|
Home
World
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua Barbuda
Arctic Ocean
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Ashmore Cartier Isle
Atlantic Ocean
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Baker Island
Bangladesh
Barbados
Bassas da India
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia Herzegovina
Botswana
Bouvet Island
Brazil
British Indian Ocean
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burma
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Rep
Chad
Chile
China
Christmas Island
Clipperton Island
Cocos
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Congo Republic
Cook Islands
Coral Sea Islands
Costa Rica
Cote d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Europa Island
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
Antarctic Lands
Gabon
Gambia
Gaza Strip
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Glorioso Islands
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Heard McDonald Isle
Honduras
Hong Kong
Howland Island
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indian Ocean
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Isle of Man
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jarvis Island
Jersey
Johnston Atoll
Jordan
Juan de Nova Island
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kingman Reef
Kiribati
Jan Mayen
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia
Midway Islands
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Nauru
Navassa Island
Nepal
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
Norfolk Island
North Korea
N Mariana Islands
Norway
Oman
Pacific Ocean
Pakistan
Palau
Palmyra Atoll
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paracel Islands
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn Islands
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Reunion
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
St Helena
St Kitts Nevis
St Lucia
St Pierre Miquelon
St Vincent Grenadines
Samoa
Sandwich Islands
San Marino
Sao Tome Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Korea
S Ocean
Spain
Spratly Islands
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Svalbard
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad Tobago
Tromelin Island
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks Caicos Islands
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican
Venezuela
Vietnam
Virgin Islands
Wake Island
Wallis and Futuna
West Bank
Western Sahara
Yemen
Yugoslavia
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Guide
Introduction
| |
| Background: |
Formerly the British
protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name upon
independence in 1966. The economy, one of the most robust on the
continent, is dominated by diamond mining. |
| Location: |
Southern Africa, north of
South Africa |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
22 00 S, 24 00 E |
| Area: |
total: 600,370
sq km
land: 585,370 sq km
water: 15,000 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly smaller than Texas |
| Land
boundaries: |
total: 4,013 km
border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km,
Zimbabwe 813 km |
| Coastline: |
0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime
claims: |
none (landlocked) |
| Climate: |
semiarid; warm winters and
hot summers |
| Terrain: |
predominantly flat to gently
rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest |
| 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: |
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 46%
forests and woodland: 47%
other: 6% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
20 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
periodic droughts; seasonal
August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the
country, which can obscure visibility |
| Environment
- current issues: |
overgrazing; desertification;
limited fresh water resources |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography
- note: |
landlocked; population
concentrated in eastern part of the country |
| Population: |
1,586,119
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into
account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in
lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower
population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001
est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
40.3% (male 321,164; female 318,007)
15-64 years: 55.56% (male 423,954; female 457,227)
65 years and over: 4.14% (male 26,691; female 39,076) (2001
est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
0.47% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
28.85 births/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
24.18 deaths/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.03
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
63.2 deaths/1,000 live births
(2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population:
37.13 years
male: 36.77 years
female: 37.51 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
3.7 children born/woman (2001
est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
35.8% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
290,000 (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
24,000 (1999 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Motswana
(singular), Batswana (plural)
adjective: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) |
| Ethnic
groups: |
Tswana (or Setswana) 79%,
Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and white 7% |
| Religions: |
indigenous beliefs 50%,
Christian 50% |
| Languages: |
English (official), Setswana |
| Literacy: |
definition: age
15 and over can read and write
total population: 69.8%
male: 80.5%
female: 59.9% (1995 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional long form:
Republic of Botswana
conventional short form: Botswana
former: Bechuanaland |
| Government
type: |
parliamentary republic |
| Administrative
divisions: |
10 districts and four town
councils*; Central, Chobe, Francistown*, Gaborone*, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi,
Kgatleng, Kweneng, Lobatse*, Ngamiland, North-East, Selebi-Pikwe*,
South-East, Southern |
| Independence: |
30 September 1966 (from UK) |
| National
holiday: |
Independence Day, 30
September (1966) |
| Constitution: |
March 1965, effective 30
September 1966 |
| Legal
system: |
based on Roman-Dutch law and
local customary law; judicial review limited to matters of
interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive
branch: |
chief of state:
President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse
Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note - the president is both the chief
of state and head of government
head of government: President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April
1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note -
the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a
five-year term; election last held 16 October 1999 (next to be held NA
