. Upon arrival, a maximum of 2 000 Namibian Dollars can be importet.

Banks are usually open Monday to Friday from 8.00 to 13.00 and from 14.30 to 17.00 and Saturdays from 8.00 to 13.00.

Country code: ++264. All numbers in Namibia start with 06, followed by a regional digit. City code Windhoek: 061. Mobile phone codes: 0811 and 0812
International access code from Namibia: 00
Internet code: .na

Other important numbers: 

Police: 10111
Ambulance: 10111

Post and telephone offices are usually open Monday to Friday from 8.00 to 13.00 and from 14.30 to 17.00 as well as Saturdays from 8.00 to 13.00. Internet cafes can be found in many places. 

Electricity

Namibia uses 220 V / 50 Hz.
The plug has round pins with ground.

The President can declare any day in a particular year as a public holiday by proclamation in the Government Gazette.
There are also two observance days with special events in Namibia, namely Constitution Day at 9 February and United Nations Day at 24 October.

Air

Air Namibia links Johannesburg, Cape Town, Alexander Bay, Harare, Victoria Falls, Lusaka, Maun and Gaborone with Windhoek. It also offers overseas flights to / from Frankfurt. South African Airways operates between Johannesburg and Windhoek as well as between Cape Town and Windhoek.

Overland

Driving

The main border crossings are: 

From Angola: Calueque – Ruacana, Cuangar – Nkurenkuru and Namacunde – Oshikango

From Botswana: Mamuno – Buitepos, Mohembo – Mahango, Ngoma Bridge, Mpalila Island – Kasane and Dobe

From South Africa: Nakop, Rietfontein and Vioolsdrif – Noordoewer

From Zambia: Sesheke – Wenela

From Zimbabwe: none

The general speed limit is 120 km/h (75 mph) and 60 km/h (37 mph) in built-up areas. If you enter Namibia with a vehicle that is not registered in Namibia, you have to buy a road-use certificate for 10 US $. If you want to leave Namibia with a vehicle registered there, you need to clear with police. If you want to bring a rental car from South Africa into the country, you will need a written permission of the rental agency. 

Bus

Only very few buses and minibuses do border crossings into Namibia. 

From Botswana: From Ghanzi, minibuses run to the Mamuno – Buitepos border crossing, from where you can catch another minibus to Windhoek. There is also a direct bus from Maun to Windhoek. 

From South Africa: Direct buses link Cape Town with Windhoek as well as Johannesburg with Windhoek (via Upington). 

Train

From South Africa: Starting in Upington, you can take a train into Namibia. The line splits at Seeheim from where you can either go to Luederitz or to Tsumeb or to Swakopmund via Windhoek.