Namibia
 Median age:
total: 20 years
male: 19.8 years
female: 20.1 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.59% (2006 est.)
Birth rate:
24.32 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate:
18.86 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
21.3% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
210,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
16,000 (2003 est.)
Religions:
Christian 80% to 90% (Lutheran 50% at least), indigenous beliefs 10% to 20%
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Background:
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 was soon named 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 won its independence in 1990 and has been governed by SWAPO since. 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.
Population:
2,044,147
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 38.2% (male 393,878/female 387,147)
15-64 years: 58.1% (male 596,557/female 591,350)
65 years and over: 3.7% (male 34,245/female 40,970) (2006 est.)
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