Botswana (2006) | Jamaica (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 districts and 5 town councils*; Central, Francistown*, Gaborone*, Ghanzi, Jwaneng*, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Lobatse*, Northeast, Northwest, Selebi-Pikwe*, Southeast, Southern | 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 38.3% (male 319,531/female 309,074)
15-64 years: 57.9% (male 460,692/female 488,577) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 23,374/female 38,585) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years:
29.7% (male 405,189; female 386,555) 15-64 years: 63.52% (male 845,226; female 847,944) 65 years and over: 6.78% (male 80,667; female 100,055) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | livestock, sorghum, maize, millet, beans, sunflowers, groundnuts | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk |
Airports | 85 (2006) | 35 (2000 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 (2006) |
total:
11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 75
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 55 under 914 m: 17 (2006) |
total:
24 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 600,370 sq km
land: 585,370 sq km water: 15,000 sq km |
total:
10,990 sq km land: 10,830 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
Background | Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name upon independence in 1966. Four decades of uninterrupted civilian leadership, progressive social policies, and significant capital investment have created one of the most dynamic economies in Africa. Mineral extraction, principally diamond mining, dominates economic activity, though tourism is a growing sector due to the country's conservation practices and extensive nature preserves. Botswana has one of the world's highest known rates of HIV/AIDS infection, but also one of Africa's most progressive and comprehensive programs for dealing with the disease. | Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a dropoff in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Subsequent governments have been open market oriented. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s. |
Birth rate | 23.08 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 18.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3.766 billion
expenditures: $3.767 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues:
$2.23 billion expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of $232.5 million (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | name: Gaborone
geographic coordinates: 24 45 S, 25 55 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Kingston |
Climate | semiarid; warm winters and hot summers | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,022 km |
Constitution | March 1965, effective 30 September 1966 | 6 August 1962 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Botswana
conventional short form: Botswana local long form: Republic of Botswana local short form: Botswana former: Bechuanaland |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Jamaica |
Currency | - | Jamaican dollar (JMD) |
Death rate | 29.5 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $519 million (2005 est.) | $4.7 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Katherine H. CANAVAN
embassy: address NA, Gaborone mailing address: Embassy Enclave, P. O. Box 90, Gaborone telephone: [267] 353982 FAX: [267] 312782 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Stanley Louis MCLELLAND embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859 FAX: [1] (876) 926-6743 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Lapologang Caesar LEKOA
chancery: 1531-1533 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 244-4990 FAX: [1] (202) 244-4164 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Richard Leighton BERNAL chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
Disputes - international | commission established with Namibia has yet to resolve small residual disputes along the Caprivi Strip, including the Situngu marshlands along the Linyanti River; downstream Botswana residents protest Namibia's planned construction of the Okavango hydroelectric dam at Popavalle (Popa Falls); Botswana has built electric fences to stem the thousands of Zimbabweans who flee to find work and escape political persecution; Namibia has long supported and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing their short, but not clearly delimited Botswana-Zambia boundary | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $73 million (1995) | $102.7 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Botswana has maintained one of the world's highest economic 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 $10,000 in 2005. Two major investment services rank Botswana as the best credit risk in Africa. Diamond mining has fueled much of the expansion and currently accounts for more than one-third of GDP and for 70-80% of export earnings. Tourism, financial services, 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 23.8%, but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%. HIV/AIDS infection rates are the second highest in the world and threaten Botswana's impressive economic gains. An expected leveling off in diamond mining production overshadows long-term prospects. | Key sectors in this island economy are bauxite (alumina and bauxite account for more than half of exports) and tourism. Since assuming office in 1992, Prime Minister PATTERSON has eliminated most price controls, streamlined tax schedules, and privatized government enterprises. Continued tight monetary and fiscal policies have helped slow inflation - although inflationary pressures are mounting - and stabilize the exchange rate, but have resulted in the slowdown of economic growth (moving from 1.5% in 1992 to 0.5% in 1995). In 1996, GDP showed negative growth (-1.4%) and remained negative through 1999. Serious problems include: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; the weak financial condition of business in general resulting in receiverships or closures and downsizings of companies; the shift in investment portfolios to non-productive, short-term high yield instruments; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a widening merchandise trade deficit; and a growing internal debt for government bailouts to various ailing sectors of the economy, particularly the financial sector. Depressed economic conditions in 1999-2000 led to increased civil unrest, including a mounting crime rate. Jamaica's medium-term prospects will depend upon encouraging investment in the productive sectors, maintaining a competitive exchange rate, stabilizing the labor environment, selling off reacquired firms, and implementing proper fiscal and monetary policies. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.641 billion kWh (2004) | 6.073 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 1.39 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 891 million kWh (2004) | 6.53 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
92.28% hydro: 1.36% nuclear: 0% other: 6.36% (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: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m |
Environment - current issues | overgrazing; desertification; limited fresh water resources | heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions |
Environment - international 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 |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, 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% | black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% |
Exchange rates | pulas per US dollar - 5.1104 (2005), 4.6929 (2004), 4.9499 (2003), 6.3278 (2002), 5.8412 (2001) | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 45.557 (January 2001), 42.701 (2000), 39.044 (1999), 36.550 (1998), 35.404 (1997), 37.120 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Festus G. 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 G. 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 indirectly elected for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held in 2009); vice president appointed by the president election results: Festus G. MOGAE elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 52% |
chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991) head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Seymour MULLINGS (since NA 1993) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, copper, nickel, soda ash, meat, textiles | alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum |
Exports - partners | European Free Trade Association (EFTA) 87%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 7%, Zimbabwe 4% (2004) | US 35.7%, EU (excluding UK) 15.8%, UK 13%, Canada 10.5% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center | diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $9.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2.4%
industry: 46.9% (including 36% mining) services: 50.7% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
7.4% industry: 35.2% services: 57.4% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2005 est.) | 0.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 S, 24 00 E | 18 15 N, 77 30 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal |
Highways | - | total:
19,000 km paved: 13,433 km unpaved: 5,567 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
2.9% highest 10%: 28.9% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | - | major transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern |
Imports | 16,000 bbl/day (2001) | $3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery, electrical goods, transport equipment, textiles, fuel and petroleum products, wood and paper products, metal and metal products | machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers |
Imports - partners | Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 74%, EFTA 17%, Zimbabwe 4% (2004) | US 47.8%, Caricom countries 12.4%, Latin America 7.2%, EU (excluding UK) 4.7% (1999) |
Independence | 30 September 1966 (from UK) | 6 August 1962 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (2005 est.) | -2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing; textiles | tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products |
Infant mortality rate | total: 53.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 54.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 52.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
14.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.6% (2005 est.) | 8.8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 21 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (2003) | 350 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrates' Courts (one in each district) | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 288,400 formal sector employees (2004) | 1.13 million (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998) |
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: 0.65%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 99.34% (2005) |
arable land:
14% permanent crops: 6% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 17% other: 39% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Setswana 78.2%, Kalanga 7.9%, Sekgalagadi 2.8%, English 2.1% (official), other 8.6%, unspecified 0.4% (2001 census) | English, Creole |
Legal system | based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Chiefs (a largely advisory 15-member body with 8 permanent members consisting of the chiefs of the principal tribes, and 7 non-permanent members serving 5-year terms, consisting of 4 elected subchiefs and 3 members selected by the other 12 members) and the National Assembly (63 seats, 57 members are directly elected by popular vote, 4 are appointed by the majority party, and 2, the President and Attorney-General, serve as ex-officio members; members serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly elections last held 30 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - BDP 51.7%, BNF 26.1%, BCP 16.6%, other 5%; seats by party - BDP 44, BNF 12, BCP 1 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 18 December 1997 (next to be held by March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PNP 50, JLP 10 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 33.74 years
male: 33.9 years female: 33.56 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
75.42 years male: 73.45 years female: 77.49 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79.8% male: 76.9% female: 82.4% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 85% male: 80.8% female: 89.1% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, north of South Africa | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,930 GRT/3,065 DWT ships by type: petroleum tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Botswana Defense Force (includes an air wing) (2006) | Jamaica Defense Force (includes Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $325.5 million (2005 est.) | $30 million (FY95/96 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
736,627 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
517,077 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
27,729 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day (Botswana Day), 30 September (1966) | Independence Day, first Monday in August (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)
adjective: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) |
noun:
Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility | hurricanes (especially July to November) |
Natural resources | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver | bauxite, gypsum, limestone |
Net migration rate | 6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2006 est.) |
-7.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 10 km |
Political parties and leaders | Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO]; Botswana Congress Party or BCP [Otlaadisa KOOSALETSE]; Botswana Democratic Party or BDP [Festus G. MOGAE]; Botswana National Front or BNF [Otswoletse MOUPO]; Botswana Peoples Party or BPP; MELS Movement of Botswana or MELS; New Democratic Front or NDF
note: a number of minor parties joined forces in 1999 to form the BAM but did not capture any parliamentary seats - includes the United Action Party [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO]; the Independence Freedom Party or IFP [Motsamai MPHO]; the Botswana Progressive Union [D. K. KWELE] |
Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Edward SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) |
Population | 1,639,833
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 2006 est.) |
2,665,636 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 30.3% (2003) | 34.2% (1992 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.04% (2006 est.) | 0.51% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 13, shortwave 4 (2001) | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 1.215 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 888 km
narrow gauge: 888 km 1.067-m gauge (2005) |
total:
370 km standard gauge: 370 km 1.435-m gauge; note - 207 km belong to the Jamaica Railway Corporation in common carrier service, but are no longer operational; the remaining track is privately owned and used to transport bauxite |
Religions | Christian 71.6%, Badimo 6%, other 1.4%, unspecified 0.4%, none 20.6% (2001 census) | Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other, including some spiritual cults 34.7% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 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: country code - 267; two international exchanges; digital microwave radio relay links to Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment:
fully automatic domestic telephone network domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 132,000 (2005) | 353,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 823,100 (2005) | 54,640 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 7 (1997) |
Terrain | predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
Total fertility rate | 2.79 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 2.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 23.8% (2004) | 16% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |