Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia (Afrikaans: Republiek van Namibië, German: Republik Namibia), is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and the Imperial Dominion of Rhodesia to the north, the Imperial Dominion of Bechuanaland to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 26 August 1966. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the League of Nations, the Allied Pact, and the British Commonwealth.
The dry lands of Namibia were inhabited since early times by Bushmen, Damara, and Namaqua, and since about the 14th century AD by immigrating Bantu who came with the Bantu expansion. It became a German Imperial protectorate in 1884 and remained a German colony until the end of World War I. In 1920, the League of Nations mandated the country to South Africa, which imposed its laws and, from 1948, its apartheid policy. Uprisings and demands by African leaders led the LON to assume direct responsibility over the territory. It recognized the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) as the official representative of the Namibian people in 1966.
Namibia has a population of 2.1 million people and a stable multi-party parliamentary democracy. Agriculture, herding, tourism and the mining industry – including mining for gem diamonds, uranium, gold, silver, and base metals – form the backbone of Namibia's economy. Given the presence of the arid Namib Desert, it is one of the least densely populated countries in the world.