Botswana#Judiciary

The country's name means "Land of the Tswana", referring to the dominant ethnic group in Botswana.{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Botswana|access-date=15 May 2007|year=2007}} The Constitution of Botswana recognises a homogeneous Tswana state.{{Cite journal |last1=Monaka |first1=Kemmonye Collete |last2=Chebanne |first2=Anderson Monthusi |year=2019 |title=Setswana and the Building of a Nation State |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26907070 |journal=Anthropological Linguistics |volume=61 |issue=1 |pages=75–93 |jstor=26907070 |issn=0003-5483 |access-date=5 April 2023 |archive-date=7 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407005355/https://www.jstor.org/stable/26907070 |url-status=live}} The demonym Batswana was originally applied to the Tswana,{{cite book|last1=Bolaane|first1=Maitseo|last2=Mgadla|first2=Part Themba|title=Batswana|date=1997|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=9780823920082|page=[https://archive.org/details/batswana00bola/page/n12 1]|url=https://archive.org/details/batswana00bola|url-access=registration}} and has also come to be used generally as a term for all citizens of Botswana.{{cite web|title=Botswanan or Batswana? It's complicated – Voices of Africa|url=http://voicesofafrica.co.za/botswanan-batswana-its-complicated/|publisher=Voices of Africa|access-date=6 January 2018|date=17 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106231817/http://voicesofafrica.co.za/botswanan-batswana-its-complicated/|archive-date=6 January 2018|url-status=live}} In Setswana, Batswana is grammatically plural; its singular form, which can refer to a single member of the Tswana or to a single citizen of Botswana, is Motswana.

{{Main|History of Botswana}}

File:Two Rhino.jpg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site]]

It is estimated that hominids lived in Botswana during the Pleistocene.{{cite journal |last1=Pickford |first1=Martin |last2=Mein |first2=Pierre |last3=Senut |first3=Brigitte |title=Fossiliferous Neogene karst fillings in Angola, Botswana and Namibia |journal=South African Journal of Science |date=1 April 1994 |volume=90 |number=4 |pages=227–230 |hdl=10520/AJA00382353_5386 |url=https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/AJA00382353_5386 |access-date=27 March 2024 |archive-date=17 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417201733/https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/AJA00382353_5386 |url-status=live}} Stone tools and animal remains indicate that all areas of the country were inhabited at least 400,000 years ago.{{Cite book |last1=Morton |first1=Fred |title=Historical dictionary of Botswana |last2=Ramsay |first2=Jeff |last3=Mgadla |first3=Part Themba |date=2008 |publisher=the Scarecrow press |isbn=978-0-8108-5467-3 |edition=4th |series=Historical dictionaries of Africa |location=Lanham (Md.) |pages=34}}

It was claimed to have been the birthplace of all modern humans from around 200,000 years ago.{{cite journal |last1= Chan |first1= Eva KF |last2= Timmermann |first2= Axel |author-link2= Axel Timmermann |last3= Baldi |first3= Benedetta F. |last4= Moore |first4= Andy E. |last5= Lyons |first5= Ruth J. |last6= Lee |first6= Sun-Seon |last7= Kalsbeek |first7= Anton MF |last8= Petersen |first8= Desiree C. |last9= Rautenbach |first9= Hannes |last10= Förtsch |first10= Hagen EA |last11= Bornman |first11= MS Riana |last12= Hayes |first12= Vanessa M. |date= 28 October 2019 |title=Human origins in a southern African palaeo-wetland and first migrations |url= https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1714-1 |journal=Nature |publisher=Nature Research |volume=575 |issue=7781 |pmid=31659339 |pages=185–189 |doi=10.1038/s41586-019-1714-1 |bibcode=2019Natur.575..185C |s2cid=204946938 |access-date=23 March 2020 |archive-date= 29 October 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191029013029/https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1714-1 |url-status=live|url-access= subscription }}{{Cite news |date=28 October 2019 |title=Origin of modern humans 'traced to Botswana' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50210701 |access-date=2024-07-10 |publisher=BBC |language=en-GB |archive-date=15 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240415020902/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50210701 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |title=Ancestral homeland of modern humans in Botswana, study finds |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/29/ancestral-homeland-of-modern-humans-in-botswana-study-finds |access-date=2024-07-10 |publisher=Al Jazeera |language=en}} Evidence left by modern humans, such as cave paintings, is about 73,000 years old.{{cite journal|pmid=24953669|year=2014|last1=Staurset|first1=S.|title=Sub-surface movement of stone artefacts at White Paintings Shelter, Tsodilo Hills, Botswana: Implications for the Middle Stone Age chronology of central southern Africa|journal=Journal of Human Evolution|volume=75|pages=153–165|last2=Coulson|first2=S.|doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.04.006|bibcode=2014JHumE..75..153S}} The earliest known inhabitants of southern Africa are thought to have been the forebears of present-day San ("Bushmen") and Khoi peoples. Both groups speak click languages from the small Khoe-Kwadi, Kx'a and Tuu language families whose members hunted, gathered and traded over long distances. When cattle were first introduced into southern Africa about 2,000 years ago, pastoralism became a major feature of the economy since the region had large grasslands free of tsetse flies.{{Cite book |last=Wilmsen |first=Edwin N. |title=Land filled with flies: a political economy of the Kalahari |date=1992 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-90015-5 |edition=2nd pr |location=Chicago, Ill. |pages=71–5}}

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It is unclear when Bantu-speaking peoples first moved into the country from the north, although AD 600 seems to be a consensus estimate. In that era, the ancestors of the modern-day Kalanga moved into what is now the north-eastern area of the country. These proto-Kalanga were closely connected to states in Zimbabwe as well as to the Mapungubwe state. One notable remnant of this period is Domboshaba ruins, a cultural and heritage site in Botswana initially occupied towards the end of the Great Zimbabwe period (1250–1450), with stone walls that have an average height of 1.8 metres. The site is a respected place for the people living in the region, and it is believed that the chief lived on the top of the hill with his helpers or assistants. These states, located outside of current Botswana's borders, appear to have kept massive herds of cattle—apparently at numbers approaching modern cattle density—in what is now the Central District.{{cite journal |last1=Denbow |first1=James |year=1986 |title=A New Look at the Later Prehistory of the Kalahari |journal=The Journal of African History |volume=27 |issue=1 |page=15 |doi=10.1017/S0021853700029170 |jstor=181334 |s2cid=163079138}} This massive cattle-raising complex prospered until around 1300 and seems to have regressed following the collapse of Mapungubwe. During this era, the first Tswana-speaking groups, the Bakgalagadi, moved into the southern areas of the Kalahari. These various peoples were connected to trade routes that ran via the Limpopo River to the Indian Ocean. Trade goods from Asia such as beads made their way to Botswana, most likely in exchange for ivory, gold and rhinoceros horn.{{Cite journal|last1=Denbow|first1=James|last2=Klehm|first2=Carla|last3=Dussubieux|first3=Laure|date=April 2015|title=The glass beads of Kaitshàa and early Indian Ocean trade into the far hinterland of southern Africa|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/glass-beads-of-kaitshaa-and-early-indian-ocean-trade-into-the-far-interior-of-southern-africa/9BB659F4DA38A560EF64C4E8E3F49AFA|journal=Antiquity|language=en|volume=89|issue=344|pages=361–377|doi=10.15184/aqy.2014.50|s2cid=161212483|issn=0003-598X|access-date=29 May 2020|archive-date=24 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524064223/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/glass-beads-of-kaitshaa-and-early-indian-ocean-trade-into-the-far-interior-of-southern-africa/9BB659F4DA38A560EF64C4E8E3F49AFA|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}

The Toutswemogala Hill Iron Age settlement's radio-carbon dates range from the 7th to the late 19th century, indicating it was occupied for more than 1,000 years.{{Cite web |title=Toutswemogala Hill Iron Age Settlement |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1340/ |access-date=2024-07-13 |website= |publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre}} The hill was part of the formation of early states in southern Africa, with cattle as a major source of economy. The Toutswe settlement includes house-floors, large heaps of vitrified cow dung, and burials while the outstanding structure is the stone wall.{{Cite journal |last=Dichaba |first=Tsholofelo Sele |year=2009 |title=From Monuments to Cultural Landscapes |url=https://repository.rice.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/9b50f2c1-a371-4c9b-9baa-0f80c353ecbf/content |journal=Rethinking Heritage Management in Botswana |publisher=Rice University |pages=42}} Around 1000 AD, the Toutswe people moved into Botswana.{{Cite report |url=https://www.eskom.co.za/eia/tx/wp-content/uploads/migrated/MahikengIsang/DEIR-Appendicies/Ann-G-Specialist-Reports-2/G_5a.%20AIA%20Botswana%20Component.pdf |title=Archaeological impact assessment for the Bosa transmission line project from Theisang substation to the Tlokweng border post in the South Eastern and Kgatleng districts of Botswana |year=2017 |website=Eskom.com|publisher=Lentswe Archaeological Consultants |page=10 }}

However, agriculture also played a vital role in the longevity of Toutswemogala Hill's extended occupation, as many grain storage structures have also been found on the site. Many different stratified layers of housing floors further signalled continuous occupation over hundreds of years. The arrival of the Tswana speakers' ancestors who came to control the region has yet to be dated precisely. Members of the Bakwena, a chieftaincy under a leader named Kgabo II, made their way into the southern Kalahari by AD 1500 at the latest, and his people drove the Bakgalagadi inhabitants west into the desert. Over the years, several offshoots of the Bakwena moved into adjoining territories. The Bangwaketse occupied areas to the west, while the Bangwato moved northeast into former Kalanga areas.{{Cite book |last=Magang |first=David |title=The Magic of Perseverance: The Autobiography of David Magang |date=2008 |publisher=Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society |isbn=978-1-920287-70-2 |location=Cape Town |pages=10–14 |authorlink=David Magang}} Not long afterwards, a Bangwato offshoot known as the Batawana migrated into the Okavango Delta, probably in the 1790s.{{Cite journal|last=Tlou|first=T.|year=1974|title=The Nature of Batswana States: Towards a Theory of Batswana Traditional Government – The Batawana Case|journal=Botswana Notes and Records|volume=6|pages=57–75|jstor=40959210|issn=0525-5090}}

{{main|Mfecane}}

File:Kapstaaten 1905.png area]]

The first written records relating to modern-day Botswana appear in 1824. These records show that the Bangwaketse had become the predominant power in the region. Under the rule of Makaba II, the Bangwaketse kept vast herds of cattle in well-protected desert areas, and used their military prowess to raid their neighbours.{{Cite web|last=Morton|first=Fred|title=The Rise of a Raiding State: Makaba II's Ngwaketse, 1780–1824|url=https://www.academia.edu/11134264|access-date=25 January 2018|archive-date=16 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200816031919/https://www.academia.edu/11134264/The_Rise_of_a_Raiding_State_Makaba_IIs_Ngwaketse_1780_1824|url-status=live|pages=5–9}} By this time, other chiefdoms in the area had capitals of 10,000 or so and were fairly prosperous.{{cite journal|author=Morton, B. |title=Pre-1904 Population Estimates of the Tswana|journal=Botswana Notes and Records|volume=25 |year=1993|pages=89–99|jstor=40979984 }} This equilibrium came to end during the Mfecane period (1823–1843) when a succession of invading peoples from South Africa entered the country. Although the Bangwaketse were able to defeat the invading Bakololo in 1826, over time all the major chiefdoms in Botswana were attacked, weakened and impoverished. The Bakololo and AmaNdebele raided repeatedly and took large numbers of cattle, women and children from the Batswana – most of whom were driven into the desert or sanctuary areas such as hilltops and caves. Only after 1843, when the Amandebele moved into western Zimbabwe, did this threat subside.{{Cite journal|last=Morton |first=Barry|date=14 January 2009|title=The Hunting Trade and the Reconstruction of Northern Tswana Societies after the Difaqane, 1838–1880|journal=South African Historical Journal|volume=36|pages=220–239|language=en|doi=10.1080/02582479708671276}}

File:Sechele Gustav Fritsch 1865.jpg, who led a Batswana Merafe Coalition against Boers in 1852]]

During the 1840s and 1850s, trade with Cape Colony-based merchants opened up and enabled the Batswana chiefdoms to rebuild. The Bakwena, Bangwaketse, Bangwato and Batawana cooperated to control the lucrative ivory trade and used the proceeds to import horses and guns, which in turn enabled them to establish control over what is now Botswana. This process was largely complete by 1880, and the Batswana thus subjugated the Bushmen, Kalanga, Bakgalagadi and other current minorities.{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/02582479708671276|title=The Hunting Trade and the Reconstruction of Northern Tswana Societies after the Difaqane, 1838–1880|journal=South African Historical Journal|volume=36|pages=220–239|year=1997|last1=Morton|first1=Barry}}

