Location Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and South Africa

Geographic coordinates 22 00 S, 17 00 E

Map references Africa

Area
total: 825,418 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 825,418 sq km

Area - comparative slightly more than half the size of Alaska

Land boundaries
total: 3,936 km
border countries: Angola 1,376 km, Botswana 1,360 km, South Africa 967 km, Zambia 233 km

Coastline 1,572 km

Maritime claims
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate desert; hot, dry; rainfall sparse and erratic

Terrain mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari Desert in east

Elevation extremes
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Konigstein 2,606 m

Natural resources diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, lead, tin, lithium, cadmium, zinc, salt, vanadium, natural gas, hydropower, fish
note: suspected deposits of oil, coal, and iron ore

Land use
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 99% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 70 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards prolonged periods of drought

Environment - current issues very limited natural fresh water resources; desertification; wildlife poaching; land degradation has led to few conservation areas

Environment - international agreements
party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - 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

NOTE: The information regarding Namibia on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Namibia Geography 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Namibia Geography 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.