Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 per cent of its territory being the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast. It is connected by the Kazungula Bridge to Zambia, across the world's shortest border between two countries.
Botswana is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa, north of South Africa. Botswana occupies an area of 581,730 square kilometres (224,610 sq mi), of which 566,730 km2 (218,820 sq mi) are land. Botswana has land boundaries of combined length 4,347.15 kilometres (2,701.19 mi), of which the constituent boundaries are shared with Namibia, for 1,544 km (959 mi); South Africa 1,969 km (1,223 mi); Zimbabwe, 834 km (518 mi) and Zambia, 0.15 km (0.093 mi). Much of the population of Botswana is concentrated in the eastern part of the country.
The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for 900,000 square kilometres (350,000 sq mi), covering much of Botswana, as well as parts of Namibia and South Africa.
Gaborone is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census.
The Tswana are a Sotho-Tswana ethnic group native to Southern Africa. Ethnic Tswana made up approximately 85% of the population of Botswana in 2011.
The San peoples, or Bushmen, are the members of the indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures of southern Africa, and the oldest surviving cultures of the region. Their ancestral territories span Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and South Africa. They speak, or their ancestors spoke, languages of the Khoe, Tuu and Kxʼa language families, and are only a 'people' in contrast to pastoralists such as the Khoekhoe and descendants of more recent waves of immigration such as the Bantu, Europeans and Asians.
The Okavango Delta in Botswana is a vast inland delta formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough at an altitude of 930–1,000 m in the central part of the endorheic basin of the Kalahari. It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the few interior delta systems that do not flow into a sea or ocean, with a wetland system that is largely intact. All the water reaching the delta is ultimately evaporated and transpired. Each year, about 11 cubic kilometres (2.6 cu mi) of water spreads over the 6,000–15,000 km2 (2,300–5,800 sq mi) area. Some flood waters drain into Lake Ngami. The area was once part of Lake Makgadikgadi, an ancient lake that had mostly dried up by the early Holocene.
Maun is the fifth-largest town in Botswana. As of 2011, it had a population of 55,784. Maun is the "tourism capital" of Botswana and the administrative centre of Ngamiland district. Francistown and Maun are linked by the A3 highway. It is also the headquarters of numerous safari and air-charter operations who run trips into the Okavango Delta.
Kang is a village in Kgalagadi District of Botswana. It is situated in the Kalahari Desert and lies on the Trans-Kalahari Highway between Ghanzi in the north and Sekoma in the south. Kang also provides access to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in the south-west and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in the north-east. The route via Ghanzi takes one to the Namibian border, whilst that to Sekoma leads to Gaborone, the capital of Botswana. The population was 5,985 according to the 2011 census. Kang also falls under the Kgalagadi North constituency whose Member of Parliament is Hon. Talita Monnakgotla. The village is divided into seven wards which are; Gasekgalo, Gamonyemana, Gamotshoto, Gapanyana, Gamoriti, Kaatshwene and Tshwaragano ward. The village is led by a female chief, Kgosi Basadi Seipone who is the daughter to the late former chief Churchill Pego Seipone who died in 2010. The village's key development areas include the Central Roads Depot, Central Transport Organisation, Airstrip/Landing ground, mini Rural Administration Centre/ Service Centre, Botswana Open University Regional Campus, Brigade Centre, Police Station, Health Clinic, Magistrate Court, Department Road Transport Service offices, Wildlife offices, Botswana Power Corporation Offices, Water Utilities Corporation offices, Facility Management offices, Senior Secondary, Junior Secondary School and two primary schools.
Debswana Diamond Company Limited, or simply Debswana, is a mining company located in Botswana, and is the world's leading producer of diamonds by value. Debswana operates four diamond mines in the eastern and central parts of Botswana, as well as a coal mine. Debswana is a joint venture between the government of Botswana and the South African diamond company De Beers; each party owns 50 percent of the company.
The North-West District or Ngamiland is one of the first-level administrative subdivisions of Botswana. For census and administrative purposes Ngamiland is subdivided into Ngamiland East, Ngamiland West and Ngamiland Delta (Okavango). It is governed by a District Commissioner, appointed by the national government, and the elected North-West District Council. The administrative centre is Maun.
Mahalapye is a town located in the Central District of Botswana. The town has about 41,000 inhabitants and is situated along the main road between the capital Gaborone and the second largest city Francistown. Mahalapye has a bus station, a railway station, a couple of hotels and a market area with many shops and fast food restaurants, Water Shed mall is the latest attraction to those travelling from Gaborone to Francistown, great place for refreshments. It also has several petrol stations, some open 24 hours per day. Being situated on the edge of the Kalahari desert it is quite dry, and the local waterways are dry except during the rainy season. In recent times, it has become a convenient stop-over town for travelers travelling to and from Gaborone.
Tsabong, also spelled Tshabong, is the administrative centre of the Kgalagadi District in Botswana. It is located in the Kalahari Desert. The population was 8939 in the 2011 census.
Besides referring to the language of the dominant people groups in Botswana, Setswana is the adjective used to describe the rich cultural traditions of the Batswana - whether construed as members of the Setswana ethnic groups or of all citizens of Botswana. the Batswana believe in the rich culture of Botho-Ubuntu, ‘‘People are not individuals, living in a state of independence, but part of a community, living in relationships and interdependence.’ Batswana believe in working together and in being united.
The wildlife of Botswana refers to the flora and fauna of this country. Botswana is around 90% covered in savanna, varying from shrub savanna in the southwest in the dry areas to tree savanna consisting of trees and grass in the wetter areas. Even under the hot conditions of the Kalahari Desert, many species survive; in fact the country has more than 2500 species of plants and 650 species of trees. Vegetation and its wild fruits are also extremely important to rural populations living in the desert and are the principal source of food, fuel and medicine for many inhabitants.
New Xade is a village located in the central part of the Ghanzi District of Botswana. The population was 1,690 in 2021 census.
Botswana's principal tourist attractions are its game reserves, with hunting and photographic safaris available. Other attractions include the Okavango Delta region, which during the rainy season is a maze of waterways, islands, and lakes. The tourism industry also helped to diversify Botswana's economy from traditional sources such as diamonds and beef and created 23,000 jobs in 2005.
Gcwihaba is a cave in Botswana located in Okavango Delta region. The Gcwihaba Caves were part of the Kalahari landscape around 2 million years ago, at least for the entire period of the Pleistocene. The name of the cave is a San word and stands for "hyena's lair". The cave is situated 10 km away from the Namibian border. In 1932 it was first shown to a European, Ghanzi region farmer Martinus Drotsky, and the main cavern was named Drotsky's cavern after him.
The horse was initially introduced to Botswana from South Africa by European explorers and colonists in the 19th century. The number of horses increased sharply in the second half of the 20th century, after the country gained independence, due to their use for hunting and the increasing scarcity of their use for transport. With a population of over 30,000 in 2014, horses are used for subsistence hunting, endurance competitions and tourist safaris.
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