German in Namibia

Germans in Namibia

With a strong and diverse German history, Namibia still reflects a large amount of German culture. Namibia was colonised by German troops in the late 19th century and they remained in control until the end of World War 1.

Several streets in Namibia reflect these German roots and many are still named after German words.

A large portion of the population of Namibia is either German or directly related to German ancestry. The official language of Namibia remained German until it gained independence in 1990.

At the last census, 2% of the population of Namibia were directly of German descent and also reflected the use of the German language, despite the actual current official language of Namibia being English.

The majority of the Germans in Namibia live in Windhoek, Swakopmund and Luderitz. You can see strong German architectural influences. Windhoek is home of the only German language daily newspaper called "Die Allgemeine Zeitung".

Some Germans in Namibia work within the tourism industry. A strong indication of the German roots in Namibia comes from the main church of the country, which is the Lutheran Church.

There has been a decline recently in the number of German Namibians but the cultural impact on the country is strong for many people to see. It certainly has had a major impact on the country over time and will continue to do so into the future.