World Factbook
Namibia
Republic of Namibia
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
823,290 sq km
water
1,002 sq km
total
824,292 sq km
Climate
desert; hot, dry; rainfall sparse and erratic
Terrain
mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari Desert in east
Land use
other
43.1% (2023 est.)
forest
9.8% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
47.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 0% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 46.2% (2023 est.)
Location
Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and South Africa
Coastline
1,572 km
Elevation
lowest point
Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point
Konigstein on Brandberg 2,573 m
mean elevation
1,141 m
Irrigated land
80 sq km (2012)
Major aquifers
Lower Kalahari-Stampriet Basin, Upper Kalahari-Cuvelai-Upper Zambezi Basin
Map references
Africa
Land boundaries
total
4,220 km
border countries
Angola 1,427 km; Botswana 1,544 km; South Africa 1,005 km; Zambia 244 km
Maritime claims
contiguous zone
24 nm
territorial sea
12 nm
exclusive economic zone
200 nm
Natural hazards
prolonged periods of drought
Geography - note
the Namib Desert, after which the country is named, is considered to be the oldest desert in the world; some 14% of the land is protected, including virtually the entire Namib Desert coastal strip
Natural resources
diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, silver, lead, tin, lithium, cadmium, tungsten, zinc, salt, hydropower, fish
note: suspected deposits of oil, coal, and iron ore
Area - comparative
almost seven times the size of Pennsylvania; slightly more than half the size of Alaska
Geographic coordinates
22 00 S, 17 00 E
Population distribution
population density is very low, with the largest clusters found in the extreme north-central area along the border with Angola, as shown in this population distribution map
Major watersheds (area sq km)
Indian Ocean drainage
Zambezi (1,332,412 sq km)
Atlantic Ocean drainage
Orange (941,351 sq km)
Internal (endorheic basin) drainage
Okavango Basin (863,866 sq km)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Zambezi (shared with Zambia [s]), Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique [m]) - 2,740 km; Orange river mouth (shared with Lesotho [s], and South Africa) - 2,092 km; Okavango (shared with Angola [s], and Botswana [m]) - 1,600 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth