White Namibians (german: Weiße Namibier or Europäer Namibier) are people of European descent settled in
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and e ...
. The majority of White Namibians are
Afrikaners
Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Cas ...
(locally born or of
White South Africans
White South Africans generally refers to South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India Company's original settl ...
descent), with many of the White minority being
German Namibians
German Namibians (german: Deutschnamibier) are a community of people descended from ethnic German colonists who settled in present-day Namibia. In 1883, the German trader Adolf Lüderitz bought what would become the southern coast of Namibia ...
who colonised Namibia in the late-nineteenth century). Many are also
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Port ...
or
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national id ...
immigrants. Current estimates of the White Namibian population run between 75,000Namibian.org – retrieved 3 February 2016 and 150,000. – retrieved 3 February 2016 This imprecision in data is because the Namibian government no longer collects data based on race.
Distribution
The vast majority of White Namibians live in major cities and towns in central or southern Namibia.
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 in 20 ...
has by far the largest White population, and Whites are a majority in the coastal city of
Swakopmund
Swakopmund (german: Mouth of the Swakop) is a city on the coast of western Namibia, west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. The town has 44,725 inhabitants and cover ...
. Other coastal cities, such as
Walvis Bay
Walvis Bay ( en, lit. Whale Bay; af, Walvisbaai; ger, Walfischbucht or Walfischbai) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The c ...
and
Lüderitz
Lüderitz is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It lies on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island.
The town is known for its colonial architecture, includi ...
, also have large White communities. In general, most of Namibia south of Windhoek has a high proportion of Whites, while central Namibia has a high concentration of Blacks. Apart from Windhoek, coastal areas and Southern Namibia, there are large White communities in
Otjiwarongo
Otjiwarongo ( hz, beautiful place) is a city of 28,000 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. It is the district capital of the Otjiwarongo electoral constituency and also the capital of Otjozondjupa.
Otjiwarongo is situated in cen ...
and towns in the
Otavi Triangle
Otavi is a town of 4,000 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of central 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 ...
. The 1981 census of the Republic of South Africa reported a White population of 76,430 in Namibia (71% Afrikaners and 17% German-speaking).
History
During Namibia's German rule, the colony attracted German immigrants. Most Afrikaners settled during the Dorsland Trek, as well as during the existence of apartheid. Most Angolan-born Portuguese settled after Angola became independent in 1975.
Economics
About 4,000 commercial land owners, mostly Whites, own around 50% of the arable land across the country despite a land reform process. According to the FAO, around 42% of arable land was owned by Whites at the time of independence in 1990. While the area was known as
South West Africa
South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola ( Portuguese colony before ...
Leon Jooste
Leon Jooste (born 18 February 1969 in Grootfontein, Otjozondjupa Region) is a Namibian politician and businessperson who served as Minister of Public Enterprises until 1 December 2022.
Education and early life
Jooste attended school at Paul ...
, Minister of Public Enterprises
* Anton Lubowski, political activist
*
Dirk Mudge
Dirk Frederik Mudge (16 January 192826 August 2020) was a Namibian politician. He served in several high-ranking positions in the South African administration of South West Africa, was the chairman of the 1975–1977 Turnhalle Constitutional Con ...
, Chairman of the Turnhalle Constitutional Conference
*
Henk Mudge
Henry Ferdinand Mudge (known as Henk) (born February 18, 1952) is a Namibian politician and President of the Republican Party.Kosie Pretorius, Member of Parliament
* Hanno Rumpf, government minister and ambassador
*
Hans Erik Staby
Hans-Erik Staby (8 September 1935 in Otjimbingwe-30 November 2009 in Windhoek) was a Namibian politician and one of the country's leading architects. A German Namibian, Staby was a member of the National Assembly of Namibia from the Constitu ...
, Member of Parliament
*
Jan de Wet
Johannes Marthinus (Jan, Jannie) de Wet (10 November 1927 – 13 February 2011) was a Namibian politician and farmer.
