Botswana
Republic of Botswana Lefatshe la Botswana (Tswana) | |
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Motto: Pula "Let it Rain" | |
Anthem: | |
Religion (2021) |
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Demonym(s) |
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Government | Unitary dominant-party parliamentary republic with an executive presidency[6][7] |
Mokgweetsi Masisi[8] | |
Slumber Tsogwane | |
Phandu Skelemani | |
Legislature | Parliament (National Assembly) |
Independence from the United Kingdom | |
• Established (Constitution) | 30 September 1966 |
+267 | |
ISO 3166 code | BW |
Internet TLD | .bw |
Website www |
Tswana | |
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Person | Motswana[5] |
People | Batswana |
Language | Setswana |
Country | Botswana |
Botswana,
The Tswana ethnic group were descended mainly from
The economy is dominated by
Etymology
The country's name means "Land of the Tswana", referring to the dominant ethnic group in Botswana.[18] The Constitution of Botswana recognizes a homogeneous Tswana state.[19] The term Batswana was originally applied to the Tswana, which is still the case.[20] However, it has also come to be used generally as a demonym for all citizens of Botswana.[21]
History
Early history
It is estimated that hominids lived in Botswana during the Pleistocene.[22] Stone tools and fauna remains have shown that all areas of the country were inhabited at least 400,000 years ago.[23]
Botswana was reported to be the birthplace of all
It is unclear when
However, agriculture also played a vital role in the longevity of Toutswemogala Hill's extended occupation, as many grain storage structures have also been found on the site. Many different stratified layers of housing floors further signal continuous occupation over hundreds of years. The arrival of the ancestors of the Tswana-speakers who came to control the region has yet to be dated precisely. Members of the
Mfecane and Batswana-Boer Wars
The first written records relating to modern-day Botswana appear in 1824. What these records show is that the Bangwaketse had become the predominant power in the region. Under the rule of Makaba II, the Bangwaketse kept vast herds of cattle in well-protected desert areas, and used their military prowess to raid their neighbours.
During the 1840s and 1850s trade with
Following the Great Trek, Afrikaners from the Cape Colony established themselves on the borders of Botswana in the Transvaal. In 1852 a coalition of Tswana chiefdoms led by Sechele I defeated Afrikaner incursions at the Battle of Dimawe and, after about eight years of intermittent tensions and hostilities, eventually came to a peace agreement in Potchefstroom in 1860. From that point on, the modern-day border between South Africa and Botswana was agreed on, and the Afrikaners and Batswana traded and worked together comparatively peacefully.[37][38]
In 1884, Batawana, a northern-based Tswana clan's cavalry under the command of Kgosi Moremi, fought and defeated the Ndebele's invasion of northern Botswana at the
Due to newly peaceful conditions, trade thrived between 1860 and 1880. Taking advantage of this were Christian missionaries. The Lutherans and the London Missionary Society both became established in the country by 1856. By 1880, every major village had a resident missionary, and their influence slowly became felt. Khama III (reigned 1875–1923) was the first of the Tswana chiefs to make Christianity a state religion and changed a great deal of Tswana customary law as a result. Christianity became the de facto official religion in all the chiefdoms by World War I.[40]
Colonialism
During the
In 1890, areas north of 22 degrees were added to the new Bechuanaland Protectorate. During the 1890s, the new territory was divided into eight different reserves, with fairly small amounts of land being left as freehold for white
When the
An expansion of British central authority and the evolution of native government resulted in the 1920 establishment of two advisory councils to represent both Africans and Europeans.[46] The African Council consisted of the eight heads of the Tswana tribes and some elected members.[46] Proclamations in 1934 regulated tribal rule and powers. A European-African advisory council was formed in 1951, and the 1961 constitution established a consultative legislative council.
Independence
In June 1964, the United Kingdom accepted proposals for a democratic self-government in Botswana. An independence conference was held in London in February 1966.
