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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, Zambia to the north and Zimbabwe to the northeast. Being a country of slightly over 2.4 million people and roughly the size of France, Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. It is essentially the nation-state of the Tswana people, who constitute 70 per cent of the population.
The economy of Botswana is currently one of the world's fastest growing economies, averaging about 5% per annum over the past decade. Growth in private sector employment averaged about 10% per annum during the first 30 years of the country's independence. After a period of stagnation at the turn of the 21st century, Botswana's economy registered strong levels of growth, with GDP growth exceeding 6–7% targets. Botswana has been praised by the African Development Bank for sustaining one of the world's longest economic booms. Economic growth since the late 1960s has been on par with some of Asia's largest economies. The government has consistently maintained budget surpluses and has extensive foreign-exchange reserves.
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. Gaborone has per capita income of US$32,000 (PPP), the highest in Africa.
The Okavango River, is a river in southwest Africa. It is known by this name in Botswana, and as Cubango in Angola, and Kavango in Namibia. It is the fourth-longest river system in southern Africa, running southeastward for 1,600 km (1,000 mi). It begins at an elevation of 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) in the sandy highlands of Angola. Farther south, it forms part of the border between Angola and Namibia, and then flows into Botswana. The Okavango does not have an outlet to the sea. Instead, it discharges into the Okavango Delta or Okavango Alluvial Fan, in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert. The Cuito River is a major tributary.
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.
Air Botswana Corporation is Botswana's state-owned national flag carrier, with its headquarters located in Gaborone. It operates scheduled domestic and regional flights from its main base at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport. Air Botswana has been loss-making for several years, and there have been various attempts to privatise the company, and frequent changes to the corporation's management and board, so far without reducing the losses.
The Mozambique national football team represents Mozambique in men's international football competitions and is controlled by the Mozambican Football Federation, the governing body for football in Mozambique. Mozambique have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, but they have qualified for five Africa Cup of Nations in 1986, 1996, 1998, 2010, and most recently 2023, being eliminated in the first round in all five. In 1997, the Mozambique Football Federation became a founding member of COSAFA.
The Botswana national football team was founded in 1970 to represent Botswana in association football and is governed by the Botswana Football Association (BFA). It qualified for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
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.
Ghanzi is a district in western Botswana, bordering Namibia in the west and extending east into much of the interior of the country. The district's administrative centre is the town of Ghanzi. Most of the eastern half of Ghanzi makes up the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The human population at the 2001 census was 43,370, less populous than that of any other district in Botswana. Ghanzi's area is 117,910 km².
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.
The Botswana Defence Force is the military of Botswana. The main component of the BDF is the Botswana Ground Force; there is also an air wing and a riverine patrol contingent attached to the ground forces, with 10 Panther airboats and 2 Boston Whaler Raider class.
For the radio station, see CKGR-FM
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.
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.
Limpopo Valley Airfield is an airport serving the Northern Tuli Game Reserve, an area of public and private game reserves in eastern Botswana. The airport is owned by Mashatu Game Reserve with a superseded ICAO code of FBLV.
The Southeast African cheetah is the nominate cheetah subspecies native to East and Southern Africa. The Southern African cheetah lives mainly in the lowland areas and deserts of the Kalahari, the savannahs of Okavango Delta, and the grasslands of the Transvaal region in South Africa. In Namibia, cheetahs are mostly found in farmlands. In India, four cheetahs of the subspecies are living in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh after having been introduced there.
Ancestral land conflict over the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) arose in the 1970s between the government of Botswana and the San people (Bushmen), and is ongoing, resulting in one of the most expensive court cases in the history of Botswana.
Botswana continued to address the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, beginning its vaccination process through the importation of vaccines. On November 11, Botswana was the location of the first documented case of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. 2021 also saw the discovery of two diamonds in Botswana that exceeded 1000 carats, becoming the third and fourth largest diamonds ever discovered. In relations with its neighbouring countries, Botswana continued to address violence at the Botswana–Namibia border, and it entered into the conflict in Cabo Delgado in support of the government of Mozambique.
References
- ↑ Markosky, Cheryl (15 April 2008). "Property in Botswana: Another great plot from the land of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
- ↑ King, Mervyn E.; Lessidrenska, Teodorina (1 July 2009). Transient caretakers: making life on earth sustainable. Pan Macmillan. pp. 130–. ISBN 9781770101623 . Retrieved 2 June 2013.
