| 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 |
|
