In the paper two records of solar radiation obtained on the high plateau of South-West Africa are analysed. One of them contains about 6000 observations (until recently unpublished) of the intensity of direct radiation made, at Brukkaros, over the five-year period from 1927 to 1931, by the solar-constant observing-team of the Smithsonian Institution. The other is a double record of total and of diffuse hemispherical radiation at Windhoek. This latter station has been operating since August 1951 and is one of a number maintained by the Weather Bureau of South Africa. An account is included of the techniques which have been adopted for the operation of such radiation stations in the Union's network. For Brukkaros not only are various aspects of the basic intensity record discussed but an attempt has been made to build up a set of representative data for the total radiation which would be received on a horizontal plane at all times of the year from a cloudless sky. Sections of the paper are devoted to a preliminary investigation of the turbidity and the absorptive and reflective properties of the atmosphere over this semi-desert sub-tropical highland. The Windhoek material, especially, has been subjected to statistical analysis and a number of summaries are presented of the salient features of the record. A comparison is drawn between the two assemblages of values and generalizations are made regarding the solar radiation climate of the territory. As this would appear to be the first comprehensive study to be undertaken of the distribution of solar radiation in an arid zone of Africa, detail which has been considered of importance, particularly from the viewpoint of the future utilization of solar energy, has been included. The perfect integration of the two distinctly different records places a very high degree of confidence upon their interpretation.