General information

Namibia is 824.292 square kilometers large and counts almost 2 million civillians. This results in less than 2 persons per square kilometer, but many, many square kilometers are inhabitable, because of the desserts. Namibia has to giant desserts: the Kalahari Dessert (in between Botswana and Namibia) and the Namib Dessert (bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, the Namib Dessert is one of the oldest desserts in the world).

On this page, we will provide you the general information about Namibia.

Crime and safety
Namibia is a relative safe country to go. But keep in mind that Namibia is an African and development country, and thus crime will always occur.
But if you behave 'normally' and avoid getting into danger, you are not likely to get in to problems.
If you are travelling by car, you should always park your car in a gaurded carpark and never leave something behind in your car, not even when your car is watched by a cargaurd.
Becarefull if you are walking on the streets on your own. For example in Windhoek you should not walk alone in Katutura and not during night time.

Emergency numbers
Via the MTC service you can dial the 112 emergency number, MTC will then contact the emergency services you need.

If you are in desperate need of the Namibian Police, you can also dial - 10111 (in Windhoek: 061 - 10111). The Namibian Police is known for the rapid response.

Time Difference
Namibian time is +1 GMT

Daylight saving time start: first Sunday in September
Daylight saving time end: first Sunday in April

Currency
From independence, Namibia uses the Namibian Dollar (NAD), which is linked to the South African Rand.
N$ 9,50 is comparible with € 1,-
N$ 12,30 is comparible with $ 1,-

Public holidays
• New Year's Day (January 1)
• Independence Day (March 21)
• Good Friday
• Easter Monday
• Workers Day (May 1)
• Cassinga Day (May 4)
• Africa Day (May 25)
• Ascension Day (40 days after Easter Sunday)
• Heroes' Day (August 26)
• Human Rights Day (December 10)
• Christmas Day (December 25)
• Family Day (December 26)

Electicity
Namibia makes use of the 230 Volt system with the old English plug.
Because of the power shortage in South Africa, it is not uncommon that their will be power outages in Namibia as well. Some lodges make use of generators, which can cause a fluctuating power supply.