This article deals with the system of transport in Namibia, both public and private.

General

History

The beginnings of organised travel and transport routes in the territory of

South West Africa South West Africa was a territory under Union of South Africa, South African administration from 1915 to 1990. Renamed ''Namibia'' by the United Nations in 1968, Independence of Namibia, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990. ...

, today

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

, have not yet been established. This is due to the lack of any written records relating to roads prior to the twilight of the 19th century. Archaeological work has dated one stretch of road in the south-western Brandberg Massif to 1250 AD. Although no other such early examples have been found, it is certain that this road was not the only one of its kind. The first permanent road, established for ox wagons, was built at the initiative of Heinrich Schmelen, Rhenish missionary in Bethanie in the early 19th century. It led from Bethanie to Angra Pequeña, today the town of Lüderitz, and was intended to serve the natural harbour there in order to become independent of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

Road

Namibia's road network is regarded as one of the best on the continent; road construction and maintenance adheres to international standards. The country's 48,875.27 km roads (2017) are administered by the ''Roads Authority'', a state-owned enterprise established by Act 17 of 1999. Due to low traffic volumes the majority of roads are not tarred. The distribution of road surfaces is: * standard

bitumen Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscosity, viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American Engl ...

road * low-volume bitumen road. These roads have the same base layer as gravel roads but are covered with a thin layer of bitumen to reduce maintenance cost and dust formation. * standard

gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

road, covered with imported gravel. * earth-graded road. These roads are built by clearing the vegetation and blading the surface. Compaction is achieved by the traffic using the road. Some of these roads are not graded at all but just consist of earth or sand tracks separated by vegetation. These tracks are in use where a daily usage of less than five vehicles is expected. * salt road. These roads consist of concentrated salt water and

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

-rich material. They are only built near the Atlantic coast inside the mist belt.

Roads by region (2017)

The major highways in Namibia are as follows: * (

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

) from

Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...

to Okahandja, . * in two discontinuous sections, first running from

Noordoewer Noordoewer is a settlement in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. Its name means 'North Bank' in Afrikaans, in reference to the north bank of the Orange River, on which it is located. The village lies opposite the South African town of Viool ...

(South African border) to the southern terminus of the A1 in

, then resuming at the northern terminus of the A1 in Okahandja and running to

Oshikango Oshikango is a former village in northern Namibia and since 2004 part of the town of Helao Nafidi, although it still maintained its own village council for a number of years. ''Oshikango'' is still the name of the border post with Angola and the ...

(Angolan border). Combined, the two sections have a length of . * from

Walvis Bay Walvis Bay (; ; ) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the List of cities in Namibia, second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The city covers an area of of land. The bay is a ...

to Okahandja, . * from Ariamsvlei (South African border) to Grünau, . * from Lüderitz to

Keetmanshoop Keetmanshoop is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It is named after , a German Empire, German industrialist and benefactor of the city. Keetmanshoop had a population of 27,862 people in 2023. History Before the colonial era, ...

, . * from

to Buitepos (Botswana border), . * from

Otavi Otavi is a town with 10,000 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. Situated 360 km north of Windhoek, it is the district capital of the Otavi electoral constituency. Geography The towns of Otavi, Tsumeb (to the north) and Gr ...

via Katima Mulilo to Ngoma (Botswana border), . * from the

Ohangwena Region Ohangwena is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Eenhana. Major settlements in the region are the towns Eenhana and Helao Nafidi as well as the self-governed village of Okongo and the proclaimed settlements Ongha, Ongenga and O ...

Rundu Rundu is the capital and the largest city of the Kavango-East Region in northern Namibia. It lies on the border with Angola on the banks of the Kavango River, about above sea level. Rundu's population is growing rapidly. The 2001 census counted ...

, . * from

Nkurenkuru Nkurenkuru (1.093 m above sea level) is a town on the south-western banks of the Kavango River. It is the capital of the Kavango West Region of northern Namibia, located west of Rundu. It is also a former mission station of the Finnish Missio ...

to Katwitwi (Angolan border), . * from

Grootfontein Grootfontein (, named after the nearby hot springs) is a city with 26,839 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of central Namibia. It is one of the three towns in the Otavi Triangle, situated on the B8 road (Namibia), B8 national road that lead ...

to Gobabis, . * from

Tsumeb Tsumeb (; ) is a city of around 35,000 inhabitants and the largest town in the Oshikoto Region, Oshikoto region in northern Namibia. Tsumeb, since its founding in 1905, has been primarily a mining town. The town is the site of a deep mine (the ...

to Mpungu, .

Road accidents

In 2018, there were about 393,062 cars registered in Namibia (169,911 in the capital Windhoek). Namibia has a relatively high prevalence of road accidents, compared to its sparse population. In 2011, 491 people died in 2,846 crashes. Causes are often speeding and reckless driving, as well as general non-observance of traffic rules. Stray animals are also a major cause of accidents, particularly in the Kavango Region.

Railway

Rail transport in Namibia is operated on a 2,687-kilometre network by

TransNamib TransNamib Holdings Limited (TransNamib) is a List of state-owned enterprises in Namibia, state-owned railway company in Namibia. Organised as a holding company, it provides both rail and road freight services, as well as passenger rail services. ...

Railway links to adjacent countries

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

- There is currently no rail connection to Angola, although an agreement has been signed for a link. Angola uses the same gauge,, as Namibia. ( Rail transport in Angola) *

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

- There is currently no rail link with Botswana, though the two countries use the same gauge. As of February 2011, construction on a Trans-Kalahari rail link between Botswanan coal fields and

was expected to begin in a year and a half.BusinessLive
retrieved February 17, 2011 ( Rail transport in Botswana) *

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

- There is a rail connection to South Africa; the two countries use the same gauge. ( Rail transport in South Africa) *

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

- There is currently no rail-link with Zambia, though the two countries use the same gauge. As of February 2011, there has been some talk of extending rail to the Zambian border.TransKalahari Railway to steam ahead in 2012
retrieved February 17, 2011 ( Rail transport in Zambia)

Ports and harbours

Atlantic Ocean

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