Namibia

Namibia is a country in southern Africa, on the Atlantic coast. In December, 2007 it was cited in Forbes.com online magazine as one of the world's heaviest smoking countries, with a smoking rate of 50% and a population of 2 million. The average income in Namibia is about $3,230 a year, and nicotine addiction is estimated to drain about $448.61 of that in lost income per smoker, per year.

Country background
In the late 1800s, Germany took control of the area and in 1908 the discovery of diamonds led to an influx of Europeans. The country is now 6 percent white with ethnic Germans being a sizable minority. In the last few years, land reform has become a larger issue. In 2005, the government began acquiring land from white farmers with the aim of resettling landless citizens.

Facts

 * Population: 2 million
 * Capital: Windhoek
 * Location: On the Atlantic coast, north of the country of South Africa and south of Angola.

Media
The BBC says of the country's media:


 * Namibia is one of the more media-friendly countries in Africa. The constitution provides for press freedom and on the whole this is respected by the government. Media rights body Reporters Without Borders says there is "no major obstacle to the circulation of news". Broadcasters and the private press give coverage to the opposition, including views critical of the government.

U.S. private military
A U.S. private military corporation, SOC-SMG, was expelled from the country in 2007. It had plans to recruit war veterans from Namibia to work as security guards in Iraq and Afghanistan. They were hoping to get up to 4,000 Namibians with military experience. See Special Operations Consulting-Security Management Group.

Leaders

 * Hifikepunye Pohamba, President, elected in 2004 with most observers saying that the election was fair.
 * Nahas Angula, Prime Minister

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Arc of instability
 * Gary Newton, Director of the United States Agency for International Development Namibia
 * Michaela Clayton
 * Nancy Ely-Raphel - key democracy-manipulator

External articles

 * Mr. Andjaba, Representative of Namibia, "Namibia", United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms ..., September 24, 1999.
 * Antony Barnett, "UK arms sales to Africa reach £1 billion mark", Guardian/Observer, June 12 2005.

External resources

 * Timeline: Namibia, BBC, accessed April 2008.
 * Namibia Profile, U.S. Department of State, accessed April 2008.

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