Afrobarometer: Round I Survey of Namibia, September-October 1999

The Afrobarometer project assesses attitudes toward democracy, markets, and civil society in several sub-Saharan African nations. This survey of Namibia recorded Namibian citizens' opinions about recent political and economic changes within their country. Respondents were asked to compare the effectiveness and trustworthiness of the independent democratic government to the previous government of South Africa. Those polled were asked to rate Namibian President Nujoma and his administration's overall performance, and to give their opinions on the most important issue facing the nation, the role of the government in improving the economy, whether corruption existed in local and national government, whether government officials were responsive to problems of the general population, and whether local government officials, the police, the army, the courts, the media, the electoral commission, and the Namibia broadcasting corporation could be trusted. Respondents were queried on their knowledge of government officials, their level of personal involvement in political, governmental, and community affairs, the inclusiveness of the government, and what their reactions would be to government-imposed restrictions or prohibitions on the media, the judicial system, and Parliament. Economic questions addressed the past, present, and future of the country's and the respondent's economic condition, whether great income disparities are fair, and whether encouraging people to start small businesses would create more jobs. Societal questions addressed how much trust could be placed in others, whether it is wise to plan ahead, whether everyone should be responsible for themselves and their own success or failure, what characteristics respondents use to identify themselves, whether it is easy to obtain assistance in securing food, water, schooling, and medical services, and by what methods respondents secured food, water, news, information, and medical services. Background variables include age, language spoken most at home, education, current employment status, employment status over the last 12 months, employment history, family financial situation over the last 12 months, monetary support system, whether a close friend or relative had died from AIDS, language used in interview, sex, ethnicity, whether respondent had a physical disability and if so the type, type of housing, location of interview (inside, outside, or both), and respondent's attitude during interview.