One of the more affluent states in Sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia is ranked among other mid-income countries from Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. Its recent development mirrors that of South Africa, from whom it gained its independence in 1990. As the national currency is pegged to the rand and more than 80% of the country’s imports -- including electricity -- come from South Africa, Namibia is vulnerable to its neighbour’s power cuts. Despite these close relations with its neighbour, Namibia’s lack of participation in regional trade agreements is a detriment to the country’s overall Economic Competitiveness score.
SWAPO, Namibia’s ruling party, has consolidated its hold on power over the last two decades, scoring a sweeping 75% victory in the 2004 presidential elections. This undisputed dominance, together with charges of corruption and sporadic assaults on the private media, represents a serious challenge to multiparty democracy and pushes Namibia’s governance scores below those of neighbouring South Africa and Botswana.
Namibia’s economy, however, has experienced impressive growth since independence. Current GDP growth rates, estimated at 4-5%, are fuelled mainly by the increasing competitiveness of the mining sector (as indicated by relative movements in price levels). Mining accounts for half of national foreign exchange earnings. Low scores on capital investment and education, however, are a considerable barrier to greater economic diversification and may contribute to the poor innovation score. As a result, Namibia remains somewhat dependent on foreign aid, despite relatively high average incomes.
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At about $7,000 per year, the Namibian per capita income is one of the highest on the African continent, yet poverty still continues to restrain average life satisfaction. The distribution of this wealth is highly uneven: as a small class of mostly white commercial farmers and entrepreneurs still monopolize access to capital and arable land, Namibia’s Gini coefficient of 0.71 (a measure of income inequality) is the highest of all countries sampled by the UNDP. Nevertheless, Namibians remain optimistic in the face of these problems: 96%g of people agree that hard work is a means by which to get ahead, according to the Gallup World Poll.
This legacy of the apartheid era, as well as the disconnect between urban centres and rural peripheries, are disruptive of the social fabric more generally and contribute to Namibia’s low scores on social capital, particularly community life, for example in the low levels of charitable giving.
Namibia’s vast and sparsely-populated landscapes, coupled with extensive and well-funded preservation programmes, make the country increasingly popular with tourists, and also ensure an excellent performance across a number of environment indicators.
However, Namibia’s extraordinary topography also puts a strain on its otherwise well-developed public services. In the remote northern regions in particular, access to the healthcare system is difficult and erratic. Together with an HIV prevalence rate in excess of 20%, this limits the average health-adjusted life expectancy to a mere 43 years. Nevertheless, in common with a number of other countries, satisfaction with personal health is high, with 87%g of people reporting contentment, according to Gallup.
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