The economy of Namibia is heavily dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals for export. Mining accounts for 20% of GDP. Rich alluvial diamond deposits make Namibia a primary source for gem-quality diamonds. Namibia is the fourth-largest exporter of nonfuel minerals in Africa, the world's fifth-largest producer of uranium, and the producer of large quantities of lead, zinc, tin, silver, and tungsten. The mining sector employs only about 3% of the population while about half of the population depends on subsistence agriculture for its livelihood. Namibia normally imports about 50% of its cereal requirements; in drought years food shortages are a major problem in rural areas. A high per capita GDP, relative to the region, hides the great inequality of income distribution; nearly one-third of Namibians had annual incomes of less than $1400 in constant 1994 dollars, according to a 1993 study. The Namibian economy is closely linked to South Africa with the Namibian dollar pegged to the South African rand. Privatization of several enterprises in coming years may stimulate long-run foreign investment, although with the labour movement opposed, so far most politicians have been reluctant to advance the issue. The Namibian dollar (abbreviated N$ or NAD) is the national currency of Namibia, adopted in 1993. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... States of SACU // Origins The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) came into existence on December 11, 1969 with the signature of the Customs Union Agreement between South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland. ... The Purchasing power parity (PPP) theory was developed by Gustav Cassel in 1920. ... Map of world GDP (PPP) by country using the IMF list for 2005 There are three lists of countries of the world sorted by their gross domestic product (GDP) (the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year). ... In economics, a consumer price index (CPI) or retail price index (RPI) is a statistical time-series measure of a weighted average of prices of a specified set of goods and services purchased by consumers. ... Map of countries showing percentage of population who have an income below the national poverty line The poverty line is the level of income below which one cannot afford to purchase all the resources one requires to live. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Development aid. ... ISO 4217 Code USD User(s) the United States, the British Indian Ocean Territory,[1] the British Virgin Islands, Cambodia, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the insular areas of the United States Inflation 2. ... Shortcut: WP:-( Vandalism is indisputable bad-faith addition, deletion, or change to content, made in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of the encyclopedia. ... Shortcut: WP:-( Vandalism is indisputable bad-faith addition, deletion, or change to content, made in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of the encyclopedia. ... Chuquicamata, the largest open pit copper mine in the world, Chile. ... An alluvial deposit is an accumulation of alluvium (sediment), sometimes containing valuable ore and gemstones, or simply consisting of gravel, sand, or clay, in the bed or former bed of a river. ... This article is about the gemstone. ... General Name, Symbol, Number uranium, U, 92 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery gray metallic; corrodes to a spalling black oxide coat in air Standard atomic weight 238. ... For Pb as an abbreviation, see PB. General Name, Symbol, Number lead, Pb, 82 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 6, p Appearance bluish gray Standard atomic weight 207. ... General Name, Symbol, Number zinc, Zn, 30 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 4, d Appearance bluish pale gray Standard atomic weight 65. ... General Name, Symbol, Number tin, Sn, 50 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 5, p Appearance silvery lustrous gray Standard atomic weight 118. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5, d Appearance lustrous white metal Standard atomic weight 107. ... General Name, Symbol, Number tungsten, W, 74 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 6, 6, d Appearance grayish white, lustrous Standard atomic weight 183. ... A drought is a period of time when there is not enough water to support agricultural, urban, human, or environmental water needs. ... This graphic shows the distribution of gross annual household income. ... The Namibian dollar (abbreviated N$ or NAD) is the national currency of Namibia, adopted in 1993. ... ISO 4217 Code ZAR User(s) Common Monetary Area: Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland Inflation 5. ...

The Namibian economy has a modern market sector, which produces most of the country's wealth, and a traditional subsistence sector. Although the majority of the population engages in subsistence agriculture and herding, Namibia has more than 200,000 skilled workers, as well as a small, well-trained professional and managerial class. A skilled worker is any worker who has some special knowledge or (usually acquired) ability in his work. ...

The country's sophisticated formal economy is based on capital-intensive industry and farming. However, Namibia's economy is heavily dependent on the earnings generated from primary commodity exports in a few vital sectors, including minerals, especially diamonds, livestock, and fish. Furthermore, the Namibian economy remains integrated with the economy of South Africa, as the bulk of Namibia's imports originate there. Farming, ploughing rice paddy, in Indonesia Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and other desired products by cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (livestock). ... Sheep are commonly bred as livestock. ... A giant grouper at the Georgia Aquarium Fish are aquatic vertebrates that are typically cold-blooded; covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. ...

Since independence, the Namibian Government has pursued free-market economic principles designed to promote commercial development and job creation to bring disadvantaged Namibians into the economic mainstream. To facilitate this goal, the government has actively courted donor assistance and foreign investment. The liberal Foreign Investment Act of 1990 provides for freedom from nationalisation, freedom to remit capital and profits, currency convertibility, and a process for settling disputes equitably. Namibia also is addressing the sensitive issue of agrarian land reform in a pragmatic manner. The Constituent Assembly of Namibia produced a constitution which established a multi-party system and a bill of rights. ... Nationalization is the act of taking assets into state ownership. ... Land reform (also agrarian reform, though that can have a broader meaning) is an often-controversial type of government-initiated or government-backed real estate property redistribution, generally of agricultural land. ...

