Portal:Botswana

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Coat of Arms of Botswana	Flag of Botswana

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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 Tswana ethnic group are descended mainly from Bantu-speaking peoples who migrated into southern Africa, including modern Botswana, in several waves before AD 600. In 1885, the British colonised the area and declared a protectorate named Bechuanaland. As decolonisation occurred, Bechuanaland became an independent Commonwealth republic under its current name on 30 September 1966. Since then, it has been a parliamentary republic with a consistent record of uninterrupted democratic elections, though as of 2024 the Botswana Democratic Party has been the ruling party since independence. As of 2024^[update], Botswana is the third least corrupt country in Africa, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index published by Transparency International.

The economy is dominated by mining and tourism. Botswana has a GDP (purchasing power parity) per capita of about $20,158 as of 2024^[update]. Botswana is the world's biggest diamond-producing country. Its relatively high gross national income per capita (by some estimates the fourth-largest in Africa) gives the country a relatively high standard of living and the second-highest Human Development Index of continental Sub-Saharan Africa (after South Africa). Botswana is a member of the Southern African Customs Union, the Southern African Development Community, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the United Nations. (Full article...)

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A Young Motswana woman

The Tswana (Tswana: Batswana, singular Motswana) are a Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa. Ethnic Tswana made up approximately 85% of the population of Botswana in 2011.

Batswana are the native people of south and eastern Botswana and the Gauteng, North West, Northern Cape, Free State, and other provinces of South Africa, where the majority of Batswana are located. (Full article...)

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... that a comet over Africa saw the birth of a small country (map pictured) on July 26, 1882?

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A female African bush elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania

Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), the African forest elephant (L. cyclotis), and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea; extinct relatives include mammoths and mastodons. Distinctive features of elephants include a long proboscis called a trunk, tusks, large ear flaps, pillar-like legs, and tough but sensitive grey skin. The trunk is prehensile, bringing food and water to the mouth and grasping objects. Tusks, which are derived from the incisor teeth, serve both as weapons and as tools for moving objects and digging. The large ear flaps assist in maintaining a constant body temperature as well as in communication. African elephants have larger ears and concave backs, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears and convex or level backs.

Elephants are scattered throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia and are found in different habitats, including savannahs, forests, deserts, and marshes. They are herbivorous, and they stay near water when it is accessible. They are considered to be keystone species, due to their impact on their environments. Elephants have a fission–fusion society, in which multiple family groups come together to socialise. Females (cows) tend to live in family groups, which can consist of one female with her calves or several related females with offspring. The leader of a female group, usually the oldest cow, is known as the matriarch. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Botswana-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Madila sour cultured milk (from Tswana people)
Image 2Botswana Traditional Baskets (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 3Rail network map of Botswana (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 4Festus Mogae alongside foreign presidents Joaquim Chissano, George W. Bush, and José Eduardo dos Santos in 2002 (from History of Botswana)
Image 5Homestead in the ancient City of Kaditshwene
Image 6An illustration of a Tswana man and his wife in the early 1800s (from History of Botswana)
Image 7Botswana Gaborone I Towers (from Gaborone)
Image 8I-Tower at Central Business District (from Gaborone)
Image 9Graduation daggers that were given to Tswana Fighting Regiments (from Tswana people)
Image 10The National Assembly of Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 11A 1960 stamp of the Bechuanaland Protectorate featuring images of Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II (from History of Botswana)
Image 12Flag map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 13Batswana Men dressed in traditional attire in 1946 (from Tswana people)
Image 14Rhodesia Railways car at the national museum (from Gaborone)
Image 15Francistown City Bus and Taxi Rank (from Francistown)
Image 16Rev. Derek Jones, the first mayor of Gaborone
Image 17BR Express, the passenger train (from Francistown)
Image 18Christ The King Cathedral (from Gaborone)
Image 19Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 20Gaborone Hindu Temple (from Gaborone)
Image 21Man on donkey herding goats in a dry river bed (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 22Gaborone aerial (from Gaborone)
Image 23Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) (from Gaborone)
Image 24Satellite View of Gaborone. North is to the left of the image. (from Gaborone)
Image 25A postage stamp circa 1943, the postmark reading "Gaborone's Village" (from Gaborone)
Image 26Road map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 27Seretse Khama signing the oath of office to become Botswana’s first President in 1966 (from History of Botswana)
Image 28Gaborone Mosque (from Gaborone)
Image 29Gaborone Hindu temple (from Gaborone)
Image 30GDP per capita (current), compared to neighbouring countries (world average = 100) (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 31Tswana Baskets (from Tswana people)
Image 32Ostriches at Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 33Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 34SSKI Airport (from Gaborone)
Image 35The Jwaneng diamond mine is the second biggest in the world today. (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 36Tourist resort at Kasane (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 37Mokgweetsi Masisi speaking at a conference on the illegal wildlife trade in London in 2018 (from History of Botswana)
Image 38Bechuanaland Boys cleaning Aa Guns in the Twilight after Action, Syracuse, Sicily, 1944 art piece by Leslie Cole (from History of Botswana)
Image 39View from Kgale Hill (Oodi Hill on horizon) (from Gaborone)
Image 40Aerial view over Okavango Delta (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 41An 1865 portrait of Kgosi Sechele I in Ntsweng Bechuanaland (from Tswana people)
Image 42Kombi (Minibus taxi) (from Gaborone)
Image 43Botswana Traditional House at the National Museum (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 44Street scene near the Main Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 45Francistown Stadium (from Francistown)
Image 46Prehistoric cave paintings at Tsodilo (from History of Botswana)
Image 47Magadi (traditional wedding) (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 48Room 52 Roof Top Restaurant (from Gaborone)
Image 49Orapa House (from Gaborone)
Image 50CBD Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 51I-Towers, Gaborone Central Business District (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 52Watch house in Gaborone Game Reserve (from Gaborone)
Image 53A road in Gaborone (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 54CBD Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 55New Construction Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 56Francistown Bus Terminal (from Francistown)
Image 57St. Joseph's College students (from Gaborone)
Image 58New CBD (from Gaborone)