Mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari Desert in east
Climate
Desert; hot dry; rainfall sparse and erratic
Natural Hazards
Mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari Desert in east
Note:
First country in the world to incorporate the protection of the environment into its constitution; some 14% of the land is protected including virtually the entire Namib Desert coastal strip
South Africa occupied the German colony of South-West Africa during World War I and administered it as a mandate until after World War II when it annexed the territory. In 1966 the Marxist South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) guerrilla group launched a war of independence for the area that became Namibia but it was not until 1988 that South Africa agreed to end its administration in accordance with a UN peace plan for the entire region. Namibia has been governed by SWAPO since the country won independence in 1990. Hifikepunye POHAMBA was elected president in November 2004 in a landslide victory replacing Sam NUJOMA who led the country during its first 14 years of self rule. Read more on Wikipedia
