Botswana
Location:
Southern Africa
Capital City:
Gaborone
Area:
total: 581,730 sq km
land: 566,730 sq km
water: 15,000 sq km
Land boundaries:
Total: 4,347.15 km
Border countries (4):
Namibia 1,544 km,
South Africa 1,969 km,
Zambia 0.15 km,
Zimbabwe 834 km
Coastline: 0 km
Total: 4,347.15 km

Botswana


Climate:
semiarid;
warm winters and hot summers
Terrain:
predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland;
The Kalahari Desert in southwest
Elevation:
mean elevation: 1,013 m
elevation extremes: lowest point: junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m
highest point: Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m
Natural resources:
diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver
Land use:
agricultural land: 45.8%
arable land 0.6%; permanent crops 0%; permanent pasture 45.2%
forest: 19.8%
other: 34.4% (2011 est.)
Irrigated land:
20 sq km (2012)
Population – distribution:
the population is primarily concentrated in the east with a focus in and around the capital of Gaborone, and the far central-eastern city of Francistown; population density remains low in other areas in the country, especially in the Kalahari to the west.
Natural hazards:
periodic droughts;
seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility.

People and Society
Botswana has experienced one of the most rapid declines in fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. The total fertility rate has fallen from more than 5 children per woman in the mid-1980s to approximately 2.4 in 2013. The fertility reduction has been attributed to a host of factors, including higher educational attainment among women, greater participation of women in the workforce, increased contraceptive use, later first births, and a strong national family planning program. Botswana was making significant progress in several health indicators, including life expectancy and infant and child mortality rates, until being devastated by the HIV/AIDs epidemic in the 1990s.
Batswana have been working as contract miners in South Africa since the 19th century. Although Botswana’s economy improved shortly after independence in 1966 with the discovery of diamonds and other minerals, its lingering high poverty rate and lack of job opportunities continued to push workers to seek mining work in southern African countries. In the early 1970s, about a third of Botswana’s male labor force worked in South Africa (lesser numbers went to Namibia and Zimbabwe). Not until the 1980s and 1990s, when South African mining companies had reduced their recruitment of foreign workers and Botswana’s economic prospects had improved, were Batswana increasingly able to find job opportunities at home.
Most Batswana prefer life in their home country and choose cross-border migration on a temporary basis only for work, shopping, visiting family, or tourism. Since the 1970s, Botswana has pursued an open migration policy enabling it to recruit thousands of foreign workers to fill skilled labor shortages. In the late 1990s, Botswana’s prosperity and political stability attracted not only skilled workers but small numbers of refugees from neighboring Angola, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
Population:
2,214,858
Nationality:
Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)
Ethnic groups:
Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and white 7%
Languages:
Setswana 77.3%, Sekalanga 7.4%, Shekgalagadi 3.4%, English (official) 2.8%, Zezuru/Shona 2%, Sesarwa 1.7%, Sembukushu 1.6%, Ndebele 1%, other 2.8% (2011 est.)
Religions:
Christian 79.1%, Badimo 4.1%, other 1.4% (includes Baha’i, Hindu, Muslim, Rastafarian), none 15.2%, unspecified 0.3% (2011 est.)
Botswana’s main ethnic groups are the Tswana, Kalanga, Batswapong, Babirwa, Basarwa or Bushmen, Bayei, Hambukushu, Basubia, Baherero, and Bakgalagadi. The Tswana, who are the largest ethnic group has eight tribes or sub-groups who are Bamangwato, Bakwena, Bangwaketse, Batawana, Batlokwa, Bakgatla, Barolong and Balete.
In addition, there are other groups in the minority who include whites and Indians. There also exist settlers from neighboring countries from Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia and Angola to add to the cultural mix. Collectively, all of these ethnic groups are referred to as Batswana; people of Botswana. From this ethnic mix-up has turned out a Motswana who is humble, respectful, re-conciliatory and peaceful, courteous, friendly, jovial and above all….hospitable.