Khama died in office in 1980. The presidency passed to the sitting vice-president, Quett Masire, who was elected in his own right in 1984 and re-elected in 1989 and 1994. Masire retired from office in 1998. He was succeeded by Festus Mogae, who was elected in his own right in 1999 and re-elected in 2004. The presidency passed in 2008 to Ian Khama (son of the first president), who had been serving as Mogae's vice-president since resigning his position in 1998 as Commander of the Botswana Defence Force to take up this civilian role. On 1 April 2018, Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi was sworn in as the fifth president of Botswana, succeeding Ian Khama. He represents the Botswana Democratic Party, which has also won a majority in every parliamentary election since independence. All the previous presidents have also represented the same party.[49]
A long-running dispute over the northern border with
In the 1970s, Botswana held a reputation of being one the world's principal producers of diamonds.[51] This reputation has held into the modern day as Botswana's diamond mining industry is among the world's largest.[52][53] Botswana's Jwaneng mine in particular is the world's richest.[54]
Geography
At 581,730 km2 (224,607 sq mi), Botswana is the world's 48th-largest country.[55] It also has a mean altitude of roughly 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level.[56][57] Botswana is predominantly flat, tending towards gently rolling tableland.[58] Botswana is dominated by the Kalahari Desert, which covers up to 70% of its land surface.[59]
The Limpopo River Basin, the major landform of all of southern Africa, lies partly in Botswana, with the basins of its tributaries, the Notwane, Bonwapitse, Mahalapye, Lotsane, Motloutse and the Shashe, located in the eastern part of the country.[60] The Notwane provides water to the capital through the Gaborone Dam.[61] The Chobe River meets with the Zambezi River at a place called Kazungula.[62]
Biodiversity and conservation
Botswana has diverse areas of wildlife habitat.[63] In addition to the delta and desert areas, there are grasslands and savannas.[63] Northern Botswana has one of the few remaining large populations of the endangered African wild dog.[64] Chobe National Park in the Chobe District has the world's largest concentration of African elephants. The park covers about 11,000 km2 (4,247 sq mi) and supports about 350 species of birds.[65]
The Chobe National Park and
Botswana faces two major environmental problems, drought and desertification, which are heavily linked. Three-quarters of the country's human and animal populations depend on groundwater due to drought. Groundwater use through deep borehole drilling has somewhat eased the effects of drought. Surface water is scarce in Botswana and less than 5% of the agriculture in the country is sustainable by rainfall. In the remaining 95% of the country, raising livestock is the primary source of rural income. Approximately 71% of the country's land is used for communal grazing, which has been a major cause of the desertification and the accelerating soil erosion of the country.[68]
Since raising livestock has been profitable for the people of Botswana, they continue to exploit the land with dramatically increasing numbers of animals. From 1966 to 1991, the livestock population grew from 1.7 million to 5.5 million.[68]: 64 Similarly, the human population has increased from 574,000 in 1971 to 1.5 million in 1995, a 161% increase in 24 years.[69] Over 50% of all households in Botswana own cattle, which is currently the largest single source of rural income. Rangeland degradation or desertification is regarded as the reduction in land productivity as a result of overstocking and overgrazing, or as a result of veld product gathering for commercial use. Degradation is exacerbated by the effects of drought and climate change.[68] Environmentalists report that the Okavango Delta is drying up due to the increased grazing of livestock.[70] The Okavango Delta is one of the major semi-forested wetlands in Botswana and one of the largest inland deltas in the world; it is a crucial ecosystem to the survival of many animals.[70]
The Department of Forestry and Range Resources has already begun to implement a project to reintroduce indigenous vegetation into communities in Kgalagadi South, Kweneng North and Boteti.