Following the Great Trek, Afrikaners from the Cape Colony established themselves on the borders of Botswana in the Transvaal. In 1852, a coalition of Tswana chiefdoms led by Sechele I defeated Afrikaner incursions at the Battle of Dimawe and, after about eight years of intermittent tensions and hostilities, eventually came to a peace agreement in Potchefstroom in 1860. From that point on, the modern-day border between South Africa and Botswana was agreed on, and the Afrikaners and Batswana traded and worked together comparatively peacefully.{{Cite book |last=Magang |first=David |title=The Magic of Perseverance: The Autobiography of David Magang |date=2008 |publisher=Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society |isbn=978-1-920287-70-2 |location=Cape Town |pages=28–38 |authorlink=David Magang}}{{cite journal|author= Ramsay, J. |title=The Botswana-Boer War of 1852–53: How the Batswana Achieved Victory|journal=Botswana Notes and Records|volume= 23 |year=1991|pages=193–208|jstor=40980851 }}

In 1884, Batawana, a northern-based Tswana clan's cavalry under the command of Kgosi Moremi, fought and defeated the Ndebele's invasion of northern Botswana at the Battle of Khutiyabasadi. This was the start of the collapse of the Ndebele Kingdom in Zimbabwe, and it helped the Tswana speaking authority.{{Cite news |last=Ramsay |first=Jeff |title=The Guns of Khutiyabasadi (II) |url=http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?aid=72905&dir=2017/november/06 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124091704/https://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?aid=72905&dir=2017/november/06 |archive-date=24 November 2020 |access-date=2018-11-08 |work=Mmegi}}

Due to newly peaceful conditions, trade thrived between 1860 and 1880. Christian missionaries were able to take advantage of this. The Lutherans and the London Missionary Society both became established in the country by 1856. By 1880, every major village had a resident missionary, and their influence slowly grew. Khama III, who reigned from 1875 to 1923, was the first of the Tswana chiefs to make Christianity a state religion, and a great deal of Tswana customary law changed as a result. Christianity became the de facto official religion in all the chiefdoms by World War I.{{Cite book |last=Landau |first=Paul Stuart |title=The Realm of the Word: Language, Gender, and Christianity in the Southern African Kingdom |date=1995 |publisher=James Currey |isbn=0-435-08963-3 |publication-place=Portsmouth (N.H.) London Cape Town (South Africa)}}

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{{Main|Bechuanaland Protectorate}}

During the Scramble for Africa, both the German Empire and Britain coveted the territory of Botswana. During the Berlin Conference, Britain decided to annexe Botswana to safeguard the Road to the North and thus connect the Cape Colony to its territories further north. It unilaterally annexed Tswana territories in January 1885 and then sent the Warren Expedition north to consolidate control over the area and convince the chiefs to accept British overrule. Despite their misgivings, they eventually acquiesced to this fait accompli.{{cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/15645705 |title=The Invention and Perpetuation of Botswana's National Mythology, 1885–1966 |last1=Morton |first1=Barry |last2=Ramsay |first2=Jeff |pages=4–7 |access-date=13 July 2018 |via=academia.edu}}"Warren informed Chiefs Bathoen of Bangwaketse, Khama of Bangwato and Sebele of Bakwena about the protection in May 1885 (Mogalakwe, 2006)." (from T.E. Malebeswa (2020): Tribal Territories Act, indirect rule, chiefs and subjects)

In 1890, areas north of 22 degrees were added to the new Bechuanaland Protectorate. During the 1890s, the new territory was divided into eight different reserves, with fairly small amounts of land being left as freehold for white settlers. During the early 1890s, the British government decided to hand over the Bechuanaland Protectorate to the British South Africa Company. This plan, which was well on its way to fruition despite the entreaties of Tswana leaders who toured England in protest, was eventually foiled by the failure of the Jameson Raid in January 1896.{{cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/15645705 |title=The Invention and Perpetuation of Botswana's National Mythology, 1885–1966 |last1=Morton |first1=Barry |last2=Ramsay |first2=Jeff |access-date=13 July 2018 |via=academia.edu |pages=7–11 |archive-date=28 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028165308/https://www.academia.edu/15645705 |url-status=live }}{{Cite book |last=Parsons |first=Neil |title=King Khama, Emperor Joe, and the Great White Queen: Victorian Britain Through African Eyes |date=3 February 1998 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-64745-6 |publication-place=Chicago, Ill.}}

When the Union of South Africa was formed from the main British colonies in the region in 1910, the High Commission Territories—the Bechuanaland Protectorate, Basutoland (now Lesotho) and Swaziland (now Eswatini)—were not included, but provision was made for their later incorporation. However, the UK began to consult with their inhabitants as to their wishes. Although successive South African governments sought to have the territories transferred to their jurisdiction, the UK kept delaying; consequently, it never occurred. The election of the Nationalist government in 1948, which instituted apartheid, and South Africa's withdrawal from the Commonwealth in 1961, ended any prospect of the UK or these territories agreeing to incorporation into South Africa.{{Cite journal|last=Hayes|first=Frank|year=1980|title=South Africa's Departure from the Commonwealth, 1960–1961|journal=The International History Review|volume=2|issue=3|pages=453–484|doi=10.1080/07075332.1980.9640222|jstor=40105085|issn=0707-5332}}

An expansion of British central authority and the evolution of native government resulted in the 1920 establishment of two advisory councils to represent both Africans and Europeans.{{cite web|url=http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/botoverview4.htm |title=Botswana: Late British colonialism (1945–1966) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603024427/http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/botoverview4.htm |archive-date=3 June 2012 |access-date=26 August 2016 |website=eisa.org}} The African Council consisted of the eight heads of the Tswana tribes and some elected members. Proclamations in 1934 regulated tribal rule and powers. A European-African advisory council was formed in 1951, and the 1961 constitution established a consultative legislative council.{{Cite web |title=Botswana |url=https://clintonwhitehouse3.archives.gov/Africa/botswana.html |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=clintonwhitehouse3.archives.gov |archive-date=2 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240602105543/https://clintonwhitehouse3.archives.gov/Africa/botswana.html |url-status=live }}File:Botswana Independence Talks, 1965 - 2.png (right) and Quett Masire (left) at independence talks in London, 1965]]

In June 1964, the United Kingdom accepted proposals for a democratic self-government in Botswana. An independence conference was held in London in February 1966.{{cite web|title=U.K.: Bechuanaland independence conference opens in London 1966|url=https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVA1T4XABSD8UKW27D8CE76D4K2H-UK-BECHUANALAND-INDEPENDENCE-CONFERENCE-OPENS-IN-LONDON/query/Bechuanaland|website=British Pathé historical collection|access-date=20 January 2021|archive-date=4 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604175143/https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/143349/|url-status=live}} The seat of government was moved in 1965 from Mahikeng in South Africa, to the newly established Gaborone, located near Botswana's border with South Africa. Based on the 1965 constitution, the country held its first general elections under universal suffrage and gained independence on 30 September 1966.{{cite web |url=http://www.britishempire.co.uk/article/fireworksatmidnight.htm |title=Fireworks at Midnight |website=Britishempire.co.uk |access-date=27 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103054412/http://www.britishempire.co.uk/article/fireworksatmidnight.htm |archive-date=3 November 2016 |url-status=live}} Seretse Khama, a leader in the independence movement,{{cite book | last=Rotberg | first=Robert I. | title=Overcoming the Oppressors | chapter=Botswana: Africa’s Democratic Exception | publisher=Oxford University PressNew York | date=3 March 2023 | isbn=978-0-19-767420-8 | doi=10.1093/oso/9780197674208.003.0008 | url=https://academic.oup.com/book/45388/chapter/389337356 | pages=192–231}} was elected as the first president, and subsequently re-elected twice.{{Cite web |last=Zuber |first=David |date=4 April 2022 |title=Seretse Khama (1921–1980) • |url=https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/people-global-african-history/seretse-khama-1921-1980/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |language=en-US |archive-date=6 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606131806/https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/people-global-african-history/seretse-khama-1921-1980/ |url-status=live }}

Khama died in office in 1980. The presidency passed to the sitting vice-president, Quett Masire, who was elected in his own right in 1984 and re-elected in 1989 and 1994. Masire retired from office in 1998. He was succeeded by Festus Mogae, who was elected in 1999 and re-elected in 2004. The presidency passed in 2008 to Ian Khama (son of the first president), who had been serving as Mogae's vice-president since resigning his position as Commander of the Botswana Defence Force in 1998 to take up this civilian role. On 1 April 2018, Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi was sworn in as the fifth president of Botswana, succeeding Ian Khama.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13040376|title=Botswana country profile|work=BBC News|date=3 April 2018|access-date=10 March 2021|archive-date=7 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307103607/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13040376|url-status=live}} A long-running dispute over the northern border with Namibia's Caprivi Strip was the subject of a ruling by the International Court of Justice in December 1999. It ruled that Kasikili Island belongs to Botswana.{{cite web |url=http://www.southern-eagle.com/namibia/namgeninfo.html |title=Namibia General Information |publisher=Southern-eagle.com |date=21 March 1990 |access-date=21 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716112332/http://www.southern-eagle.com/namibia/namgeninfo.html |archive-date=16 July 2011 }}

The Botswana Democratic Party consistently held power until the 2024 Botswana general election, which was won by the Umbrella for Democratic Change.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c238n5zr51yo |work=BBC News|title=Botswana ruling party rejected after 58 years in power|first1=Wycliffe|last1=Muia|first2=Damian|last2=Zane|date=1 November 2024|access-date=3 January 2025}} On 1 November 2024, Duma Boko, the leader of the UDC, was sworn in as president of Botswana, becoming the first president not to represent the BDP.{{cite news |title=Why is Botswana's peaceful power transfer being ignored?|first=George|last=Okachi|url=https://www.dw.com/en/world-headlines-ignore-botswanas-peaceful-power-transition/video-70686382 |publisher=Deutsche Welle|date=4 November 2024|access-date=3 January 2025 |language=en}}

{{Main|Geography of Botswana|Climate of Botswana|Climate Change in Botswana}}

File:Botswana map of Köppen climate classification.svg]]

At {{convert|581730|km²|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}, Botswana is the world's 48th-largest country.{{Cite web |title=A25DX – A25RJ Botswana – News – Information |url=https://dxnews.com/a25rj_botswana/ |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=dxnews.com |language=en |archive-date=31 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531105844/https://dxnews.com/a25rj_botswana/ |url-status=live }} It also has a mean altitude of roughly {{Convert|1000|m}} above sea level.{{Cite web |title=Botswana Geography & Maps {{!}} Botswana Safari 2024/25 {{!}} Goway |url=https://www.goway.com/travel-information/africa-middle-east/botswana/geography-and-maps/ |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=www.goway.com |archive-date=31 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531110907/https://www.goway.com/travel-information/africa-middle-east/botswana/geography-and-maps/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Where is Botswana? |url=https://www.botswana.co.za/Botswana_Regional_Info-travel/where-is-botswana.html |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=botswana.co.za |archive-date=31 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531222419/https://www.botswana.co.za/Botswana_Regional_Info-travel/where-is-botswana.html |url-status=live }} Botswana is predominantly flat, tending towards gently rolling tableland.{{Citation |title=Botswana |date=22 May 2024 |work=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/botswana/#geography |access-date=2024-05-31 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en |archive-date=8 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208191649/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/botswana/#geography |url-status=live }} Botswana is dominated by the Kalahari Desert, which covers up to 70% of its land surface.{{Cite web |date=20 March 2014 |title=Botswana Country Profile – National Geographic Kids |url=https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/geography/countries/article/botswana |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=Geography |language=en |archive-date=31 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531111339/https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/geography/countries/article/botswana |url-status=live }} File:Okavango Delta, Botswana (2674364913).jpg]]The Limpopo River Basin, the major landform of all of southern Africa, lies partly in Botswana, with the basins of its tributaries, the Notwane, Bonwapitse, Mahalapye, Lotsane, Motloutse and the Shashe, located in the eastern part of the country.{{Cite web |title=Drought impact mitigation and prevention in the Limpopo River Basin |url=https://www.fao.org/4/y5744e/y5744e07.htm |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=fao.org |archive-date=4 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604175114/https://www.fao.org/4/y5744e/y5744e07.htm |url-status=live }} The Notwane provides water to the capital through the Gaborone Dam.{{Cite web |title=WUC |url=https://www.wuc.bw/wuc-content.php?cid=139 |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=wuc.bw |language=en |archive-date=27 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160627051722/http://www.wuc.bw/wuc-content.php?cid=139 |url-status=live }} The Chobe River meets with the Zambezi River at a place called Kazungula.{{Cite web |date=1 July 2013 |title=Crossing a River Where Four Countries Meet |url=http://2summers.net/2013/07/01/crossing-a-river-where-four-countries-meet/ |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=2Summers |language=en-US |archive-date=31 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531233844/https://2summers.net/2013/07/01/crossing-a-river-where-four-countries-meet/ |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Wildlife of Botswana}}

File:Cebras de Burchell (Equus quagga burchellii), vista aérea del delta del Okavango, Botsuana, 2018-08-01, DD 28.jpg

