Analyzing Namibia's Social Capital and its Impact on Wellbeing

This essay examines the intricate relationship between social capital and wellbeing in Namibia, highlighting the country's unique context as a developing African nation. It begins by defining wellbeing and social capital, emphasizing the importance of community belonging and networking unity for ...Read More

Running head: NAMIBIA’S SOCIAL CAPITAL AND WELLBEING 1
Namibia’s Social Capital and wellbeing
Institution
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NAMIBIA’S SOCIAL CAPITAL AND WELLBEING 2

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Introduction
Namibia is one of the African countries located in the southern part of the continent of
Africa. Its name originates from the Namib Desert. The capital city of Namibia is Windhoek.
Windhoek is the biggest city which has got a population of 268,000 people approximately. In the
entire country, this is the only city which has a population that exceeds 100,000 people. The
following countries surround this country; Angola, Botswana, Zambia and South Africa.
Besides, Atlantic Ocean borders with Namibia (Linard et al., 2012). Rural community refers to
the area that is under development and uncivilized by geographical conditions. The total
population of Namibia is estimated to be approximately 2.6 million in the year 2018. The
population growth rate is calculated to be at 2.13%; hence, Namibia happens to be one of the few
African countries which are the least densely populated with approximately three people
occupying a single square kilometer. It is ranked number 226 in the world by population
distribution.
Wellbeing
Wellbeing refers to the stable state of comfort and happiness. There are different
subdivisions of well-being, which include physical, economic, social, developmental, emotional,
psychological and domain-specific contention and life contentment. The social wellbeing refers
to the degree in which one feels that sense of belonging to a particular community and the full
inclusion in its activities. The Namibians have a got sense of belonging in their country, living
in harmony, peace, happily and with total life satisfaction. In the Namibian society, every person
feels attached to the spirit of nation-building. For the Namibian people, the social wellbeing and
their way of life are paramount in their healthy lifestyles, living together and enjoy their beliefs,
traditional cultures, and other value systems (Ziegert, 2011). Namibia has got one of the best

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wellbeing lodges and health centres. Although, Namibia is facing developmental challenges in
balancing between leaning towards a rapid growing model for profit-making over the economic
status of her people. Since 2012 a group of crucial Namibian economists has been tirelessly
finding ways out for successful, pliable and happy society for all Namibians. Also, the team is
focusing on how the developmental progress would be measured. There have also been
community dialogues and day-night sessions taking place at the capital city of Namibia,
Windhoek, with the critical objective of determining the way forward for the community-driven
developmental action to sustain the well-being.
Social Capital
The social capital of a given nation, for instance, in Namibia, who are staying together
and working communally with an objective of facilitating society functioning correctly
(ROSTILA, 2010). This is a multi-dimensional concept that refers to the networking unity which
co-exists amongst people. Social capital comprises of the structural and all the psychological
factors for personal networks upon which mutual understanding co-exists. As for the Namibians,
social capital is one of the critical driving pillars in striving to achieve a stable economy and
functioning society. According to Clairdge (2004), measurement of social capital comprises of
the following indicators; horizontal associations, the civil and political society, legal and
governance factors.
The relationship between well-being, social capital, and rural community
The rural community forms the environment area in which people of a given society
interact, live and work together. This conducive environment helps to drive the economic growth
and proper functioning of the community. People are living together in harmony, peace and unity

NAMIBIA’S SOCIAL CAPITAL AND WELLBEING 5
results to the steering of the well-being development in the Namibian societies. Economic
growth will also be spurred at a fast rate and result in a positive index figure in the gross
domestic product (Kavita & Saarinen, 2016). The growth and economic expansion in Namibia
would occur out of the social and active civic involvement in day to day activities and public
policy formulation. The social capital gets boosted both structurally and psychologically as
elemental factors towards the personal networking among the Namibians. The promoting of
social capital helps to develop a mutual sense of understanding enabling citizens to stay and
perform their economic duties together.
PESTLE
PESTLE is an analysis tool that does environmental check before any company or nation
sets up a business or project. Its primary objective is to determine the suitability for the survival
of a set project or activity. PESTLE stands for; P denotes Political, E- Economic, S- Social, T-
Technological, L- Legal and E- Environmental. In Namibia, most of the citizens are Bantu-
speakers. Ovambo is the largest community, approximately 49.8% of the total population, living
in the northern part and the big towns in Namibia (Saarinen, 2011). Other ethnic groups include
the Kavango (9.3%), Damara 7.5 percent, Herero 7.5 percent, White 6.4 percent, Caprivian 3.7
percent, San 2.9 percent and Basters 2.5 percent. The most spoken language in Namibia is
Afrikaans, and other languages include; German, English, Herero, KhoeKhoe, Lozi etc. About
90 per cent of the Namibians are Christians in which 50 per cent of them are Lutherans, and the
10 per cent are indigenous believers. The life expectancy age in Namibia is at 64 years for both
genders with a median age of the population at 21.2 years. The fertility rate as per 2018 is at 3.29
children per woman whereas the mortality rate ranges about 35.1 deaths in every 1000 live
births. In Namibia, 91 percent of the people have access to clean water, although on the contrary

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65 percent of the population is succumbing to inadequate sanitation facilities exposing them to
high incidences of contracting diseases (Notkola & Siiskonen, 2010). Due to the struggle of the
65 percent of people to proper sanitation access, there are high incidences of illness rate and the
outbreak of diseases. The top illness in Namibia is TB followed by HIV/AIDS. Namibia enjoys
political stability from the time it gained her independence in 1990 from the rule by South
Africa. The country has got the best and most modern means of transport and communication in
the African continent. Namibia’s infrastructure is linked to most of the countries.

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References
Claridge, T. (2004). Social capital and natural resource management. Unpublished Thesis,
University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Kavita, E., & Saarinen, J. (2016). Tourism and rural community development in Namibia: policy
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Linard, C., Gilbert, M., Snow, R. W., Noor, A. M., & Tatem, A. J. (2012). Population
Distribution, Settlement Patterns and Accessibility across Africa in 2010. PLoS
ONE, 7(2), e31743. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031743
Notkola, V., & Siiskonen, H. (2010). Fertility, mortality and migration in Subsaharan Africa.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
ROSTILA, M. (2010). The Facets of Social Capital. Journal For The Theory Of Social
Behaviour, 41(3), 308-326. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-5914.2010.00454.x
Saarinen, J. (2011). Tourism Development and Local Communities: The Direct Benefits of
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Review International, 15(1), 149-157. doi: 10.3727/154427211x13139345020534
Ziegert, K. (2011). Maintaining families’ well-being in everyday life. International Journal Of
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