In 1971 Namibian contract workers led a general strike against the contract system and in support of independence.[61] Some of the striking workers would later join SWAPO's PLAN[62] as part of the South African Border War. Independence[edit] As SWAPO's insurgency intensified, South Africa's case for annexation in the international community continued to decline.[63] The UN declared that South Africa had failed in its obligations to ensure the moral and material well-being of South West Africa's indigenous inhabitants, and had thus disavowed its own mandate.[64] On 12 June 1968, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming that, in accordance with the desires of its people, South West Africa be renamed Namibia.[64] United Nations Security Council Resolution 269, adopted in August 1969, declared South Africa's continued occupation of Namibia illegal.[64][65] In recognition of this landmark decision, SWAPO's armed wing was renamed the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN).[66] Namibia became one of several flashpoints for Cold War proxy conflicts in southern Africa during the latter years of the PLAN insurgency.[67] The insurgents sought out weapons and sent recruits to the Soviet Union for military training.[68] As the PLAN war effort gained momentum, the Soviet Union and other sympathetic states such as Cuba continued to increase their support, deploying advisers to train the insurgents directly as well as supplying more weapons and ammunition.[69] SWAPO's leadership, dependent on Soviet, Angolan, and Cuban military aid, positioned the movement firmly within the socialist bloc by 1975.[70] This practical alliance reinforced the external perception of SWAPO as a Soviet proxy, which dominated Cold War rhetoric in South Africa and the United States.[58] For its part, the Soviet Union supported SWAPO partly because it viewed South Africa as a regional Western ally.[71] South African troops patrol the border region for PLAN insurgents, 1980s. Growing war weariness and the reduction of tensions between the superpowers compelled South Africa, Angola, and Cuba to accede to the Tripartite Accord, under pressure from both the Soviet Union and the United States.[72] South Africa accepted Namibian independence in exchange for Cuban military withdrawal from the region and an Angolan commitment to cease all aid to PLAN.[73] PLAN and South Africa adopted an informal ceasefire in August 1988, and a United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) was formed to monitor the Namibian peace process and supervise the return of refugees.[74] The ceasefire was broken after PLAN made a final incursion into the territory, possibly as a result of misunderstanding UNTAG's directives, in March 1989.[75] A new ceasefire was later imposed with the condition that the insurgents were to be confined to their external bases in Angola until they could be disarmed and demobilised by UNTAG.[74][76] By the end of the 11-month transition period, the last South African troops had been withdrawn from Namibia, all political prisoners granted amnesty, racially discriminatory legislation repealed, and 42,000 Namibian refugees returned to their homes.[70] Just over 97% of eligible voters participated in the country's first parliamentary elections held under a universal franchise.[77] The United Nations plan included oversight by foreign election observers in an effort to ensure a free and fair election. SWAPO won a plurality of seats in the Constituent Assembly with 57% of the popular vote.[77] This gave the party 41 seats, but not a two-thirds majority, which would have enabled it to draft the constitution on its own.[77] The Namibian Constitution was adopted in February 1990. It incorporated protection for human rights and compensation for state expropriations of private property and established an independent judiciary, legislature, and an executive presidency (the constituent assembly became the national assembly). The country officially became independent on 21 March 1990.[78][42] Sam Nujoma was sworn in as the first President of Namibia at a ceremony attended by Nelson Mandela of South Africa (who had been released from prison the previous month) and representatives from 147 countries, including 20 heads of state.[79] In 1994, shortly before the first multiracial elections in South Africa, that country ceded Walvis Bay to Namibia.[80] After independence[edit] Since independence Namibia has completed the transition from white minority apartheid rule to parliamentary democracy. Multiparty democracy was introduced and has been maintained, with local, regional and national elections held regularly. Several registered political parties are active and represented in the National Assembly, although the SWAPO has won every election since independence.[81] The transition from the 15-year rule of President Nujoma to his successor Hifikepunye Pohamba in 2005 went smoothly.[82] Since independence, the Namibian government has promoted a policy of national reconciliation. It issued an amnesty for those who fought on either side during the liberation war. The civil war in Angola spilled over and adversely affected Namibians living in the north of the country. In 1998, Namibia Defence Force (NDF) troops were sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of a Southern African Development Community (SADC) contingent. In 1999, the national government quashed a secessionist attempt in the northeastern Caprivi Strip.[82] The Caprivi conflict was initiated by the Caprivi Liberation Army (CLA), a rebel group led by Mishake Muyongo. It wanted the Caprivi Strip to secede and form its own society.[83] In 2007, Twyfelfontein was inscribed as a cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site, a prehistoric site with one of the largest concentrations of rock engravings on the African continent.[84] In December 2014, Prime Minister Hage Geingob, the candidate of ruling SWAPO, won the presidential elections, taking 87% of the vote. His predecessor, President Hifikepunye Pohamba, also of SWAPO, had served the maximum two terms allowed by the constitution.[85] In December 2019, President Hage Geingob was re-elected for a second term, taking 56.3% of the vote.[86] On 4 February 2024, President Hage Geingob died and he was immediately succeeded by vice-president Nangolo Mbumba as new President of Namibia who finished the late President's term as it came to an end in March 2025.[87] SWAPO's first female presidential candidate, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, was declared the winner of the 2024 elections with 57% of the vote.[88] On 21 March 2025, she was sworn in as Namibia's new president.[89] Geography[edit] Main article: Geography of Namibia Sand dunes of the Namib desert Fish River Canyon At 825,615 km2 (318,772 sq mi),[90] Namibia is the world's 34th largest country (after Venezuela). It lies mostly between latitudes 17° and 29°S (a small area is north of 17°), and longitudes 11° and 26°E. The Namibian landscape consists generally of five geographical areas, each with characteristic abiotic conditions and vegetation, with some variation within and overlap between them: the Central Plateau, the Namib Desert, the Great Escarpment, the Bushveld, and the Kalahari Desert. Namibia is situated between the Namib and Kalahari Deserts. Unsurprisingly, Namibia has the least rainfall of any country in sub-Saharan Africa.