In September 1993, Namibia introduced its own currency, the Namibia dollar, which is linked to the South African Rand. There has been widespread acceptance of the Namibia dollar throughout the country and, while Namibia remains a part of the Common Monetary Area, it now enjoys slightly more flexibility in monetary policy although interest rates have so far always moved very closely in line with the South African rates. Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Allied to the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) is the Common Monetary Area (CMA) which links South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland into a Currency union. ...

Given its small domestic market but favorable location and a superb transport and communications base, Namibia is a leading advocate of regional economic integration. In addition to its membership in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Namibia presently belongs to the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) with South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland. Within SACU, no tariffs exist on goods produced in and moving among the member countries. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... States of SACU // Origins The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) came into existence on December 11, 1969 with the signature of the Customs Union Agreement between South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland. ...

Ninety percent of Namibia's imports originate in South Africa, and many Namibian exports are destined for the South African market or transit that country. Namibia's exports consist mainly of diamonds and other minerals, fish products, beef and meat products, karakul sheep pelts, and light manufactures. In recent years, Namibia has accounted for about 5% of total SACU exports, and a slightly higher percentage of imports. This article is about the gemstone. ...

Namibia is seeking to diversify its trading relationships away from its heavy dependence on South African goods and services. Europe has become a leading market for Namibian fish and meat, while mining concerns in Namibia have purchased heavy equipment and machinery from Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. The Government of Namibia is making efforts to take advantage of the American-led African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which will provide preferential access to American markets for a long list of products. In the short term, Namibia is likely to see growth in the apparel manufacturing industry as a result of AGOA. In May 2000, the U.S. Congress approved legislation known as the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or . ...

In 1993, Namibia became a GATT signatory, and the Minister of Trade and Industry represented Namibia at the Marrakech signing of the Uruguay Round Agreement in April 1994 . Namibia also is a member of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and has acceded to the European Community/Union's Lomé Convention. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (usually abbreviated GATT) functions as the foundation of the WTO trading system, and remains in force, although the 1995 Agreement contains an updated version of it to replace the original 1947 one. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... Logo of the World Bank The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, in Romance languages: BIRD), better known as the World Bank, is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by WWII. Now, its mission has expanded to fight poverty by means... The European Community (EC) was originally founded on March 25, 1957 by the signing of the Treaty of Rome under the name of European Economic Community. ... Motto (Latin) United in diversity Anthem Ode to Joy(orchestral) Commission seat Brussels Official languages 23 Bulgarian Czech Danish Dutch English Estonian Finnish French German Greek Hungarian Irish Italian Latvian Lithuanian Maltese Polish Portuguese Romanian Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swedish Member states 27 Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia... The Lomé Convention is a trade and aid agreement between the European Union (EU) and 71 African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries, first signed in February 1975 in Lomé, Togo. ...

Mining and energy

Mining contributed 13.7% of GDP in 1999, of which diamond mining activities represented 9%. Diamond production totaled 1.5 million carats (300 kg) in 2000, generating nearly $500 million in export earnings. Other important mineral resources are uranium, copper, lead, and zinc. The country also is a source of gold, silver, tin, vanadium, semiprecious gemstones, tantalite, phosphate, sulfur, and salt. This article is about the gemstone. ... The carat is a unit of mass used for gems, and equals 200 milligrams or 3. ... Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ... General Name, Symbol, Number uranium, U, 92 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery gray metallic; corrodes to a spalling black oxide coat in air Standard atomic weight 238. ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic pinkish red Standard atomic weight 63. ... For Pb as an abbreviation, see PB. General Name, Symbol, Number lead, Pb, 82 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 6, p Appearance bluish gray Standard atomic weight 207. ... General Name, Symbol, Number zinc, Zn, 30 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 4, d Appearance bluish pale gray Standard atomic weight 65. ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5, d Appearance lustrous white metal Standard atomic weight 107. ... General Name, Symbol, Number tin, Sn, 50 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 5, p Appearance silvery lustrous gray Standard atomic weight 118. ... General Name, Symbol, Number vanadium, V, 23 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 5, 4, d Appearance silver-grey metal Atomic mass 50. ... For the Gemstone as a mineral see Gemstone. ... Tantalite, [(Fe, Mn) Ta2O6], is a mineral that is close to columbite. ... Above is a ball-and-stick model of the inorganic hydrogenphosphate anion (HPO42−). Colour coding: P (orange); O (red); H (white). ... General Name, Symbol, Number sulfur, S, 16 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16, 3, p Appearance lemon yellow Standard atomic weight 32. ... For other uses, see Salt (disambiguation). ...

During the pre-independence period, large areas of Namibia, including offshore, were leased for oil prospecting. Some natural gas was discovered in 1974 in the Kudu Field off the mouth of the Orange River, but the extent of this find is only now being determined. Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Ignacy Łukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... This image shows only the last 100 kilometers or so of the Orange River. ...

