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| Population, total (millions) |
2.0 |
| Population growth (annual %) | 1.5 |
| GNI (current US$) (billions) | 4.8 |
| GDP (current US$) (billions) | 4.7 |
| GDP per capita (constant 1995 US$) | 2250.3 |
Source: World Development Indicators
Namibia Housing Action Group (24 KB, PDF)
Taken from the paper: "Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia", 2000
The members participating in the saving schemes have shown that poor people are able to take decisions and actions for their own development. The process followed by the saving scheme is not a new invention. The Namibian poor learned from practices from their counterparts in South Africa and India, and act on these lessons. This is a real innovation for poor marginalized communities in Namibia, who grow up in an environment where decisions about their lives in Urban Areas were previously taken by others under the apartheid regime. First South Africa made the major decisions on urban development and the Namibian urban community was not allowed to participate actively in socio-economic development. Then communities continued to depend on formal NGO interventions during the years following independence. A project syndrome develops, where people depend on foreign donations for supporting the developing of projects in the community. Now the development starts with their own resources and knowledge.
See also:
o The Microfinance Gap: Selected Issues for Namibia, 2005, Jonathan Adongo and Christopher Stork