"Unity, Liberty, Justice" is the Namibian government's motto since Independence was granted. And indeed, today there is a great feeling of solidarity amongst the Namibian people despite the variety of ethnic groups and the fact that Namibia is a multicultural nation. Each of theeleven national groups has its own history, language and culture. People, particularly in rural areas, still follow a traditional lifestyle with tribal and family communities.

In total, Namibia only has about 1,8 million inhabitants. The population density of 1,7 people per square kilometre is one of the lowest in the world. The population is, however, very unevenly distributed, with approximately 60% of the country's inhabitants (Owambos, Kavangos, and Caprivians) living in the north with about one third in rural areas.

In central Namibia live about 30% of the Namibians, mainly Herero and Damara and the majority of the white population, most of them in Windhoek and in the towns of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.

The least populated part is the dry south, where only 7% of the population live, mainly Nama and farmers of Afrikaans or German origin. Most of them live in the towns of Keetmanshoop and Luederitz.

A young country, Namibia and its people face a number of significant challenges, not unlike other countries in sub-saharan Africa. These challenges include poverty, lack of education and HIV/AIDS.

Although per capita GDP is five times the per capita GDP of Africa's poorest countries, the majority of Namibia's people live in rural areas and exist on a subsistence way of life. We thus have two economies in one: an urban one and a rural one that relies on subsistence farming. Though many are unemployed according to western standards, they are often self-reliant. Namibia has one of the highest rates of income inequality in the world, due in part to the fact that there is an urban economy and a more rural cash-less economy. While the inequality figures used to take into account people who did not actually rely on the formal economy for their survival, even those existing on subsistence farming do, in fact, rely on money today. For education needs of their children, and the increasing number of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) they care for, for transport costs to the nearest clinic/hospital for ARV treatment, etc. the necessity for money is evident even in rural villages.

South Africa occupied the German colony of South-West Africa during World War I and administered it as 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.