Botswana (2001) | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2004) | |
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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 | 6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick |
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.) |
0-14 years: 27.6% (male 16,463; female 15,872)
15-64 years: 66% (male 39,827; female 37,547) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 3,247; female 4,237) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sorghum, corn, millet, pulses, groundnuts (peanuts), beans, cowpeas, sunflower seed; livestock | bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices, small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, fish |
Airports | 92 (2000 est.) | 6 (2003 est.) |
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.) |
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2004 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.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
600,370 sq km land: 585,370 sq km water: 15,000 sq km |
total: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km)
land: 389 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | twice the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Disputed between France and the United Kingdom in the 18th century, Saint Vincent was ceded to the latter in 1783. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and independence in 1979. |
Birth rate | 28.85 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.77 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $560 million (FY96) |
revenues: $94.6 million
expenditures: $85.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Gaborone | Kingstown |
Climate | semiarid; warm winters and hot summers | tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 84 km |
Constitution | March 1965, effective 30 September 1966 | 27 October 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Botswana conventional short form: Botswana former: Bechuanaland |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
Currency | pula (BWP) | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 24.18 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.04 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $455 million (2000) | $167.2 million (2000) |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the US Ambassador to Barbados, Ambassador Mary E. KRAMER, is accredited to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ellsworth I. A. JOHN
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6736 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | $73 million (1995) | $47.5 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (1998) |
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. | Economic growth in this lower-middle-income country hinges upon seasonal variations in the agricultural and tourism sectors. Tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in 1994, 1995, and 2002, and tourism in the Eastern Caribbean has suffered low arrivals following 11 September 2001. Saint Vincent is home to a small offshore banking sector and has moved to adopt international regulatory standards. Saint Vincent is also a large producer of marijuana and is being used as a transshipment point for illegal narcotics from South America. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.517 billion kWh (1999) | 86 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 950 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 610 million kWh (1999) | 92.48 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m highest point: Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Soufriere 1,234 m |
Environment - current issues | overgrazing; desertification; limited fresh water resources | pollution of coastal waters and shorelines from discharges by pleasure yachts and other effluents; in some areas, pollution is severe enough to make swimming prohibitive |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and white 7% | black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 7% |
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) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999) |
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% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Fredrick Nathaniel BALLANTYNE (since 2 September 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Ralph E. GONSALVES (since 29 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister |
Exports | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds 72%, vehicles, copper, nickel, meat (1998) | bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch, tennis racquets |
Exports - partners | EU 77%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 18%, Zimbabwe 3% (1998) | France 52.7%, UK 6.9%, Greece 6.4%, Spain 6.4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center | three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold (double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds arranged in a V pattern |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $342 million (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
4% industry: 46% (including 36% mining) services: 50% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 10%
industry: 26% services: 64% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 0.7% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 S, 24 00 E | 13 15 N, 61 12 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is comprised of 32 islands and cays |
Highways | total:
18,482 km paved: 4,343 km unpaved: 14,139 km (1996) |
total: 1,040 km
paved: 320 km unpaved: 720 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; small-scale cannabis cultivation |
Imports | $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, textiles, petroleum products | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels |
Imports - partners | Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 76%, Europe 10%, South Korea 5% (1998) | France 31.4%, US 10.4%, Singapore 10.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 10%, Spain 9%, Italy 5.5% (2003) |
Independence | 30 September 1966 (from UK) | 27 October 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.2% (2000 est.) | -0.9% (1997 est.) |
Industries | diamonds, copper, nickel, coal, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing | food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch |
Infant mortality rate | 63.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 15.24 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.6% (2000 est.) | -0.4% (2001 est.) |
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 | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1993 est.) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrates' Courts (one in each district) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) |
Labor force | 235,000 formal sector employees (1995) | 67,000 (1984 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.) | agriculture 26%, industry 17%, services 57% (1980 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
4,013 km border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 47% other: 6% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 17.95%
permanent crops: 17.95% other: 64.1% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Setswana | English, French patois |
Legal system | based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law |
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 |
unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats, 15 elected representatives and 6 appointed senators; representatives are elected by popular vote from single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 28 March 2001 (next to be held by July 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
37.13 years male: 36.77 years female: 37.51 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 73.35 years
male: 71.54 years female: 75.21 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 69.8% male: 80.5% female: 59.9% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 96% male: 96% female: 96% (1970 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, north of South Africa | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 704 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,967,418 GRT/9,041,023 DWT
by type: bulk 120, cargo 346, chemical tanker 19, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 1, container 51, liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 4, multi-functional large load carrier 4, passenger 8, petroleum tanker 31, refrigerated cargo 45, roll on/roll off 42, short-sea/passenger 9, specialized tanker 8, vehicle carrier 1 foreign-owned: Albania 1, Angola 2, Argentina 1, Australia 3, Bangladesh 3, Barbados 2, Belgium 3, Bulgaria 16, China 114, Colombia 1, Croatia 7, Cyprus 2, Denmark 13, Egypt 5, Estonia 13, France 17, Germany 10, Greece 134, Guyana 8, Hong Kong 15, Iceland 7, India 5, Indonesia 1, Israel 3, Italy 21, Kenya 5, South Korea 4, Latvia 7, Lebanon 9, Liberia 5, Lithuania 3, Malta 4, Isle of Man 1, Marshall Islands 3, Mexico 2, Monaco 6, Netherlands 9, Nigeria 8, Norway 32, Pakistan 6, Panama 3, Poland 3, Portugal 1, Puerto Rico 2, Romania 2, Russia 21, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saint Lucia 1, Saudi Arabia 3, Singapore 5, Slovenia 7, Spain 1, Sweden 9, Switzerland 8, Syria 6, Taiwan 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Turkey 23, Ukraine 8, United Kingdom 11, United States registered in other countries: 25 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Botswana Defense Force (includes Army and Air Wing), Botswana National Police | Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $61 million (FY99) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY99) | NA |
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 - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
19,479 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 September (1966) | Independence Day, 27 October (1979) |
Nationality | noun:
Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) adjective: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) |
noun: Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s)
adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility | hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat |
Natural resources | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver | hydropower, cropland |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -7.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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] |
National Reform Party or NRP [Joel MIGUEL]; New Democratic Party or NDP [Arnhim EUSTACE]; People's Progressive Movement or PPM [Ken BOYEA]; Progressive Labor Party or PLP [leader NA]; United People's Movement or UPM [Adrian SAUNDERS]; Unity Labor Party or ULP [Ralph GONSALVES] (formed by the coalition of Saint Vincent Labor Party or SVLP and the Movement for National Unity or MNU) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
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.) |
117,193 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 47% (2000 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.47% (2001 est.) | 0.31% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Kingstown |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 15, shortwave 5 (1998) | AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Radios | 237,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
888 km narrow gauge: 888 km 1.067-m gauge (2000) |
- |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 50% | Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Hindu Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant |
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.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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) |
general assessment: adequate system
domestic: islandwide, fully automatic telephone system; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to the other islands of the Grenadines international: country code - 1-784; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to Barbados; new SHF radiotelephone to Grenada and to Saint Lucia; access to Intelsat earth station in Martinique through Saint Lucia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 86,000 (1997) | 27,300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 10,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 1 (plus three repeaters) (2004) |
Terrain | predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest | volcanic, mountainous |
Total fertility rate | 3.7 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.9 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (2000 est.) | 22% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |