Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana ; is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with up to 70 percent 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 north-east. It is connected to Zambia across the short Zambezi River border by the Kazungula Bridge.
Gaborone is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 231,626 based on the 2011 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census.
Luxor is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes.
The Tswana are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group who are native to Southern Africa. The Tswana language is a principal member of the Sotho-Tswana language group. Ethnic Tswana made up approximately 85% of the population of Botswana in 2011.
The pula is the currency of Botswana. It has the ISO 4217 code BWP and is subdivided into 100 thebe. Pula literally means "rain" in Setswana, because rain is very scarce in Botswana—home to much of the Kalahari Desert—and therefore valuable and a blessing. The word also serves as the national motto of the country.
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.
Botswana is an African country made up of different ethnic groups, although Batswana are the majority of the population. Music is a large part of Botswana culture, and includes popular and folk forms. Botswana church choirs are common nationwide.
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 University of Botswana, popularly known as UB, was established in 1982 as the first institution of higher education in Botswana. The university has three campuses: one in the capital city Gaborone, one in Francistown, and another in Maun. The university is divided into six faculties: Business, Education, Engineering, Humanities, Science and Social Sciences and the Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital.
The cuisine of Botswana is unique but shares some characteristics with other cuisines of Southern Africa. Examples of Setswana food include pap, samp, vetkoek, bogobe and mophane worms. A food unique to Botswana is seswaa, salted mashed-up meat.
Seswaa or loswao is a traditional meat dish of Botswana, made of beef or goat meat. It is prepared using left over cuts or tough cuts such as legs, neck and back. The dish is normally prepared for ceremonies such as funerals, weddings and national events such as independence celebrations. The meat is boiled until tender in a pot, with "just enough salt", and pounded. It is often served with pap, setampa(Samp/grounded corn) or mabele (sorghum).
Kgale Hill is a hill located in Gaborone, Botswana. Nicknamed "The Sleeping Giant", Kgale Hill reaches a summit elevation of 1,287 metres (4,222 ft) above sea level. The hill used to be home to a television repeater and is now a tourist destination.
The Motloutse River is a river in Botswana, a tributary of the Limpopo River. The catchment area is 19,053 square kilometres (7,356 sq mi). The Letsibogo Dam on the Motloutse has been built to serve the industrial town of Selebi-Phikwe and surrounding local areas, with potential for use in irrigation.
Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi is the fifth and current President of Botswana, serving since 2018. He served as the 8th Vice President of Botswana from 12 November 2014 to 1 April 2018. He was a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly for the Moshupa-Manyana constituency from 2009 to 2018.
Baboloki Tirelo Thebe is a Botswana track and field sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres. He was a silver medallist in the 200 metres at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics and reached the semi-finals at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics. He made a breakthrough in the 400 m in May 2016 with a run of 44.22 seconds, placing him third on the global seasonal lists and moving him into the all-time top 30 for the event. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics. His personal best in 400 meters is 44.02, which he ran in July 2017
The men's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2017 IAAF World Relays was held at the Thomas Robinson Stadium on 22–23 April.
The Manyana Rock Paintings are a collection of rock art and caves located at the Kolobeng hills, neighbouring Manyana, Southern District, Botswana. It is believed that the artworks were made by the Khoikhoi or the San people between 1100 AD and 1700 AD. The paintings are found on five cliff areas around the rocky hill. Today, the site is fenced and protected as a National Monument.
This article documents the impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Botswana.