The United Nations Development Programme claims that poverty is a major problem behind the overexploitation of resources, including land, in Botswana. The UNDP joined in with a project started in the southern community of Struizendam in Botswana. The purpose of the project is to draw from "indigenous knowledge and traditional land management systems". The leaders of this movement are supposed to be the people in the community to draw them in, in turn increasing their possibilities to earn an income and thus decreasing poverty. The UNDP also stated that the government has to effectively implement policies to allow people to manage their own local resources and are giving the government information to help with policy development.[73]
Tourism
The Botswana Tourism Organisation is the country's official tourism group.[74] Other destinations in Botswana include the Gaborone Yacht Club and the Kalahari Fishing Club; it has natural attractions such as the Gaborone Dam and Mokolodi Nature Reserve. There are golf courses that are maintained by the Botswana Golf Union (BGU).[75] The Phakalane Golf Estate is a multi-million-dollar clubhouse that offers both hotel accommodations and access to golf courses. Museums in Botswana include the Botswana National Museum in Gaborone, the Phuthadikobo Museum in Mochudi and the Supa Ngwao Museum in Francistown. In 2014, the Okavango Delta of Botswana, the largest inland delta in the world, was inscribed as the 1,000th World Heritage Site.[76]
Government and politics
The Parliament of Botswana consists of the National Assembly, which serves as the nation's formal legislature, and the Ntlo ya Dikgosi, an advisory body made up of tribal chiefs and other appointed members.[82] Botswana's executive branch is led by the President of Botswana, who serves as both the head of state and head of government.[77] The members of parliament choose the president,[83] and the president then appoints the Vice-President and the members of the Cabinet.[84] The president has significant power in Botswana, and the legislature has little power to check the president once appointed.[83][85] The judiciary includes the High Court of Botswana, the Court of Appeal, and Magistrates' Courts.[86] Cases are often settled by customary courts with tribal chiefs presiding.[81]
Elections in Botswana are held every five years and overseen by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).[87] Botswana operates a multi-party system in which many political parties compete in elections,[78] but it is effectually a dominant-party state in which the Botswana Democratic Party has ruled with a majority government since independence.[88][89] The nation's elections are recognized as free and fair, but the ruling party has institutional advantages that other parties do not.[87][90] Factionalism is common within Botswana's political parties, and several groups have formed new parties by splitting from established ones.[78] Since 2019, the Umbrella for Democratic Change has operated as a coalition of opposition parties.[91] The most recent election was held in 2019, with the Botswana Democratic Party maintaining its majority and Mokgweetsi Masisi being re-elected president.[92]
In Botswana's early years, its politics were managed by President Seretse Khama and Vice-President (later president) Quett Masire.[93] Since the Kgabo Commission in 1991, factionalism and political rivalries have dominated Botswana politics. The Barata-Phathi faction was led by Peter Mmusi, Daniel Kwelagobe, and Ponatshego Kedikilwe, while the A Team faction was led by Mompati Merafhe and Jacob Nkate.[94][95] When Festus Mogae and Ian Khama became president and vice-president, respectively, they aligned with the A Team. Khama effectively expelled the A Team from the party in 2010 after he became president.[95] A new rivalry formed in 2018 when Khama's chosen successor, Mokgweetsi Masisi, became president. He opposed Khama, and the two formed a political rivalry that looms over Batswana politics in the 2020s.[96]
Botswana was ranked as a "flawed democracy" and 33rd out of 167 states in the 2023
Foreign relations and military
At the time of independence, Botswana had no armed forces. It was only after the
Following political changes in South Africa and the region, the BDF's missions have increasingly focused on prevention of poaching, preparing for disasters, and foreign peacekeeping. The United States has been the largest single foreign contributor to the development of the BDF, and a large segment of its officer corps have received U.S. training. The Botswana government gave the United States permission to explore the possibility of establishing an Africa Command (AFRICOM) base in the country.[104]
Human rights
The Botswana Centre for Human Rights, Ditshwanelo, was established in 1993.[105] Until June 2019, homosexual acts were illegal in Botswana. A Botswana High Court decision of 11 June of that year struck down provisions in the Criminal Code that punished "carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature" and "acts of gross indecency", making Botswana one of twenty-two African countries that have either decriminalised or legalised homosexual acts.[106] Capital punishment is a legal penalty for murder in Botswana, and executions are carried out by hanging.[107]
