page_title: Hardap Region
section_title: Demographics
hierarchical_section_title: Hardap Region / Demographics
caption_attribution_description: English: View of Hardap Dam near Mariental, Hardap Region, Namibia
context_page_description: Hardap is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Mariental. It is home to the Hardap Dam.
  Hardap stretches the entire width of Namibia, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to Namibia's eastern national border. In the northeast, it borders the Kgalagadi District of Botswana, and in the southeast, it borders the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. Domestically, it borders the following regions:
  Erongo – northwest
  Khomas – north central
  Omaheke – northeast
  ǁKaras – south
context_section_description: According to the Namibia 2001 Population and Housing Census, Hardap had a population of 68,249 (33,665 females and 34,579 males or 103 males for every 100 females) growing at an annual rate of 0.3%. The fertility rate was 3.6 children per woman. 46% lived in urban areas while 54% lived in rural areas, and with an area of 109,651 km², the population density was 0.6 persons per km². By age, 13% of the population was under 5 years old, 23% between 5 and 14 years, 55% between 15 and 59 years, and 8% 60 years and older. The population was divided into 15,039 households, with an average size of 4.4 persons. 34% of households had a female head of house, while 66% had a male. For those 15 years and older, 54% had never married, 30% married with certificate, 1% married traditionally, 9% married consensually, 2% were divorced or separated, and 4% were widowed.
  The most commonly spoken languages at home were Afrikaans (44% of households), and Nama/Damara (44%). For those 15 years and older, the literacy rate was 83%. Nearly half of the population are from coloured and white Namibian groups. In terms of education, 84% of girls and 83% of boys between the ages of 6–15 were attending school, and of those older than 15, 73% had left school, 9% were currently at school, and 13% had never attended.
  In 2001 the employment rate for the labor force (64% of those 15+) was 66% employed and 34% unemployed. For those 15+ years old and not in the labor force (29%), 29% were students, 37% home-makers, and 33% retired, too old, etc. According to the 2012 Namibia Labour Force Survey, unemployment in the Hardap Region stood at 28.8%. The two studies are methodologically not comparable.
  Among households, 95% had safe water, 34% no toilet facility, 51% electricity for lighting, 77% access to radio, and 20% had wood or charcoal for cooking. In terms of household's main sources of income, 9% derived it from farming, 61% from wages and salaries, 7% cash remittances, 5% from business or non-farming, and 15% from pension.
  For every 1000 live births there were 62 female infant deaths and 64 male. The life expectancy at birth was 53 years for females and 51 for males. Among children younger than 15, 4% had lost a mother, 6% a father, and 1% were orphaned by both parents. 6% of the entire population had a disability, of which 19% were deaf, 47% blind, 7% had a speech disability, 10% hand disability, 28% leg disability, and 6% mental disability.
caption: Hardap Dam, outside of Mariental, at sunrise in April 2008
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