People in Namibia
Almost 2.5 million people live in Namibia. The
country is one of the most sparsely populated in the
world. The inhabitants belong to many different peoples.
The original population of the country includes the San
, Nama and Damara. San and Nama also look similar
outwardly and speak a click language. The Damara have a
similar language.
From the 14th century, the Bantu peoples moved south
from East Africa and came here to Namibia. Bantu peoples
make up the majority in the country today. The largest
group are the Ovambo. They make up about half of the
population. Kavango (9 percent of the population) and
Herero (7 percent of the population) also speak a Bantu
language.
Six out of 100 inhabitants are white. Their
ancestors are Boers, English, Portuguese or German.
Although there are proportionally far fewer whites than
blacks in the country, most of the land is owned by
whites, who are mostly the owners of the farms. Only a
small part, namely 12 percent, belongs to the black
farmers, the rest of the farmland is in the hands of
white landowners. The mines and many tourist companies
are also in the hands of the white population.
Finally, there are people of mixed origins. They are
referred to here as colored. They have black and white
parents or ancestors. They also make up about 6 percent
of the population.
Around half of the population lives in a city. Most
of the people live in the north of the country. 300,000
people live in the capital Windhoek alone. The south is
only sparsely populated and the Namib desert on the
coast has hardly any inhabitants.
The San
The San Bushmen, the earliest inhabitants of Namibia,
are the oldest people in the world. That's what
scientists found out. They were able to adapt perfectly
to the harsh living conditions and thus survive. From
Africa they then spread all over the world. They are
direct descendants of Homo sapiens. Just a few decades
ago, the San lived exactly as they had before. They were
the perfect survivors.
Languages in Namibia
Because so many peoples live in Namibia, many
languages are spoken there. The Bantu peoples have
their Bantu languages. The most widespread is Oshivambo,
the language of the Ovambo people.
The San, Nama and Damara speak a click language that
is noticeable through their clicks and clicks. The
Coloreds speak Afrikaans, which is very similar to
Dutch. English is mainly used for communication. German
is also spoken, especially on some farms.
Religions in Namibia
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