Botswana (2002) | Mali (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 | 8 regions (regions, singular - region); Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou |
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.) |
0-14 years: 47.1% (male 2,835,378; female 2,801,578)
15-64 years: 49.9% (male 2,862,075; female 3,101,009) 65 years and over: 3% (male 163,927; female 192,821) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | livestock, sorghum, maize, millet, beans, sunflowers, groundnuts | cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 92 (2001) | 27 (2003 est.) |
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) |
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 76
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 55 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
total: 19
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 8 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 600,370 sq km
land: 585,370 sq km water: 15,000 sq km |
total: 1.24 million sq km
land: 1.22 million sq km water: 20,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
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. | The Sudanese Republic and Senegal became independent of France in 1960 as the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, what formerly made up the Sudanese Republic was renamed Mali. Rule by dictatorship was brought to a close in 1991 with a transitional government and in 1992 when Mali's first democratic presidential election was held. After his reelection in 1997, President Alpha KONARE continued to push through political and economic reforms and to fight corruption. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, he stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou TOURE. |
Birth rate | 28.04 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 47.29 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.3 billion
expenditures: $2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY01/02 ) |
revenues: $764 million
expenditures: $828 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2002 est.) |
Capital | Gaborone | Bamako |
Climate | semiarid; warm winters and hot summers | subtropical to arid; hot and dry February to June; rainy, humid, and mild June to November; cool and dry November to February |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | March 1965, effective 30 September 1966 | adopted 12 January 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Botswana
conventional short form: Botswana former: Bechuanaland |
conventional long form: Republic of Mali
conventional short form: Mali local long form: Republique de Mali local short form: Mali former: French Sudan and Sudanese Republic |
Currency | pula (BWP) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
Death rate | 26.26 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 19.12 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $325 million (2001) | $3.3 billion (2000) |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Vicki HUDDLESTONE
embassy: Rue Rochester NY and Rue Mohamed V, Bamako mailing address: B. P. 34, Bamako telephone: [223] (2) 223-833 FAX: [223] (2) 223-712 |
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 Abdoulaye DIOP
chancery: 2130 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-2249, 939-8950 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6603 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $73 million (1995) (1995) | $596.4 million (2001) |
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. | Mali is among the poorest countries in the world, with 65% of its land area desert or semidesert and with a highly unequal distribution of income. Economic activity is largely confined to the riverine area irrigated by the Niger. About 10% of the population is nomadic and some 80% of the labor force is engaged in farming and fishing. Industrial activity is concentrated on processing farm commodities. Mali is heavily dependent on foreign aid and vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices for cotton, its main export, along with gold. The government has continued its successful implementation of an IMF-recommended structural adjustment program that is helping the economy grow, diversify, and attract foreign investment. Mali's adherence to economic reform and the 50% devaluation of the African franc in January 1994 have pushed up economic growth to a sturdy 5% average in 1996-2002. Worker remittances and external trade routes have been jeopardized by continued unrest in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.451 billion kWh (2000) | 446.6 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh; note - recent hydropower developments may be providing electricity to Senegal and Mauritania (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 986 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 500 million kWh (2000) | 480.2 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m
highest point: Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m |
lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m |
Environment - current issues | overgrazing; desertification; limited fresh water resources | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and white 7% | Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5% |
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) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (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: President Amadou Toumani TOURE (since 8 June 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Ousmane Issoufi MAIGA (since 30 April 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (two-term limit); election last held 12 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Amadou Toumani TOURE elected president; percent of vote - Amadou Toumani TOURE 64.4%, Soumaila CISSE 35.6% |
Exports | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds 80%, copper, nickel, soda ash, meat, textiles (2001) | cotton, gold, livestock |
Exports - partners | EFTA 85%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 10%, Zimbabwe 2% (1999) | Thailand 14%, China 12.1%, India 7.9%, Italy 7.5%, Bangladesh 6.1%, UK 6.1% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $12.4 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $10.53 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4%
industry: 44% (including 36% mining) services: 52% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 45%
industry: 17% services: 38% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,800 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.7% (2001 est.) | 0.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 S, 24 00 E | 17 00 N, 4 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country | landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan |
Highways | total: 10,217 km
paved: 5,620 km unpaved: 4,597 km (1999) |
total: 15,100 km
paved: 1,827 km unpaved: 13,273 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 40.4% (1994) |