Politics
De Wet entered politics as a member of the South African Parliament from 1964 to 1970. He then became the Commissioner G ...
, Member of Parliament
* Piet van der Walt, Deputy Minister of National Planning
* Calle Schlettwein, Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform
*
Nico Smit
Nico Smit is a Namibian politician who has served in 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. ...
Renaldo Bothma
Renaldo Bothma (born 18 September 1989) is a South African-born Namibian rugby union footballer. He plays mostly as a flanker. Formerly, he represented the in Super Rugby and the in the Currie Cup, the , , and .
Career
In 2013, he was include ...
Dan Craven
Dan Craven (born 1 February 1983) is a Namibian racing cyclist, who last rode for Namibian amateur team NCCS Cycling Team. He is the grandson of Danie Craven, the South African rugby union icon.
Craven started cycling seriously when he studie ...
Trevor Dodds
Trevor George Dodds (born 26 September 1959) is a Namibian professional golfer.
Dodds was born in Windhoek, South West Africa. He turned pro in 1985. He won the Canadian Tour Order of Merit in 1995 and 1996. Dodds has compiled 13 wins on f ...
Percy Montgomery
Percival Colin Montgomery OIS (born 15 March 1974) is a South African former professional rugby union player. When he ended his international career in August 2008, he held the all-time records for both caps and points for South Africa's nati ...
Manfred Starke
Manfred Starke (born 21 February 1991) is a Namibian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club VfB Oldenburg. He also holds German citizenship.
Club career
Starke was born in Windhoek, Namibia to a Namibian-born Ge ...
Hannes Smith
Johannes Martin "Hannes" Smith (17 March 1933 – 5 August 2008), affectionately known as Smithie, was a Namibian journalist, editor and publisher. He was first reporter at, then the editor of, the ''Windhoek Advertiser'' until 1978 when he and Gw ...
Rudi
Rudi, born Albert Rudolph (January 24, 1928 – February 21, 1973), also known as Swami Rudrananda, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Rudi was a spiritual teacher and an antiquities entrepreneur in New York City.Swami Rudrananda udi ''Spiri ...
Japie van Zyl
Japie van Zyl (1957 - 26 August 2020) was a Namibian electrical engineer working for NASA.
Van Zyl was born in Outjo , South West Africa. After matric he attended Stellenbosch University where he obtained an honours degree in electronic engi ...
Adolph Jentsch
Adolph Stephan Friedrich Jentsch (29 December 1888 Dresden – 18 April 1977 Windhoek) was a German-born Namibian artist. He studied at the Dresden ''Staatsakademie für Bildende Künste'' (Dresden Art Academy, today's ''College of Fine Arts'') ...
, painter
* Richard Pakleppa, film director and screenwriter
* EES (Eric Sell), singer, songwriter and entrepreneur
* Max Siedentopf, artist and film director
Fashion models
*
Michelle McLean
Michelle McLean (born 31 July 1972) is a Namibian actress, writer, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 1992 at Thailand. McLean was 19 years old when she was crowned Miss Universe, and became the first Namibian woman to win the ...
*
Behati Prinsloo
Behati Prinsloo ( , ; born 16 May 1988) is a Namibian model. In 2008, she became a Pink contract model, and moved on to become a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2009. She walked in ten Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows (2007–2015; 2018), and opened c ...
*
Chanique Rabe
Chanique Rabe (born 17 March 1997) is a Namibian model, fashion designer, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Supranational 2021. Rabe was previously crowned Miss Teen Continents 2015 and Miss Supranational Namibia 2020, making ...
Population chart
See also
*
German Namibians
German Namibians (german: Deutschnamibier) are a community of people descended from ethnic German colonists who settled in present-day Namibia. In 1883, the German trader Adolf Lüderitz bought what would become the southern coast of Namibia ...
*
Monitor Action Group
The Monitor Action Group is a political party in Namibia. The party came into existence as the transformation of the National Party of South West Africa in 1991, Kosie Pretorius became its first chairperson and served until his retirement from ...
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and e ...
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and e ...