Botswana

Republic of Botswana Lefatshe la Botswana  (Tswana)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Pula!" (Tswana) "Rain"
Anthem: Fatshe leno la rona  (Tswana) Blessed Be Our Noble Land
Location of  Botswana  (dark green)
Capital and largest city	Gaborone 24°39.5′S 25°54.5′E
Official languages	English
Recognised national languages	Setswana
Ethnic groups (2012 est.)	79% Tswana 11% Kalanga 3% San 7% Others
Religion	73% Christianity —66% Protestantism —7% Other Christian 20% No religion 6% Traditional faiths 1% Others
Demonym(s)	Batswana (plural) Motswana (singular)
Government	Unitary dominant-party[1][2][3] parliamentary constitutional republic[4]
• President	Duma Boko
• Vice-President	Ndaba Gaolatlhe
• National Assembly Speaker	Phandu Skelemani
• Chief Justice	Terence Rannowane
Legislature	National Assembly
Independence  from the United Kingdom
• Established (Constitution)	30 September 1966
Area
• Total	581,730 km^2 (224,610 sq mi)[5] (47th)
• Water (%)	2.7
Population
• 2021 estimate	2,588,423[6][7] (145th)
• 2011 census	2,024,904
• Density	3.7/km^2 (9.6/sq mi) (231st)
GDP (PPP)	2019 estimate
• Total	$44.3 billion[8]
• Per capita	$18,654[8]
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
• Total	$19.651 billion[8]
• Per capita	$8,263[8]
Gini (2015)	53.3[9] high
HDI (2019)	0.735[10] high · 100th
Currency	Botswana pula (BWP)
Time zone	Central Africa Time (GMT+2)[11]
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	left
Calling code	+267
ISO 3166 code	BW
Internet TLD	.bw
Website www.gov.bw

Botswana (officially called the Republic of Botswana) is a country in southern Africa. The capital of Botswana is Gaborone.

History

The first people in Botswana's territory were the Khoe and San people.^[12] Botswana was first formed as the Bechuanaland Protectorate by the British Empire in 1885.^[13][14]

Geography

See also: List of settlements in Botswana

The countries that border Botswana are Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Namibia. It is also possible to travel from Botswana directly into Zambia by crossing the Zambezi River by ferry.

Botswana is landlocked. All of Botswana's trade must be brought in over land or by airplane.

The two most important geographical features in Botswana are the Okavango Delta and the Kalahari Desert.

Divisions

Botswana is divided into 10 districts:

• Southern District
• South-East District
• Kweneng District
• Kgatleng District
• Central District
• North-East District
• Ngamiland District
• Kgalagadi District
• Chobe District
• Ghanzi District

Culture

People from Botswana are called Batswana. The population of Botswana is about 2.2 million. ^[15] This is only 2.7 persons per km², a small number for a country of this size. This is because most of the country is desert and very dry.

Botswana has two official languages: Setswana and English. Setswana is the national language (also called Tswana).

Governance

Botswana is a democracy. The people vote for their political leaders. Those leaders vote for the president. In 2008 Ian Khama became the fourth president of Botswana.

President Khama won elections in 2009 and 2014. The current President of Botswana is Dr. Eric K. Mokgweetsi who took over from Dr. Ian Khama Seretse Khama in 2018.

Economy

The economy of Botswana has been growing very fast since it became an independent country in 1966. The people of Botswana have had the world's fastest growth in standard of living since that time.

Botswana's economy comes mostly from mining. This includes diamonds, metals (including copper) and minerals (including salt). Botswana is the highest producer of diamonds by value in the world.^[16] In 1999, Botswana produced over 30 million carats (6,000 kg) of diamonds from the three Debswana mines. That is about 25% of worldwide production. There has been an agreement with De Beers since 1969. In 2023 a new agreement was made giving the country more of the diamonds - 30% in 2023, 40% from 2028 and 50% from 2033.^[17]

Tourism is also important to the country. Many people come to Botswana each year to see its wildlife.

The currency of Botswana is called the pula (which means rain). It is made up of 100 thebe (which means shield). In 2017, one US dollar was about 10.32 pulas.^[18]

In popular culture

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith are set in Botswana. The HBO television series based on the books was filmed in Botswana.

Gallery

• 
  Okavango sunset
• 
  Tsodilo Hills
• 
  Grassland Bushman Lodge

Related pages

• Botswana at the Olympics
• Botswana national football team
• List of rivers of Botswana

References

1. Seabo, Batlang; Kesaobaka, Molebatsi. "Botswana's Dominant Party System" (PDF). Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
2. Benza, Brian (24 October 2019). "Botswana's Masisi retains presidency as BDP wins election". Reuters. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
3. Selolwane, Onalenna (2002). "Monopoly Politikos: How Botswana's Opposition Parties Have Helped Sustain One-Party Dominance". African Sociological Review. 6 (1): 68–90. doi:10.4314/asr.v6i1.23203. JSTOR 24487673.
4. "Africa :: Botswana – The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Archived from the original on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2019. {{cite web}}: More than one of |archivedate= and |archive-date= specified (help); More than one of |archiveurl= and |archive-url= specified (help)
5. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015 – Country Report – Botswana (PDF). fao.org (Report). United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. 2015. p. 9. Total Country Area ('000)ha / 58 173
6. "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
7. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX). population.un.org ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
8. "IMF Country Specific Data". Retrieved 10 August 2019.
9. "GINI index (World Bank estimate)". World Bank. Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
10. "Human Development Report 2020" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
11. Chapter: 01:04 (20 July 1984). "Interpretation Act 1984 (§40(1))". Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2020. {{cite web}}: More than one of |archivedate= and |archive-date= specified (help); More than one of |archiveurl= and |archive-url= specified (help)
12. "Botswana | South African History Online". www.sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
13. "History of Botswana | Embassy of the Republic of Botswana in Washington, D.C." www.botswanaembassy.org. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
14. Morton, Fred (January 1989). "The Birth of Botswana: A History of the Bechuanaland Protectorate from 1910 to 1966". African Economic History – via ResearchGate.
15. "Africa :: Botswana — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-06-08. Retrieved 2020-06-17. {{cite web}}: More than one of |archivedate= and |archive-date= specified (help); More than one of |archiveurl= and |archive-url= specified (help)
16. "Botswana diamonds". Know Botswana.com. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
17. Dempsey, Harry; Cotterill, Joseph (2023-07-25). "De Beers prospects blemished after Botswana cuts new diamond deal". Financial Times. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
18. "XE: Convert USD/BWP. United States Dollar to Botswana Pula". www.xe.com. Retrieved 2017-05-17.

Other websites

• Media related to Botswana at Wikimedia Commons
• Botswana travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Botswana Newspapers Archived 2012-10-06 at the Wayback Machine