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The ǁKaras Region (pronounced , with a
lateral click The lateral clicks are a family of click consonants found only in African languages. The clicking sound used by equestrians to urge on their horses is a lateral click, although it is not a speech sound in that context. Lateral clicks are found ...
) is the southernmost and least densely populated of the 14
regions of Namibia Namibia uses regions as its first-level subnational administrative divisions. Since 2013, it has 14 regions which in turn are subdivided into 121 constituencies. Upon Namibian independence, the pre-existing subdivisions from the South African ...
; its capital is
Keetmanshoop Keetmanshoop is a city in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia, lying on the Trans-Namib Railway from Windhoek to Upington in South Africa. It is named after Johann Keetman, a German industrialist and benefactor of the city. History Bef ...
. The name assigned to the region reflects the prominence of the Karas mountain range in its southern part. The ǁKaras region contains the municipality of Keetmanshoop, the towns
Karasburg Karasburg ( naq, ǀNomsoros, old name af, Kalkfontein, literally "carst spring") is a town of 4,000 inhabitants in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia and the district capital of the Karasburg electoral constituency. It lies at the heart of ...
,
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 ...
and Oranjemund, and the self-governed villages
Aroab Aroab is a village with a population of approximately 5,000 in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It is situated about south-east of Keetmanshoop on the edge of the Kalahari desert; the average annual rainfall is about 150–200 mm. A ...
, Berseba, Bethanie, Koës and
Tses Tses is a village in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia with a population of approximately 1000; probably 1000 more live in the surrounding semi-desert farming hinterland. It is situated one kilometre off the main B1 highway from Windhoek t ...
. ǁKaras' western border is the shores of the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...
. Its location in Namibia's south means that it shares a long border in the south and east with the
Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...
Province of South Africa. Domestically, it borders only the
Hardap Region Hardap is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Mariental. Hardap contains the municipality of Mariental, the towns Rehoboth and Aranos, and the self-governed villages Gibeon, Gochas, Kalkrand, Stampriet and Maltahöhe. It ...
, to the north.


Politics

As of 2020, ǁKaras had 56,352 registered voters. The name of this region was Karas Region (without the
alveolar lateral click The lateral clicks are a family of click consonants found only in African languages. The clicking sound used by equestrians to urge on their horses is a lateral click, although it is not a speech sound in that context. Lateral clicks are found t ...
of the
Khoekhoegowab The Khoekhoe language (), also known by the ethnic terms Nama (''Namagowab'') , Damara (''ǂNūkhoegowab''), or Nama/Damara and formerly as Hottentot, is the most widespread of the non- Bantu languages of Southern Africa that make heavy use ...
language) since Namibian independence in 1990. In an effort to consolidate spelling, it was renamed to ''ǁKaras Region'' in August 2013.


Constituencies

The region is subdivided into seven electoral constituencies: * Berseba * Karasburg East *
Keetmanshoop Rural Keetmanshoop Rural is an electoral constituency in the ǁKaras Region of Namibia. It contains the Krönlein suburb of Keetmanshoop and the villages of Koës and Aroab, the settlements of Seeheim and Klein Karas, as well as several farming commu ...
*
Keetmanshoop Urban Keetmanshoop Urban is a constituency in the ǁKaras Region of Namibia. It comprises the city of Keetmanshoop, except the Krönlein suburb. It had a population of 19,447 in 2011, up from 15,777 in 2001. the constituency had 12,569 registered vot ...
* ǃNamiǂNûs (''formerly Lüderitz Constituency'') * Oranjemund * Karasburg West


Election results

As in all other regions,
SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...
was by far the strongest political party since Namibian independence. In the 2004 presidential election, the region supported SWAPO's
Hifikepunye Pohamba Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba (born 18 August 1936) is a Namibian politician who served as the second president of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 21 March 2015. He won the 2004 presidential election overwhelmingly as the candidate of SWAPO, and w ...
with 65% of the votes. No other candidate received more than 10%. In the 2015 regional elections, SWAPO obtained 83% of the total votes (
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull, Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A ...
: 64%) and won all seven constituencies. In the 2020 regional election the
Landless People's Movement The Landless People's Movement was an independent social movement in South Africa. It consisted of rural people and people living in shack settlements in cities. The Landless People's Movement boycotted parliamentary elections and had a history ...
(LPM, an opposition party formed in 2016) narrowly became the strongest party. It obtained 39% of votes overall and won four of the seven constituencies, SWAPO got 36% and won the remaining three.


