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 ...

is divided into 14 regions subdivided, which are further subdivided into 121 constituencies. The administrative divisions of Namibia are tabled by ''Delimitation Commissions'' and accepted or declined by the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

History

Before the

independence of Namibia The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Angol ...

, the territory was known as

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

(before 1885 and between 1915 and 1989) and as

German South-West Africa German South West Africa () was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. German rule over this territory was punctuated by ...

during the time of colonialisation by the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

(1885-1915). During the

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 ...

n administration it was considered the '' de facto'' fifth province of South Africa, although a formal request for annexation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

was turned down. The territory that became the independent state of Namibia on 21 March 1990 inherited the administrative division of this "province" which consisted of 26 districts. These districts remained until the First Delimitation Commission of Namibia tabled its recommendations in the National Assembly, and the latter approved and implemented them in 1992. Since then, Namibia is divided into

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

which in turn are divided into

constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

Delimitation Commissions

Delimitation Commissions are three-member bodies appointed by the president that make suggestions as to how Namibia should be administratively divided, considering only geographical changes like population grow and migration but not discriminating by ethnic factors. They are mentioned in articles 102-104 of

the constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

, and they are to sit approximately once every ten years, although they sat more frequently before 2002. The chairman of the Delimitation Commission must be a judge at either a High Court or the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. This judge and the other two commission members are appointed by the president, subject to the approval of Parliament. The five Delimitation Commissions of Namibia so far are:

Current administrative division

The current administrative division of Namibia is the result of the work of the Fourth Delimitation Commission, tabled in 2013. Namibia is divided into 14 regions and 121 constituencies.

References

{{Regions of Namibia Politics of Namibia Subdivisions of Namibia