Botswana has diverse areas of wildlife habitat.{{Cite web |title=Botswana {{!}} African Wildlife Foundation |url=https://www.awf.org/country/botswana |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=www.awf.org |language=en |archive-date=31 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531215139/https://www.awf.org/country/botswana |url-status=live }} In addition to the delta and desert areas, there are grasslands and savannas. Northern Botswana has one of the few remaining large populations of the endangered African wild dog.{{Cite web |title=African wild dog {{!}} Canids |url=https://www.canids.org/species/view/African-wild-dog |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=www.canids.org |archive-date=4 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604175214/https://www.canids.org/species/view/African-wild-dog |url-status=live }} Chobe National Park in the Chobe District has the world's largest concentration of African elephants. The park covers about {{convert|11000|km²|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} and supports about 350 species of birds.{{Cite web |last=Moseley |first=William G. |title=Too many elephants in African parks? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2013/4/21/too-many-elephants-in-african-parks |access-date=2024-05-31 |publisher=Al Jazeera |language=en |archive-date=31 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531233829/https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2013/4/21/too-many-elephants-in-african-parks |url-status=live }} In Botswana forest cover is around 27% of the total land area, equivalent to 15,254,700 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, down from 18,803,700 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 15,254,700 hectares, of the naturally regenerating forest 0% was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 11% of the forest area was found within protected areas. For the year 2015, 24% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership and 76% private ownership.{{Cite book |url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/a6e225da-4a31-4e06-818d-ca3aeadfd635/content |title=Terms and Definitions FRA 2025 Forest Resources Assessment, Working Paper 194 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |year=2023}}{{Cite web |title=Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020, Botswana |url=https://fra-data.fao.org/assessments/fra/2020/BWA/home/overview |website=Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}}

The Chobe National Park and Moremi Game Reserve (in the Okavango Delta) are major tourist destinations.{{Cite web |last=Bunge |first=Bianca |date=31 May 2021 |title=Top 10 Tourist Attractions In Botswana |url=https://secretafrica.com/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-botswana/ |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=Secret Africa |language=en-US |archive-date=31 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531201917/https://secretafrica.com/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-botswana/ |url-status=live }} Other reserves include the Central Kalahari Game Reserve located in the Kalahari Desert in Ghanzi District; Makgadikgadi Pans National Park and Nxai Pan National Park are in the Central District in the Makgadikgadi Pan.{{Cite web |title=Central Botswana {{!}} Botswana Safari |url=https://www.itravelto.com/place/Central-Botswana.html |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=www.itravelto.com |archive-date=31 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531233838/https://www.itravelto.com/place/Central-Botswana.html |url-status=live }}

Botswana faces two major environmental problems, drought and desertification, which are heavily linked. Three-quarters of the country's human and animal populations depend on groundwater due to drought. Groundwater use through deep borehole drilling has somewhat eased the effects of drought. Surface water is scarce in Botswana, and less than 5% of the agriculture in the country is sustainable by rainfall. In the remaining 95% of the country, raising livestock is the primary source of rural income. Approximately 71% of the country's land is used for communal grazing, which has been a major cause of the desertification and the accelerating soil erosion in the country.{{cite web |last=Darkoh |first=Michael |title=Desertification in Botswana |url=http://www.rala.is/rade/ralareport/darkoh.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101010191509/http://www.rala.is/rade/ralareport/darkoh.pdf |archive-date=10 October 2010 |access-date=30 March 2010 |publisher=Rala |pages=61–64 |location=IS}}

Since raising livestock has been profitable for the people of Botswana, they continue to exploit the land with dramatically increasing numbers of animals. From 1966 to 1991, the livestock population grew from 1.7{{Nbsp}}million to 5.5{{Nbsp}}million. Similarly, the human population has increased from 574,000 in 1971 to 1.5{{Nbsp}}million in 1995, a 161% increase in 24{{Nbsp}}years.{{Cite web |title=Botswana |url=https://www.comptonherald.org/joa-botswana |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=Compton Herald |language=en |archive-date=1 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501224436/https://www.comptonherald.org/joa-botswana |url-status=live }} Environmentalists report that the Okavango Delta is drying up due to increased livestock grazing.{{cite web |url= http://www.afrol.com/articles/21794 |title= Botswana, US sign 'Debt-for-Nature' agreement |publisher= Afrol |access-date= 4 July 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091201140712/http://www.afrol.com/articles/21794 |archive-date= 1 December 2009 |url-status= live}} The Okavango Delta is one of the major semi-forested wetlands in Botswana and one of the largest inland deltas in the world; the ecosystem is crucial to the survival of many animals.

The Department of Forestry and Range Resources has already begun to implement a project to reintroduce indigenous vegetation into communities in Kgalagadi South, Kweneng North and Boteti.{{cite web |last1=Mogotsi |first1=Kebadire |last2=Kanego |first2=Arabang |last3=Sebele |first3=Neelo |last4=Kgaswane |first4=Medi |last5=Gabaitse |first5=H. |title=New opportunities for combating desertification in Botswana: Women in action for sustainable land and natural resources management |url=http://www.unccd.int/iydd/documents/NOTCDIB.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724145917/http://www.unccd.int/IYDD/documents/NOTCDIB.pdf |archive-date=24 July 2010 |access-date=30 March 2010 |publisher=UNCCD}} Reintroduction of indigenous vegetation will help reduce the degradation of the land. The United States Government has also entered into an agreement with Botswana, giving them US$7 million to reduce Botswana's debt by US$8.3 million. The US stipulated that Botswana will focus on more extensive conservation of the land. The country had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 9.13/10, ranking it 8th globally out of 172 countries.{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G |doi-access=free}}

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) claims that poverty is a major problem behind the overexploitation of resources, including land, in Botswana. The UNDP joined in with a project started in the southern community of Struizendam in Botswana. The project's purpose is to draw from "indigenous knowledge and traditional land management systems". The leaders of this movement are supposed to be the people in the community to draw indigenous people in, which in turn increases their opportunities to earn an income, thus decreasing poverty. The UNDP also stated that the government has to effectively implement policies to allow people to manage their own local resources and the programme is giving the government information to help with policy development.{{cite web |url = http://www.afrol.com/articles/13090 |title = Botswana villages fighting desertification |publisher = Afrol |access-date = 4 July 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091102221242/http://www.afrol.com/articles/13090 |archive-date = 2 November 2009 |url-status = live}}

{{Main|Politics of Botswana|Government of Botswana}}

File:Duma Boko 2025 (cropped).jpg has been the President of Botswana since 2024.]]Botswana is a parliamentary republic governed by the Constitution of Botswana.{{Cite journal |last1=Sebudubudu |first1=David |last2=Maripe |first2=Bugalo |last3=Botlhomilwe |first3=Mokganedi Z. |last4=Malila |first4=Ikanyeng S. |year=2013 |title=The Mutation of Parliament into a "Registration Chamber": Executive Dominance over the Legislature in Botswana |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45341655 |journal=The African Review: A Journal of African Politics, Development and International Affairs |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=33–59 |issn=0856-0056 |jstor=45341655 |access-date=4 October 2023 |archive-date=14 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114024512/https://www.jstor.org/stable/45341655 |url-status=live }} It is the longest uninterrupted democracy in Africa.{{Cite journal |last1=Sebudubudu |first1=David |last2=Bodilenyane |first2=Keratilwe |last3=Kwerepe |first3=Phana |year=2016 |title=The Politics of Opposition Electoral Coalitions and Alliances in Botswana |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45342124 |journal=The African Review: A Journal of African Politics, Development and International Affairs |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=1–26 |issn=0856-0056 |jstor=45342124 |access-date=4 October 2023 |archive-date=13 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013182227/https://www.jstor.org/stable/45342124 |url-status=live }} Its seat of government is in Gaborone.{{Citation |title=Botswana |date=25 September 2023 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/botswana/#government |work=The World Factbook |access-date=2023-09-28 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en |archive-date=8 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208191649/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/botswana/#government |url-status=live }} Botswana's governing institutions were established after it became an independent nation in 1966. Botswana's governmental structure is based on both the United Kingdom's Westminster system and the Tswana people's tribal governments. Botswana has a centralised government in which national law supersedes local law.{{Cite journal |last1=Mooketsane |first1=K. |last2=Bodilenyane |first2=K. |last3=Motshekgwa |first3=B. |year=2017 |title=Is decentralisation in Botswana a democratic fallacy? |url=https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/EJC-6a061f80d |journal=African Journal of Public Affairs |volume=9 |issue=5 |pages=47–60 |hdl=10520/EJC-6a061f80d |access-date=4 October 2023 |archive-date=4 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604175122/https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/EJC-6a061f80d |url-status=live }} Local laws are developed by local councils and district councils.{{Cite journal |last=Sharma |first=Keshav C. |date=23 August 2020 |title=Role of local government in Botswana for effective service delivery: Challenges, prospects and lessons |url=https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.928945225837497 |journal=Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance |issue=7 |pages=135–142 |access-date=4 October 2023 |archive-date=4 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604175124/https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.928945225837497 |url-status=live }} They are heavily influenced by tribal governments, which are led by the tribe's chief.

The Parliament of Botswana consists of the President and the National Assembly, which serves as the nation's formal and sole legislature, while the Ntlo ya Dikgosi serves an advisory body made up of tribal chiefs and other appointed members.{{Cite journal |last=Norton |first=Philip |date=21 December 2004 |title=How many bicameral legislatures are there? |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/1357233042000322436 |journal=The Journal of Legislative Studies |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1080/1357233042000322436 |issn=1357-2334 |s2cid=143950774 |access-date=4 October 2023 |archive-date=4 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604175124/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1357233042000322436 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} Botswana's executive branch is led by the President of Botswana, who serves as both the head of state and head of government. The members of parliament choose the president,{{Cite journal |last1=Botlhale |first1=Emmanuel |last2=Lotshwao |first2=Kebapetse |year=2013 |title=The Uneasy Relationship Between Parliament and the Executive in Botswana |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/90024373 |journal=Botswana Notes and Records |volume=45 |pages=39–51 |issn=0525-5090 |jstor=90024373 |access-date=4 October 2023 |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213145751/https://www.jstor.org/stable/90024373 |url-status=live }} and the president then appoints the vice-president and cabinet members.{{Cite journal |last1=Beaulier |first1=Scott A. |last2=Subrick |first2=J. Robert |year=2006 |title=The Political Foundations of Development: The Case of Botswana |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10602-006-0002-x |journal=Constitutional Political Economy |language=en |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=103–115 |doi=10.1007/s10602-006-0002-x |issn=1043-4062 |s2cid=59354401 |access-date=4 October 2023 |archive-date=4 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604175127/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10602-006-0002-x |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} The president has significant power in Botswana, and the legislature has little power to check the president once appointed.{{Cite journal |last1=Mogalakwe |first1=Monageng |last2=Nyamnjoh |first2=Francis |date=2 January 2017 |title=Botswana at 50: democratic deficit, elite corruption and poverty in the midst of plenty |journal=Journal of Contemporary African Studies |language=en |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.1080/02589001.2017.1286636 |issn=0258-9001|doi-access=free }} The judiciary includes the High Court of Botswana, the Court of Appeal and Magistrates' Courts.{{Cite web |title=The Hierarchy of the Courts |url=http://www.gov.bw/en/Ministries--Authorities/Ministries/Administration-of-Justice-AOJ/About-AOJ1/The-Hierarchy-of-the-Courts/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218013129/http://www.gov.bw/en/Ministries--Authorities/Ministries/Administration-of-Justice-AOJ/About-AOJ1/The-Hierarchy-of-the-Courts/ |archive-date=18 February 2011 |website=Government of Botswana}} Cases are often settled by customary courts with tribal chiefs presiding.

