Reflections On Time Spent In Namibia

People, places and captured moments from The Intentional Travelers .

Reflections On The People Of Namibia

Himba woman wearing traditional dress, jewelry, and hairstyle in village

Recently I (we) spent some extended and unplanned time in Walvis Bay, Namibia. This isn’t the first time we’ve had an opportunity to get to know a number of local people as we’ve traveled but this was an eye opener for me. Namibia is one of the poorest nations in Africa with an annual per capita income of just over US$8,000. Generally Namibians are a friendly and outgoing people and considering their average income we were amazed at how content most people seemed and how prosperous the economy appeared cosidering the average income.

Exterior of Dunes Mall shopping center with cars parked and sand dunes behind

The Dunes Mall in Walviz Bay

One thing that has always puzzled me about economics is how varied the cost of living can be between various locations. Even in the United States the variation in the cost of groceries between the metropolitan areas where we have lived and rural locations in other states seemed far too wide to be explained by wages and maybe local agriculture? Namibia seemed to be the far extreme of this issue.

During my time in Walvis Bay I spent a number of nights in local hotels (one being a very nice Marriott) and ate in a number of restaurants* and I was constantly amazed at how inexpensive everything was. While there I was taken to the Dunes Mall to get a cellular sim card and again I was impressed at how low the prices in the mall were for clothes to groceries. A local that had taken me on as a project had decided that I needed a local sim card to help with communications. At the cellular store (Telecom Namibia (TN Mobile) I was charged about US$2 for the sim and that included activation if done within 24 hours. After that I could load cell service and data as needed online which was also very inexpensive.

The general impression I was left with is that the people of Namibia don’t think of themselves as being poor. While Namibia has a long history of European colonial control as well as being dominated by various South African governments, since its independence on March 21, 1990 the country has dedicated itself to improving the circumstances of its people. Today Namibia has one of Africas highest literacy and lowest unemployment rates and its economy has seen significant growth year over year. Today Namibia is considered one of Africas safest and most peaceful nations with a real hope of a prosperous future.

Large sand dunes near a coastal industrial port under partly cloudy sky

*One evening I had a pasta dish (very good and a large helping) with two glasses of South African wine (a nice vintage) and the total bill was under US$5.