San and other indigenous tribes
Many of the indigenous San people have been forcibly relocated from their land to reservations. To make them relocate, they were denied access to water on their land and faced arrest if they hunted, which was their primary source of food.[108] Their lands lie in the middle of the world's richest diamond field. Officially, the government denies that there is any link to mining and claims the relocation is to preserve the wildlife and ecosystem, even though the San people have lived sustainably on the land for millennia.[108] On the reservations, they struggle to find employment, and alcoholism is rampant.[108]
On 24 August 2018, the UN Special Rapporteur on Minorities, Fernand de Varennes, issued a statement calling on Botswana "to step up efforts to recognise and protect the rights of minorities in relation to public services, land and resource use, and the use of minority languages in education and other critical areas."[109]
Administrative divisions
Botswana is divided into 10 administrative districts, two city districts, four towns,[110] 11 sub districts, and in total, 16 administrative divisions.[110] These are administered by 16 local authorities (district councils, city councils or town councils).[111][112][113][114] In 1977, Botswana's administrative divisions were Ngamiland, Chobe, Francistown, Ngwato, Tuli, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, Ngwaketse, Kweneng, Gaborone, and Lobatse.[115]
In 2006, Chobe was removed from being an administrative division, and Ngamiland's name was changed to North West district. Chobe was readded on 31 March 2014. That same day, the administrative divisions Francistown, Gaborone, Jwaneng, Lobatse, Selibe Phikwe, and Sowa Town were all added.[110]
As of 2024, the 16 administrative divisions of Botswana are Central, Chobe, Francistown, Gaborone, Ghanzi, Jwaneng, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Lobatse, North East, North West, South East, Southern, Selibe Phikwe and Sowa Town.[110]
Economy
Since independence, Botswana has had one of the fastest growth rates in per capita income in the world.[116] Formerly one of the world's poorest countries—with a GDP per capita of about US$70 per year in the late 1960s,[117] Botswana has transformed itself into an upper middle-income country. GDP per capita grew from $439 in 1950 to $15,842 in 2018.[118] Although Botswana was resource-abundant, a good institutional framework allowed the country to reinvest resource-income in order to generate stable future income.[119] By one estimate, it has the fourth highest gross national income at purchasing power parity in Africa, giving it a standard a relatively high standard of living in Africa, around that of Mexico.[120]
The
The constitution provides for an independent judiciary, and the government respects this in practice. The legal system is sufficient to conduct secure commercial dealings, although a growing backlog of cases prevents timely trials. Botswana is ranked second only to South Africa among sub-Saharan African countries in the 2014 International Property Rights Index.[123]
While generally open to foreign participation in its economy, Botswana reserves some sectors for citizens. Increased foreign investment plays a significant role in the privatisation of state-owned enterprises. Investment regulations are transparent, and bureaucratic procedures are streamlined and open, although somewhat slow. Investment returns such as profits and dividends, debt service, capital gains, returns on intellectual property, royalties, franchise fees, and service fees can be repatriated without limits.[124]
Botswana imports refined petroleum products and electricity from South Africa. There is some domestic production of electricity from coal.
Energy
Recently, the country has taken a large interest in renewable energy sources and has completed a comprehensive strategy that may attract investors in the wind, solar and biomass renewable energy industries.[126] Botswana's power stations include Morupule Power Stations B (600 MW), and A (132 MW),[127] Orapa Power Station (90 MW) and Phakalane Power Station (1.3 MW).
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) undertook an evaluation of the national energy sector in 2021 and found that Botswana could meet 15% of its energy needs in 2030 from its indigenous solar, wind, and bioenergy resources.[128][129]Finance
An array of financial institutions populates the country's financial system, with pension funds and commercial banks being the two most important segments by asset size. Banks remain profitable, well-capitalised, and liquid, as a result of growing national resources and high interest rates.[130] The Bank of Botswana serves as a central bank. The country's currency is the Botswana pula.
