Legend:
Definition of Term
 Arranged
by Countries Field Listing
| 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 |
| 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
|
| 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.)
|
| 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
|
| 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
|
| 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)
|
| 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)
|
| Disputes
- international: |
none | |
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