It is situated on the banks of the Kunene River, at the Angolan border on the minor road D3700 and falls within the Epupa electoral constituency.

Swartbooisdrift is populated by 150 - 300 semi-nomadic people of Himba and Herero descent, depending on the season.

[1] The settlement is named after the Swartbooi clan of the Nama people who crossed the Kunene here to explore Angola in the 19th century.

[3] In commemoration of this migratory movement, the Dorsland Trekkers Monument has been erected on a hill just outside the settlement.

From 1938 to 1942, the settlement was one of a number of guard posts set up on all shallow stretches of the Kunene to prevent the spread of cattle lung disease into Namibia.