Usakos

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title: "Usakos" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["towns-in-namibia", "populated-places-in-the-erongo-region", "populated-places-established-in-the-1900s"] topic_path: "general/towns-in-namibia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usakos" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

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

FieldValue
nameUsakos
native_nameǃŪsaǃkhōs (Khoekhoegowab)
Okanduu (Otjiherero)
settlement_typeTown
mottoExcelsior
image_skylineUsakos Luftaufnahme (2018).jpg
imagesize300
image_captionAerial photograph of Usakos (2018)
image_sealWappen Usakos.jpg
seal_size120px
pushpin_mapNamibia
pushpin_label_positionbottom
pushpin_mapsize300
pushpin_map_captionLocation in Namibia
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_nameNamibia
subdivision_type1Region
subdivision_name1Erongo Region
subdivision_type2Constituency
subdivision_name2Karibib Constituency
leader_title1Mayor
leader_name1Irene Simeon-Kurtz
established_titleEstablished
established_date1900s
unit_prefImperial
area_total_km2
area_land_km2
population_as_of2023
population_footnotes
population_total5,094
population_blank1_titleEthnicities
timezoneSouth African Standard Time
utc_offset+1
coordinates
elevation_footnotes
postal_code_type
blank_nameClimate
blank_infoBWh
::

|name = Usakos |other_name = |native_name = ǃŪsaǃkhōs (Khoekhoegowab) Okanduu (Otjiherero) |nickname = |settlement_type = Town |motto = Excelsior |image_skyline = Usakos Luftaufnahme (2018).jpg |imagesize = 300 |image_caption = Aerial photograph of Usakos (2018) |image_flag = |flag_size = |image_seal = Wappen Usakos.jpg |seal_size = 120px |image_shield = |shield_size = |image_blank_emblem = |blank_emblem_type = |blank_emblem_size = |image_map = |mapsize = |map_caption = |pushpin_map = Namibia |pushpin_label_position =bottom |pushpin_mapsize =300 |pushpin_map_caption =Location in Namibia |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = Namibia |subdivision_type1 = Region |subdivision_name1 = Erongo Region |subdivision_type2 = Constituency |subdivision_name2 = Karibib Constituency |subdivision_type3 = |subdivision_name3 = |government_footnotes = |government_type = |leader_title = |leader_name = |leader_title1 = Mayor |leader_name1 =Irene Simeon-Kurtz |established_title = Established |established_date = 1900s |area_magnitude = |unit_pref =Imperial |area_footnotes = |area_total_km2 = |area_land_km2 = |area_water_km2 = |area_total_sq_mi = |population_as_of = 2023 |population_footnotes = |population_note = |population_total = 5,094 |population_density_km2 = |population_density_sq_mi = |population_metro = |population_density_metro_km2 = |population_density_metro_sq_mi = |population_urban = |population_density_urban_km2 = |population_density_urban_sq_mi = |population_blank1_title =Ethnicities |population_blank1 = |population_density_blank1_km2 = |population_density_blank1_sq_mi = |timezone = South African Standard Time |utc_offset = +1 |timezone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = |coordinates = |elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m = |elevation_ft = |postal_code_type =
|postal_code = |area_code = |blank_name = Climate |blank_info = BWh |blank1_name = |blank1_info = |website = |footnotes = ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Purpurite-137452.jpg" caption="[[Purpurite]], a very rare phosphate of manganese, from Sandamab pegmatite, Usakos, Namibia. Size: 5.4 x 4.6 x 1.9 cm."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Usakos_Buschbrand.jpg" caption="Bush fire in Usakos, 2009"] ::

Usakos (,{{cite web |title = Usakos |last = Henckert |first = Wolfgang |publisher = Henckert Tourist Centre |date = 17 September 2009 |url = http://www.henckert.com/karibib/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31%3Ausakos&catid=1%3Ahistory&Itemid=7&lang=en |access-date = 22 November 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110711162758/http://www.henckert.com/karibib/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31:usakos&catid=1:history&Itemid=7&lang=en |archive-date = 11 July 2011 |url-status=dead |df = dmy-all