Elections in Botswana are held every five years and overseen by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).{{Cite journal |last=Mogalakwe |first=Monageng |date=2 January 2015 |title=An assessment of Botswana's electoral management body to deliver fair elections |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/02589001.2015.1021210 |journal=Journal of Contemporary African Studies |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=105–120 |doi=10.1080/02589001.2015.1021210 |issn=0258-9001 |s2cid=154949350 |access-date=4 October 2023 |archive-date=4 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604175731/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02589001.2015.1021210 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} Botswana operates a multi-party system in which many political parties compete in elections. It was a dominant-party state in which the Botswana Democratic Party had ruled with a majority government from independence in 1966 to 2024.{{Cite report |url=https://www.africaportal.org/publications/political-parties-in-botswana/ |title=Political Parties in Botswana |last=Somolekae |first=Gloria |date=1 January 2005 |publisher=Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa |page=6 |access-date=2022-11-14 |archive-date=1 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601230322/https://www.africaportal.org/publications/political-parties-in-botswana/ |url-status=live }}{{Sfn|Hillbom|Bolt|2018|p=74}} The nation's elections are recognised as free and fair, but the ruling party has institutional advantages that other parties do not.{{Cite journal |last1=Sebudubudu |first1=David |last2=Botlhomilwe |first2=Mokganedi Zara |year=2010 |title=The management of elections: the case of Botswana |url=https://journals.co.za/doi/10.10520/EJC88240 |journal=Politeia |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=65–77 |access-date=4 October 2023 |archive-date=4 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604175631/https://journals.co.za/doi/10.10520/EJC88240 |url-status=live }} Factionalism is common within Botswana's political parties, and several groups have formed new parties by splitting from established ones. Since 2019, the Umbrella for Democratic Change has operated as a coalition of opposition parties.{{Cite news |date=3 February 2017 |title=Botswana opposition groups unite to challenge ruling BDP |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-botswana-politics-idUSKBN15I2JN |access-date=2022-11-14 |archive-date=14 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114062454/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-botswana-politics-idUSKBN15I2JN |url-status=live }} The most recent election was held in 2024, with the Botswana Democratic Party losing its majority for the first time in history, ending its 58-year rule over the country. The election saw Duma Boko being elected as president.{{Cite web |title=Botswana election: Duma Boko – the politician who did the unthinkable |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2yx5nk1l0o |access-date=2024-11-02 |publisher=BBC |date=November 2024 |language=en-GB}}

In Botswana's early years, its politics were managed by President Seretse Khama and vice-president (later president) Quett Masire.{{Sfn|Leith|2005|p=58}} Since the Kgabo Commission in 1991, factionalism and political rivalries have dominated Botswana politics. The Barata-Phathi faction was led by Peter Mmusi, Daniel Kwelagobe and Ponatshego Kedikilwe, while the A Team faction was led by Mompati Merafhe and Jacob Nkate.{{Cite journal |last=Ntuane |first=Botsalo |year=2018 |title=President Festus Mogae: The Regent Who Became King |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/90026925 |journal=Botswana Notes and Records |volume=50 |pages=333–338 |jstor=90026925 |issn=0525-5090 |access-date=4 October 2023 |archive-date=3 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003120411/https://www.jstor.org/stable/90026925 |url-status=live }}{{Cite journal |last1=Lotshwao |first1=Kebapetse |last2=Suping |first2=Kekgaoditse |year=2013 |title=The 2010 split of the Botswana Democratic Party |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/310771824 |journal=Pula: Botswana Journal of African Studies |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=343–360 |access-date=23 January 2024 |archive-date=4 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604175735/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/310771824_The_2010_split_of_the_Botswana_Democratic_Party |url-status=live }} When Festus Mogae and Ian Khama became president and vice-president, respectively, they aligned with the A Team. Khama effectively expelled the A Team from the party in 2010 after he became president. A new rivalry formed in 2018 when Khama's chosen successor, Mokgweetsi Masisi, became president. He opposed Khama, and the two formed a political rivalry that continues to loom over Batswana politics in the 2020s.{{Cite journal |last1=Seabo |first1=Batlang |last2=Nyenhuis |first2=Robert |year=2021 |title=Botswana's 2019 General Elections: A Referendum on General Ian Khama |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S000202062100069X/type/journal_article |journal=African Studies Review |language=en |volume=64 |issue=4 |pages=854–883 |doi=10.1017/asr.2021.69 |issn=0002-0206 |access-date=4 October 2023 |archive-date=4 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604175647/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-studies-review/article/abs/botswanas-2019-general-elections-a-referendum-on-general-ian-khama/025D7A45D5F26B1A8045E91529DCAAB5 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}

Botswana was ranked as a "flawed democracy" and 33rd out of 167 states in the 2023 Democracy Index (The Economist), which was the second-highest rating in Africa, and the highest ranking in continental Africa (only the offshore island nation of Mauritius bested its ranking).{{Cite web |title=Democracy Index 2023 |url=https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2023/ |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=Economist Intelligence Unit |language=en-GB |archive-date=14 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214215250/https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2023/ |url-status=live }} However, according to the 2024 V-Dem Democracy Indices, Botswana has been experiencing an episode of democratic backsliding over the past 10 years, recording its lowest ever score on the indices. The indices classify Botswana as an electoral democracy in a 'grey zone' between electoral democracy and electoral autocracy. Furthermore, they show that Botswana lost its status as a "liberal democracy" in 2021, with its liberal, participatory and deliberative components decreasing "at a statistically significant level", with the latter component being noted as becoming "significantly worse".{{Cite web |title=V-Dem Democracy Index |url=https://www.v-dem.net/documents/44/v-dem_dr2024_highres.pdf |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=V-Dem |pages=14, 16, 21, 28|archive-date=7 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240307211425/https://www.v-dem.net/documents/44/v-dem_dr2024_highres.pdf |url-status=live}}

The 2023 Transparency International Corruption Index ranks Botswana is the third-least corrupt country in Africa, just below Cape Verde and the Seychelles.{{Cite web |date=30 January 2024 |title=2023 Corruption Perceptions Index: Explore the results |url=https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204001659/https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2023 |archive-date=2023-02-04 |website=Transparency.org}} Botswana is also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.{{Cite web |title=Member countries |url=https://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=Commonwealth |language=en |archive-date=31 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031175159/https://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Foreign relations of Botswana|Botswana Defence Force}}

File:Botswanatroopsboardplane.png plane to Mozambique in July 2021.]]

At the time of independence, Botswana had no armed forces. It was only after the Rhodesian and South African armies attacked the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army and Umkhonto we Sizwe{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-05-20-mn-6620-story.html | work=Los Angeles Times | first=Michael | last=Parks | title=S. Africa Raids 3 Nearby Nations : Attacks Rebel Bases in Capitals of Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana | date=20 May 1986 | access-date=24 November 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111150242/http://articles.latimes.com/1986-05-20/news/mn-6620_1_african-national-congress | archive-date=11 January 2012 | url-status=live}} bases respectively that the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) was formed in 1977.{{Cite web |date=25 August 2011 |title=History of the BDF |url=http://www.gov.bw/en/Ministries--Authorities/Ministries/State-President/Botswana-Defence-Force-BDF/About-the-BDF1/History-of-the-BDF/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706162757/http://www.gov.bw/en/Ministries--Authorities/Ministries/State-President/Botswana-Defence-Force-BDF/About-the-BDF1/History-of-the-BDF/ |archive-date=2011-07-06 |website=gov.bw}} The president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces and appoints a defence council. In 2019, Botswana signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.{{Cite web |url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en |title=Chapter XXVI: Disarmament – No. 9 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons |publisher=United Nations Treaty Collection |date=7 July 2017 |access-date=4 June 2024 |archive-date=6 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806220546/https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en |url-status=live }}

Following political changes in South Africa and the region, the BDF's missions have increasingly focused on preventing poaching, preparing for disasters, and supporting foreign peacekeeping. The United States has been the largest single foreign contributor to the development of the BDF, and a large segment of its officer corps have received US training. The Botswana government gave the United States permission to explore the possibility of establishing an Africa Command (AFRICOM) base in the country.{{Cite web |last1=U.S. Army Africa Public Affairs |last2=Daniel |first2=Spc. Tynisha |last3=March |first3=Meredith |last4=Sampson |first4=Sgt. Karen |date=15 January 2017 |title=Botswana Defence Force, U.S. Army Leaders Meet in Europe |url=http://www.africom.mil/media-room/article/27819/botswana-defence-force-u-s-army-leaders-meet-in-europe |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170718193102/http://www.africom.mil/media-room/article/27819/botswana-defence-force-u-s-army-leaders-meet-in-europe |archive-date=2017-07-18 |website=africom.mil}}

Botswana is the 50th most peaceful country in the world, according to the 2024 Global Peace Index.{{Cite web |title=2024 Global Peace Index |url=https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf |page=20}}

{{Main|Human rights in Botswana}}The Botswana Centre for Human Rights, Ditshwanelo, was established in 1993.{{cite web | title=Ditshwanelo | website=ditshwanelo.org.bw | date=16 January 2018 | url=http://www.ditshwanelo.org.bw/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218204716/http://www.ditshwanelo.org.bw/ | archive-date=2018-02-18 | url-status=dead }} Until June 2019, homosexual acts were illegal in Botswana. A Botswana High Court decision of 11 June of that year struck down provisions in the Criminal Code that punished "carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature" and "acts of gross indecency", making Botswana one of 22 African countries that have either decriminalised or legalised homosexual acts.{{Cite news |last=Fox |first=Kara |title=Botswana scraps gay sex laws in big victory for LGBTQ rights in Africa |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/11/africa/botswana-lgbtq-ruling-intl/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611111110/https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/11/africa/botswana-lgbtq-ruling-intl/index.html |archive-date=11 June 2019 |access-date=11 June 2019 |publisher=CNN}} Capital punishment is a legal penalty for murder in Botswana, and executions are carried out by hanging.{{Cite web |last=Tshosa |first=Onkemetse |date=25 May 2021 |title=THE DEATH PENALTY IN BOTSWANA IN THE LIGHT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW: THE CASE FOR ABOLITION |url=https://www.biicl.org/files/2216_tshosa_death_penalty_botswana.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525162623/https://www.biicl.org/files/2216_tshosa_death_penalty_botswana.pdf |archive-date=25 May 2021 |access-date=25 May 2021 |page=3}}File:Bosquimanos-Grassland Bushmen Lodge, Botswana 04.jpg

Many of the indigenous San people have been forcibly relocated from their land to reservations. To make them relocate, they were denied access to water on their land and faced arrest if they hunted, which was their primary source of food.{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-24821867 |title=Botswana bushmen: Modern life is destroying us |work=BBC News |access-date=24 July 2016 |date=7 January 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160325015238/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-24821867 |archive-date=25 March 2016 |url-status=live}} Their lands lie in the middle of the world's richest diamond field. Officially, the government denies that there is any link to mining, claiming the relocation is to preserve the wildlife and ecosystem, even though the San people have lived sustainably on the land for millennia. On the reservations, they struggle to find employment, and alcoholism is rampant.

On 24 August 2018, the UN Special Rapporteur on Minorities, Fernand de Varennes, issued a statement calling on Botswana "to step up efforts to recognise and protect the rights of minorities in relation to public services, land and resource use, and the use of minority languages in education and other critical areas."{{cite news |title=Botswana minorities need boost in education and health care, says UN expert urging Bill of Right |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2018/08/botswana-minorities-need-boost-education-and-health-care-says-un-expert#:~:text=GENEVA%20%2F%20GABORONE%20(24%20August%202018,on%20Minorities%2C%20Fernand%20de%20Varennes. |access-date=12 April 2024 |publisher=United Nations |archive-date=4 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604175645/https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2018/08/botswana-minorities-need-boost-education-and-health-care-says-un-expert#:~:text=GENEVA%20%2F%20GABORONE%20(24%20August%202018,on%20Minorities%2C%20Fernand%20de%20Varennes. |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Districts of Botswana|Sub-districts of Botswana}}

File:Districts of Botswana in 1977.jpg

File:The Subdistricts of Botswana..png

Botswana is divided into 10 administrative districts, 2 city districts, 4 towns, 11 sub-districts and, in total, 16 administrative divisions.{{Cite web |title=Administrative Division of Botswana |url=https://www.geonames.org/BW/administrative-division-botswana.html |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=geonames.org |archive-date=23 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223075024/https://www.geonames.org/BW/administrative-division-botswana.html |url-status=live }} They are:

• Central
• Chobe
• Francistown
• Gaborone
• Ghanzi
• Jwaneng
• Kgalagadi
• Kgatleng
• Kweneng
• Lobatse
• North East
• North West
• South East
• Southern
• Selibe Phikwe
• Sowa Town

These are administered by 16 local authorities (district councils, city councils or town councils).{{cite web |title=Botswana Government Ministries & Authorities |url=http://www.gov.bw/en/Ministries--Authorities/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606002454/http://www.gov.bw/en/Ministries--Authorities/ |archive-date=2017-06-06}}{{Cite web |title=Botswana Districts |url=http://www.statoids.com/ubw.html |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=statoids.com |archive-date=12 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812073605/http://www.statoids.com/ubw.html |url-status=live }}

In 1977, Botswana's administrative divisions were Ngamiland, Chobe, Francistown, Ngwato, Tuli, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, Ngwaketse, Kweneng, Gaborone and Lobatse.{{Cite web |title=Botswana, administrative divisions. |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/g8601f.ct002720/ |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 United States |archive-date=1 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240601053842/https://www.loc.gov/resource/g8601f.ct002720/ |url-status=live }} In 2006, Chobe was removed from being an administrative division, and Ngamiland's name was changed to North West district. Chobe was readded on 31 March 2014. That same day, the administrative divisions Francistown, Gaborone, Jwaneng, Lobatse, Selibe Phikwe, and Sowa Town were also added.

