Botswana: Fact file
Updated October 2019
| Name | Republic of Botswana |
| Area | 581 730 sq km (Frame 2011, 126) |
| Major cities | Gaborone (capital), Francistown, Molepolole, Selebi-Phikwe, Maun, Serowe, Kanye (Frame 2011, 137) |
| Boundaries | Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia (landlocked) |
| Population | 2.303 million, 2019 est (UN Statistics Division 2019a) |
| Pop growth | 2.07%, 2015-2020 est (UN Statistics Division 2019b) |
| Urbanisation | 69.4%, 2018 est (UN Statistics Division undated) |
| Life expectancy | Female 71.9 yrs, male 66.0 yrs; 2015-2020 est (UN Statistics Division 2019c, 2019d) |
| Infant mortality | 30/1000, 2015-2020 est (UN Statistics Division 2019e) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | 20.3%, 15-49 yr 2018 est (UN Statistics Division 2019f) |
| Adult literacy rate | 87%, 2014 est (UN Educational Scientific Cultural and Organisation 2019g) |
| Military expenditure | 3% of GDP, 2017 (UN Statistics Division 2019h) |
| Health expenditure | 4% of GDP, 2018 (UN Children's Fund 2018) |
| Legal system | Roman Dutch, customary law (Booi 2006) |
| Independence | 30 September 1966 (from UK) |
| GDP | US$17.406 billion, 2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2019i) |
| GDP per capita | US$7,596, 2017 est (UN Statistics Division 2019j) |
| GDP growth rate | 3.9%, 2018 est (IMF DataMapper 2019) |
| Main exports | Diamonds, copper nickel, textiles, soda meat, electrical and industrial machinery, inorganic chemicals (Frame 2011, 135; Global Edge, Undated) |
| Currency | 100 Thebe = 1 Pula (Frame 2011, 138) |
| Unemployment | 17.9%, 2018 (CEIC Data 2019) |
| Inflation rate | 2.9%, 2019 (Bank of Botswana 2019) |
| External debt ratio | 12.8% of GDP, 2019 (IMF 2019a) |
| Infrastructure | Road 31 746 km; railway 888 km (from S.A to Botstwana); airport 7 airports (Statistics Botswana 2017, 7, 74-74; African Development Bank Group 2015, 58) |
| Ethnic groups | Tswana 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, Kgalagadi 3%, White African 3%, other 1% (CIA 2019) |
| Languages | Official: English and Tswana; others include Kalangu, Kgalagadi, Herero, Mbukushu, and 25 smaller groups (Eberhard 2019) |
| Religion | Christian 79%, no religious affiliation 15%, Badimo traditional religion 4%, other 1% (US State Department 2017) |
References
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BANK OF BOTSWANA 2019 "Interest Rates" IN Bank of Botswana, [www] http://www.bankofbotswana.bw/indicators/tabular_inflations (accessed 3 Oct 2019).
BOOI, L 2006 "Botswana's Legal System and Legal Research" IN Hauser Global Law School Program, [www] http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Botswana.htm (accessed 7 Oct 2019).
BOTSWANA BUDGET BRIEF 2018: HEALTH 2018 "Botswana Budget Brief 2018" IN UNICEF, [www] https://www.unicef.org/esaro/UNICEF-Botswana-2018-Health-Budget-Brief.pdf (accessed 7 Oct 2019).
CEIC DATA 2019 "Botswana Unemployment Rate" IN CEIC, [www] https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/botswana/unemployment-rate (accessed 8 Oct 2019).
CIA 2019 "Ethnic Groups" IN The World Factbook, [www] href=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bc.html (accessed 8 Oct 2019).
EBERHARD, D M (ed) 2019 "Languages of Botswana" IN Ethnologue: Languages of the World, sixteenth edition, [www] https://www.ethnologue.com/country/BW/languages (accessed 7 Oct 2019).
FRAME, I 2011 (ed) Africa South of the Sahara 2011, Routledge.
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IMF 2019, "Real GDP gowth" IN IMF DataMapper, [www] https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDP_RPCH@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD/BWA (accessed 9 Oct 2019)
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STATISTICS BOTSWANA 2017, "Transport & Infrastructure Statistics Report 2017" IN Statistics Botswana, [www] http://www.statsbots.org.bw/sites/default/files/2017%20Transport%20%20Infrastructure%20Statistics%20Report.pdf (accessed 3 October 2019)
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UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2019e "Infant mortality rate" IN UNData, 17 Jun, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=MExico&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3A77%3BcrID%3A484 (accessed 30 Sep 2019).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2019f "HIV and AIDS Estimates" IN UNAids, [www] https://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/botswana (accessed 30 Sep 2019).
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UN EDUCATIONAL SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANISATION 2019g "Adult Literacy Rate" IN UNData, September, [www] http://uis.unesco.org/country/BW#slideoutmenu (accessed 1 Oct 2019).
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UN STATISTICS DIVISION UNDATED "Botswana" IN UNData, [www] http://data.un.org/en/iso/bw.html (accessed 8 Oct 2019).
US DEPARTMENT OF STATE 2017a "2016 Report on International Religious Freedom: Botswana Botswana" IN 2016 Report on International Religious Freedom, [www] http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148664.htm (accessed 8 October 2019)
