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Travel to Botswana — Unbiased reviews and
great deals from TripAdvisorBotswana
| Republic of Botswana President:
Ian Khama (2008)
Current government officials
Land area: 226,012 sq mi (585,371 sq km);
total area: 231,803 sq mi (600,370 sq km) Population (2008 est.): 1,842,323 (growth
rate: 1.4%); birth rate: 22.9/1000; infant mortality rate: 44.0/1000;
life expectancy: 50.1; density per sq km: 3
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Gaborone, 195,000 Monetary unit: Pula
Languages:
English 2% (official), Setswana 78%, Kalanga 8%,
Sekgalagadi 3%, other (2001)
Ethnicity/race:
Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa
3%, other (including Kgalagadi and white) 7%
National Holiday:
Independence Day (Botswana Day), September
30
Religions:
Christian 72%, Badimo 6%, none 21% (2001) Literacy rate: 81.2% (2006 est.) Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.):
$25.68 billion; per capita $16,400. Real growth rate: 5.4%.
Inflation: 7.1%. Unemployment: 7.5%. Arable land:
1%. Agriculture: livestock, sorghum, maize, millet, beans,
sunflowers, groundnuts. Labor force: 288,400 formal sector
employees (2004); agriculture n.a., industry n.a., services n.a..
Industries: diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash;
livestock processing; textiles. Natural resources: diamonds,
copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver.
Exports: $3.68 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): diamonds, copper,
nickel, soda ash, meat, textiles. Imports: $3.37 billion f.o.b.
(2005 est.): foodstuffs, machinery, electrical goods, transport
equipment, textiles, fuel and petroleum products, wood and paper
products, metal and metal products. Major trading partners:
European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Southern African Customs
Union (SACU), Zimbabwe (2004).
Member of Commonwealth of Nations
Communications: Telephones: main
lines in use: 142,400 (2002); mobile cellular: 435,000 (2002).
Radio broadcast stations: AM 8, FM 13, shortwave 4 (2001).
Television broadcast stations: 1 (2001). Internet hosts:
1,920 (2003). Internet users: 60,000 (2002). Transportation: Railways: total: 888 km
(2004). Highways: total: 10,217 km; paved: 5,619 km; unpaved:
4,598 km (1999). Ports and harbors: none. Airports: 85
(2004 est.). International disputes:
commission established with Namibia has yet to resolve small residual
disputes along the Caprivi Strip, including the Situngu marshlands
along the Linyanti River; downstream Botswana residents protest
Namibia's planned construction of the Okavango hydroelectric dam at
Popavalle (Popa Falls); Botswana has built electric fences to stem the
thousands of Zimbabweans who flee to find work and escape political
persecution; Namibia has long supported and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped
objections to plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over
the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing their short, but not
clearly delimited Botswana-Zambia boundary.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
Twice the size of Arizona, Botswana is in
south-central Africa, bounded by Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South
Africa. Most of the country is near-desert, with the Kalahari occupying
the western part of the country. The eastern part is hilly, with salt
lakes in the north.
Government
Parliamentary republic.
History
The earliest inhabitants of the region were the
San, who were followed by the Tswana. About half the country today is
ethnic Tswana. The term for the country's people, Batswana, refers
to national rather than ethnic origin.
Encroachment by the Zulu in the 1820s and by
Boers from Transvaal in the 1870s and 1880s threatened the peace of the
region. In 1885, Britain established the area as a protectorate, then
known as Bechuanaland. In 1961, Britain granted a constitution to the
country. Self-government began in 1965, and on Sept. 30, 1966, the country
became independent. Botswana is Africa's oldest democracy.
The new country maintained good relations with
its white-ruled neighbors but gradually changed its policies, harboring
rebel groups from South Rhodesia as well as some from South Africa.
Although Botswana is rich in diamonds, it has
high unemployment and stratified socioeconomic classes. In 1999, the
nation suffered its first budget deficit in 16 years because of a slump in
the international diamond market. Yet Botswana remains one of the
wealthiest and most stable countries on the continent.
After 17 years in power, President Ketumile
Masire retired in 1997, and Festus Mogae, an Oxford-educated economist,
became the new president. Mogae has won high marks from the international
financial community for continuing to privatize Botswana's mining and
industrial operations.
AIDS: Botswana's Biggest Challenge
Although Botswana's economic outlook remains
strong, the devastation that AIDS has caused threatens to destroy the
country's future. In 2001, Botswana had the highest rate of HIV infection
in the world (350,000 of its 1.6 million people). With the help of
international donors, however, it launched an ambitious national campaign
that provided free antiviral drugs to anyone who needed them, and by March
2004, Botswana's infection rate had dropped significantly. But with 37.5%
of the population infected, the country remains on the brink of
catastrophe. President Mogae won a second and final four-year term in Oct.
2004.
After serving 10 years as deputy president, Ian
Khama, the son of Botswana's first president, Seretse Khama, was
inaugurated as president in April 2008. Festus Mogae stepped aside after
10 years in office.
See also Encyclopedia: Botswana
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Botswana
Central Statistics Office http://www.cso.gov.bw/cso/index.html .
Information Please® Database, © 2008 Pearson
Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
More on Botswana from Infoplease:
- Botswana - Botswana Botswana , officially Republic of Botswana, republic (2005 est. pop. 1,640,000), 231,804 ...
- Botswana - Botswana Profile: People and History, Government and Political Conditions, Economy, Defense, Foreign Relations, U.S.-Botswana Relations
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- Botswana - Map of Botswana & articles on flags, geography, history, statistics, disasters current events, and international relations.
- Botswana: Bibliography - Bibliography See Z. Cervenka, Republic of Botswana (1970); A. Sillery, Botswana (1974); J. M. ...
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