Namibia is situated on
the southwestern coast of Africa, and covers an area of 824,293 square kilometres.
The estimated population is 1.6 million people, of which 72% live in rural areas. About
seventy percent of the population is concentrated in the north of the country. Namibia was
ruled by South Africa until 1989 and subjected to the same apartheid laws. When blacks
were allowed to participate in the 1989 elections, the South West Africa People's
Organization (SWAPO) won the majority of seats in the national assembly. In 1990, a new
constitution was drafted granting independence and establishing a presidency and a
national assembly.
Namibia's telephone
network has a capacity of approximately 116,850 lines. In 1999, the total number of
connected telephone lines account for 108,200 resulting in a telephone density of 6.38
lines per hundred population. In general, the telecommunications infrastructure in Namibia
is better developed than of most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the north of
the country lags behind in many areas because the apartheid system followed a policy of
exclusion. All major development projects undertaken before 1990 were concentrated in
Windhoek and the two major coastal towns of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, which had a large
white population. The Government of the Republic of Namibia is currently doing everything
possible to ensure that the northern region is developed, and it encourages a number
of firms to invest in the region.
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