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Namibia
People
Namibia's population of 2 million people comprises 14 native groups speaking 26 different languages. The majority of people live in the northern part of the country. Poverty remains widespread, but one area of expanding economic development is the communal conservancy movement, which links conservation to poverty alleviation through sustainable use of natural resources. Through initiatives such as WWF's LIFE program, indigenous groups have restored populations of lions, cheetahs, black rhinos, zebras and other wildlife native to the world's richest dry land and - through programs like ecotourism ventures - have developed a means to generate sustainable income for their communities.
After Mongolia, Namibia is the least densely populated country in the world, with a majority of the population living in the north of the country. In addition to the black Bantu majority, there are large groups of Khoisan people (e.g. Nama and Bushmen) who originally inhabited the Southern Africa region. About 5 percent of the population is made up by whites of Portuguese, Dutch, German, British and French roots.
Half of all Namibians speak Oshiwambo (Ovambo) as their first language, whereas the most widely understood language is Afrikaans. For younger generations, the most widely understood language is English.
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