Global InformationBotswana information
Republic of Botswana Lefatshe la Botswana (Tswana) | |
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 Flag
 Coat of arms
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| Motto: Pula "Let it Rain" | |
| Anthem: Fatshe leno la rona "Blessed Be This Noble Land" | |
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| Capital and largest city | Gaborone 24°39.5′S 25°54.5′E / 24.6583°S 25.9083°E |
| Official languages | English[1] |
| National language | Setswana[1] |
| Ethnic groups (2012[3]) |
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| Religion (2021) |
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| Demonym(s) |
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| Government | Unitary dominant-party parliamentary republic with an executive presidency[6][7] |
• President | Mokgweetsi Masisi[8] |
• Vice-President | Slumber Tsogwane |
• National Assembly Speaker | Phandu Skelemani |
| Legislature | Parliament (National Assembly) |
| Independence from the United Kingdom | |
• Established (Constitution) | 30 September 1966 |
| Area | |
• Total | 581,730 km2 (224,610 sq mi)[9] (47th) |
• Water (%) | 2.7 |
| Population | |
• 2023 estimate | 2,417,596[10] (145th) |
• 2021 census | 2,359,609[11] |
• Density | 4.6/km2 (11.9/sq mi) (231st) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate |
• Total |  $51.886 billion[12] (123rd) |
• Per capita | $19,394[12] (77th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $20.756 billion[12] (127th) |
• Per capita | $7,757[12] (87th) |
| Gini (2016) |  45.5[13][14]medium |
| HDI (2022) | 0.708[15] high (114th) |
| Currency | Pula (BWP) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (Central Africa Time[16]) |
| Date format | dd/mm/yyyy |
| Driving side | left |
| Calling code | +267 |
| ISO 3166 code | BW |
| Internet TLD | .bw |
Website www | |
| Tswana | |
|---|---|
| Person | Motswana [5] |
| People | Batswana |
| Language | Setswana |
| Country | Botswana |
Botswana (English: Land of the Tswana; /bɒtˈswɑːnə/ ⓘ, also UK: /bʊt-, bʊˈtʃw-/[17]), officially the Republic of Botswana (Setswana: Lefatshe la Botswana, [lɪˈfatsʰɪ la bʊˈtswana]), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast. It is connected by the Kazungula Bridge[18] to Zambia, across the world's 2nd shortest border between two countries.[19]
A country of slightly over 2.3 million people,[20] Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. It is essentially the nation state of the Tswana people, who make up 79% of the population.[21] About 11.6 per cent of the population lives in the capital and largest city, Gaborone. Formerly one of the world's poorest countries—with a GDP per capita of about US$70 per year in the late 1960s—it has since transformed itself into an upper-middle-income country, with one of the world's fastest-growing economies.[22]
The Tswana ethnic group were descended mainly from Bantu-speaking tribes who migrated southward of Africa to modern Botswana around 600 CE, living in tribal enclaves as farmers and herders. In 1885, the British colonised the area and declared a protectorate under the name of Bechuanaland. As decolonisation occurred, Bechuanaland became an independent Commonwealth republic under its current name on 30 September 1966.[23] Since then, it has been a representative republic, with a consistent record of uninterrupted democratic elections and the lowest perceived corruption ranking in Africa since at least 1998,[24] although it is effectively a one-party state, as the Botswana Democratic Party has held majority power ever since it became an independent country.[25]
The economy is dominated by mining and tourism. Botswana has a GDP (purchasing power parity) per capita of about $18,113 as of 2021[update], one of the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa.[3] Botswana is the world's biggest diamond producing country. Its relatively high gross national income per capita (by some estimates the fourth-largest in Africa) gives the country a relatively high standard of living and the second-highest Human Development Index of continental Sub-Saharan Africa (after South Africa).[26][27] Botswana is the first African country to host Forbes 30 Under 30[28] and the Netball World Youth Cup.
Botswana is a member of the Southern African Customs Union, the Southern African Development Community, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the United Nations. The country has been adversely affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In 2002, Botswana became the first country to offer anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) to help combat the epidemic.[29] Despite the launch of programs to make treatment available and to educate the populace about the epidemic,[30] the number of people with AIDS rose from 290,000 in 2005 to 320,000 in 2013.[31]: A20 As of 2014[update], Botswana had the third-highest prevalence rate for HIV/AIDS, with roughly 20% of the population infected.[32] However, in recent years the country has made strides in combatting HIV/AIDS, with efforts being made to provide proper treatment and lower the rate of mother-to-child transmission.[33][34]
- ^ a b "About Our Country". Gov.bw. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
Botswana has a number of tribes across the country, collectively known as Batswana. The official language is English and Setswana is the national language, although there are other spoken languages.
- ^ "Botswana". Central Intelligence Agency. 16 April 2024 – via CIA.gov.
- ^ a b "Botswana". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 16 April 2014. (Archived 2014 edition.)
- ^ "Botswana". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. 14 September 2022. (Archived 2022 edition.)
- ^ a b "Motswana". Gov.bw. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
a person from Botswana
- ^ "Botswana". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 17 December 2019. (Archived 2019 edition.)
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Masisi to Lead Botswana as Khama Steps Down After a Decade". Bloomberg.com. 28 March 2018. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ 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
- ^ "Botswana". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
- ^ "Statistics Botswana - Census 2023 - Population of cities, towns and villages" (PDF).
- ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Botswana)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- ^ "HDR23-24 Summary (Specifically IHDI)". UNDP.
- ^ Nations, United. Specific country data (Report). United Nations.
- ^ "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ "Chapter: 01:04 Interpretation Act 1984 (§40(1))". 20 July 1984. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- ^ "Botswana". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Darwa, P. Opoku (2011). Kazungula Bridge Project (PDF). African Development Fund. p. Appendix IV. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
- ^ admin (12 August 2022). "The 5 Shortest International Borders in the World". Explanders (in Russian). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "Population, total - Botswana | Data". data.worldbank.org. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ "Botswana", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 28 March 2023, retrieved 5 April 2023
- ^ Maundeni, Zibani; Mpabanga, Dorothy; Mfundisi, Adam (1 January 2007). "Consolidating Democratic Governance in Southern Africa : Botswana". Africa Portal. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ "Bechuanaland was the former name of Botswana". generalknowledgefacts.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ "overview of CPI indices". Transparency International. Archived from the original on 8 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
- ^ Burchard, Stephanie. "You Have to Know Where to Look in Order to Find It: Competitiveness in Botswana's Dominant Party System". Government and Opposition. 48 (1): 101–126. doi:10.1017/gov.2012.1. ISSN 0017-257X.
- ^ Gross national income (GNI) – Nations Online Project Archived 19 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Nationsonline.org. Retrieved on 27 October 2016.
- ^ hdr.undp.org (PDF) (2024 ed.). United Nations Development Programme. p. 275. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
- ^ Releases, Forbes Press. "Inaugural Forbes Under 30 Summit Africa To Take Place In Botswana In April 2022". Forbes. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- ^ Rollnick, Roman (September 2002). "Botswana's high-stakes assault on AIDS". Africa Renewal. 16 (10). United Nations: 6–9. PMID 12458550. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ Powell, Alvin (16 April 2009). "Mogae shifts stress to HIV prevention". Harvard Gazette. Harvard University. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ "The Gap Report" (PDF). Geneva: UN AIDS. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 June 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Avertwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Botswana is first country with severe HIV epidemic to reach key milestone in the elimination of mother-to-child HIV transmission". Brazzaville: UN AIDS. 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
- ^ "Partnership for Success: CDC and Botswana Lead Progress Toward HIV Epidemic Control". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
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