All anthems

Namibia

Namibia, Land of the Brave

Written 1991

Adopted 1991

Lyrics Axali Doëseb

Music Axali Doëseb

🕊 Freedom ❤ Love of homeland 🤝 Unity 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage 💪 Resilience | Proud

Key Facts

1. The full official text runs to three brief stanzas plus a three-line closing tag, as fixed in the Schedule to the National Symbols of the Republic of Namibia Act, 2018; the longer versions circulating online are not official.
2. A clause in the 2018 Act places the melody, music, and lyrics in the public domain after Doëseb formally assigned the copyright to the Namibian government.
3. Axali Doëseb wrote the lyrics and composed the music himself; a 1991 government gazette names him as the sole winning entry from a shortlist of two.
4. The anthem is sung in English, the country's official language, though fewer than 1% of Namibians speak it as a mother tongue; the German and Afrikaans translations on Wikipedia are unofficial.

Lyrics

Namibia, land of the brave Freedom fight we have won Glory to their bravery Whose blood waters our freedom We give our love and loyalty Together in unity Contrasting beautiful Namibia Namibia our country Beloved land of savannahs, Hold high the banner of liberty Namibia our Country, Namibia Motherland, We love thee.

Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals

Analysis

Editorial

Namibia adopted the anthem in 1991, a year after winning independence from South African administration. A government competition held that same year drew a shortlist of two finalists, and Axali Doëseb won it on both counts: he had written the words and composed the music. The official text is unusually brief, three short stanzas followed by a three-line closing tag, and it appears verbatim in the Schedule to the National Symbols of the Republic of Namibia Act, 2018 (Act No. 17 of 2018). The same Act, after Doëseb assigned his copyright to the state, places the melody, music, and lyrics in the public domain.