Botswana
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Gaborone
- Population
- 2,521,534 (2025 est.)
- Area
- 581,730 sq km
- Government
- parliamentary republic
- Languages
- Setswana 77.3%, Sekalanga 7.4%, Shekgalagadi 3.4%, English (official) 2.8%, Zezuru/Shona 2%, Sesarwa 1.7%, Sembukushu 1.6%, Ndebele 1%, other 2.8% (2011 est.)
- Religions
- Christian 79.1%, Badimo 4.1%, other 1.4% (includes Baha'i, Hindu, Muslim, Rastafarian), none 15.2%, unspecified 0.3% (2011 est.)
- Ethnic Groups
- Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and people of European ancestry 7%
- Currency
- pulas (BWP)
- Life Expectancy
- 66.4 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .bw
- Climate
- semiarid; warm winters and hot summers
- Terrain
- predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest
- Natural Resources
- diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver
- Major Exports
- diamonds, copper ore, insulated wire, carbonates, cattle (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
In the early 1800s, multiple political entities in what is now Botswana were destabilized or destroyed by a series of conflicts and population movements in southern Africa.