Agriculture

Although Namibian agriculture contributes only 12% of Namibia's GDP, about 70% of the Namibian population depends on agricultural activities for livelihood, mostly in the subsistence sector. In 2000, agriculture products constituted roughly 10% of total Namibian exports.

In the largely white-dominated commercial sector, agriculture consists primarily of livestock ranching. Cattle raising is predominant in the central and northern regions, while karakul sheep, goat, and ostrich farming are concentrated in the more arid southern regions. Subsistence farming is confined to the "communal lands" of the country's populous north, where roaming cattle herds are prevalent and the main crops are pearl millet, sorghum, and peanuts. Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (often called cows in vernacular and contemporary usage, or kye as the Scots plural of cou) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 The Karakul or QaraQul (Persian: قراقل ; from Karakul, meaning black lake in several Turkic languages) is a breed of domesticated sheep. ... Species See Species and subspecies The goat is a mammal in the genus Capra, which consists of nine species: the Ibex, the West Caucasian Tur, the East Caucasian Tur, the Markhor, and the Wild Goat. ... Binomial name Struthio camelus Carolus Linnaeus, 1758 The present-day distribution of Ostriches. ... Binomial name Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. ... Species About 30 species, see text Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, some of which are raised for grain and many of which are utilised as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. ... Binomial name L. This article is about the legume. ...

The government introduced its long-awaited agricultural land reform legislation in September 1994, and a companion bill dealing with the communal areas will be presented later. The government remains committed to a "willing seller, willing buyer" approach to land reform. As the government addresses the vital land and range management questions, water use issues and availability considered.

Fishing

The clean, cold South Atlantic waters off the coast of Namibia are home to some of the richest fishing grounds in the world, with the potential for sustainable yields of 1.5 million metric tons per year. Commercial fishing and fish processing is the fastest-growing sector of the Namibian economy in terms of employment, export earnings, and contribution to GDP. The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one_fifth of its surface. ... Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish by hooking, trapping, or gathering. ...

The main species found in abundance off Namibia are pilchards (sardines), anchovy, hake, and horse mackerel. There also are smaller but significant quantities of sole, squid, deepsea crab, rock lobster, and tuna. Sardines in the Pacific An open Sardines can Sardines on a plate grilled Sardines For the hide and seek-like game, see Hide and seek. ... {{Taxobox classis = Actinopterygii | ordo = Clupeiformes | familia = Engraulidae | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = Amazonsprattus Anchoa Anchovia Anchiovella Cetengraulis Coilia Encrasicholina Engraulis Jurengraulis Lycengraulis Lycothrissa Papuengraulis Pterengraulis Setipinna Stolephorus Thryssa }} The anchovies are a family large but uncommon schooling saltwater plankton-feeding fish. ... The term hake refers to fish in either of: families Gadidae (subfamily Phycinae) families Merlucciidae (both subfamilies Merlucciinae and Steindachneriinae). ... Horse mackerel is the popular name of various large fishes, such as the tuna, and the scad or saurel of the Pacific coast. ...

At the time of independence, fish stocks had fallen to dangerously low levels, due to the lack of protection and conservation of the fisheries and the overexploitation of these resources. This trend appears to have been halted and reversed since independence, as the Namibian Government is now pursuing a conservative resource management policy along with an aggressive fisheries enforcement campaign.

Manufacturing and infrastructure

In 2000, Namibia's manufacturing sector contributed about 20% of GDP. Namibian manufacturing is inhibited by a small domestic market, dependence on imported goods, limited supply of local capital, widely dispersed population, small skilled labor force and high relative wage rates, and subsidized competition from South Africa.

Walvis Bay is a well-developed, deepwater port, and Namibia's fishing infrastructure is most heavily concentrated there. The Namibian Government expects Walvis Bay to become an important commercial gateway to the Southern African region.

Namibia also boasts world-class civil aviation facilities and an extensive, well-maintained land transportation network. Construction is underway on two new arteries-- the Trans-Caprivi Highway and Trans-Kalahari Highway--which will open up the region's access to Walvis Bay. It is proposed that this article be deleted, because of the following concern: wikipedia is not a howto guide. ...

Labor

While most Namibians are economically active in one form or another, the bulk of this activity is in the informal sector, primarily subsistence agriculture. In the formal economy, official estimates of unemployment range from 30% to 40% the work force. A large number of Namibians seeking jobs in the formal sector are held back due to a lack of necessary skills or training. The government is aggressively pursuing education reform to overcome this problem.

Namibia's largest labor federation, the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) represents workers organized into seven affiliated trade unions. NUNW maintains a close affiliation with the ruling SWAPO party. The National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) is a national trade union center in Namibia. ...

See also

• Economy of Africa
• Namibia

The economy of Africa consists of the trade, industry, and resources of the peoples of Africa. ...

External links

• http://www.embnamibia.at - EMBASSY / PERMANENT MISSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA in Austria
• MBendi Namibia overview

References