World (2001) | Botswana (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 267 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries | 9 districts and 5 town councils*; Central, Francistown*, Gaborone*, Ghanzi, Jwaneng*, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Lobatse*, Northeast, Northwest, Selebi-Pikwe*, Southeast, Southern |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
29.6% (male 933,647,850; female 886,681,514) 15-64 years: 63.4% (male 1,975,418,386; female 1,931,021,694) 65 years and over: 7% (male 188,760,223; female 241,449,691) (2001 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | - | livestock, sorghum, maize, millet, beans, sunflowers, groundnuts |
Airports | - | 85 (2006) |
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) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 75
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 55 under 914 m: 17 (2006) |
Area | total:
510.072 million sq km land: 148.94 million sq km water: 361.132 million sq km note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land |
total: 600,370 sq km
land: 585,370 sq km water: 15,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | land area about 16 times the size of the US | slightly smaller than Texas |
Background | Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the drop in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war). | 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. |
Birth rate | 21.37 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 23.08 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $3.766 billion
expenditures: $3.767 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 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) |
Climate | two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones from a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates | semiarid; warm winters and hot summers |
Coastline | 356,000 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | - | March 1965, effective 30 September 1966 |
Country name | - | conventional long form: Republic of Botswana
conventional short form: Botswana local long form: Republic of Botswana local short form: Botswana former: Bechuanaland |
Death rate | 8.93 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 29.5 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $2 trillion for less developed countries (2000 est.) | $519 million (2005 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 |
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 |
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 |
Economic aid - recipient | traditional worldwide foreign aid $50 billion (1997 est.) | $73 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) rose to 4.8% in 2000 from 3.5% in 1999, despite continued low growth in Japan, severe financial difficulties in other East Asian countries, and widespread dislocations in several transition economies. The US economy continued its remarkable sustained prosperity, growing at 5% in 2000, although growth slowed in fourth quarter 2000; the US accounted for 23% of GWP. The EU economies grew at 3.3% and produced 20% of GWP. China, the second largest economy in the world, continued its strong growth and accounted for 10% of GWP. Japan grew at only 1.3% in 2000; its share in GWP is 7%. As usual, the 15 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations experienced widely different rates of growth. The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that eat up gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, and in Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. Continued financial difficulties in East Asia, Russia, and many African nations, as well as the slowdown in US economic growth, cast a shadow over short-term global economic prospects; GWP probably will grow at 3-4% in 2001. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses serious economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 2000, see the individual country entries.) | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 2.641 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 1.39 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | - | 891 million kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.) |
lowest point: junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m
highest point: Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m |
Environment - current issues | large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion | overgrazing; desertification; limited fresh water resources |
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 |
Ethnic groups | - | Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and white 7% |
Exchange rates | - | pulas per US dollar - 5.1104 (2005), 4.6929 (2004), 4.9499 (2003), 6.3278 (2002), 5.8412 (2001) |
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% |
Exports | $6 trillion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services | diamonds, copper, nickel, soda ash, meat, textiles |
Exports - partners | in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries | European Free Trade Association (EFTA) 87%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 7%, Zimbabwe 4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | - | light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center |
GDP | GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $43.6 trillion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
4% industry: 32% services: 64% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 2.4%
industry: 46.9% (including 36% mining) services: 50.7% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,200 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.8% (2000 est.) | 5.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | - | 22 00 S, 24 00 E |
Geography - note | - | landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country |
Highways | total:
NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $6 trillion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 16,000 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services | foodstuffs, machinery, electrical goods, transport equipment, textiles, fuel and petroleum products, wood and paper products, metal and metal products |
Imports - partners | in value, about 75% of imports by the developed countries | Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 74%, EFTA 17%, Zimbabwe 4% (2004) |
Independence | - | 30 September 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 7.5% (2005 est.) |
Industries | dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing; textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 52.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | all countries 25%; developed countries 1% to 3% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically (2000 est.)
note: national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from stable prices in Japan to hyperinflation in a number of Third World countries |
8.6% (2005 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 10,350 (2000 est.) | - |
Irrigated land | 2,481,250 sq km (1993 est.) | 10 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | High Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrates' Courts (one in each district) |
Labor force | NA | 288,400 formal sector employees (2004) |
Labor force - by occupation | agricultue NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | the land boundaries in the world total 251,480.24 km (not counting shared boundaries twice) | total: 4,013 km
border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km |
Land use | arable land:
10% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 26% forests and woodland: 32% other: 31% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.65%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 99.34% (2005) |
Languages | - | Setswana 78.2%, Kalanga 7.9%, Sekgalagadi 2.8%, English 2.1% (official), other 8.6%, unspecified 0.4% (2001 census) |
Legal system | all members of the UN plus Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court | based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
63.79 years male: 62.15 years female: 65.51 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 33.74 years
male: 33.9 years female: 33.56 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79.8% male: 76.9% female: 82.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | - | Southern Africa, north of South Africa |
Map references | World, Time Zones | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM claimed by most, but can vary continental shelf: 200-m depth claimed by most or to depth of exploitation; others claim 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM claimed by most, but can vary exclusive economic zone: 200 NM claimed by most, but can vary territorial sea: 12 NM claimed by most, but can vary note: boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 NM; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
none (landlocked) |
Military branches | - | Botswana Defense Force (includes an air wing) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.) | $325.5 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.) | 3.4% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day (Botswana Day), 30 September (1966) |
Nationality | - | noun: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)
adjective: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) |
Natural hazards | large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) | periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility |
Natural resources | the rapid using up of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver |
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.) |
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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | 6,157,400,560 (July 2001 est.) | 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.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 30.3% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 1.25% (2001 est.) | -0.04% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA | AM 8, FM 13, shortwave 4 (2001) |
Radios | NA | - |
Railways | total:
1,201,337 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note - fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line broad gauge: 251,153 km standard gauge: 710,754 km narrow gauge: 239,430 km |
total: 888 km
narrow gauge: 888 km 1.067-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | - | Christian 71.6%, Badimo 6%, other 1.4%, unspecified 0.4%, none 20.6% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: NA |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 132,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 823,100 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean | predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest |
Total fertility rate | 2.73 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.79 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2000 est.) | 23.8% (2004) |