{{Main|Economy of Botswana}}

File:GDP per capita development of Botswana.svg

Since independence, Botswana has had one of the fastest growth rates in per capita income in the world.{{cite web | title=Botswana | website=U.S. Department of State | date=20 January 2009 | url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1830.htm#econ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604183438/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1830.htm#econ | archive-date=2019-06-04 | url-status=live }} Formerly one of the world's poorest countries—with a GDP per capita of about US$70 per year in the late 1960s{{Cite web |last1=Maundeni |first1=Zibani |last2=Mpabanga |first2=Dorothy |last3=Mfundisi |first3=Adam |date=1 January 2007 |title=Consolidating Democratic Governance in Southern Africa : Botswana |url=https://www.africaportal.org/publications/consolidating-democratic-governance-in-southern-africa-botswana/ |access-date=2020-05-28 |website=Africa Portal |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326031142/https://www.africaportal.org/publications/consolidating-democratic-governance-in-southern-africa-botswana/ |url-status=live }}—Botswana has transformed itself into an upper middle-income country. GDP per capita grew from $439 in 1950 to $15,842 in 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/maddison-data-gdp-per-capita-in-2011us|title=GDP per capita|website=Our World in Data|access-date=10 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720172734/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/maddison-data-gdp-per-capita-in-2011us|archive-date=20 July 2019|url-status=live}} Although Botswana was resource-abundant, a good institutional framework allowed the country to reinvest resource-income to generate stable future income.{{cite book|author=Baten, Jörg |title=A History of the Global Economy. From 1500 to the Present.|date=2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=159|isbn=9781107507180}} By one estimate, it has the fourth-highest gross national income at purchasing power parity in Africa, giving it a relatively high standard of living in Africa, around that of Mexico.{{cite web |author=Kästle, Klaus |url=http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/GNI_PPP_of_countries.htm |title=GNI PPP table |publisher=Nationsonline.org |date=24 July 2009 |access-date=19 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115190433/http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/GNI_PPP_of_countries.htm |archive-date=15 January 2010 |url-status=live}} As of 2022, the unemployment rate stood at 25.4%, while youth unemployment reached 45.41% in 2023.{{Cite web |title=Labour Statistics {{!}} Botswana Labour Market Observatory |url=https://www.botswanalmo.org.bw/labour_statistics |access-date=2024-11-02 |website=www.botswanalmo.org.bw}}{{Cite web |title=Botswana – youth unemployment rate 2004–2023 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/811692/youth-unemployment-rate-in-botswana/ |access-date=2024-11-02 |website=Statista |language=en}} The latest available data from 2015/2016 estimate that 17.2% of Botswana's population is multidimensionally poor, with an additional 19.7% at risk.{{Cite web |year=2023 |title=Multidimensional Poverty Index Botswana |url=https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/MPI/BWA.pdf |access-date=2 November 2024 |website=United Nations Development Programme: Human Development Reports}}

The Ministry of Trade and Industry of Botswana is responsible for promoting business development throughout the country. According to the International Monetary Fund, economic growth averaged over 9% per year from 1966 to 1999. Botswana has a high level of economic freedom compared to other African countries.{{cite web|url=http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=4&aid=99&dir=2007/September/Thursday6/|title=Botswana ranked Africa's leader in economic freedom|publisher=mmegi.bw|date=19 May 2017|access-date=11 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822145230/http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=4&aid=99&dir=2007/September/Thursday6/|archive-date=22 August 2017|url-status=live}} The government has maintained a sound fiscal policy, despite consecutive budget deficits in 2002 and 2003, and a negligible level of foreign debt. It earned the highest sovereign credit rating in Africa and has stockpiled foreign exchange reserves (over $7 billion in 2005/2006) amounting to almost two and a half years of current imports.{{Cite book |last=Mugoti |first=Godfrey |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/946180025 |title=Africa (a-z). |date=2009 |publisher=Lulu Com |isbn=978-1-4357-2890-5 |location=[Place of publication not identified] |oclc=946180025 |access-date=30 May 2022 |archive-date=4 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604175742/https://search.worldcat.org/title/946180025 |url-status=live |page=66}}

The constitution provides for an independent judiciary, and the government respects this in practice. The legal system is sufficient to conduct secure commercial dealings, although a growing backlog of cases prevents timely trials. Botswana is ranked second only to South Africa among sub-Saharan African countries in the 2014 International Property Rights Index.{{cite web|title=The International Property Rights Index 2014: Africa by Score|url=http://internationalpropertyrightsindex.org/countries?r=A&f=ipri&o=desc|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208141240/http://internationalpropertyrightsindex.org/countries?r=A&f=ipri&o=desc|archive-date=8 December 2015|access-date=23 August 2015|publisher=The International Property Rights Index}}

{{Main|Mining industry of Botswana}}

File:Jwaneng Open Mine.jpg, richest in the world{{Cite web |title=RANKED: World's richest diamond mines |url=https://www.mining.com/featured-article/ranked-worlds-richest-diamond-mines/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=Mining.com |language=en-US}}]]

In Botswana, the Department of Mines and Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security maintains data regarding mining throughout the country.{{Cite web |date=20 July 2007 |title=Department of Mines |url=http://www.mines.gov.bw/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130910164527/http://www.mines.gov.bw/ |archive-date=10 September 2013 |access-date=20 February 2018}}{{Cite web |date=9 February 2008 |title=The Government of Botswana – Home |url=http://www.gov.bw/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209200236/http://www.gov.bw/ |archive-date=9 February 2008 |access-date=20 February 2018}} Debswana, the largest diamond mining company operating in Botswana, is a joint venture, 50% owned by the government.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/09/business/worldbusiness/09nocera.html|title=Diamonds are Forever in Botswana|access-date=15 March 2010|date=8 August 2008|last=Nocera|first=Joe|work=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829063851/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/09/business/worldbusiness/09nocera.html|archive-date=29 August 2011|url-status=live|author-link=Joe Nocera}}

The mineral industry provides about 40% of all government revenues.{{cite web | url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/BOTSWANAEXTN/0,,menuPK:322821~pagePK:141132~piPK:141107~theSitePK:322804,00.html | title=Botswana Country Brief | publisher=World Bank | access-date=17 June 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090427113006/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/BOTSWANAEXTN/0,,menuPK:322821~pagePK:141132~piPK:141107~theSitePK:322804,00.html | archive-date=27 April 2009 | url-status=live}} Botswana has not begun mining uranium; however, the Letlhakane Uranium Project in Africa is one of the largest undeveloped uranium projects.{{Cite web |title=Letlhakane Overview |url=https://lotusresources.com.au/projects/letlhakane-overview/ |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=Lotus Resources |language=en-US |archive-date=13 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240313041901/https://lotusresources.com.au/projects/letlhakane-overview/ |url-status=live }} The government announced in early 2009 that they would try to diversify their economy and avoid overreliance on diamonds.{{Cite web |title=International Kimberlite Conference – Host Country – Botswana |url=http://www.11ikc.com/showcontent.aspx?MenuID=2013 |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=11ikc.com |archive-date=31 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531230207/http://www.11ikc.com/showcontent.aspx?MenuID=2013 |url-status=live }}

{{main|Tourism in Botswana}}The Botswana Tourism Organisation is the country's official tourism group.{{Cite web |title=Home {{!}} Botswana Tourism Organisation |url=https://www.botswanatourism.co.bw/ |access-date=2024-01-24 |website=www.botswanatourism.co.bw |archive-date=24 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124120158/https://www.botswanatourism.co.bw/ |url-status=live }} Other destinations in Botswana include the Gaborone Yacht Club and the Kalahari Fishing Club. The country has natural attractions such as the Gaborone Dam and Mokolodi Nature Reserve. There are golf courses that the Botswana Golf Union (BGU) maintains.{{Cite web |date=20 September 2011 |title=Botswana Golf Union (BGU) |url=http://www.botswanagolfunion.org.bw/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090808044920/http://www.botswanagolfunion.org.bw/ |archive-date=2009-08-08 |website=botswanagolfunion.org.bw}} In 2014, the Okavango Delta of Botswana, the largest inland delta in the world, was inscribed as the 1,000th World Heritage Site.{{Cite web |title=World Heritage List reaches 1000 sites with inscription of Okavango Delta in Botswana |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/1159 |access-date=2024-05-31 |publisher=UNESCO |archive-date=26 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726234253/http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/1159 |url-status=live }}

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Botswana has {{convert|971|km}} of railway lines, {{convert|18443.8|km}} of roads, and 92 airports, of which 12 have paved runways. Of these roads, {{Convert|7383.2|km|mi}} are paved, while the other {{Convert|11060.6|km|mi}} are unpaved.{{Cite web |title=About Our Country § Transport |url=https://www.gov.bw/about-our-country |access-date=2024-07-12 |website= |publisher=Government of Botswana |archive-date=22 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022105828/https://www.gov.bw/about-our-country |url-status=live }} The national airline is Air Botswana, which flies domestically and to other countries in Africa. Botswana Railways is the national railway company, operating primarily in the Southern African regional railway system. Botswana Railways offers rail-based transport facilities for moving a range of commodities for the mining sector and primary materials industries, as well as passenger train services and dry ports.{{Cite web |url= http://www.gov.bw/en/ministries--authorities/ministries/ministry-of-transport-and-communications/departments/department-of-roads/divisions/ |title=Ministry of Transport and Communications |access-date=21 January 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180729080321/http://www.gov.bw/en/ministries--authorities/ministries/ministry-of-transport-and-communications/departments/department-of-roads/divisions |archive-date=29 July 2018 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |url= http://www.botswanarailways.co.bw/profile |title=Botswana Railways |access-date=21 January 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190121232609/http://www.botswanarailways.co.bw/profile |archive-date=21 January 2019 |url-status=live}}

In terms of power infrastructure in Botswana, the country produces coal for electricity and imports oil. Recently, the country has taken a large interest in renewable energy sources and has designed a comprehensive strategy to attract investors in the wind, solar and biomass renewable energy industries. Botswana's power stations include Morupule B Power Station (600 MW), Morupule A Power Station (132 MW), Orapa Power Station (90 MW), Phakalane Power Station (1.3 MW) and Mmamabula Power Station (300 MW), which is expected to be online in the near future. A 200-MW solar power plant is in the planning and design stage at the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security.{{Cite news |url= http://www.sundaystandard.info/unusual-tourism-ministry-solar-power-plant-tender-raises-eyebrows |title=Unusual Tourism ministry solar power plant tender raises eyebrows |work=Sunday Standard |location= Gaborone |date=3 December 2017 |access-date=8 October 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201028231344/https://www.sundaystandard.info/unusual-tourism-ministry-solar-power-plant-tender-raises-eyebrows/ |archive-date=28 October 2020 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=1&aid=1253&dir=2012/June/Friday22/ |title=Botswana – energy sector overview |website=mmegi.bw |date=22 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121232514/http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=1&aid=1253&dir=2012/June/Friday22/ |archive-date=21 January 2019 }}.

{{Main|Demographics of Botswana}}

As of 2024, the Tswana are the majority ethnic group in Botswana, making up approximately 79% of the population, followed by Kalanga at 11% and the San (Basarwa) at 3%. The remaining 7% consists of White Batswana/European Batswana,{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Botswana|date=10 May 2022|year=2022}} Indians,{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Botswana|access-date=31 May 2024|year=2024}} and a number of other smaller Southern African ethnic groups.

