There are about 75 000 Namibians of European descent, approximately two thirds of these speak Afrikaans, one quarter German and most of the rest English and a few speak Portuguese. Before independence Afrikaans and English were the official languages, while German had an unofficial position. Since independence English has become the sole official language of Namibia.
Most of Namibia's Afrikaans community arrived from South Africa in a series of treks. The German community are mostly descendants of the early German settlers although there is still a constant trickle of Germans migrating to Namibia. The English community has mostly moved from South Africa, while the Portuguese speakers are refugees from the early days of the Angolan civil war.
German Namibians have had an influence on Namibia that is inversely proportional to their numbers, although Germany only held Namibia as a colony for a short time, the influence of the German community that remained is tangible in nearly all aspect of urban life in Namibia. Many of the industries and retailers are German owned, while food in most Namibian restaurant has a distinctly German flavour.
The white population is largely based in the larger towns and cities of Windhoek, Swakopmund, Walvis Bay and Tsumeb.
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