Botswana's competitive banking system is one of Africa's most advanced. Generally adhering to global standards in the transparency of financial policies and banking supervision, the financial sector provides ample access to credit for entrepreneurs.[131] The Capital Bank opened in 2008.[132] As of August 2015[update], there are a dozen licensed banks in the country.[133] The government is involved in banking through state-owned financial institutions and a special financial incentives programme that is aimed at increasing Botswana's status as a financial centre.[134] Credit is allocated on market terms, although the government provides subsidised loans.[135] Bank financial institutions have continued notably through the establishment of a single financial regulatory agency that provides more effective supervision.[136] The government has abolished exchange controls, and with the resulting creation of new portfolio investment options, the Botswana Stock Exchange is growing.[137]
Gemstones and precious metals
In Botswana, the Department of Mines and Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security maintains data regarding mining throughout the country.[138][139] Debswana, the largest diamond mining company operating in Botswana, is a joint venture, 50% owned by the government.[140] The mineral industry provides about 40% of all government revenues.[141] Uranium mining has not started in Botswana, however the Letlhakane Uranium Project in Africa is one of the largest undeveloped uranium projects.[142] The government announced in early 2009 that they would try to diversify their economy and overreliance on diamonds.[143]
Creative industries
Increasing importance is being given to the economic contribution of the
Using the WIPO-framework, the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) and the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis were published by a sector-specific study in 2019.[146] In 2016, copyright industries contributed 5.46% to value-added and 2.66% to the total labour force, 1.28% to exports, and 3.47% to imports.
Demographics
Year | Million |
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1950 | 0.4 |
2000 | 1.7 |
2020 | 2.4 |
As of 2024, the Tswana are the majority ethnic group in Botswana, making up approximately 79% of the population, followed by Kalanga at 11% and the San (Basarwa) at 3%. The remaining 7% is made up of White Batswana/European Batswana,[149] Indians,[3] and a number of other smaller Southern African ethnic groups.
Native groups include the
Since 2000, because of deteriorating economic conditions in Zimbabwe, the number of Zimbabweans in Botswana has risen into the tens of thousands.[151] Fewer than 10,000 San people are still living their traditional hunter-gatherer way of life. Since the mid-1990s the central government of Botswana has been trying to move San out of their historic lands, with the main reason possibly being that they live on a diamond-rich region.[152]
James Anaya, as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people for the United Nations in 2010, described loss of land as a major contributor to many of the problems facing Botswana's indigenous people, citing the San's eviction from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR)[153] as a special example.[154]: 2 Among Anaya's recommendations in a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council was that development programs should promote, in consultation with indigenous communities such as the San and Bakgalagadi people, activities in harmony with the culture of those communities such as traditional hunting and gathering activities.[154]: 19
Rank | Name | District | Municipal pop. | Rank | Name | District | Municipal pop. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gaborone Francistown |
1 | Gaborone | South-East | 246,325 | 11 | Kanye | Southern | 48,028 | Maun |
2 | Francistown | North-East | 103,417 | 12 | Selibe Phikwe | Central | 42,488 | ||
3 | Mogoditshane | Kweneng | 88,006 | 13 | Letlhakane | Central | 36,338 | ||
4 | Maun | North-West | 84,993 | 14 | Ramotswa | South-East | 33,271 | ||
5 | Molepolole | Kweneng | 74,674 | 15 | Lobatse | South-East | 29,772 | ||
6 | Serowe | Central | 55,676 | 16 | Mmopane | Kweneng | 25,345 | ||
7 | Tlokweng | South-East | 55,508 | 17 | Thamaga | Kweneng | 25,297 | ||
8 | Palapye | Central | 52,636 | 18 | Moshupa | Southern | 23,858 | ||
9 | Mochudi | Kgatleng | 50,317 | 19 | Tonota | Central | 23,296 | ||
10 | Mahalapye | Central | 48,431 | 20 | Bobonong | Central | 21,216 |
Languages
The official language of Botswana is English, while
Other languages spoken in Botswana include
Religion
An estimated 77% of the country's citizens identify as
Health
Botswana's healthcare system has been steadily improving and expanding,[160] specifically in the fact that the infant mortality and maternal mortality rates are steadily declining.[161] 85 percent of the population live within a 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) radius of a health facility. 73 percent of pregnant women access antenal care services at least four times. Almost 100 percent of births in Botswana take place in hospitals.[160]