Native groups include the Bayei, Bambukushu, Basubia, Baherero and Bakgalagadi. The Indian minority is made up of both recent migrants and descendants of Indian migrants who arrived from Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritius and South Africa.{{Cite web |title=Botswana U-PENN Partnership |url=https://www.med.upenn.edu/radiationoncologymedicalresidency/assets/user-content/documents/Botwana%20Handbook.pdf |access-date=2024-05-31 |page=10 |archive-date=31 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531100746/https://www.med.upenn.edu/radiationoncologymedicalresidency/assets/user-content/documents/Botwana%20Handbook.pdf |url-status=live }}

File:Bevölkerungspyramide Botswana 2016.png

Since 2000, because of deteriorating economic conditions in Zimbabwe, the number of Zimbabweans in Botswana has risen into the tens of thousands.{{cite web |url=https://zimbabwe.iom.int/news/zimbabwe-diaspora-botswana-commends-goz-engagement-efforts-acknowledges-iom-support#:~:text=Due%20to%20its%20proximity%20to,financial%20services%20among%20other%20sectors. |website=IOM Zimbabwe |access-date=13 April 2024 |title=Zimbabwe diaspora in Botswana commends GoZ engagement efforts, acknowledges IOM support |archive-date=25 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925164056/https://zimbabwe.iom.int/news/zimbabwe-diaspora-botswana-commends-goz-engagement-efforts-acknowledges-iom-support#:~:text=Due%20to%20its%20proximity%20to,financial%20services%20among%20other%20sectors. |url-status=live }} Fewer than 10,000 San people are still living their traditional hunter-gatherer way of life. Since the mid-1990s, the central government of Botswana has been trying to move the San out of their historic lands, likely because they live on a diamond-rich region.{{cite web | title=African Bushmen Tour U.S. to Fund Fight for Land | website=National Geographic | date=9 September 2004 | url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/09/0914_040914_labushmen_2.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808232807/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/09/0914_040914_labushmen_2.html | archive-date=2016-08-08 | url-status=dead }}

In 2010, James Anaya, as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people for the United Nations, described loss of land as a major contributor to many of the problems facing Botswana's indigenous people, citing the San's eviction from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR){{Cite web|title=Visit Central Kalahari Game Reserve In Botswana|url=https://kubwafive-safaris.com/visit-central-kalahari-game-reserve-in-botswana/|access-date=2020-10-03|website=Kubwa Five Safaris|language=en-GB|archive-date=27 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027071139/https://kubwafive-safaris.com/visit-central-kalahari-game-reserve-in-botswana/|url-status=live}} as a special example.{{rp|2}} Among Anaya's recommendations in a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council was that development programmes should promote, in consultation with indigenous communities such as the San and Bakgalagadi people, activities in harmony with the culture of those communities such as traditional hunting and gathering activities.{{cite report |author=Anaya, James |date=2 June 2010 |title=Addendum – The situation of indigenous peoples in Botswana |publisher=United Nations Human Rights Council. A/HRC/15/37/Add.2 |url=http://unsr.jamesanaya.org/docs/countries/2010_report_botswana_en.pdf |access-date=7 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006041536/http://unsr.jamesanaya.org/docs/countries/2010_report_botswana_en.pdf |archive-date=6 October 2018 |url-status=live}}{{rp|19}}

{{Largest cities

| country = Botswana

| stat_ref = Census Botswana 2022{{Cite web |date=June 2022 |title=POPULATION OF CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGES |url=https://www.statsbots.org.bw/sites/default/files/publications/Population%20of%20Cities%20Towns%20and%20Villages%20%202022.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.statsbots.org.bw/sites/default/files/publications/Population%20of%20Cities%20Towns%20and%20Villages%20%202022.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |access-date=22 July 2022 |website=POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS 2022 |publisher=Gaborone: Statistics Botswana.|pages=3–37}}

| list_by_pop = List of cities in Botswana

| div_name = District

| div_link =

| city_1 = Gaborone

| div_1 = South-East District (Botswana){{!}}South-East

| pop_1 = 246,325

| img_1 = Gaborone, Botswana - 51207616203.jpg

| city_2 = Francistown| div_2 = North-East District (Botswana){{!}}North-East| pop_2 = 103,417| img_2 = The main square in Francistown (3297095166).jpg

| city_3 = Mogoditshane| div_3 = Kweneng District{{!}}Kweneng | pop_3 = 88,006

| city_4 = Maun, Botswana{{!}}Maun| div_4 = North-West District (Botswana){{!}}North-West| pop_4 = 84,993| img_4 = MaunAirport.jpg

| city_5 = Molepolole| div_5 = Kweneng District{{!}}Kweneng| pop_5 = 74,674| img_5 =

| city_6 = Serowe| div_6 = Central District (Botswana){{!}}Central | pop_6 = 55,676

| city_7 = Tlokweng| div_7 = South-East District (Botswana){{!}}South-East | pop_7 = 55,508

| city_8 = Palapye| div_8 = Central District (Botswana){{!}}Central | pop_8 = 52,636

| city_9 = Mochudi| div_9 = Kgatleng District{{!}}Kgatleng| pop_9 = 50,317

| city_10 = Mahalapye| div_10 = Central District (Botswana){{!}}Central | pop_10 = 48,431

| city_11 = Kanye, Botswana{{!}}Kanye| div_11 = Southern District (Botswana){{!}}Southern| pop_11 = 48,028

| city_12 = Selebi-Phikwe{{!}}Selibe Phikwe| div_12 = Central District (Botswana){{!}}Central| pop_12 = 42,488

| city_13 = Letlhakane| div_13 = Central District (Botswana){{!}}Central | pop_13 = 36,338

| city_14 = Ramotswa| div_14 = South-East District (Botswana){{!}}South-East | pop_14 = 33,271

| city_15 = Lobatse| div_15 = South-East District (Botswana){{!}}South-East | pop_15 = 29,772

| city_16 = Mmopane | div_16 = Kweneng District{{!}}Kweneng | pop_16 = 25,345

| city_17 = Thamaga| div_17 = Kweneng District{{!}}Kweneng | pop_17 = 25,297

| city_18 = Moshupa| div_18 = Southern District (Botswana){{!}}Southern | pop_18 = 23,858

| city_19 = Tonota| div_19 = Central District (Botswana){{!}}Central | pop_19 = 23,296

| city_20 = Bobonong| div_20 = Central District (Botswana){{!}}Central | pop_20 = 21,216

}}

{{Main|Languages of Botswana|Setswana}}

The official language of Botswana is English, while Setswana is widely spoken across the country. In Setswana, prefixes are more important than they are in many other languages, because Setswana is a Bantu language and has noun classes denoted by these prefixes. They include Bo, which refers to the country, Ba, which refers to the people, Mo, which is one person, and Se which is the language. For example, the main ethnic group of Botswana is the Tswana people, hence the name Botswana for its country. The people as a whole are Batswana, one person is a Motswana, and the language they speak is Setswana.{{cite web | url=https://www.botswana.co.za/Cultural_Issues-travel/cultural-people-botswana.html | title=Culture and Traditions of Botswana | access-date=13 April 2024 | archive-date=21 April 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421205122/https://www.botswana.co.za/Cultural_Issues-travel/cultural-people-botswana.html | url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=South African History Online |url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/tswana |access-date=13 April 2024 |archive-date=3 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240203180415/https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/tswana |url-status=live }}

Other languages spoken in Botswana include Kalanga (Sekalanga), Sarwa (Sesarwa), Ndebele, Kgalagadi, Tswapong, !Xóõ, Yeyi, and, in some parts, Afrikaans.{{cite web |title=What Languages Are Spoken In Botswana? |date=August 2017 |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-languages-are-spoken-in-botswana.html |access-date=13 April 2024 |archive-date=21 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221171814/https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-languages-are-spoken-in-botswana.html |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Religion in Botswana}}

{{bar box

|title=Religion in Botswana (Pew Research){{cite web |url=http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/botswana/religious_demography#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=20100 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |title=Botswana |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216190527/http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/botswana/religious_demography#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=20100 |archive-date=16 December 2013 |year=2010}}

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{{bar percent|Protestant|blue|66}}

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{{bar percent|Catholic|purple|7}}

{{bar percent|Folk|red|6}}

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An estimated 77% of the country's citizens identify as Christians. Anglicans, Methodists, and the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa make up the majority of Christian denominations. The country also has congregations of:

• Lutherans
• Baptists
• Roman Catholics
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• The Dutch Reformed Church
• Mennonites
• Seventh-day Adventists
• Jehovah's Witnesses
• Serbian Orthodox

According to the 2001 census, the nation has around 5,000 Muslims (mainly from South Asia), 3,000 Hindus, and 700 of the Baháʼí Faith. Approximately 20% of citizens identify with no religion.

Botswana's healthcare system has been steadily improving and expanding.{{Cite web |title=Health and nutrition |url=https://www.unicef.org/botswana/health-and-nutrition |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=unicef.org |language=en |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331124951/https://www.unicef.org/botswana/health-and-nutrition |url-status=live }} Specifically, infant mortality and maternal mortality rates are steadily declining.{{Cite web |title=Africa :: Botswana — The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/botswana/ |access-date=2020-04-27 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |archive-date=8 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208191649/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/botswana/ |url-status=live }} Eighty-five per cent of the population live within a five-kilometre (3.1 mi) radius of a health facility. Seventy-three per cent of pregnant women access antenatal care services at least four times. Almost 100 per cent of births in Botswana take place in hospitals.File:Scottish Livingstone Hospital 228.jpg in Molepolole]]

The Ministry of Health{{Cite web |title=Ministry of Health |url=http://www.moh.gov.bw/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024133244/http://www.moh.gov.bw/ |archive-date=24 October 2017 |access-date=10 September 2013}} in Botswana is responsible for overseeing the quality and distribution of healthcare throughout the country. Life expectancy at birth was 55 in 2009 according to the World Bank, having previously fallen from a peak of 64.1 in 1990 to a low of 49 in 2002.{{cite web |title=World Bank Botswana Data |url=http://data.worldbank.org/country/botswana |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709120507/http://data.worldbank.org//country//botswana |archive-date=9 July 2011 |access-date=20 July 2011}} Since Botswana's 2011 census, current life expectancy is estimated at 54.06 years.

The Cancer Association of Botswana is a voluntary non-governmental organisation that is a member of the Union for International Cancer Control. The Association supplements existing services through provision of cancer prevention and health awareness programs, facilitating access to health services for cancer patients and offering support and counselling to those affected.{{cite web |title=Cancer Association of Botswana |url=http://www.uicc.org/membership/cancer-association-botswana |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528080003/http://www.uicc.org/membership/cancer-association-botswana |archive-date=28 May 2013 |access-date=29 March 2013 |publisher=Union for International Cancer Control}} Botswana's 2024 Global Hunger Index (GHI) score is 20.7.{{Cite web |title=Global Hunger Index Scores by 2024 GHI Rank |url=https://www.globalhungerindex.org/ranking.html |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=Global Hunger Index (GHI) – peer-reviewed annual publication designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels |language=en}}

{{Main|HIV/AIDS in Botswana}}

File:Life expectancy in select African countries, 1950–2019.jpg has caused a decline in life expectancy.]]

Like elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, the economic impact of AIDS is considerable. Economic development spending was cut by 10% in 2002–2003 as a result of recurring budget deficits and rising expenditures on healthcare services. Botswana has been hit very hard by the AIDS pandemic; in 2006, it was estimated that life expectancy at birth had dropped from 65 to 35 years.{{Cite journal |last=Kallings |first=LO |year=2008 |title=The first postmodern pandemic: 25 years of HIV/AIDS |journal=J Intern Med |volume=263 |issue=3 |pages=218–243 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2796.2007.01910.x |pmid=18205765 |s2cid=205339589 |doi-access=free}} The life expectancy is 66.4 years as of 2024.

In 2003, the government began a comprehensive programme involving free or cheap generic antiretroviral drugs as well as an information campaign designed to stop the spread of the virus; in 2013, over 40% of adults in Botswana had access to antiretroviral therapy.{{cite web |year=2014 |title=The Gap Report |url=http://files.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/unaidspublication/2014/UNAIDS_Gap_report_en.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160620173755/http://files.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/unaidspublication/2014/unaids_gap_report_en.pdf |archive-date=20 June 2016 |access-date=21 June 2016 |publisher=UN AIDS |location=Geneva}}{{rp |28}} In the 15–19 age group, prevalence was estimated at 6% for females and 3.5% for males in 2013,{{rp|33}} and for the 20–24 age group, 15% for females and 5% for males.{{rp |33}} Botswana is one of 21 priority countries identified by the UN AIDS group in 2011 in the Global Plan to eliminate new HIV infections among children and to keep their mothers alive.{{rp |37}} From 2009 to 2013, the country saw a decrease of over 50% in new HIV infections in children.{{rp |38}} Less than 10% of pregnant HIV-infected women were not receiving antiretroviral medications in 2013, with a large, corresponding decrease (over 50%) in the number of new HIV infections in children under five.{{rp |39, 40}} Among the UN Global Plan countries, people living with HIV in Botswana have the highest percentage receiving antiretroviral treatment: about 75% for adults (age 15+) and about 98% for children.{{rp |237}}

The country has been adversely affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In 2002, Botswana became the first country to offer anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) to help combat the epidemic.{{cite journal |last=Rollnick |first=Roman |date=September 2002 |title=Botswana's high-stakes assault on AIDS |url=https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/september-2002/botswanas-high-stakes-assault-aids |url-status=live |journal=Africa Renewal |publisher=United Nations |volume=16 |issue=10 |pages=6–9 |pmid=12458550 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113083425/https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/september-2002/botswanas-high-stakes-assault-aids |archive-date=13 January 2023 |access-date=29 March 2023}} Despite the launch of programmes to make treatment available and to educate the populace about the epidemic,{{cite web |last=Powell |first=Alvin |date=16 April 2009 |title=Mogae shifts stress to HIV prevention |url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2009/04/mogae-shifts-stress-to-hiv-prevention/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329064055/https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2009/04/mogae-shifts-stress-to-hiv-prevention/ |archive-date=29 March 2023 |access-date=29 March 2023 |work=Harvard Gazette |publisher=Harvard University}} the number of people with AIDS rose from 290,000 in 2005 to 320,000 in 2013.{{rp|A20}} However, in recent years, the country has made strides in combating HIV/AIDS, with efforts being made to provide proper treatment and lower the rate of mother-to-child transmission.{{cite web |year=2021 |title=Botswana is first country with severe HIV epidemic to reach key milestone in the elimination of mother-to-child HIV transmission |url=https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2021/december/emtct_botswana |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731120716/https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2021/december/emtct_botswana |archive-date=31 July 2022 |access-date=10 July 2022 |publisher=UN AIDS |location=Brazzaville}}{{cite web |date=30 September 2022 |title=Partnership for Success: CDC and Botswana Lead Progress Toward HIV Epidemic Control |url=https://www.cdc.gov/globalhivtb/who-we-are/success-stories/success-story-pages/partnership-for-success.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329064059/https://www.cdc.gov/globalhivtb/who-we-are/success-stories/success-story-pages/partnership-for-success.html |archive-date=29 March 2023 |access-date=29 March 2023 |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}}

