Aranos

---

title: "Aranos" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["towns-in-namibia", "populated-places-in-the-hardap-region", "populated-places-established-in-1958", "1958-establishments-in-south-west-africa"] topic_path: "general/towns-in-namibia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aranos" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Aranos
native_name	Arahoab (historical)
native_name_lang	naq
settlement_type	Town
image_skyline	Aranos bird eye view.jpg
image_caption	Aranos from bird's eye view (2017)
pushpin_map	Namibia
coordinates
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Namibia
subdivision_type1	Region
subdivision_name1	Hardap Region
subdivision_type2	Constituency
subdivision_name2	Aranos Constituency
established_title	Proclaimed a village
established_date	1958
unit_pref	Metric
area_urban_footnotes
area_rural_footnotes
area_metro_footnotes
area_magnitude
population_footnotes
population_total	5,493
population_as_of	2023
population_density_km2	auto
timezone1	South African Standard Time
utc_offset1	+2
blank_name	Climate
blank_info	BWh
website
::

| name = Aranos | native_name = Arahoab (historical) | native_name_lang = naq | settlement_type = Town | image_skyline = Aranos bird eye view.jpg | image_alt = | image_caption = Aranos from bird's eye view (2017) | image_flag = | flag_alt = | image_seal = | seal_alt = | image_shield = | shield_alt = | nickname = | motto = | image_map = | map_alt = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Namibia | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = | coordinates = | coor_pinpoint = | coordinates_footnotes = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Namibia | subdivision_type1 = Region | subdivision_name1 = Hardap Region | subdivision_type2 = Constituency | subdivision_name2 = Aranos Constituency | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | established_title = Proclaimed a village | established_date = 1958 | founder = | seat_type = | seat = | government_footnotes = | leader_party = | leader_title = | leader_name = | unit_pref = Metric tags -- | area_footnotes = | area_urban_footnotes = | area_rural_footnotes = | area_metro_footnotes = | area_magnitude = | area_note = | area_water_percent = | area_rank = | area_blank1_title = | area_blank2_title = | area_total_km2 = | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | area_urban_km2 = | area_rural_km2 = | area_metro_km2 = | area_blank1_km2 = | area_blank2_km2 = | area_total_ha = | area_land_ha = | area_water_ha = | area_urban_ha = | area_rural_ha = | area_metro_ha = | area_blank1_ha = | area_blank2_ha = | length_km = | width_km = | dimensions_footnotes = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | population_footnotes = | population_total = 5,493 | population_as_of = 2023 | population_density_km2 = auto | population_demonym = | population_note = | timezone1 = South African Standard Time | utc_offset1 = +2 | timezone1_DST = | utc_offset1_DST = | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code_type = | area_code = | iso_code = | blank_name = Climate | blank_info = BWh | website = | footnotes = Aranos is a town in the Hardap Region of central Namibia, situated in the Nossob River basin in the Kalahari Desert. The town had 5,493 inhabitants in 2023.

The main economic activity is farming. The place normally receives an annual average rainfall of 188 mm, although in the 2010/2011 rainy season 505 mm were measured.

History

The original name of the settlement was Arahoab, Khoekhoe for red area. During the Herero Wars, Schutztruppe units of Imperial Germany colonial forces were stationed here since March 1908. The volume of postal services to the military led to the opening of a post office in that year. After the war, in 1911, the military office was closed again. Postal services, however, continued until the Germans lost control of the colony in 1915.

To avoid confusion with the village of Aroab further south, Arahoab was renamed Aranos in the 1960s. Aranos is a portmanteau of Arahoab and Nossob River.

Politics

Aranos is the administrative centre of Aranos Constituency since 2013. Before that it belonged to the Mariental Rural constituency. Aranos was proclaimed a village in 1958. It was governed by a 5-seat village council until it was upgraded to "town" status in 2010. There is now a town council that has seven seats.

In the 2004 local authority elections SWAPO won the town council election with 733 votes and gained three seats. One seat each were obtained by the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA, 234 votes) and the Republican Party (RP, 182 votes). SWAPO also won most votes (546) in the 2010 local authority election. The Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) finished in 2nd place with 205 votes, followed by the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP, 186), SWANU (17) and the Congress of Democrats (15). SWAPO also won the 2015 election, gaining four seats in the town council (598 votes). The RDP gained two seats (246 votes), and the DTA one (194).

The 2020 local authority election was won by the newly formed Landless People's Movement (LPM) which scored well all over Hardap. LPM gained 745 votes and three seats in the town council, followed by SWAPO with two seats (465 votes), the likewise new Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) with one seat (283 votes) and the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM, the successor of the DTA), also with one seat and 90 votes. The current mayor is Marline Claasen.

People

Aranos is the birthplace of former National Assembly member Jurie Viljoen and human rights activist Pauline Dempers.

Gallery

Aranos High School.jpg|Aranos High School (2017)

References

References

5. "Our mission and vision". Aranos Town Council.
6. Menges, Werner. (26 May 2011). "Rainy season was one for the record books". [[The Namibian]].
7. (2022). "Kaiserliche Poststationen in Deutsch-Südwestafrika". Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Sammler deutscher Kolonialpostwertzeichen e.V..
8. (2018). "Deutsche Kolonien und Auslandspostämpter Stempelkatalog". Arbeitsgemeinschaft de Sammler Deutscher Kolonialpostwertzeichen.
9. Raper, P.E.. (1989). "Dictionary of Southern African Place Names". [[Jonathan Ball Publishers]].
10. (9 August 2013). "Creation of new regions and division and re-division of certain regions into constituencies: Regional Councils Act, 1992". [[Government of Namibia]].
11. "Information". Aranos Town Council.
12. Hartman, Adam. (27 Aug 2010). "Town regrading a ‘sad move’". [[The Namibian]].
13. (2015). "Know Your Local Authority". Institute for Public Policy Research.
14. (31 December 2005). "14 May 2004 Local Authority Elections in Namibia". African Elections Database.
15. [http://www.ecn.na/results/2010/Press_Release_Local_Authority_-_Hardap-Aranos.pdf Local Authority results] {{webarchive. link. (July 17, 2011 Electoral Commission of Namibia)
16. (28 November 2015). "Local elections results". [[Electoral Commission of Namibia]].
17. (29 November 2020). "2020 Local Authority Elections Results and Allocation of Seats". [[Electoral Commission of Namibia]].
18. {{usurped. New Era]], 5 October 2009
19. link. (2011-06-11 Namibia Institute for Democracy)
20. "4.2.2 Urban population by Census years (2001 and 2011)". [[Namibia Statistics Agency]].
21. "4.5 Population by town and census years (2011 and 2023)". [[Namibia Statistics Agency]].

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