N Namibia Namibia’s government is a multiparty, multiracial democracy The country is bounded on the north by Angola and Zambia, on the east by Botswana and South Africa, on the south by South Africa, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean The total area of Namibia is 824,269 square kilometers Windhoek is the capital and the main city The population was estimated at about million in 2005 The dominant religion is Christianity, mostly Lutheran, with English and Afrikaans as the common languages Namibia spent much of the 20th century under colonial rule As South West Africa, it was a possession of Germany From 1904 to 1906 the Namibians rose against their German rulers The rebellion was crushed, and most of the indigenous people were stripped of their land On July 19, 1915, the last German troops surrendered to the South African expeditionary corps at Khorab, and the South African military occupation of Namibia began Namibia was seen as a valuable asset to whoever controlled it because of its mineral wealth and agricultural potential On December 17, 1920, South Africa received official approval from the League of Nations to rule Namibia under a “C” mandate This type of mandate was designated for former German territories that were not considered to be likely to pass into independence in the foreseeable future It led to decades of tension Although the South Africans publicly claimed that the mandate should be viewed as a position of great trust and honor, in practice it offered profits and advantages to South African nationals For all essential purposes, Namibia had been annexed to South Africa, with the interests of Namibians subordinate to those of whites The South-West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO), a Marxist guerrilla group founded in 1960, began fighting for Namibia’s independence in 1966 In 1966 the United Nations (UN) passed Resolution 2145, which revoked South Africa’s mandate and changed the country’s name to Namibia The UN brokered a peace agreement in 1977 in which South Africa accepted UN control over Namibia Only in 1988, however, did South Africa agree to withdraw from Namibia The new government held UN-supervised elections in 1989, which SWAPO won decisively Sam Nujomo, one of the leaders of the independence movement, became Namibia’s first president After independence, the government pursued a policy of compromise with opposition groups and worked to address racial inequalities There is an extreme disparity between the income levels of blacks and whites However, the living standards of blacks have been steadily improving, and the major economic resources in the country are no longer controlled exclusively by whites The country’s modern market sector produces most of its wealth, while a traditional subsistence agricultural sector supports most of its labor force The principal exports are diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, lead, cattle, and fish Ranching is still controlled largely by white citizens and foreign interests In other industries—notably mining, fishing, and tourism—the participation of indigenous entrepreneurs has 303