With a nationwide Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission programme, Botswana has reduced HIV transmission from infected mothers to their children from about 40% in 2003 to 4% in 2010. Under the leadership of Festus Mogae, the government of Botswana solicited outside help in curing people with HIV/AIDS and received early support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Merck Foundation, which together formed the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnership (ACHAP). Other early partners include the Botswana–Harvard AIDS Institute of the Harvard School of Public Health and the Botswana–UPenn Partnership of the University of Pennsylvania. According to the 2011 UNAIDS Report, universal access to treatment—defined as 80% coverage or greater—has been achieved in Botswana.{{Citation |title=World AIDS Day Report |year=2011 |url=http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/unaidspublication/2011/JC2216_WorldAIDSday_report_2011_en.pdf |access-date=21 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601011732/http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/unaidspublication/2011/JC2216_WorldAIDSday_report_2011_en.pdf |archive-date=1 June 2013 |url-status=live |publisher=UNAIDS}}

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Botswana's music is mostly vocal and performed, sometimes without drums depending on the occasion; it also makes heavy use of string instruments. Botswana folk music has instruments such as setinkane (a sort of miniature piano), segankure/segaba (a Motswana version of the Chinese instrument erhu), moropa (meropa for plural) and phala (a whistle used mostly during celebrations). The hands are sometimes used as musical instruments too, by either clapping them together or against {{transliteration|tn|phathisi}} (goat skin turned inside out wrapped around the calf area, only used by men) to create music and rhythm. The national anthem is "Fatshe leno la rona", which was written and composed by Kgalemang Tumediso Motsete; it was adopted upon independence in 1966.{{Cite journal|last=Makgala|first=Christian John|date=3 July 2014|title=Neil Parsons, National Coat of Arms, and Introduction of the Pula Currency in Botswana, 1975–1976|journal=South African Historical Journal|volume=66|issue=3|pages=504–520|doi=10.1080/02582473.2014.898081|s2cid=159475736|issn=0258-2473}}{{Cite web|title=Welcome to Daily News .:. General - Birth of nation|url=https://dailynews.gov.bw/news-detail/31255|website=dailynews.gov.bw|access-date=2020-05-24|archive-date=26 January 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200126140631/http://www.dailynews.gov.bw/news-details.php?nid=31255|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Botswana Music|url=https://www.knowbotswana.com/botswana-music.html|website=KnowBotswana|access-date=2020-05-24|archive-date=21 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321163524/http://www.knowbotswana.com/botswana-music.html|url-status=live}}

In the northern part of Botswana, women in the villages of Etsha and Gumare are noted for their skill at crafting baskets from mokola palm and local dyes. The baskets are generally woven into three types: large, lidded baskets used for storage; large, open baskets for carrying objects on the head or for winnowing threshed grain; and smaller plates for winnowing pounded grain. These baskets steadily use colour.{{sfn|Cunningham|Milton|1987}}

The oldest paintings from both Botswana and South Africa depict hunting, animal and human figures, and were made by the Khoisan (Kung San/Bushmen) over 20,000 years ago within the Kalahari Desert.{{Cite web |title=An Introduction to Bushman Rock Art |url=http://www.visionaryartexhibition.com/4/post/2017/05/an-introduction-to-bushman-rock-art.html |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=VISIONARY ART EXHIBITION |language=en |archive-date=4 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604180649/https://www.visionaryartexhibition.com/archaic-visions/an-introduction-to-bushman-rock-art |url-status=live }}

The national dish is seswaa, pounded meat made from goat meat or beef, or Segwapa dried, cured meat ranging from beef to game meats, either fillets of meat cut into strips following the grain of the muscle, or flat pieces sliced across the grain. Botswana's cuisine shares some characteristics with other cuisine of southern Africa.{{Cite web |title=The Food of Botswana – Traditional Botswana Cuisine |url=https://www.botswana.co.za/Cultural_Issues-travel/food-of-botswana.html |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=botswana.co.za |archive-date=6 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106140404/https://www.botswana.co.za/Cultural_Issues-travel/food-of-botswana.html |url-status=live }}

Examples of Botswana food are: bogobe, pap (maize porridge), boerewors, samp, Magwinya and mopane worms. Bogobe is made by putting sorghum, maize or millet flour into boiling water, stirring it into a soft paste, and cooking it slowly. A dish called ting is made when milk and sugar is added to fermented sorghum or maize. Ting without the milk and sugar is sometimes eaten with meat or vegetables for lunch or dinner. Another way of making bogobe is to add sour milk and a cooking melon (lerotse). The Kalanga tribe calls this dish tophi. Madila is a traditional fermented milk product similar to yogurt or sour cream.{{Citation |title=Microbiome of madila – a southern-african fermented milk product |last1=Ohenhen |first1=Regina |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315493533 |work=International Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences |volume=2 (2) (2013) 170–175 |access-date=2023-02-26 |script-title= |publication-date=2013 |last2=Imarenezor |first2=E.P.K |last3=Kihuha |first3=A.N. |archive-date=4 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604180657/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315493533_Microbiome_of_madila_-_a_southern-african_fermented_milk_product |url-status=live }}

File:Francistown Stadium Botswana.jpg]]

Football is the most popular sport in Botswana. Qualifying for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations is the national team's highest achievement to date. Other popular sports are softball, cricket, tennis, rugby, badminton, handball, golf and track and field.{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.bw/cgi-bin/news.cgi?d=20060126|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114095524/http://www.gov.bw/cgi-bin/news.cgi?d=20060126|archive-date=14 January 2009|title=Sparks to fly at Diamond|publisher=Botswana Press Agency (BOPA)|access-date=18 January 2008|date=26 January 2006}}{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.bw/cgi-bin/news.cgi?d=20040813|title=Opinion the Academic World|publisher=Botswana Press Agency (BOPA)|access-date=18 January 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061003050400/http://www.gov.bw/cgi-bin/news.cgi?d=20040813 |archive-date = 3 October 2006}} Botswana is an associate member of the International Cricket Council. Botswana became a member of the International Badminton Federation and Africa Badminton Federation in 1991. The Botswana Golf Union has an amateur golf league in which golfers compete in tournaments and championships. Runner Nijel Amos won Botswana its first Olympic medal in 2012, taking silver in the 800 metres.

In 2011, Amantle Montsho became world champion in the 400 metres and won Botswana's first athletics medal at the world level. High jumper Kabelo Kgosiemang is a three-time African champion. Isaac Makwala is a sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres who was the gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games in 2018. Baboloki Thebe was a silver medalist in the 200 metres at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics and reached the semi-finals at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics. Ross Branch Ross, a motor-biker, holds the number one place in the South African Cross Country Championship and has competed at the Dakar Rally. Letsile Tebogo set the world junior record in the 100 metres with a time of 9.94 at the 2022 World Athletics Championships,{{Cite web |last=Ramsay |first=George |date=4 October 2022 |title=Teenage sprinter Letsile Tebogo wants to be remembered as an athletics great |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/04/sport/letsile-tebogo-interview-athletics-spt-intl/index.html |access-date=2024-07-01 |publisher=CNN |language=en |archive-date=1 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240701143613/https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/04/sport/letsile-tebogo-interview-athletics-spt-intl/index.html |url-status=live }} and, as of 2024, holds the 100-metre and 200-metre world's third-best time of 30.69 seconds.{{Cite web |title=Letsile TEBOGO {{!}} Profile {{!}} World Athletics |url=https://worldathletics.org/athletes/botswana/letsile-tebogo-14883897 |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=worldathletics.org |archive-date=18 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418081510/https://worldathletics.org/athletes/botswana/letsile-tebogo-14883897 |url-status=live }} On 7 August 2021, Botswana won the bronze medal in the Men's 4 × 400 metres relay at the Olympics in Tokyo. Botswana was the first African nation to host the Netball World Youth Cup.{{Cite web |title=Botswana ready to host Netball World Youth Cup – Xinhua {{!}} English.news.cn |url=http://big5.news.cn/gate/big5/www.xinhuanet.com//english/2017-06/23/c_136387328.htm |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=big5.news.cn |archive-date=31 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531003008/http://big5.news.cn/gate/big5/www.xinhuanet.com//english/2017-06/23/c_136387328.htm |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=22 July 2019 |title=Netball World Youth Cup Gaborone 2017 {{!}} NWYC2017 |url=https://www.nwyc2017.com/content/netball-world-youth-cup-gaborone-2017 |access-date=2024-05-31 |language=en-US |archive-date=4 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604180649/https://www.nwyc2017.com/content/netball-world-youth-cup-gaborone-2017 |url-status=live }} On 8 August 2024, Letsile Tebogo won Botswana's first-ever Olympic gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics after finishing in first place in the men's 200m final, finishing with a time of 19.46 seconds.{{Cite web |title=Letsile Tebogo stuns American trio for 200m Olympic gold in Paris {{!}} NBC Olympics |url=https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/letsile-tebogo-stuns-american-trio-200m-olympic-gold-paris |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=www.nbcolympics.com |language=en}}

The card game bridge has a strong following; it was first played in Botswana around 40 years ago, and it grew in popularity during the 1980s. Many British expatriate school teachers informally taught the game in Botswana's secondary schools. The Botswana Bridge Federation (BBF) was founded in 1988. Bridge has remained popular and the BBF has over 800 members.{{cite web|url=http://www.bnsc.co.bw/affiliates/bridge_federation.htm|title=Botswana Bridge Federation|publisher=Botswana National Sports Council|access-date=16 May 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080227184536/http://www.bnsc.co.bw/affiliates/bridge_federation.htm |archive-date = 27 February 2008}} In 2007, the BBF invited the English Bridge Union to host a week-long teaching programme in May 2008.{{cite web|url=http://www.ebu.co.uk/general/news/2008/BotswanaTrip.htm|title=English Bridge Union|publisher=English Bridge Union|access-date=1 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227184536/http://www.ebu.co.uk/general/news/2008/BotswanaTrip.htm|archive-date=27 February 2008|url-status=live}}

{{See also|Ministry of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology (Botswana)}}

{{Main|Education in Botswana}}

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Botswana has made educational progress since independence in 1966 when there were only 22 university graduates in the country{{Sfn|Dionne|2016}} and only a very small percentage of the population attended secondary school. Botswana increased its adult literacy rate from 69% in 1991 to 83% in 2008.{{cite web |url=http://stats.uis.unesco.org |title=UNESCO Institute for Statistics |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=21 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725065836/http://stats.uis.unesco.org/ |archive-date=25 July 2008 |url-status=live}} Among sub-Saharan African countries, Botswana has one of the highest literacy rates.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/literacy/|title=Literacy – The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=30 March 2022|archive-date=1 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401014237/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/literacy/|url-status=live}} As of 2024, 88.5% of the population aged 15 and over could read and write and were respectively literate.

The Botswana Ministry of Education{{cite web |url=http://www.moe.gov.bw/index.php?id=10 |title=Ministry of Education and Skills Development: Home |publisher=Moe.gov.bw |date=27 July 2011 |access-date=21 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804205657/http://www.moe.gov.bw/index.php?id=10 |archive-date=4 August 2012 }} is working to establish libraries in primary schools in partnership with the African Library Project.{{cite web |url=http://www.africanlibraryproject.org/about-us/our-partners/139-library-partner-botswana-ministry-of-education |title=Library Partner – Botswana Ministry of Education |publisher=Africanlibraryproject.org |access-date=21 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903102928/http://www.africanlibraryproject.org/about-us/our-partners/139-library-partner-botswana-ministry-of-education |archive-date=3 September 2011 |url-status=live}} The Government of Botswana hopes that investing a large part of national income in education will make the country less dependent on diamonds for its economic survival, and less dependent on expatriates for its skilled workers.{{cite web |url=http://www.unevoc.unesco.org/worldtvetdatabase1.php?ct=BWA |title=UNESCO-UNEVOC's Botswana profile|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416191627/http://www.unevoc.unesco.org/worldtvetdatabase1.php?ct=BWA |archive-date=16 April 2014 |publisher= UNESCO |accessdate=27 October 2016}} NPVET (National Policy on Vocational Education and Training) introduced policies in favour of vocational education. Botswana invests 21% of its government spending in education.

