From Wikitravel

This article is an import from the CIA World Factbook 2002. It's a starting point for creating a real Wikitravel country article according to our country article template. Please plunge forward and edit the Botswana article.

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.

[edit] Geography

Location 

Southern Africa, north of South Africa

Geographic coordinates 

22 00 S, 24 00 E

Map references 

Africa

Area 

total: 600,370 sq km
water: 15,000 sq km
land: 585,370 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: 0.61%
permanent crops: 0.01%
other: 99.38% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 

10 sq km (1998 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

[edit] People

Population 

1,591,232
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 2002 est.)

Age structure 

0-14 years: 40% (male 319,988; female 316,961)
15-64 years: 55.8% (male 428,638; female 458,777)
65 years and over: 4.2% (male 26,965; female 39,903) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate 

0.18% (2002 est.)

Birth rate 

28.04 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate 

26.26 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate 

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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 (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate 

64.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth 

total population: 35.29 years
female: 35.43 years (2002 est.)
male: 35.15 years

Total fertility rate 

3.6 children born/woman (2002 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 85%, Christian 15%

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.)

[edit] Government

Country name 

conventional long form: Republic of Botswana
conventional short form: Botswana
former: Bechuanaland

Government type 

parliamentary republic

Capital 

Gaborone

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 (Botswana 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 members) and the National Assembly (44 seats, 40 members are directly elected by popular vote and 4 are 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 54.3%, BNF 24.7%, other 21%; 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 [Otswoletse MOUPO]; Botswana Congress Party or BCP [Mokgweetsi KGOSIPULA]; Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO]
note: a number of minor parties joined forces in 1999 to form the BAM but did not capture any parliamentary seats; the BAM parties are: the United Action Party [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO], the Independence Freedom Party or IFP [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, 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
FAX: [1] (202) 244-4164
telephone: [1] (202) 244-4990

Diplomatic representation from the US 

chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph HUGGING
embassy: address NA, Gaborone
mailing address: Embassy Enclave, P. O. Box 90, Gaborone
telephone: [267] 353982
FAX: [267] 312782

Flag description 

light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center

[edit] Economy

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 $7,800 in 2001. Two major investment services rank Botswana as the best credit risk in Africa. Diamond mining has fueled much of expansion and currently accounts for more than one-third of GDP and for four-fifths of export earnings. Tourism, subsistence farming, and cattle raising are other key sectors. On the downside, the government must deal with high rates of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment officially is 21%, 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 - $12.4 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 

4.7% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita 

purchasing power parity - $7,800 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector 

agriculture: 4%
industry: 44% (including 36% mining)
services: 52% (2000 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) 

6.6% (2001 est.)

Labor force 

264,000 formal sector employees (2000)

Labor force - by occupation 

NA

Unemployment rate 

40% (official rate is 21%) (2001 est.)

Budget 

revenues: $2.3 billion
expenditures: $2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY01/02 )

Industries 

diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing; textiles

Industrial production growth rate 

2.4% (2001 est.)

Electricity - production 

500 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source 

fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption 

1.451 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports 

0 kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports 

986 million kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products 

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

Exports 

$2.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)

Exports - commodities 

diamonds 80%, copper, nickel, soda ash, meat, textiles (2001)

Exports - partners 

EFTA 85%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 10%, Zimbabwe 2% (1999)

Imports 

$2.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)

Imports - commodities 

foodstuffs, machinery, electrical goods, transport equipment, textiles, fuel and petroleum products, wood and paper products, metal and metal products (2000)

Imports - partners 

Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 77%, EFTA 9%, Zimbabwe 4% (1999)

Debt - external 

$325 million (2001)

Economic aid - recipient 

$73 million (1995) (1995)

Currency 

pula (BWP)

Currency code 

BWP

Exchange rates 

pulas per US dollar - 6.8353 (January 2002), 5.8412 (2001), 5.1018 (2000), 4.6244 (1999), 4.2259 (1998), 3.6508 (1997)

Fiscal year 

1 April - 31 March

[edit] Communications

Telephones - main lines in use 

131,000 (September 2001)

Telephones - mobile cellular 

270,000 (September 2001)

Telephone system 

general assessment: the system is expanding with the growth of mobile cellular service and participation in regional development
domestic: small system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and a few radiotelephone communication stations; mobile cellular service is growing fast
international: two international exchanges; digital microwave radio relay links to Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations 

AM 8, FM 13, shortwave 4 (2001)

Radios 

252,720 (2000)

Television broadcast stations 

1 (2001)

Televisions 

31,000 (1997)

Internet country code 

.bw

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 

11 (2001)

Internet users 

33,000 (2001)

[edit] Transportation

Railways 

total: 888 km
narrow gauge: 888 km 1.067-m gauge (2000 est.)

Highways 

total: 10,217 km
paved: 5,620 km
unpaved: 4,597 km (1999)

Waterways 

none

Ports and harbors 

none

Airports 

92 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways 

total: 10
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways 

total: 76
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 55
under 914 m: 18 (2002)

[edit] Military

Military branches 

Botswana Defense Force (including Army and Air Wing), Botswana National Police

Military manpower - military age 

18 years of age (2002 est.)

Military manpower - availability 

males age 15-49: 384,888 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service 

males age 15-49: 202,685 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually 

males: 19,479 (2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure 

$135 million (FY01/02)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP 

3.5% (FY01/02)

[edit] Transnational Issues

Disputes - international 

none