INFO
CAPITAL
Gaborone
POPULATION
2,249,104 (July 2018 est.)
CLIMATE
Semi-arid
CURRENCY
10.19 pulas (BWP) = 1 USD (2017 est.)
IMPORTANT CITIES
Ghanzi, Nata, Serowe
AREA
581,730 sq. km.
PEOPLE
NATIONALITY
Botswanan
MAJOR PEOPLES
RELIGION
Christian 79.1{a1a33444ee922ad961904607c501cbe84d9cddb45266103b20616805d66fa906}, Badimo 4.1{a1a33444ee922ad961904607c501cbe84d9cddb45266103b20616805d66fa906}, other 1.4{a1a33444ee922ad961904607c501cbe84d9cddb45266103b20616805d66fa906}, unspecified 0.3{a1a33444ee922ad961904607c501cbe84d9cddb45266103b20616805d66fa906}, none 15.2{a1a33444ee922ad961904607c501cbe84d9cddb45266103b20616805d66fa906} (2011 est.)
LITERACY
88.5{a1a33444ee922ad961904607c501cbe84d9cddb45266103b20616805d66fa906} (2015 est.)
PRINCIPAL LANGUAGE
Khoesan, Kalanga, Herero, English
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE
English and (Se)Tswana
POLITICS
HEAD OF STATE
Mokgweetse Eric Masisi (since April 1, 2018)
TYPE OF GOVERNMENT
Parliamentary Republic
DATE OF INDEPENDENCE
September 30, 1966
MAJOR EXPORTS
Diamonds, Copper, Nickel, Soda Ash, Meat, Textiles
PRECOLONIAL HISTORY
Hunters, gatherers, and herders occupied Botswana from about 17,000 BCE. Bantu-speaking farmers migrated from the north and settled in the area by 1000 CE. The Tswana, a Bantu people, came to dominate the region. European missionaries, notably David Livingstone of Scotland, began arriving in the 19th century, and both Germany and Britain engaged in colonial expansion. In 1885, the British proclaimed “Bechuanaland” a protectorate over their Tswana allies. In 1895, the Bechuanaland Protectorate was divided into a northern territory, which became modern Botswana, and a southern territory, which became part of Cape Colony in South Africa. In 1909, Britain assured the Bechuanaland Protectorate, Lesotho, and Swaziland that their territories would not be incorporated into the proposed Union of South Africa, but the threat of assimilation remained until the early 1960s.
POSTCOLONIAL HISTORY
Britain accepted proposals for self-government in 1964, leading to a new constitution, a new seat of government at Gaborone, and the country’s first general elections in 1966. Independence leader Seretse Khama became Botswana’s first president, was re-elected three times, and died in office in 1980. He was succeeded by his vice president, Sir Ketumile Masire, who re-established diplomatic relations with South Africa after apartheid was abolished in the early 1990s. Masire was re-elected until he retired in 1998, and was succeeded by his vice president, Festus Mogae. In 2000, floods devastated eastern Botswana, and with a doubling of production and revenues from the diamond-mining industry, the Economist rated Botswana’s economy as the second-fastest growing in the world. In 2006, Botswana celebrated forty years of independence, and archaeologist Sheila Coulson discovered a 40,000 year-old painted relief of a snake in the Tsodilo Hills. In 2007, the country enlarged the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, in cooperation with South Africa and Namibia. Ian Khama, the eldest son of Seretse Khama, ascended to the presidency upon Mogae’s retirement in 2008. Although its HIV rate of nearly 25{a1a33444ee922ad961904607c501cbe84d9cddb45266103b20616805d66fa906} is the second highest in the world, Botswana is considered one of the world’s least corrupt countries and a model African nation.