In January 2006, Botswana announced the reintroduction of school fees after two decades of free state education,{{Cite web |date=11 January 2006 |title=Botswana brings back school fees |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4601360.stm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060203014610/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4601360.stm |archive-date=2006-02-03 |website=BBC News}} though the government still provides full scholarships with living expenses to any Botswana citizen in university, either at the University of Botswana or, if the student wishes to pursue an education in any field not offered locally, they are provided with a full scholarship to study abroad.{{Cite web |title=Scholarship Funding to Study in Botswana |url=https://www.collegescholarships.org/scholarships/country/botswana.htm |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=collegescholarships.org |archive-date=1 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240601060607/https://www.collegescholarships.org/scholarships/country/botswana.htm |url-status=live }}

{{main|Science and technology in Botswana}}

File:Lady Physicist.jpg]]

In 2015, Botswana planned to use science and technology to diversify its economy and thereby reduce its dependence on diamond mining. Botswana published its updated National Policy on Research, Science and Technology in 2011, within a UNESCO project sponsored by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID). This policy was formulated in strategic documents that include Botswana's Tenth National Development Plan for 2016 and Vision 2016. The National Policy on Research, Science, Technology and Innovation (2011) sets the target of raising gross domestic expenditure on research and development (R&D) from 0.26% of GDP in 2012 to over 2% of GDP by 2016. This target can only be reached within the specified time frame by raising public spending on R&D.{{Cite book|url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002354/235406e.pdf|title=UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030|publisher=UNESCO|year=2015|isbn=978-92-3-100129-1|location=Paris|pages=546–547|access-date=20 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322210919/http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002354/235406e.pdf|archive-date=22 March 2017|url-status=live}} Botswana counts one of the highest researcher densities in sub-Saharan Africa: 344 per million inhabitants (in head counts), compared to an average of 91 per million inhabitants for the subcontinent in 2013. Botswana was ranked 87th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024.{{Cite book |author=World Intellectual Property Organization |year=2024 |title=Global Innovation Index 2024: Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/en/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |page=18 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.50062 |isbn=978-92-805-3681-2}}

In 2009, Botswana-based company Deaftronics launched a solar-powered hearing aid after six years of prototype development. Since then, Deaftronics has sold over 10,000 of the hearing aids. Priced at $200 per unit, each hearing aid includes four rechargeable batteries (lasting up to three years) and a solar charger for them. The product is inexpensive compared to many similar devices, which can start at around $600.{{Cite web |url=https://qz.com/africa/443630/botswanas-hearing-aid-pioneers-are-betting-on-solar-power-to-go-global/ |title=Botswana's hearing aid pioneers are betting on solar power to go global |website=Quartz Africa |date=6 July 2015 |access-date=9 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109205421/https://qz.com/africa/443630/botswanas-hearing-aid-pioneers-are-betting-on-solar-power-to-go-global/ |archive-date=9 January 2019 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.deutschland.de/en/solar-powered-hearing-aids-botswana |title=Solar Powered Hearing Aids, Botswana |website=deutschland.de |date=2 June 2017 |access-date=9 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109205130/https://www.deutschland.de/en/solar-powered-hearing-aids-botswana |archive-date=9 January 2019 |url-status=live}} In 2011, Botswana's Department of Agricultural Research (DAR) unveiled Musi cattle, designed to optimise beef production. As a hybrid of the Tswana, Bonsmara, Brahman, Tuli and Simmental breeds,{{Cite web|title=Dept pleads for marketing of Musi|url=https://dailynews.gov.bw/news-detail/21751|last=Kgathileng|first=Tebogo|date=27 July 2015|website=Botswana Daily News|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200520115011/http://www.dailynews.gov.bw/news-details.php?nid=21751|archive-date=2020-05-20|access-date=2020-05-20}} it is hoped that the composite will lead to increased beef production.{{Cite web |url=http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=1&aid=166&dir=2011%2FSeptember%2FThursday8%2F |title=Hardy breed named Musi at unveiling |website=mmegi.bw |date=6 August 2007 |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110013727/http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=1&aid=166&dir=2011/September/Thursday8/ |archive-date=10 January 2019 |url-status=live}} In 2016, the Botswana Institute of Technology Research and Innovation (BITRI) developed a rapid testing kit for foot-and-mouth disease in collaboration with the Botswana Vaccine Institute and Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The kit developed in Botswana allows for on-site diagnosis.{{Cite web |date=20 December 2016 |title=BITRI Develops Rapid Foot and Mouth Disease Test Kit |url=http://news.rapidmicromethods.com/2016/12/bitri-develops-rapid-foot-and-mouth.html|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110013809/http://news.rapidmicromethods.com/2016/12/bitri-develops-rapid-foot-and-mouth.html?m=1 |archive-date=10 January 2019 |access-date=9 January 2019 |website=rapidmicromethods.com}}

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) (MeerKAT) consists of thousands of dishes and antennas spread over large distances linked together to form one giant telescope. Additional dishes will be located in eight other African countries, Botswana among them. Botswana was selected to participate because of its ideal location in the southern hemisphere and environment, which could enable easier data collection from the universe. The Botswana government has built the SKA precursor telescope at Kgale View, which is the African Very Long Base Line Interferometry Network (AVN). It sent students on astronomy scholarships.{{Cite web|url=https://dailynews.gov.bw/news-detail/10829|title=Botswana takes part in revolutionary mission|access-date=26 June 2020|archive-date=24 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124005832/http://www.dailynews.gov.bw/mobile/news-details.php?nid=10829&flag=|url-status=live}}

File:BOTSAT-1 Satellite.png

Botswana launched its three-year programme to build and launch a Satellite, Botswana Satellite Technology (Sat-1 Project) in Gaborone on 18 December 2020, which was launched using a SpaceX rocket on 15 March. Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) led satellite development, with technical support from other partners, and is a 3U hyperspectral Earth Observation satellite. The satellite is intended to provide data for environmental monitoring, precision agriculture, urban planning, and disaster management.{{cite web |url=https://dailynews.gov.bw/news-detail/60276 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415234043/http://www.dailynews.gov.bw/news-details.php?nid=60276 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |title=Satellite technology development giant leap |work=Botswana Daily News |date=20 December 2020 |access-date=2 October 2021}}{{Cite web|url=https://africanews.space/botswana-launches-national-space-program/|title=Botswana Launches National Space Program|first=Space in|last=Africa|date=23 December 2020|access-date=12 January 2021|archive-date=2 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102034103/https://africanews.space/botswana-launches-national-space-program/|url-status=live}} In 2016, for the IT sector, Almaz opened a first-of-its-kind computer assembly company.{{Cite web |url=http://www.itwebafrica.com/more-countries/botswana/237043-botswana-opens-first-tech-assembly-plant |title=Botswana opens first tech assembly plant |website=itwebafrica.com |access-date=9 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110013902/http://www.itwebafrica.com/more-countries/botswana/237043-botswana-opens-first-tech-assembly-plant |archive-date=10 January 2019 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.thepatriot.co.bw/business/item/3389-almaz-enters-botswana-ict-sector.html |title=Almaz enters Botswana ICT sector |work=The Patriot |access-date=9 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109205218/http://www.thepatriot.co.bw/business/item/3389-almaz-enters-botswana-ict-sector.html |archive-date=9 January 2019 |url-status=dead}} Ditec, a Botswana company, also customises, designs and manufactures mobile phones. Ditec specialises in customising Microsoft-powered devices.{{Cite web |url=http://www.botswanayouth.com/youth-company-shines-with-their-locally-made-ditec-pioneer-phone/ |title=Youth Company Shines With Their Locally Made Ditec Pioneer Phone |website=botswanayouth.com |date=5 August 2016 |access-date=9 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109205346/http://www.botswanayouth.com/youth-company-shines-with-their-locally-made-ditec-pioneer-phone/ |archive-date=9 January 2019 |url-status=live}}

On 19 November 2021, scientists at the Botswana Harvard HIV Reference Laboratory (BHHRL) first discovered the COVID-19 Omicron variant, subsequently designated B.1.1.529, and then named "Omicron", becoming the first country in the world to discover the variant. Since early 2021, they have genome-sequenced some 2,300 positive SARS-CoV-2 virus samples. According to Dr. Gaseitsiwe, Botswana's genome sequence submissions to GISAID are among the highest in the African region on a per capita basis, on a par with its well-resourced neighbour South Africa. Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership (BHP) was built in 2003, two years after the umbrella organisation opened the BHHRL, its purpose-built HIV research lab which was one of the first on the continent.{{cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/12/14/inside-the-botswana-lab-that-discovered-omicron |title=Inside the Botswana lab that discovered Omicron |publisher=Al Jazeera |last=Flood |first=Zoe |date=14 December 2021 |access-date=9 January 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214111713/http://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/12/14/inside-the-botswana-lab-that-discovered-omicron |archive-date=14 December 2021}}

{{portal|Africa|Botswana

}}

• Outline of Botswana
• List of Botswana-related topics

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite book |last1=Hillbom |first1=Ellen |title=Botswana – A Modern Economic History |last2=Bolt |first2=Jutta |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2018 |isbn=978-3-319-73144-5}}
• {{Cite book |last=Leith |first=J. Clark |title=Why Botswana Prospered |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=2005 |isbn=0-7735-2820-2}}
• {{Cite news |last=Benza |first=Brian |date=25 October 2019 |title=Botswana's Masisi retains presidency as BDP wins election |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-botswana-election-idUSKBN1X40KS |newspaper=Reuters}}
• {{Cite news |last=Dionne |first=Kim Yi |date=30 September 2016 |title=How democratic is Botswana after 50 years of independence? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/09/30/how-democratic-is-botswana-after-50-years-of-independence/ |access-date=2024-05-18 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

{{Free-content attribution

| title = UNESCO Science Report: Towards 2030

| publisher = UNESCO

| page numbers = 546–547

| source =

| documentURL = http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002354/235406e.pdf

| licence statement URL =

| licence = CC BY-SA IGO 3.0

}}

{{refbegin}}

• Charles, Thalefang (2016). Botswana's Top50 Ultimate Experiences. Mmegi Publishing House. {{ISBN|9789996845413}}.
• {{cite web |url=https://economics.mit.edu/files/284 |title=An African Success Story: Botswana |last1=Acemoglu |first1=Daron |last2=Johnson |first2=Simon |last3=Robinson |first3=James A. |date=11 July 2001 |via=mit.edu |ref=none |access-date=13 July 2018 |archive-date=18 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718075640/http://economics.mit.edu/files/284 |url-status=dead}}
• {{cite journal | last1 = Cohen | first1 = Dennis L | year = 1979 | title = The Botswana Political Elite: Evidence from the 1974 General Election | journal = Journal of Southern African Affairs | volume = 4 |pages=347–370}}
• Colclough, Christopher and Stephen McCarthy. The Political Economy of Botswana: A Study of Growth and Income Distribution (Oxford University Press, 1980)
• {{cite journal|first1=A.B.|last1=Cunningham|first2=S.J.|last2=Milton|title=Effects of basket-weaving industry on mokola palm and dye plants in northwestern Botswana|year=1987|journal=Economic Botany|volume=41|number=3|pages=386–402 |doi=10.1007/BF02859055 |jstor=4254989|bibcode=1987EcBot..41..386C }}
• {{Cite book|last1=Denbow |first1=James |name-list-style=amp |last2=Thebe |first2=Phenyo C. |title=Culture and Customs of Botswana |location=Westport, CT |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-313-33178-7 |ref=none}}
• Edge, Wayne A. and Mogopodi H. Lekorwe eds. Botswana: Politics and Society (Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik, 1998)
• {{cite journal | last1 = Good | first1 = Kenneth | year = 1992 | title = Interpreting the Exceptionality of Botswana | journal = Journal of Modern African Studies | volume = 30 | pages = 69–95 | doi = 10.1017/S0022278X00007734 | s2cid = 154542272}}
• {{cite journal |last=Good |first=Kenneth |title=Corruption and Mismanagement in Botswana: A Best-Case Example? |journal=Journal of Modern African Studies |date=September 1994 |volume=32 |number=3 |pages=499–521 |url=https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/gov2126/files/good.pdf |via=harvard.edu |access-date=13 July 2018 |issn=0022-278X |eissn=1469-7777 |doi=10.1017/S0022278X00015202 |s2cid=153626418 |ref=none |archive-date=3 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180403150659/http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/gov2126/files/good.pdf |url-status=dead}}
• LaRocco, Annette A. Nature of Politics: State Building and the Conservation Estate in Postcolonial Botswana (Ohio University Press, 2024) [http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=60890 Online review of this book.]
• Tlou, Thomas, and Alec C. Campbell. History of Botswana (Macmillan Botswana, 1984)

{{refend}}

{{Sister project links|auto=1|voy=Botswana|d=Q963}}

• [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/botswana/ Botswana]. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081026035549/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/botswana.htm Botswana] from UCB Libraries GovPubs
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13040376 Botswana] from the BBC News
• {{Wikiatlas|Botswana}}
• {{osmrelation-inline|1889339}}
• [http://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=BW Key Development Forecasts for Botswana] from International Futures
• [http://www.government.co.bw Government Directory for Botswana]

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