Governors

*
Bernadus Swartbooi Bernadus Clinton Swartbooi (born 11 October 1977) is a Namibian politician. Swartbooi was a Governor of the ǁKaras Region before being appointed as Namibia's deputy minister of lands and resettlement in 2015 by President Hage Geingob, a positi ...
(until 2015) * Lucia Basson (2015–2020) * Aletta Fredericks (2020–present)


Economy and infrastructure

The region is a predominantly a small stock-farming area, consisting mostly of animals such as sheep or goats. Game farming and irrigation farming along the
Naute Dam The Naute Dam is a dam outside of Keetmanshoop in the ǁKaras Region of Namibia. It was built by Concor between 1970 and 1972 and was officially commissioned in September 1972. It is the third largest dam in Namibia after Hardap Dam to Naute's no ...
and the Orange River have gained significantly in importance. Notable characteristics of the region include the harbour town of Lüderitz and its
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...
and boat-building industry, the diamond areas along the coast—both on and off shore—with Oranjemund as the main centre, mining enterprises in the southern part of
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 ea ...
(Klein Karas area, Rosh Pinah), the Kudu Gas field in the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...
near
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 ...
, and small-scale industries in Lüderitz and
Keetmanshoop Keetmanshoop is a city in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia, lying on the Trans-Namib Railway from Windhoek to Upington in South Africa. It is named after Johann Keetman, a German industrialist and benefactor of the city. History Bef ...
. The Hot Water Springs at Ai-Ais, the Hot Water Springs in Warmbad, the Kokerboom Forest near Keetmanshoop, the
Fish River Canyon The Fish River Canyon (Afrikaans: ''Visrivier Canyon'' or'' Visrivier Kuil'', german: Fischfluss Canyon), is located in the south of Namibia. It is the largest canyon in Africa, as well as the second most visited tourist attraction in Namibia.Ma ...
(the second-largest in the world), the Brukaros Mountain (a former volcano) near Berseba, the coastal town Lüderitz, and several guest and game farms have become important tourist attractions. The tourism industry has the potential for further expansion. The economic growth potential of the area is considerable, but needs an intensive general development policy. It is a profitable tax-generating area, which predominantly comes from
diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
for the central government. The main railway line and two main trunk roads give access to South Africa. Keetmanshoop is considered as the capital of the south and has direct air, railway, and road links with
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 202 ...
. Its airport is of international standards and suitable for international air traffic. There is an airfield at Kolmanskop near Lüderitz. Well-developed landing facilities also exist at Oranjemund. ǁKaras has 49 schools with a total of 20,110 pupils.


Demographics

According to the Namibia 2001 Population and Housing Census, ǁKaras had a population of 69,329 (32,346 females and 36,976 males or 114 males for every 100 females) growing at an annual rate of 1.3%. The
fertility rate The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if: # she were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through her lifetime # she were t ...
was 3.1 children per woman. About 54% lived in urban areas, while 46% lived in rural areas, and with an area of 161,215 km2, the population density was 0.4 persons per km2. By age, 11% of the population was under 5 years old, 20% between 5 and 14 years, 63% between 15 and 59 years, and 6% 60 years and older. The population was divided into 15,481 households, with an average size of 4.1 persons; 35% of households had a female head of house, while 65% had a male. For those 15 years and older, 69% had never married, 20% married with certificate, 2% married traditionally, 5% married consensually, 1% were divorced or separated, and 2% were widowed. The most commonly spoken languages at home were
Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans grad ...
(40% of households), Nama/ Damara (26%) and
Oshiwambo The Ovambo () language is a dialect cluster spoken by the Ovambo people in southern Angola and northern Namibia, of which the written standards are Kwanyama and Ndonga. The native name for the language is ''Oshiwambo'' (also written ''Oshi ...
(23%). For those 15 years and older, the literacy rate was 87%. Nearly 45% of the population are from coloured and white Namibian groups. In terms of education, 52% of girls and 48% of boys between the ages of 6 and 15 were attending school, and of those 15 years and older, 77% had left school, 7% were currently at school, and 7% had never attended. In 2001, the employment rate for the labor force (67% of those 15+) was 71% employed and 29% unemployed. For those 15 years old or older and not in the labor force (24%), 28% were students, 40% homemakers, and 32% retired or unable to work. According to the 2012 Namibia Labour Force Survey, unemployment in the ǁKaras Region stood at 23.9%. The two studies are methodologically not comparable. Among households, 94% had
safe water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ag ...
, 26% no toilet facility, 50% electricity for lighting, 81% access to
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
, and 35% had wood or charcoal for cooking. In terms of households' main sources of income, 7% derived it from farming, 69% from wages and salaries, 6% cash remittances, 5% from business or nonfarming, and 10% from pension. For every 1,000 live births, 37 female and 56 male infant deaths occurred. The life expectancy at birth was 61 years for females and 54 for males. Among children younger than 15, 4% had lost a mother, 6% a father, and 1% were orphaned by both parents. About 3% of the entire population had a disability, of which 22% were deaf, 29% blind, 10% had a speech disability, 13% hand disability, 27% leg disability, and 7% mental disability.


External links


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karas Region Regions of Namibia