Botswana
Republic of Botswana conventional short form: Botswana former: Bechuanaland
parliamentary republicIndependence 30 September 1966 (from UK)
Botswana as the 2001 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 114 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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.
Geography
Southern Africa, north of South Africa
18 fieldsLand boundaries
total: 4,013 km border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km
Elevation extremes
lowest point: junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m highest point: Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m
Land use
arable land: 1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 47% other: 6% (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 - 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
People
18 fieldsPer 1,000 population(2001 est.)
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.)
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.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 37.13 years male: 36.77 years female: 37.51 years (2001 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%
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 69.8% male: 80.5% female: 59.9% (1995 est.)
Government
Parliamentary republic; President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998)
20 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Legislature, 40 seatsone dot, one seat
Country name
conventional long form: Republic of Botswana conventional short form: Botswana former: Bechuanaland
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
Legal system
- based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law;
- judicial review limited to matters of interpretation;
- has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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
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: ;
- 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]
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
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
Economy
Botswana has maintained one of the world's highest growth rates since independence in 1966.
32 fieldsTrading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
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 - composition by sector
agriculture: 4% industry: 46% (including 36% mining) services: 50% (1998 est.)
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.)
Budget
revenues: $1.6 billion expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $560 million (FY96)
Agriculture - products
sorghum, corn, millet, pulses, groundnuts (peanuts), beans, cowpeas, sunflower seed; livestock
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)
Communications
10 fieldsTelephone 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)
Transportation
7 fieldsAirports - 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
Botswana Defense Force (includes Army and Air Wing), Botswana National Police
7 fieldsTransnational Issues
1 fieldCite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Botswana.” The World Factbook 2001. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/botswana/2001.