Oshana Region

Oshana is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital city is Oshakati. The towns of Oshakati, Ongwediva, and Ondangwa are close together and form an important urban area. This cluster is the second largest group of people in Namibia, after the capital city, Windhoek. As of 2020, Oshana had 113,112 registered voters.

Geography

Oshana is one of only three regions in Namibia that does not have a coastline or a border with another country. It is surrounded by four other regions: Ohangwena to the north, Oshikoto to the east, Kunene to the south, and Omusati to the west.

The name Oshana comes from the special landscape there: shallow valleys that fill with water during the rainy season. Even though travel can be tricky when it rains, the fish that live in these valleys give people important food.

Economy and infrastructure

The area around Oshakati--Ongwediva--Ondangwa has grown quickly and is an important place for business and possible factories. It is the second largest group of people in Namibia after Windhoek, but it still needs more basic things like roads and services that big towns usually have. Many jobs in northern Namibia are here, but more people are moving in all the time.

The north is where most people live, and it is connected to Tsumeb and other places by good main roads, which helps move goods. However, the roads and ways to talk to each other need to get much better. Oshakati and Ondangwa have places where small airplanes can land during the day, and they can handle people and cargo. Having a control tower might help improve flying and transport all the time. Oshakati has a big hospital that helps many smaller health centers. While there are primary and secondary schools across the region, there aren’t enough for all the people.

Omahangu is the main food crop grown in Oshana, but the soil in the middle is tired and needs lots of help to grow well. Cattle do well here, with big herds. The south of Oshana is a wide grassy area that goes all the way to the Etosha Pan, but the soil and water there are too salty for animals or farming.

Politics

The Oshana region has eleven areas called constituencies, including Okaku, Okatana, and Oshakati East. The main political group in this region is the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), and they have won most of the votes in past elections.

In 2004, SWAPO won all the constituencies easily. In 2015, they got 92% of the votes and won seven constituencies without any competition. In 2020, although their share of votes dropped to 65.4%, they still won all the constituencies.

Clemens Kashuupulwa was the governor of Oshana from 1998 until 2018. Elia Irimari took over in 2019 and served until June 2025, when Hofni Iipinge became the governor.

Demographics

Oshana is a region in Namibia with a population of 230,801 people as of 2023. Women make up more of the population than men, and about half of the people live in towns while the other half live in the countryside.

Most children go to school, though not all reach high school. Many families earn money from jobs, farming, or business. Over the past years, more people have gotten clean water, toilets, and electricity. Today, many also own cellphones and can use the internet.