Side by side
Namibia and South Africa compared
Two sourced records set beside each other — the figures each nation publishes, and the events each chronicle records of the other. Compared, never graded.
31 May 1910 — Four colonies join to create the Union of South Africa
- Shared indicators
- 42
- Domains
- 9
- Crossed events
- 7
- Data through
- 2026-08-10
The figures, side by side
Each figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two dossiers. Every value shows the year it was observed — vintages differ by indicator and nation. A “—” is an absence in the source data, never a zero. Metric names link to the world ranking; values open the figure on its own dossier.
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Entangled histories
7 events in which either nation’s sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle; nothing here was written for this page.
- July 1915
South Africa conquers the colony
South African forces invaded German South West Africa during the First World War and forced the German garrison to surrender, beginning seventy-five years of South African rule.
War & Rupture · from the Namibia chronicle · South African rule, the mandate, and apartheid · Namibia (country, history and government), History of Namibia
- 1920
League of Nations mandate
The League of Nations granted South Africa a mandate to administer the territory as a trust for its inhabitants; South Africa instead governed it as a near-province, settling white farmers and suppressing African political life.
Colonisation · from the Namibia chronicle · South African rule, the mandate, and apartheid · Namibia (country, history and government), Namibia
- 1946
South Africa refuses UN trusteeship
After the founding of the United Nations, South Africa refused to place the territory under UN trusteeship and sought to annex it, beginning a long international dispute over its status.
Politics & Power · from the Namibia chronicle · South African rule, the mandate, and apartheid · Namibia (country, history and government), Namibia
- 26 August 1966
Armed struggle begins at Omugulugwombashe
SWAPO's military wing, PLAN, fought South African forces at Omugulugwombashe, marking the start of the armed liberation war and of South Africa's long Border War.
War & Rupture · from the Namibia chronicle · The liberation struggle, the Border War and the road to independence · South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO), History of Namibia, South African Border War
- 27 October 1966
UN revokes the mandate
The UN General Assembly terminated South Africa's mandate over the territory, declaring its continued administration illegal, and later renamed the territory Namibia in 1968.
Politics & Power · from the Namibia chronicle · The liberation struggle, the Border War and the road to independence · Namibia (country, history and government), Namibia
- 21 June 1971
ICJ rules the occupation illegal
The International Court of Justice held that South Africa's continued presence in Namibia was illegal and that it was obliged to withdraw its administration immediately.
Politics & Power · from the Namibia chronicle · The liberation struggle, the Border War and the road to independence · Legal Consequences for States of the Continued Presence of South Africa in Namibia (1971 Advisory Opinion), Namibia
- 1 March 1994
Reincorporation of Walvis Bay
South Africa transferred the port enclave of Walvis Bay and the offshore islands to Namibia, completing the country's territory and giving it sovereignty over its only deep-water harbour.
Politics & Power · from the Namibia chronicle · Independent Namibia since 1990 · Namibia, Namibia (country, history and government)