Botswana

In the early 1800s, multiple political entities in what is now Botswana were destabilized or destroyed by a series of conflicts and population movements in southern Africa. By the end of this period, the Tswana ethnic group, who also live across the border in South Africa, had become the most prominent group in the area. In 1852, Tswana forces halted the expansion of white Afrikaner settlers who were seeking to expand their territory northwards into what is now Botswana. In 1885, Great Britain claimed territory that roughly corresponds with modern day Botswana as a protectorate called Bechuanaland. Upon independence in 1966, the British protectorate of Bechuanaland adopted the new name of Botswana, which means "land of the Tswana." <br><br>More than five decades of uninterrupted civilian leadership, progressive social policies, and significant capital investment have created an enduring democracy and upper-middle-income economy. The ruling Botswana Democratic Party has won every national election since independence; President Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe MASISI assumed the presidency in 2018 after the retirement of former President Ian KHAMA due to constitutional term limits. MASISI won his first election as president in 2019, and he is Botswana’s fifth president since independence. 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 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; almost four times the size of Illinois

0 km (landlocked)

none (landlocked)

semiarid; warm winters and hot summers

predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest

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

25 sq km (2014)

<p>Zambezi (shared with Zambia [s]), Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique [m]) - 2,740 km; Limpopo (shared with South Africa [s], Zimbabwe, and Mozambique [m]) - 1,800 km; Okavango river mouth (shared with Angola [s], and Namibia) - 1,600 km<br><br><strong>note:</strong> [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth</p>

Lower Kalahari-Stampriet Basin, Upper Kalahari-Cuvelai-Upper Zambezi Basin

the population is primarily concentrated in the east, with a focus in and around the capital of Gaborone and the eastern city of Francistown; population density remains low in other areas in the country, especially in the Kalahari Desert to the west.

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

landlocked; sparsely populated with most settlement concentrated in the southern and eastern parts of the country; geography dominated by the Kalahari Desert, which covers about 70% of the country, although the Okavango Delta brings considerable biodiversity as one of the largest inland deltas in the World&nbsp;

Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and people of European ancestry 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.)

1.32% (2025 est.)

21.16 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

6.8 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-1.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

the population is primarily concentrated in the east, with a focus in and around the capital of Gaborone and the eastern city of Francistown; population density remains low in other areas in the country, especially in the Kalahari Desert to the west.

269,000 GABORONE (capital) (2018)

155 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

2.73 children born/woman (2025 est.)

1.34 (2025 est.)

0.38 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

2.2 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)

18.9% (2016)

41.5% (2017 est.)

overgrazing; desertification; limited freshwater resources; air pollution

semiarid; warm winters and hot summers

12.5 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

12.24 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

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*

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

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

Alliance of Progressives or AP <br>Botswana Congress Party or BCP <br>Botswana Democratic Party or BDP <br>Botswana National Front or BNF [Duma BOKO]Botswana Patriotic Front or BPF <br>Botswana Peoples Party or BPP <br>Botswana Republic Party or BRP <br>Umbrella for Democratic Change or UDC (various times the coalition has included the BPP, BCP, BNF and other parties)

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, MONUSCO, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

30 September 1966 (from the UK)

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

<strong>description:</strong> light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe across the middle<br><br><strong>meaning:</strong> the blue symbolizes rainwater, and the black and white bands represent racial harmony

zebra

light blue, white, black

the two zebras, the country’s national symbol, support an elephant tusk that represents the country's fauna and a head of sorghum that signifies agriculture; the three wavy blue bands stand for the country’s reliance on water, the cog wheels for industry, and the bull’s head for the cattle industry; the coat of arms also features the national colors of light blue, white, and black; the motto reflects the scarcity of rain in the country: <em>pula </em>means “let there be rain” in Setswana, the national language

good economic governance and financial management; diamond-driven growth model declining; rapid poverty reductions; high unemployment, particularly among youth; COVID-19 sharply contracted the economy and recovery is slow; public sector wages have posed fiscal challenges

$19.401 billion (2024 est.)

root vegetables, beef, vegetables, sorghum, maize, game meat, milk, watermelons, goat milk, sunflower seeds (2023)

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

-13.5% (2024 est.)

1.173 million (2024 est.)

16.1% (2015 est.)

19.6% (of GDP) (2022 est.)

UAE 27%, India 17%, Belgium 16%, South Africa 8%, USA 7% (2023)

diamonds, copper ore, insulated wire, carbonates, cattle (2023)

South Africa 65%, Namibia 8%, Canada 5%, China 3%, India 3% (2023)

refined petroleum, diamonds, cars, flavored water, electricity (2023)

2 TV stations, 1 state-owned and 1 privately owned; privately owned satellite TV subscription service is available; 2 state-owned national radio stations; 4 privately owned radio stations broadcast locally (2019)

.bw

A2

122 (2025)

Botswana Defense Force (BDF): Ground Forces Command, Air Arm Command, Defense Logistics Command (2025)

estimated 10,000 active Botswana Defense Force (2025)

the BDF has a mix of mostly older weapons and equipment, largely of Western/European origin; in recent years, it has received limited amounts of newer armaments from several European countries and the US (2025)

18-24 years of age (men and women) for general recruits and officer candidates; 18-40 for special entrant officers; no conscription (2025)

the key responsibilities of the Botswana Defense Force (BDF) are defending the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity on land and in the air, ensuring national security and stability, and aiding civil authorities in support of domestic missions such as disaster relief and anti-poaching; the BDF also participates in regional and international security operations<br><br>Bechuanaland/Botswana did not have a permanent military during colonial times, with the British colonial administrators relying instead on small, lightly armed constabularies such as the Bechuanaland Mounted Police, the Bechuanaland Border Police, and by the early 1960s, the Police Mobile Unit (PMU); after independence in 1966, Botswana militarized the PMU and gave it responsibility for the country’s defense rather than create a conventional military force; however, turmoil in neighboring countries and numerous cross-border incursions by Rhodesian and South African security forces in the 1960s and 1970s demonstrated that the PMU was inadequate for defending the country and led to the establishment of the BDF in 1977 (2025)