About 70% of the country’s religious people are Christians with the main denominations being the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist and Zion Christian Church. In the last Botswana census conducted in 2001, there were more than 5,000 Muslim, 3,000 Hindus, and 7,000 Baha’i.
The traditional spiritual practices of initiation ceremonies exist and are being revived. These are called ‘bogwera’ for men and ‘bojale’ for women. During periods of poor rains, there is a spiritual rain-making ceremony called ‘go fetlha pula’ to invoke rain. Much of the landscape in Botswana holds the spiritual and mysterious feel that resonates with its people. Places like the Tsodilo Hills, Okavango Delta, and the Kalahari Desert have a strong spiritual feel about them that has a humbling effect.

Education
Education in Botswana is free, but it is not compulsory. The Ministry of Education has authority over all of Botswana’s educational structure except the University of Botswana. The educational structure mirrors that of the United Kingdom: there is universal access to primary and junior secondary school, but a process of academic selectivity reduces the entrance to the senior secondary school and the university. However, educational curricula incorporate prevocational preparation in the junior and senior secondary schools.
Botswana’s education system was comprised of seven years of primary education, three years of junior secondary education, and two years of senior secondary education. Each year at the primary level is a Standard, and each second level is a Form. This system was implemented in 1995 as a result of a 1993 National Education Commission study. Botswana’s basic education program is comprised of the primary and junior secondary levels.
Primary education is the most important stage in the educational system, and the government strives to make this level of education accessible to everyone. One central objective of primary education is for children to be literate first in Setswana and then in English. From 1991 to 1997, the number of students completing the primary level and entering junior secondary increased from 65.0 percent to 98.5 percent. Completing the Junior Certificate program may lead to admission to the senior secondary school program. Only those pupils whose grades are high enough on the Junior Certificate Examination are admitted to the senior secondary program.
Botswana’s first educational policy, called Education for Kagisano (Social Harmony), guided the country’s educational development and administration from 1977 to 1993. In the early 1990s, the recognition that the country’s socio-economic situation had changed significantly resulted in a review of policies and strategies for Botswana’s educational development.
The Botswana Training Authority regulates the standard of vocational training across the entire spectrum, in order to promote the development of an integrated system that’s accessible to all. Botswana EducationThere is a variety of tertiary education institutions in Botswana, including colleges of accounting and agriculture, and institutes of administration, commerce, and health sciences.
Chief among these is the University of Botswana opened in 1964. It has over 17,000 students spread across its faculties of business, education, engineering & technology, humanities, science, and social sciences. Programs include certificates, and bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees.
The education system makes minimal provisions for children with disabilities. Few disabled children are integrated with regular school classes, and there is a limited special education curriculum. Parents must pay fees to nongovernmental organizations if their special needs children are educated. However, the government has committed to intensify efforts to educate these children by paying the nongovernmental organizations’ fees.

Economy
Since gaining independence from Britain, Botswana has been one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, averaging 5% per annum over the past decade. Even during the global recession, Botswana maintained one of the world’s highest economic growth rates since independence in 1966. Diamond mining fueled much of the economic expansion and currently accounts for one-quarter of GDP, approximately 85% of export earnings, and about one-third of the government’s revenues. Its reliance on commodities renders it vulnerable to international market fluctuations. Economic activity is expected to intensify to 4.5% in 2017, up to 4.8% by 2019. Economic growth will be driven by the mining activity, construction, services sector and intensified public investments.
Tourism is the secondary earner of foreign exchange and many Batswana engage in tourism-related services, subsistence farming, and cattle rearing. Through fiscal discipline and sound management, Botswana transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country with a per capita GDP of approximately $18,100 in 2017. Botswana also ranks as one of the least corrupt and best places to do business in sub-Saharan Africa. Botswana’s economy closely follows global economic trends because of its heavy reliance on a single luxury export. According to official government statistics, unemployment is around 20%, but unofficial estimates run much higher.
