What is "kaokoland"

Kaokoland was an administrative unit and a bantustan in northern South-West Africa, in the Kaokoveld ecoregion. Established during the apartheid era, it was intended to be a self-governing homeland of the OvaHimba. An actual government was, however, never established. Like other homelands in South West Africa, the Kaokoland bantustan was abolished in May 1989, at the beginning of the transition of Namibia towards independence. "Kaokoland" remains as an informal name for the geographic area, while the political unit of administration since 1990 is Kunene Region.

The area is one of the wildest and least populated areas in Namibia, with a population density of one person every 2 km² (1/4 of the national average). The most represented ethnic group is the Himba people, who account for about 5,000 of the overall 16,000 inhabitants of Kaokoland. The main settlement in Kaokoland was the city of Opuwo.