Namibia's population includes at least 11 major ethnic groups, ranging from hunter-gatherers to rural farmers and town dwellers, and the country still bears the influences of its German and africaner colonisers. The 650,000-strong Ovambo make up the largest group and live mainly in the north. Other significant tribes include the Kavango, Herero, Himba, Damara, Nama and Basters. A tinier group, the San, once had their own land division system and in the early 19th century were responsible for one of the most extensive pre-colonial trade networks in the region.

Although the country is still developing a literary tradition, music, dance, and the visual and architectural arts have long been part of the local culture. Namibia's earliest musicians were the San, whose music emulated the sounds made by animals and was played to accompany dances and storytelling. The early Nama used drums, flutes and stringed instruments; and the later arriving Bantu people added marimbas, gourd rattles and animal horn trumpets. Missionaries established local religious choral groups. Township art, which develops sober themes in a colourful and generally lighthearted manner, first appeared in the townships of South Africa during the apartheid years. It has taken hold in Namibia and is rapidly developing into a popular art form; names to watch for include Tembo Masala and Joseph Madisia.

Each ethnic group within Namibia has its own pantry of preferred foods. The staple for the Ovambo people is mielie pap, a cornmeal porridge, or mahango (millet), also made into a porridge or soup. Both mielie and mahango are typically eaten with fish, goat, lamb or beef stew. Pumpkins, peppers and onions also feature prominently. The desert-living Nama people have revered the spiky !nara melon for tens of thousands of years, and its yearly harvest is a significant event. Endemic to the desert, some say that the !nara made human existence possible in the Namib. The Herero subsist mainly from milk products such as curds and butter. The leftover European cuisine is mostly German, and big on boerewors, a huge 'farmers sausage'. Pastries, breads, cakes, fruit and cold cuts also derive from the Germans. Traditional brews include mataku (watermelon wine) and walende, a distilled-palm spirit that tastes like vodka.

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