Botswana’s economy recovered from the 2008 global recession in 2010 but has only grown modestly since then, primarily due to the downturn in the global diamond market, though water and power shortages also played a role. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS is second highest in the world and threatens the country’s impressive economic gains. Diamond exports increased again in 2017 to the highest levels since 2013 at about 22 million carats of output, driving Botswana’s economic growth of about 4.5% in 2017 and increasing foreign reserves to about 45% of GDP.
The National Budget for 2018/19 was passed. Presented to Parliament on February 5, 2018, the new budget puts total expenditure and net lending at P67.87 billion (33.4% of gross domestic product (GDP)), an increase of P8.3 billion (1.3%) compared to the previous fiscal year. The (capital) budget is P19.31 billion, up by P2.4 billion (16.6%) over the previous fiscal year. A budget deficit of P3.59 billion (1.8% of GDP) is expected despite the positive domestic economic outlook.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$39.55 billion (2017 est.)
$37.86 billion (2016 est.)
$36.3 billion (2015 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
Real GDP:
$16.73 billion (2017 est.)
GDP – real growth rate:
4.5% (2017 est.)
4.3% (2016 est.)
-1.7% (2015 est.)
GDP – per capita (PPP):
$2,700 (2017 est.)
$2,600 (2016 est.)
$2,500 (2015 est.)
Gross national saving:
$18,100 (2017 est.)
$17,600 (2016 est.)
$17,000 (2015 est.)
GDP – composition, by sector of origin:
agriculture: 1.7%
industry: 29.2%
services: 69.1% (2017 est.)
Agriculture – products:
livestock, sorghum, maize, millet, beans, sunflowers, groundnuts
Industries:
diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver; beef processing; textiles
Population below poverty line:
30.3% (2009 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $5.609 billion
expenditures: $6.072 billion (2017 est.)


Agriculture
Agriculture only comprises approximately 2.4% of GDP, but it is vital to livelihood for many citizens of Botswana who operate farms for subsistence. Livestock production, especially cattle, contributes an estimated 80% to the agricultural GDP. President Khama has directed the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security to increase domestic food production, and ministry officials report they are developing an incentives package to attract investors and improve commercial viability in the sector.
Livestock and cattle raising and grazing is by far Botswana’s primary agricultural product and export. The cattle population is currently estimated at 2.1 million. Livestock production exceeds domestic needs and the country has exported range-fed beef to the European Union. The development of a modern cattle farming and slaughter industry (and the corresponding development of a market for U.S. feedstocks, ingredients and technology) is limited by the government’s monopoly on meat processing plants, exports, livestock prices, as well as outbreaks of Foot and Mouth Disease especially in the northeastern part of the country. The GOB is seeking new market opportunities abroad with a particular interest in the Middle East market.
The crop sub-sector is dominated by the growth of cereals but is limited by constrained productivity in the sector, unreliable water supply, and the fact that desert and poor soils cover 70% of the country. In 2015/2016, national cereal production totaled 54,374 metric tons (MT), supplying only 18% of domestic demand. Sorghum comprises 72% of national cereal production, followed by maize (17%) and millet (6%). Botswana also produced 14,000 MT of beans, 2,000 MT of groundnuts and 1,800 MT of sunflowers in 2015. Horticulture production is focused in the southeast, with a small annual production valued at $14 million in 2013, primarily consisting of potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, and oranges.
Botswana consumes about 4,000 tons of fish per year and out of this quantity only 300 tons are produced locally and 3,700 tons are imported from neighboring countries. Efforts to augment fish production through aquaculture, such as the construction of fish hatcheries to supply fish seed to over-fished reservoirs, are being explored and may provide a niche market for incoming investors. The sector also supplies raw materials for agro-based industries such as meat processing, tanning, milling, oil, soap, and brewing.
Electricity access:
population without electricity: 700,000
electrification – total population: 66%
electrification – urban areas: 75%
electrification – rural areas: 54% (2013)
Electricity – production:
2.789 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Electricity – consumption:
3.722 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Electricity – exports:
0 kWh (2016 est.)
Electricity – imports:
1.468 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Electricity – installed generating capacity:
134,000 kW (2015 est.)
Electricity – from fossil fuels:
98.5% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Electricity – from nuclear fuels:
0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Telephones – fixed lines:
total subscriptions: 142,122
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 6 (July 2016 est.)
Telephones – mobile cellular:
total: 3,288,986
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 148 (July 2016 est.)
Internet country code:
.bw
Internet users:
total: 869,610
percent of population: 39.4% (July 2016 est.)
Manufacturing
Manufacturing in Botswana contributes over 4% of the country’s GDP (2012). The diamond industry, including processing and mining, employs over 10,000 people in the country and manufacturing as a whole employs over 35,000 workers (Botswana Central Statistics Office 2009). As a whole, Botswana’s manufacturing sector is a growing market. Manufacturing employment and production have risen steadily since 2001, apart from a small dip in 2007 which was largely due to the emerging global financial crisis. Botswana’s industry and manufacturing appears to have recovered and continues to increase in both profitability and production. Botswana is rated 56 out of 185 countries by the World Bank for ease of doing business, a ranking based on how conducive the regulatory environment is to the opening and operation of a local firm.
The main manufacturing processes include diamond processing, food processing (predominantly beef), textiles and mining. The processing of diamonds has become an increasingly important industry since the De Beers diamond corporation opened a plant in Botswana in 2008. In 2013, diamond mining and processing contributed 50% of government revenue and was Botswana’s major generator of foreign currency. Botswana has two major diamond mines in Debswana and Bamangwato. Botswana’s diamond reserves will at some point run out and other manufacturing contingencies will need to be put in place before this happens. One way the government expects the diamond industry will survive is through Botswana’s well integrated and skilled diamond cutting and polishing trade.
Assets that are helpful to Botswana’s continued trade and growth in the industrial sector are a low corporate tax rate of 15% and no prohibitions on the foreign ownership of companies. Inflation also remains stable at a moderate 8%. The Government of Botswana has introduced policies such as a new Foreign Direct Investment Strategy and a National Export Development Strategy to sustain competitiveness in an increasingly difficult market and to continue to compete with neighboring countries.
The 2013 Global Competitiveness Report scores and ranks the sophistication of production processes around the world, where a low country score of 1 means “no sophistication and labor intensive” and a high score of 7 means production processes are the “world’s best and apply the most efficient technologies”. In this respect, Botswana ranks 79 out of 144 countries with a score of 4.06. At this level, Botswana ranks above many of its African counterparts, although it falls behind neighbor South Africa which is ranked 43 with a score of 4.2.


Banking and Finance
Botswana’s banking sector consists of a central bank (Bank of Botswana) and nine commercial banks: Barclays Bank Botswana, Standard Chartered Bank Botswana, First National Bank Botswana, Bank of Baroda Botswana Ltd., Stanbic Bank Botswana, Capital Bank, African Banking Corporation, Bank Gaborone, State Bank of India, and Bank of India. All nine banks are either majority or wholly foreign-owned. While Barclays remains Botswana’s largest bank, First National Bank Botswana, growing rapidly, has overtaken Standard Chartered as the second largest.
There are a growing number of investment and corporate finance institutions, including the African Banking Corporation of Botswana, Andisa Bank, Investec Group, and Mazars Corporate Finance, which specialize in structured trade finance, treasury operations, and investment banking. All are geared towards financing for existing and new businesses. However, most commercial banks do not finance start-ups but rather finance existing businesses either for expansion or acquisition, and also have high collateral requirements that make it difficult for many to access their financing. The financial institutions are now improving the range of services they provide, including a new emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises. In 2008 the government established the Non-Banking Financial Institution Regulatory Authority to ensure that the non-banking financial sector operates in an efficient and orderly manner.
The central bank, known as the Bank of Botswana, is responsible for monetary policies, central banking services, supervision of financial institutions, issuing of bank notes, implementing exchange rate policies, administering exchange controls, and foreign exchange reserves management. The bank’s financial statements comply with international standards. Short-term finance, including pre- and post-shipment credit, is readily available through the commercial banking system at market rates of interest. Export credit insurance is available through the Botswana Export Credit Insurance (BECI) agency.
The provisions for the U.S. and other foreign firms borrowing in Botswana are liberal while local banks remain highly liquid. The country’s commercial banks, however, have difficulty making long-term credit available due to the short maturity nature of their deposits and small capital bases.
Tourism
Botswana is widely regarded as having some of the best wilderness and wildlife areas on the African continent. With a full 38 percent of its total land area devoted to national parks, reserves and wildlife management areas for the most part unfenced, allowing animals to roam wild and free – travel through many parts of the country has the feeling of moving through an immense Nature wonderland.
Botswana is a rarity in our overpopulated, overdeveloped world. It is one of the last great refuges for Nature’s magnificent pageantry of life. The experience here the stunning beauty of the world’s largest intact inland Delta the Okavango; the unimaginable vastness of the world’s second-largest game reserve the Central Kalahari Game Reserve; the isolation and other-worldliness of the Makgadikgadi uninhabited pans the size of Portugal; and the astoundingly prolific wildlife of the Chobe National Park. Botswana is the last stronghold for a number of endangered bird and mammal species, including Wild Dog, Cheetah, Brown Hyena, Cape Vulture, Wattled Crane, Kori Bustard, and Pel’s Fishing Owl. This makes safari experience even more memorable, and at times you will feel simply surrounded by wild animals.
The first and most lasting impressions will be of vast expanses of uninhabited wilderness stretching from horizon to horizon, the sensation of limitless space, astoundingly rich wildlife and bird viewing, night skies littered with stars and heavenly bodies of an unimaginable brilliance, and stunning sunsets of unearthly beauty. As well, with more and more cultural tourism options on offer, you will be charmed by the people of Botswana, visiting their villages and experiencing first hand their rich cultural heritage. But perhaps most of all, Botswana’s greatest gift is its ability to put us in touch with our natural selves.
Botswana has a premier Southern African safari destination offering some of the best wildlife viewings on the planet, especially in and around the Chobe and Okavango Delta region. The Kalahari Desert with its San Bushman culture is another Botswanan highlight that deserves a place on your itinerary. Check out this list of top attractions for more ideas about what to see and where to go to Botswana.
Chobe National Park lies in Botswana’s Okavango Delta and covers four distinct eco-systems. The SavutiMarsh, in particular, offers some of the highest concentrations of wildlife in Africa year round. Chobe boasts around 120,000 elephants.
The Okavango River cuts through the center of the Kalahari Desert, creating a unique inland water system that gives life to a huge variety of birds and animals.
Tsodilo Hills is a spiritual outdoor art gallery, showcasing more than 4,000 ancient San Bushmen rock paintings. There are around 400 sites depicting hunting scenes, ritual dances and typical safari animals.
The Nxai Pan National Park is a spectacular destination for a safari. The scenery is the main draw here, with wonderful sand dunes, towering baobab trees, and of course the salt pans themselves. When flooded, the pans also offer tremendous birding and game-viewing opportunities.
The Tuli Block is a wildlife rich area in eastern Botswana that borders South Africa and Zimbabwe at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers. It was once an area of private farms, but a few decades ago it made more economic sense to transform the land into a wildlife sanctuary.
Salt pans, Kalahari sand dunes, and plenty of wildlife during the rainy season makes this a wonderful park to visit during the summer months (January – April). But it’s not easy to get to, especially from the Botswana side.
Mokolodi is a short drive from Botswana’s capital Gaborone and makes for a great day trip. Mokolodi is a private reserve dedicated to conservation education so when you visit, don’t be surprised to see excited school children out on a field trip