Namibia is located on the south west coast of Africa, north of
South Africa and bordering the Atlantic Ocean. A riparian
country to the Cunene (Kunene), Cuvelai, Okavango, Zambezi and
Orange-Senqu River basins, Namibia has the second-lowest
population density in the world at 2,61 people per km². The
estimated population of 2 148 000 (2011) is distributed across
an area of 824 116 km². Most of the population is of Ovambo
ethnicity; there are also Herero and Himba people and large
groups of Khoisan speaking people (e.g. Nama, San and Damara).
The remainder includes people of mixed race, called "Coloureds"
and "Basters", and Whites. The capital city of Namibia is
Windhoek, located near the geographic centre of the country. The
population growth rate is estimated at 1,7% (2011), Namibia’s
population is very young with a median age of 21,7 years in
2011. As throughout southern Africa, the HIV/AIDS epidemic in
Namibia is severe, but considerably less severe than in the
other countries of the basin. In 2009 the adul