| Otjozondjupa Region | |
| Settlement Type: | Region |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Namibia |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Otjiwarongo |
| Leader Title: | Governor |
| Leader Name: | James Uerikua[1] |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Total Km2: | 105,460 |
| Population Footnotes: | [3] [4] |
| Population Total: | 220,811 |
| Population As Of: | 2023 census |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CAT |
| Utc Offset: | +2 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | HDI (2017) |
| Blank Info Sec1: | 0.648[5] · 6th |
Otjozondjupa is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Otjiwarongo. The region further contains the municipalities of Okahandja and Grootfontein and the towns Okakarara and Otavi., Otjozondjupa had 97,945 registered voters.[6]
A landmark within this region is the Waterberg Plateau Park. Twenty four kilometres west of Grootfontein lies the huge Hoba meteorite. At over 60 tons, it is the largest known meteorite on Earth, as well as the largest naturally occurring mass of iron known to exist on the planet's surface.
In the east, Otjozondjupa borders the North-West District of Botswana. Domestically, it borders more regions than any other region of Namibia:
Otjiwarongo, Grootfontein, Otavi, and Okahandja are linked by rail and by the main B1 and B8 trunk roads running from south to north. Communication systems in these areas are also of a high standard.
The farming activities of Okahandja and Otjiwarongo are homogeneous as these parts are well known for cattle farming. The Otavi and Grootfontein districts, and to a lesser extent also Otjiwarongo, are the granary of Namibia. The region also has a great potential to establish industries connected with such farming activities and by-products of it. It further has the advantage of combining communal and commercial farming in the same region.
According to the 2012 Namibia Labour Force Survey, unemployment in the region is 25.3%.[7] Otjozondjupa has 72 schools with a total of 36,284 pupils.[8]
The region comprises seven constituencies:
Otjozondjupa is one of a few Namibian regions where there is considerable opposition support. In the 2004 regional election for the National Assembly of Namibia, the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) won in six of the seven constituencies, Okakarara was won by National Unity Democratic Organisation (NUDO).[9]
The 2015 regional elections saw SWAPO obtain 58.4% of the votes cast (2010: 48.9%)[6] and win five of the seven constituencies. NUDO won two, Okakarara and Omatako.[10] [11] The same two constituencies went to NUDO again in the 2020 regional election. SWAPO's support dropped to 44.3%, but it won the other five constituencies again. NUDO overall obtained 14.1% of the popular vote in this election. The upstart Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), an opposition party formed in August 2020, obtained 12.9% overall, and the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) got 11.9%, but both did not get close to winning any single constituency.[6]