21st March: Namibia Independence Day

Namibia Independence Day is today, so here are 10 things you might not know about Namibia.

1. It's a good place for people who don't like crowds, as it is the second least densely populated country in the world. Only Mongolia is less crowded.
2. It's also good for people who don't like rain. The average rainfall is only about 350 mm per annum, and there are, on average, 300 days of sunshine a year.
3. The only perennial rivers are on the national borders with South Africa, Angola, Zambia and the short border with Botswana in the Caprivi. There are storage dams which retain water from seasonal floods, and more than 100 000 boreholes have been drilled in Namibia over the past century. Many of the people of Namibia depend on groundwater.
4. The capital and largest city is Windhoek.
5. Namibia is home to the world's oldest desert, the Namib desert, which is 43 million years old. The name Namib means "open space", and it is this desert which gives the country its name.
6. Also found here is the highest sand dune in the world at 980 feet. The highest point in Namibia is at Königstein elevation 2,606 metres (8,550 ft).
7. The world's largest underground lake, Dragon's breath, is also found here.
8. Namibia is the first country ever to include provision for environmental protection in its constitution.
9. The second largest canyon in the world, after the Grand Canyon, is here - Fish River Canyon is 161km long, up to 27km wide and 550m deep, and was formed about 500 million years ago.
10. It has the largest free-roaming Cheetah population in the world, at around 2,500.