Kavango Region
Kavango's Okavango River supports 400km of subsistence farming and famous woodcarving traditions, with Rundu growing rapidly from Angolan immigration.
Kavango lines the Okavango River for over 400 kilometers along the Angolan border, the water that defines this region creating agricultural potential that most of Namibia lacks. The region was split into Kavango East and Kavango West in 2013, with Rundu serving as administrative center for the eastern portion and one of Namibia's fastest-growing towns due to immigration from Angola.
The Okavango River supports fishing, cattle, and cultivation of sorghum, millet, and maize—subsistence activities that distinguish this region from the pastoral economy further south. The Kavango woodcarvers of Rundu represent artisanal traditions that tourism and export markets sustain, the craft economy providing income that complements agriculture.
Unemployment of 29.8% reflects the limited formal employment that subsistence-oriented economies provide, the gap between agricultural self-sufficiency and cash income remaining wide. The 2024 drought caused poor harvests throughout the region, climate vulnerability threatening the food security that river access otherwise enables. Whether Kavango can develop beyond subsistence—or whether the region continues exporting labor to urban areas—depends on investment that poverty limits.