Botswana

**Botswana** (officially called the **Republic of Botswana**) is a country in southern Africa. The capital of Botswana is Gaborone.

## History

The first people in Botswana's territory were the Khoe and San people. Botswana was first formed as the Bechuanaland Protectorate by the British Empire in 1885.

## Geography

The countries that border Botswana are Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Namibia. It is also possible to travel from Botswana directly into Zambia by crossing the Zambezi River by ferry.

Botswana is landlocked. All of Botswana's trade must be brought in over land or by airplane.

The two most important geographical features in Botswana are the Okavango Delta and the Kalahari Desert.

## Divisions

Botswana is divided into 10 districts:
- Southern District
- South-East District
- Kweneng District
- Kgatleng District
- Central District
- North-East District
- Ngamiland District
- Kgalagadi District
- Chobe District
- Ghanzi District

## Culture

People from Botswana are called _Batswana_. The population of Botswana is about 2.2 million.  This is only 2.7 persons per km², a small number for a country of this size. This is because most of the country is desert and very dry.

Botswana has two official languages: Setswana and English. Setswana is the national language (also called _Tswana_).

## Governance

Botswana is a democracy. The people vote for their political leaders. Those leaders vote for the president. In 2008 Ian Khama became the fourth president of Botswana.

President Khama won elections in 2009 and 2014. The current President of Botswana is Dr. Eric K. Mokgweetsi who took over from Dr. Ian Khama Seretse Khama in 2018.

## Economy

The economy of Botswana has been growing very fast since it became an independent country in 1966. The people of Botswana have had the world's fastest growth in standard of living since that time.

Botswana's economy comes mostly from mining. This includes diamonds, metals (including copper) and minerals (including salt). Botswana is the highest producer of diamonds by value in the world. In 1999, Botswana produced over 30 million carats (6,000 kg) of diamonds from the three Debswana mines. That is about 25% of worldwide production.  There has been an agreement with De Beers since 1969.  In 2023 a new agreement was made giving the country more of the diamonds - 30% in 2023, 40% from 2028 and 50% from 2033.

Tourism is also important to the country. Many people come to Botswana each year to see its wildlife.

The currency of Botswana is called the _pula_ (which means rain). It is made up of 100 _thebe_ (which means shield). In 2017, one US dollar was about 10.32 pulas.

## In popular culture

The _No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency_ books by Alexander McCall Smith are set in Botswana.  The HBO television series based on the books was filmed in Botswana.

## Related pages

- Botswana at the Olympics
- Botswana national football team
- List of rivers of Botswana

## Other websites

- Botswana Newspapers

## Infobox (country)

- **conventional long name**: Republic of Botswana
- **common name**: Botswana
- **image flag**: Flag of Botswana.svg
- **image coat**: Arms of Botswana.svg
- **national motto**:

- **national anthem**:

<div style="padding-top:0.5em;" class="center"></div>
- **image map**: Botswana (centered orthographic projection).svg
- **capital**: Gaborone
- **largest city**: capital
- **official languages**: English language, English
- **national languages**: Tswana language, Setswana
- **ethnic groups year**: 2012 est.
- **government type**: Unitary state, Unitary Dominant-party system, dominant-party parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional republic
- **leader title1**: President of Botswana, President
- **leader name1**: Duma Boko
- **leader title2**: Vice-President of Botswana, Vice-President
- **leader name2**: Ndaba Gaolatlhe
- **leader title3**: Speaker of the National Assembly of Botswana, National Assembly Speaker
- **leader name3**: Phandu Skelemani
- **leader title4**: Chief Justice of Botswana, Chief Justice
- **leader name4**: Terence Rannowane
- **legislature**: National Assembly (Botswana), National Assembly
- **sovereignty type**: Independence
- **sovereignty note**: from the United Kingdom
- **established event1**: Established (Constitution of Botswana, Constitution)
- **established date1**: 30 September 1966
- **area km2**: 581,730
- **area rank**: 47th
- **area sq mi**: 224,610
- **percent water**: 2.7
- **population census**: 2,024,904
- **population estimate rank**: 145th
- **population census year**: 2011
- **population density km2**: 3.7
- **population density sq mi**: 9.07
- **population density rank**: 231st
- **gdp ppp**: $44.3 billion
- **gdp ppp year**: 2019
- **gdp ppp per capita**: $18,654
- **gdp nominal**: $19.651 billion
- **gdp nominal year**: 2019
- **gdp nominal per capita**: $8,263
- **gini**: 53.3
- **gini year**: 2015
- **gini change**: decrease
- **hdi**: 0.735
- **hdi year**: 2019
- **hdi change**: increase
- **hdi rank**: 100th
- **currency**: Botswana pula
- **currency code**: BWP
- **time zone**: Central Africa Time (GMT+2)
- **date format**: dd/mm/yyyy
- **drives on**: Right- and left-hand traffic, left
- **calling code**: +267
- **cctld**: .bw