The Ministry of Health
The Cancer Association of Botswana is a voluntary non-governmental organisation. The association is a member of the Union for International Cancer Control. The Association supplements existing services through provision of cancer prevention and health awareness programs, facilitating access to health services for cancer patients and offering support and counselling to those affected.[164]
HIV/AIDS epidemic
Like elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, the
In 2003, the government began a comprehensive programme involving free or cheap generic
With a nationwide Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission program, Botswana has reduced HIV transmission from infected mothers to their children from about 40% in 2003 to 4% in 2010. Under the leadership of
The country has been adversely affected by the
Culture
Botswana's music is mostly vocal and performed, sometimes without drums depending on the occasion; it also makes heavy use of string instruments. Botswana folk music has instruments such as setinkane (a sort of miniature piano), segankure/segaba (a Motswana version of the Chinese instrument erhu), moropa (meropa for plural) and phala (a whistle used mostly during celebrations). The hands are sometimes used as musical instruments too, by either clapping them together or against phathisi (goat skin turned inside out wrapped around the calf area, only used by men) to create music and rhythm. The national anthem is "Fatshe leno la rona", which was written and composed by Kgalemang Tumediso Motsete; it was adopted upon independence in 1966.[174][175][176]
In the northern part of Botswana, women in the villages of Etsha and Gumare are noted for their skill at crafting baskets from mokola palm and local dyes. The baskets are generally woven into three types: large, lidded baskets used for storage, large, open baskets for carrying objects on the head or for winnowing threshed grain and smaller plates for winnowing pounded grain. These baskets steadily use colour.[177]
The oldest paintings from both Botswana and South Africa depict hunting, animal and human figures, and were made by the Khoisan (Kung San/Bushmen) over twenty thousand years ago within the Kalahari Desert.[178]
Cuisine
The national dish is seswaa, pounded meat made from goat meat or beef, Segwapa dried, cured meat ranging from beef to game meats, either fillets of meat cut into strips following the grain of the muscle, or flat pieces sliced across the grain. Botswana's cuisine shares some characteristics with other cuisine of Southern Africa.[179]
Examples of Botswana food are:
Sports
In 2011, Amantle Montsho became world champion in the 400 metres and won Botswana's first athletics medal at the world level. High jumper Kabelo Kgosiemang is a three-time African champion, Isaac Makwala is a sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres, he was the gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games in 2018, Baboloki Thebe was a silver medalist in the 200 metres at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics and reached the semi-finals at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics, and Ross Branch Ross, a motor-biker, holds the number one plate in the South African Cross Country Championship and has competed at the Dakar Rally. Letsile Tebogo set the world junior record in the 100 metres with a time of 9.94 at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, and he currently holds the 300m world's best time of 30.69 seconds. On 7 August 2021, Botswana won the bronze medal in the Men's 4 × 400 metres relay at the Olympics in Tokyo. Botswana was the first African nation to host the Netball World Youth Cup.[183][184]
The card game bridge has a strong following; it was first played in Botswana around 40 years ago, and it grew in popularity during the 1980s. Many British expatriate school teachers informally taught the game in Botswana's secondary schools. The Botswana Bridge Federation (BBF) was founded in 1988. Bridge has remained popular and the BBF has over 800 members.[185] In 2007, the BBF invited the English Bridge Union to host a week-long teaching programme in May 2008.[186]
Education
Botswana has made educational progress since independence in 1966. In 1966, there were only 22 graduates in the country[187] and only a very small percentage of the population attended secondary school. Botswana increased its adult literacy rate from 69% in 1991 to 83% in 2008.[188] Among sub-Saharan African countries, Botswana has one of the highest literacy rates.[189] As of 2024, around 88.5% of the population age 15 and over could read and write and were respectively literate.[189]