October 2004); vice president appointed by the president
election results: Festus MOGAE elected president; percent
of National Assembly vote - 54.3% |
| Legislative
branch: |
bicameral Parliament consists
of the House of Chiefs (a largely advisory 15-member body consisting of
the chiefs of the eight principal tribes, four elected subchiefs, and
three members selected by the other 12) and the National Assembly (44
seats, 40 members are directly elected by popular vote and 4 appointed
by the majority party; members serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly elections last held 16 October
1999 (next to be held NA October 2004)
election results: percent of vote by party - BDP 57.2%, BNF
26%, other 16.8%; seats by party - BDP 33, BNF 6, other 1 |
| Judicial
branch: |
High Court; Court of Appeal;
Magistrates' Courts (one in each district) |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
Botswana Democratic Party or
BDP [Festus MOGAE]; Botswana National Front or BNF [Kenneth KOMA];
Botswana Congress Party or BCP [Michael DINGAKE]; Botswana Alliance
Movement or BAM [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO]
note: main parties are: BDP, BNF, BCP; other minor parties
joined forces in 1999 to form the Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM
[Ephraim SETSHWAELO, chairman] but did not capture any parliamentary
seats; the BAM parties are: the United Action Party [Ephraim Lepetu
SETSHWAELO], the Botswana Peoples Party, the Independence Freedom Party
[Motsamai MPHO], and the Botswana Progressive Union [D. K. KWELE] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
| International
organization participation: |
ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO,
G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Kgosi SEEPAPITSO IV
chancery: 1531-1533 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20036
telephone: [1] (202) 244-4990
FAX: [1] (202) 244-4164 |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador John E. LANGE
embassy: address NA, Gaborone
mailing address: P. O. Box 90, Gaborone
telephone: [267] 353982
FAX: [267] 356947 |
| Flag
description: |
light blue with a horizontal
white-edged black stripe in the center |
| Economy
- overview: |
Botswana has maintained one
of the world's highest growth rates since independence in 1966. Through
fiscal discipline and sound management, Botswana has transformed itself
from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income
country with a per capita GDP of $6,600 in 2000. Diamond mining has
fueled much of Botswana's economic expansion and currently accounts for
more than one-third of GDP and for three-fourths of export earnings.
Tourism, subsistence farming, and cattle raising are other key sectors.
The government must deal with high rates of unemployment and poverty.
Unemployment officially is 19%, but unofficial estimates place it closer
to 40%. HIV/AIDS infection rates are the highest in the world and
threaten Botswana's impressive economic gains. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity -
$10.4 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
6% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity -
$6,600 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 46% (including 36% mining)
services: 50% (1998 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
47% (2000 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
8.6% (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
235,000 formal sector
employees (1995) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
100,000 public sector;
135,000 private sector, including 14,300 who are employed in various
mines in South Africa; most others engaged in cattle raising and
subsistence agriculture (1995 est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
40% (2000 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $1.6
billion
expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures
of $560 million (FY96) |
| Industries: |
diamonds, copper, nickel,
coal, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
6.2% (2000 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
610 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
1.517 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
950 million kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
sorghum, corn, millet,
pulses, groundnuts (peanuts), beans, cowpeas, sunflower seed; livestock |
| Exports: |
$2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000
est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
diamonds 72%, vehicles,
copper, nickel, meat (1998) |
| Exports
- partners: |
EU 77%, Southern African
Customs Union (SACU) 18%, Zimbabwe 3% (1998) |
| Imports: |
$2.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000
est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
foodstuffs, machinery and
transport equipment, textiles, petroleum products |
| Imports
- partners: |
Southern African Customs
Union (SACU) 76%, Europe 10%, South Korea 5% (1998) |
| Debt
- external: |
$455 million (2000) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$73 million (1995) |
| Exchange
rates: |
pulas per US dollar - 5.4585
(January 2001), 5.1018 (2000), 4.6244 (1999), 4.2259 (1998), 3.6508
(1997), 3.3242 (1996) |
| Fiscal
year: |
1 April - 31 March |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
86,000 (1997) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
NA |
| Telephone
system: |
general assessment:
sparse system
domestic: small system of open-wire lines, microwave radio
relay links, and a few radiotelephone communication stations
international: two international exchanges; digital
microwave radio relay links to Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa;
satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 7, FM 15, shortwave 5
(1998) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
0 (1997) |
| Televisions: |
31,000 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.bw |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
3 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
12,000 (2000) |
| Railways: |
total: 888 km
narrow gauge: 888 km 1.067-m gauge (2000) |
| Highways: |
total: 18,482 km
paved: 4,343 km
unpaved: 14,139 km (1996) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total: 81
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 56
under 914 m: 22 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Botswana Defense Force
(includes Army and Air Wing), Botswana National Police |
| Military
manpower - military age: |
18 years of age |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age 15-49:
380,152 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age 15-49:
199,995 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males: 19,479
(2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$61 million (FY99) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
1.2% (FY99) |
| Disputes
- international: |
none |
|
