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World > Countries > Botswana

Botswana

Facts & Figures

Map of Botswana

President: Ian Khama (2008)

Land area: 226,012 sq mi (585,371 sq km); total area: 231,803 sq mi (600,370 sq km)

Population (2010 est.): 2,029,307 (growth rate: 1.8%); birth rate: 22.5/1000; infant mortality rate: 11.8/1000; life expectancy: 60.9; density per sq km: 3

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Gaborone, 195,000

Monetary unit: Pula

More Facts & Figures

Index

Botswana Main Page
AIDS: Botswana's Biggest Challenge

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.