With the discovery of diamonds and the increase in government revenue that this brought, Batswana students were guaranteed ten years of basic education, leading to a Junior Certificate qualification. Approximately half of the school population attends a further two years of secondary schooling, leading to the award of the Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE). Secondary education in Botswana is neither free nor compulsory. After leaving school, students can attend one of the seven technical colleges in the country or take vocational training courses in teaching or nursing. Students enter the University of Botswana, the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Botswana International University of Science and Technology and the Botswana Accountancy College in Gaborone. Many students end up in private tertiary education colleges in the country. Notable among these is Botho University, the country's first private university, which offers undergraduate programs in Accounting, Business and Computing. Another international university is the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, which offers various associate degrees in Creative Arts.[190] A majority of these students are government-sponsored. The nation's second international university, the Botswana International University of Science and Technology, was completed in Palapye in 2011.[191]
The
In January 2006, Botswana announced the reintroduction of school fees after two decades of free state education,[195] though the government still provides full scholarships with living expenses to any Botswana citizen in university, either at the University of Botswana or if the student wishes to pursue an education in any field not offered locally, they are provided with a full scholarship to study abroad.[196]
Science and technology
As of 2024, Botswana is planning to use science and technology to diversify its economy and thereby reduce its dependence on diamond mining. To this, the government has set up six hubs since 2008, in the agriculture, diamonds, innovation, transport, health and education sectors.[197]
Botswana published its updated National Policy on Research, Science and Technology in 2011, within a UNESCO project sponsored by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID). This policy was formulated in strategic documents that include Botswana's Tenth National Development Plan for 2016 and Vision 2016.[197] The National Policy on Research, Science, Technology and Innovation (2011) fixes the target of raising gross domestic expenditure on research and development (R&D) from 0.26% of GDP in 2012 to over 2% of GDP by 2016. This target can only be reached within the specified time frame by raising public spending on R&D.[197] Botswana counts one of the highest researcher densities in sub-Saharan Africa: 344 per million inhabitants (in head counts), compared to an average of 91 per million inhabitants for the subcontinent in 2013.[197] Botswana was ranked 85th in the Global Innovation Index in 2023.[198][199]
In 2009, Botswana-based company Deaftronics launched a solar-powered hearing aid after six years of prototype development. Since then, Deaftronics has sold over 10,000 of the hearing aids. Priced at $200 per unit, each hearing aid includes four
The
On 19 November 2021, scientists at the Botswana Harvard HIV Reference Laboratory (BHHRL) first discovered the variant Omicron subsequently designated B.1.1.529, and then named "Omicron" becoming the first country in the world to discover the variant. Since early 2021, they have genome-sequenced some 2,300 positive SARS-CoV-2 virus samples. According to Dr Gaseitsiwe, Botswana's genome sequence submissions to GISAID are among the highest in the African region on a per capita basis, on a par with its well-resourced neighbour South Africa. Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership (BHP) was built in 2003, two years after the umbrella organisation opened the BHHRL, its purpose-built HIV research lab and one of the first on the continent.[211]
Infrastructure
Botswana has 971 kilometres (603 mi) of railway lines, 18,482 kilometres (11,484 mi) of roads, and 92 airports, of which 12 have paved runways. The paved road network has almost entirely been constructed since independence in 1966. The national airline is Air Botswana, which flies domestically to other countries in Africa. Botswana Railways is the national railway company operating primarily in the Southern African regional railway system. Botswana Railways offers rail-based transport facilities for moving a range of commodities for the mining sector and primary industries, as well as passenger train services and dry ports.[212][213]
In terms of power infrastructure in Botswana, the country produces coal for electricity and oil is imported into the country. Recently, the country has taken a large interest in renewable energy sources and has completed a comprehensive strategy that will attract investors in the wind, solar and biomass renewable energy industries. Botswana's power stations include