Geography

Usakos townlands comprise 58 km2 of land.{{cite news |title=ELECTIONS 2010: Erongo regional profile |publisher=New Era |url=http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=14109 |date=16 November 2010 |archive-date=6 September 2012 |access-date=16 November 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120906113042/http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=14109 |url-status=usurped |title=Usakos-Kurze Blüte, schneller Fall |trans-title=Usakos-Short Rise, Fast Fall |language=de |last=von Schmettau |first=Konny |date=28 February 2013 |work=Allgemeine Zeitung |publisher=Tourismus Namibia monthly supplement |page=9}}

Economy and infrastructure

Usakos is riddled with poverty and alcohol abuse and the unemployment rate, as of 2012, was around 60%. Unlike other Namibian towns, it has not seen substantial development since independence in 1990.{{cite news |url=http://sun.com.na/content/national-news/unemployment-rips-usakos-apart |title=Unemployment rips Usakos apart |last=Ihuhua |first=Corry |date=12 September 2012 |work=Namibian Sun}}

Usakos Railway Station connects the town to the Namibian railway network.

History

The settlement was founded in the early 1900s as a workshop and watering station for locomotives. Herero chief Samuel Maharero sold the land to Europeans who resold it in 1903 to the Otavi Minen- und Eisenbahngesellschaft (Otavi Mining and Railway Company) (OMEG) which operated an industrial railway line from Swakopmund to Tsumeb. OMEG established a railway station and a repair shop which was used until the 1960s. When mining operations slowed down, Usakos' importance faded quickly. Today it is just a drive-through from the Namibian inland to the coast.

Historic buildings and structures in Usakos are the Roman Catholic church (erected 1905), the now dilapidated railway station building, and the old hotel.

Politics

Usakos was downgraded from municipal to town status in 2010.{{cite news |last = Hartman |first = Adam |title = Town regrading a ‘sad move’ |newspaper = The Namibian |date = 27 Aug 2010 |url = http://www.namibian.com.na/news-articles/national/full-story/archive/2010/august/article/town-regrading-a-sad-move/ |access-date = 27 August 2010 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20121211203243/http://www.namibian.com.na/news-articles/national/full-story/archive/2010/august/article/town-regrading-a-sad-move/ |archive-date = 11 December 2012 |url-status=dead |df = dmy-all

In the 2010 local authority election, a total of 1,029 votes were cast in the city. SWAPO won with approximately 47% of the vote. Of the three other parties seeking votes in the election, United Democratic Front (UDF) received approximately 31% of the vote, followed by RDP (17%) and COD (4%). SWAPO also won the 2015 local authority elections, gaining four seats (513 votes). Two seats went to the UDF (295 votes), and the remaining one to the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA, 76 votes).

In the 2020 local authority election SWAPO won again over each individual opposition party but lost the majority of seats in the town council. SWAPO obtained 398 votes and gained three seats. Two seats went to the UDF which gained 260 votes, and one seat each went to the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC, newly formed in August 2020) with 163 votes and the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM, the new name of the DTA since 2017) with 78 votes.

Notable residents

Usakos is the hometown of the following prominent politicians:

References

References

  2. Menges, Werner. (12 May 2005). "Windhoek?! Rather make that Otjomuise". [[The Namibian]].
  3. "4.2.2 Urban population by Census years (2001 and 2011)". [[Namibia Statistics Agency]].
  4. "4.5 Population by town and census years (2011 and 2023)". [[Namibia Statistics Agency]].
  5. (2015). "Know Your Local Authority". Institute for Public Policy Research.
  6. [http://www.ecn.na/results/2010/Press_Release_Local_Authority_-_Usakos.pdf Local Authority Election Results for Usakos]
  7. (28 November 2015). "Local elections results". [[Electoral Commission of Namibia]].
  8. (29 November 2020). "2020 Local Authority Elections Results and Allocation of Seats". [[Electoral Commission of Namibia]].

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towns-in-namibiapopulated-places-in-the-erongo-regionpopulated-places-established-in-the-1900s