Imports | $2.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery, electrical goods, transport equipment, textiles, fuel and petroleum products, wood and paper products, metal and metal products (2000) | petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles |
Imports - partners | Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 77%, EFTA 9%, Zimbabwe 4% (1999) | France 15.4%, Senegal 7.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 7.1% (2003) |
Independence | 30 September 1966 (from UK) | 22 September 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (2001 est.) | NA (FY96/97) |
Industries | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing; textiles | food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | 64.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 117.99 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 124.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 111.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.6% (2001 est.) | 4.5% (2002 est.) |
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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 11 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,380 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrates' Courts (one in each district) | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 264,000 formal sector employees (2000) | 3.93 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | agriculture and fishing 80% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 4,013 km
border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km |
total: 7,243 km
border countries: Algeria 1,376 km, Burkina Faso 1,000 km, Guinea 858 km, Cote d'Ivoire 532 km, Mauritania 2,237 km, Niger 821 km, Senegal 419 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.61%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 99.38% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 3.82%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 96.15% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Setswana | French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages |
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 French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court (which was formally established on 9 March 1994); has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (147 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 July and 28 July 2002 (next to be held NA July 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Hope 2002 coalition 66, ADEMA 51, other 30 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 35.29 years
male: 35.15 years female: 35.43 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 45.28 years
male: 44.7 years female: 45.87 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 can read and write
total population: 46.4% male: 53.5% female: 39.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, north of South Africa | Western Africa, southwest of Algeria |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | Botswana Defense Force (including Army and Air Wing), Botswana National Police | Army, Air Force, National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $135 million (FY01/02) | $51.1 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.5% (FY01/02) | 1.3% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 384,888 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,529,147 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 202,685 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,450,795 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 19,479 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day (Botswana Day), 30 September (1966) | Independence Day, 22 September (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)
adjective: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) |
noun: Malian(s)
adjective: Malian |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding |
Natural resources | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver | gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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] |
Alliance for Democracy or ADEMA [Diounconda TRAORE, party chairman]; Block of Alternative for the Renewal of Africa or BARA [Yoro DIAKITE]; Democratic and Social Convention or CDS [Mamadou Bakary SANGARE, chairman]; Hope 2002 [leader NA]; Movement for the Independence, Renaissance and Integration of Africa or MIRIA [Mohamed Lamine TRAORE, Mouhamedou DICKO]; National Congress for Democratic Initiative or CNID [Mountaga TALL, chairman]; Party for Democracy and Progress or PDP [Me Idrissa TRAORE]; Party for National Renewal or PARENA [Yoro DIAKITE, chairman; Tiebile DRAME, secretary general]; Rally for Democracy and Labor or RDT [Ali GNANGADO]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Almamy SYLLA, chairman]; Rally for Mali or RPM [Ibrahim Bonbasor KEITA, chairman]; Sudanese Union/African Democratic Rally or US/RDA [Mamadou Bamou TOURE, secretary general]; Union of Democratic Forces for Progress or UFDP [Youssouf TOURE, secretary general]; Union for Democracy and Development or UDD [Moussa Balla COULIBALY] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Patriotic Movement of the Ghanda Koye or MPGK; United Movement and Fronts of Azawad or MFUA |
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.) |
11,956,788 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 47% (2000 est.) | 64% average; 30% of the total population living in urban areas; 70% of the total population living in rural areas) (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.18% (2002 est.) | 2.78% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Koulikoro |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 13, shortwave 4 (2001) | AM 1, FM 28, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station in Bamako has seven frequencies and five transmitters and relays broadcasts for China Radio International (2001) |
Radios | 252,720 (2000) | - |
Railways | total: 888 km
narrow gauge: 888 km 1.067-m gauge (2000 est.) |
total: 729 km
narrow gauge: 729 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 85%, Christian 15% | Muslim 90%, indigenous beliefs 9%, Christian 1% |
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.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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) |
general assessment: domestic system unreliable but improving; provides only minimal service
domestic: network consists of microwave radio relay, open-wire, and radiotelephone communications stations; expansion of microwave radio relay in progress international: country code - 223; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 131,000 (September 2001) | 56,600 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 270,000 (September 2001) | 250,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 1 (plus repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest | mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast |
Total fertility rate | 3.6 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.58 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (official rate is 21%) (2001 est.) | 14.6% urban areas; 5.3% rural areas (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | 1,815 km (2004) |