<P> Namibia, despite its scant population, is home to a wide diversity of languages, from multiple language families: Indo - European, Bantu, and the various Khoisan families . When Namibia was administered by South Africa, Afrikaans, German, and English enjoyed an equal status as official languages . Upon Namibian independence in 1990, English was enshrined as the nation's sole official language in the constitution of Namibia . German and Afrikaans were stigmatised as having colonial overtones, while the rising of Mandela's Youth League and the 1951 Defiance Campaign spread English among the masses as the language of the campaign against apartheid . </P> <P> The most widely spoken languages used in households are Oshiwambo dialects, by 49% of the population, the Nama / Damara language by 11%, Afrikaans by 10%, Kavango language by 9% and Herero by 9% . Other native languages include the Bantu languages Tswana, Gciriku, Fwe, Kuhane, Mbukushu, Yeyi; and the Khoisan Naro, ǃXóõ, Kung - Ekoka, ǂKxʼauǁʼein and Kxoe . English, the official language, is spoken by 3% of people as their native language . Portuguese was spoken by 4--5% of the total population, i.e. 100,000 people, made up mostly of the Angolan community in 2014 . The number of Angolans in Namibia declined from 2014 to 2015 . The economic crisis in the neighbouring country affected the numbers . Among the white population, 60% speak Afrikaans, 32% German, 7% English, and 1% Portuguese . </P>

When did namibia choose english as its main national language