Namibia

REGION: Southern Africa
CAPITAL CITY: Windhoek
POPULATION: 2,009,000
LAND AREA: Twice the size of California

Following a 25-year "bush war," Namibia won independence from South Africa ― and from the policies of apartheid ― in 1990. Since then, Namibia has remained relatively stable. Notably, it was the first country in the world to incorporate the protection of the environment into its constitution. Namibia is mostly high plateau, with the Namib Desert along the western coast and the vast Kalahari Desert in the east. The climate is hot and dry; rainfall is sparse and erratic. Only 1 percent of the land is arable. About half of Namibia's people are poor and depend on subsistence farming. Food shortages occur regularly during times of drought. In contrast to Namibia's tenuous agricultural picture is its great mineral wealth. Rich alluvial diamond deposits make the country a primary source of gem-quality diamonds. Namibia is the fourth-largest exporter of nonfuel minerals in Africa, the world's fifth-largest producer of uranium and a producer of large quantities of lead, zinc, tin, silver and tungsten. Like its Southern African neighbors, Namibia has been hard-hit by HIV/AIDS.