Commonwealth country profile
<b>Botswana</b><br>THE Republic of Botswana is a large, roughly circular, landlocked plateau in the centre of Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and south-east, Namibia to the west, Zambia to the north and Zimbabwe to the northeast.
Botswana
THE Republic of Botswana is a large, roughly circular, landlocked plateau in the centre of Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and south-east, Namibia to the west, Zambia to the north and Zimbabwe to the northeast.
Formerly a British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its name after becoming independent on September 30, 1966.
The country is named after its largest ethnic group, the Tswana.
Botswana’s capital is Gaborone. Her population is 1,785,000. Languages spoken include Setswana, the national language and English, the official language.
The country is dominated by the Kalahari Desert, which covers up to 70% of the land. Botswana’s economy, closely tied to South Africa’s, is dominated by mining (especially diamonds), cattle-keeping, and tourism.
Botswana has benefited from a stable social structure and a wealth of natural mineral resources. It has an unbroken record of parliamentary democracy and one of Africa’s highest sustained records of economic growth, since independence. However, the economy has had to cope with frequent droughts. During 1999-2003, only the year 2000 was free of drought.
Although Botswana is rich in diamonds, it has high unemployment and stratified socio-economic classes.
In 1999, it suffered its first budget deficit in 16 years because of a slump in the international diamond market.
Much as the country’s economic outlook remains strong, the devastation that HIV/AIDS has caused threatens to destroy the country’s future.
In 2001, Botswana had the highest rate of HIV infection in the world (350,000 of its 1.6 million people were infected). With the help of donors, however, it launched an ambitious campaign that provided free anti-retroviral drugs to patients and by March 2004, the infection rate had dropped significantly.
But with 37.5% of the population infected, the country remains on the brink of catastrophe.
After 17 years in power, president Ketumile Masire retired in 1997 and Festus Mogae, an Oxford-educated economist, became president.
Mogae has won high marks from the international community for privatising Botswana’s mining and industrial operations. Mogae won a second and final four-year term in October 2004.
Compiled by Elizabeth Agiro
THE Republic of Botswana is a large, roughly circular, landlocked plateau in the centre of Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and south-east, Namibia to the west, Zambia to the north and Zimbabwe to the northeast.
Formerly a British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its name after becoming independent on September 30, 1966.
The country is named after its largest ethnic group, the Tswana.
Botswana’s capital is Gaborone. Her population is 1,785,000. Languages spoken include Setswana, the national language and English, the official language.
The country is dominated by the Kalahari Desert, which covers up to 70% of the land. Botswana’s economy, closely tied to South Africa’s, is dominated by mining (especially diamonds), cattle-keeping, and tourism.
Botswana has benefited from a stable social structure and a wealth of natural mineral resources. It has an unbroken record of parliamentary democracy and one of Africa’s highest sustained records of economic growth, since independence. However, the economy has had to cope with frequent droughts. During 1999-2003, only the year 2000 was free of drought.
Although Botswana is rich in diamonds, it has high unemployment and stratified socio-economic classes.
In 1999, it suffered its first budget deficit in 16 years because of a slump in the international diamond market.
Much as the country’s economic outlook remains strong, the devastation that HIV/AIDS has caused threatens to destroy the country’s future.
In 2001, Botswana had the highest rate of HIV infection in the world (350,000 of its 1.6 million people were infected). With the help of donors, however, it launched an ambitious campaign that provided free anti-retroviral drugs to patients and by March 2004, the infection rate had dropped significantly.
But with 37.5% of the population infected, the country remains on the brink of catastrophe.
After 17 years in power, president Ketumile Masire retired in 1997 and Festus Mogae, an Oxford-educated economist, became president.
Mogae has won high marks from the international community for privatising Botswana’s mining and industrial operations. Mogae won a second and final four-year term in October 2004.
Compiled by Elizabeth Agiro