Namibia Emigration and Immigration

Online Sources

 * 1878-1960 UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960, at Ancestry.com, index and images. ($)
 * 1890-1960 Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960 at Findmypast; index & images($)

British Overseas Subjects

 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms, Namibia, index & images ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Deaths and Burials, Namibia, index & images ($)

Namibia Emigration and Immigration
"Emigration" means moving out of a country. "Immigration" means moving into a country. Emigration and immigration sources list the names of people leaving (emigrating) or arriving (immigrating) in the country. These sources may be passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, or records of passports issued. The information in these records may include the emigrants’ names, ages, occupations, destinations, and places of origin or birthplaces. Sometimes they also show family groups.

Immigration into Namibia

 * In 1878, the Cape of Good Hope, then a British colony, annexed the port of Walvis Bay and the offshore Penguin Islands; these became an integral part of the new Union of South Africa at its creation in 1910.
 * In 1884 the German Empire established rule over most of the territory, forming a colony known as German South West Africa. It developed farming and infrastructure.
 * German rule ended in 1915 with a defeat by South African forces.
 * In 1920, after the end of World War I, the League of Nations mandated administration of the colony to South Africa. As Mandatory power, South Africa imposed its laws, including racial classifications and rules. From 1948, with the National Party elected to power, this included South Africa applying apartheid to what was then known as South West Africa.
 * In the later 20th century, uprisings and demands for political representation by native African political activists seeking independence resulted in the UN assuming direct responsibility over the territory in 1966, but South Africa maintained de facto rule.
 * In 1973 the UN recognized the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) as the official representative of the Namibian people.
 * Following continued guerrilla warfare, South Africa installed an interim administration in Namibia in 1985.
 * Namibia obtained full independence from South Africa in 1990. However, Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands remained under South African control until 1994.

Emigration From Namibia
KNOMAD Statistics: Emigrants: 138,600. Top destination countries: South Africa, Tanzania, Botswana, Australia, the United States, Angola, Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria