Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name at independence in 1966. More than four decades of uninterrupted civilian leadership, progressive social policies, and significant capital investment have created one of the most stable economies in Africa. The ruling Botswana Democratic Party has won every election since independence; President Ian KHAMA was reelected for a second term in 2014. Mineral extraction, principally diamond mining, dominates economic activity, though tourism is a growing sector due to the country's conservation practices and extensive nature preserves. Botswana has one of the world's highest known rates of HIV/AIDS infection, but also one of Africa's most progressive and comprehensive programs for dealing with the disease.

Southern Africa, north of South Africa

22 00 S, 24 00 E

Africa

slightly smaller than Texas

0 km (landlocked)

none (landlocked)

semiarid; warm winters and hot summers

predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest

highest point: Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m

diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver

arable land 0.6%; permanent crops 0%; permanent pasture 45.2%

20 sq km (2012)

the population is primarily concentrated in the east with a focus in and around the captial 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

periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility

overgrazing; desertification; limited freshwater resources

landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country

2,214,858

Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and white 7%

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.)

Christian 79.1%, Badimo 4.1%, other 1.4% (includes Baha'i, Hindu, Muslim, Rastafarian), none 15.2%, unspecified 0.3% (2011 est.)

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.

Today Botswana has the third highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the world at approximately 22%, however comprehensive and effective treatment programs have reduced HIV/AIDS-related deaths. The combination of declining fertility and increasing mortality rates because of HIV/AIDS is slowing the population aging process, with a narrowing of the youngest age groups and little expansion of the oldest age groups. Nevertheless, having the bulk of its population (about 60%) of working age will only yield economic benefits if the labor force is healthy, educated, and productively employed.

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.

1.55% (2017 est.)

22.1 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

9.6 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)

the population is primarily concentrated in the east with a focus in and around the captial 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

GABORONE (capital) 247,000 (2014)

19 years (2007 est.)

129 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

2.56 children born/woman (2017 est.)

52.8%

5.4% of GDP (2014)

0.38 physicians/1,000 population (2012)

1.8 beds/1,000 population (2010)

urban: 99.2% of population

rural: 92.3% of population

total: 96.2% of population

urban: 0.8% of population

rural: 7.7% of population

total: 3.8% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 78.5% of population

rural: 43.1% of population

total: 63.4% of population

urban: 21.5% of population

rural: 56.9% of population

total: 36.6% of population (2015 est.)

21.9% (2016 est.)

360,000 (2016 est.)

3,900 (2016 est.)

18.9% (2016)

11.2% (2007)

9.6% of GDP (2009)

parliamentary republic

10 districts and 6 town councils*; Central, Chobe, Francistown*, Gaborone*, Ghanzi, Jwaneng*, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Lobatse*, North East, North West, Selebi-Phikwe*, South East, Southern, Sowa Town*

30 September 1966 (from the UK)

Independence Day (Botswana Day), 30 September (1966)

mixed legal system of civil law influenced by the Roman-Dutch model and also customary and common law

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO]

Botswana Congress Party or BCP [Dumelang SALESHANDO]

Botswana Democratic Party or BDP [Ian KHAMA]

Botswana Movement for Democracy or BMD [Ndaba GAOLATHE]

Botswana National Front or BNF [Duma BOKO]

Botswana Peoples Party or BPP [Motlatsi MOLAPISI]

Umbrella for Democratic Change or UDC [Duma BOKO] (coalition includes BMD, BPP, BCP and BNF)

ACP, AfDB, AU, C, CD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center; the blue symbolizes water in the form of rain, while the black and white bands represent racial harmony

zebra; national colors: blue, white, black

Until 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. Tourism is the secondary earner of foreign exchange and many Batswana engage in 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 $16,900 in 2016. Botswana also ranks as one of the best credit risks in 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. De Beers, a major international diamond company, signed a 10-year deal with Botswana in 2012 and moved its rough stone sorting and trading division from London to Gaborone in 2013. The move was geared to support the development of Botswana's nascent downstream diamond industry.

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. In 2016, Botswana entered its fourth year of drought, detrimental to Botswana’s small, but vital agriculture sector, but diamond exports increased to their highest levels since 2013, buffering economic growth. As a result, the economy registered 2.9% growth in 2016.

$37.21 billion (2016 est.)

$35.23 billion (2015 est.)

$35.45 billion (2014 est.)

$15.57 billion (2016 est.)

4.3% (2016 est.)

-1.7% (2015 est.)

4.1% (2014 est.)

$17,300 (2016 est.)

$16,800 (2015 est.)

$17,200 (2014 est.)

42.1% of GDP (2016 est.)

40.5% of GDP (2015 est.)

43.2% of GDP (2014 est.)

livestock, sorghum, maize, millet, beans, sunflowers, groundnuts

diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver; beef processing; textiles

1.3% (2016 est.)

1.187 million (2016 est.)

20% (2013 est.)

17.8% (2009 est.)

30.3% (2003 est.)

60.5 (2009)

63 (1993)

34.2% of GDP (2016 est.)

-0.7% of GDP (2016 est.)

18.1% of GDP (2016 est.)

19.3% of GDP (2015 est.)

1 April - 31 March

2.8% (2016 est.)

3.1% (2015 est.)

5.5% (31 December 2016)

6% (31 December 2015)

7.3% (31 December 2016 est.)

7.95% (31 December 2015 est.)

$1.505 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$1.223 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$6.689 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$5.958 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$2.597 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$1.614 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$4.588 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$4.107 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$4.076 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.824 billion (2016 est.)

$1.367 billion (2015 est.)

$7.226 billion (2016 est.)

$6.286 billion (2015 est.)

diamonds, copper, nickel, soda ash, beef, textiles

Belgium 18.9%, India 15.1%, South Africa 13.6%, Namibia 11.6%, UAE 9.7%, Israel 6.1%, Singapore 5.6%, Canada 5% (2016)

$5.906 billion (2016 est.)

$6.936 billion (2015 est.)

foodstuffs, machinery, electrical goods, transport equipment, textiles, fuel and petroleum products, wood and paper products, metal and metal products

South Africa 64.5%, Namibia 10.5%, Canada 5.6% (2016)

$7.189 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$7.546 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$2.421 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$2.148 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

pulas (BWP) per US dollar -

10.9022 (2016 est.)

10.9022 (2015 est.)

10.1263 (2014 est.)

8.9761 (2013 est.)

7.62 (2012 est.)

2.789 billion kWh (2015 est.)

3.722 billion kWh (2015 est.)

0 kWh (2016 est.)

1.468 billion kWh (2015 est.)

134,000 kW (2015 est.)

98.5% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

1.5% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2016 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2017 es)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

23,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

21,290 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2014 es)

4.4 million Mt (2013 est.)

2 TV stations - 1 state-owned and 1 privately owned; privately owned satellite TV subscription service is available; 2 state-owned national radio stations; 3 privately owned radio stations broadcast locally (2007)

.bw

A2 (2016)

74 (2013)

3.37% of GDP (2016)

2.66% of GDP (2015)

2.13% of GDP (2014)

2.06% of GDP (2013)

2.23% of GDP (2012)

Botswana Defence Force (BDF): Ground Forces Command, Air Arm Command, Defense Logistics Command (2017)

18 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2012)

none