Border between Namibia and South Africa

The border between Namibia (green) and South Africa (orange)

The border between the Republic of Namibia and the Republic of South Africa is 967 kilometers long and runs in one continuous section.

history

Border line from 1890

The origins of the demarcation between today's Namibia and South Africa go back to the Helgoland-Zanzibar Treaty from 1890. This laid down the border between German South West Africa and the British protectorates . Article 3 of the treaty defines the boundaries of today's Namibia, including:

To the south by the line that commences at the mouth of the Orange River and continues up its northern bank to its intersection point with the 20th degree of east longitude. (in German about in the south by a line from the mouth of the Oranje, along the north bank, to the 20th degree of longitude east. )
To the east by the line that commences at the aforementioned point and follows the 20th degree of east longitude to its intersection point with the 22nd degree of south latitude. (in German about in the east by a line from the beginning of the aforementioned point, along the 20th degree of longitude east, to the 22nd degree of latitude south. )

Until 1994 there was also a shared border around the enclave Walvis Bay on the central Atlantic coast of Namibia. However, this area has been part of Namibia since 1994.

geography

Orange

In large parts the South African province of North Cape and the Namibian region of ǁKaras form the common border. The North Cape borders the Hardap region in Namibia only in the north of the shared border on the 20th degree east .

Borderline

The border between Namibia and South Africa begins in the west at the mouth of the Oranje ( Ramsar reserve ). The Namib-Naukluft-Park and ǀAi-ǀAis Richtersveld Transfrontier Park are located here on the Namibian and South African side just west of the Noordoewer / Vioolsdrift border crossing . At the level of the 20th degree of longitude and running along it, the common border breaks off to the north. It ends in the north in the middle of the Nossob River and merges into the border between Botswana and Namibia . The Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park lies on about a third of this border on the South African side .

( Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap ) f1

Border crossings

Arrival in Namibia at the Noordoewer border crossing

Namibia and South Africa have seven border crossings (as of October 2015) on their common border. Two of these are only open to tourist traffic.

Border disputes

The Constitution of Namibia sees the common border with South Africa in the middle of the Orange River , while historically, the northern bank is assumed to be the border.

Remarks

↑ Note: This article contains characters from the alphabet of the Khoisan languages spoken in southern Africa . The display contains characters of the click letters ǀ , ǁ , ǂ and ǃ . For more information on the pronunciation of long or nasal vowels or certain clicks , see e.g. B. under Khoekhoegowab .