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 percent of its territory part of 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. With a population of slightly over 2.4 million people and a comparable land area to 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 nearly 80 percent 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 part of the decolonisation of Africa, 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, although the Botswana Democratic Party was the only ruling party from independence until 2024. 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 per capita GDP (purchasing power parity) 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). Despite this, Botswana continues to grapple with high unemployment rates. 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 kgosi (/ˈkoʊsi/; Tswana pronunciation: [ˈkχʊ.si]) is the title for a hereditary leader of a Batswana and South Africa peoples tribe. (Full article...)

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... that the electoral support of the Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin Movement of Botswana increased by more than ten times between 1999 and 2009?

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The common eland (Taurotragus oryx), also known as the southern eland or eland antelope, is a large-sized savannah and plains antelope found in East and Southern Africa. An adult male is around 1.6 m (5.2 ft) tall at the shoulder and can weigh up to 942 kg (2,077 lb) with a typical range of 500–600 kg (1,100–1,300 lb). Females are around 1.4 m (4.6 ft) tall and weigh 340–445 kg (750–981 lb). It is the second-largest antelope in the world, being slightly smaller on average than the giant eland. It was scientifically described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1766.

Mainly a herbivore, its diet is primarily grasses and leaves. Common elands form herds of up to 500 animals, but are not territorial. The common eland prefers habitats with a wide variety of flowering plants such as savannah, woodlands, and open and montane grasslands; it avoids dense forests. It uses loud barks, visual and postural movements, and the flehmen response to communicate and warn others of danger. The common eland is used by humans for leather, and meat and has been domesticated in southern Africa. Eland milk contains more butterfat than cow's milk, and can keep longer without pasteurising. (Full article...)

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

Image 1CBD Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 2Botswana traditional baskets (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 3A postage stamp circa 1943, the postmark reading "Gaborone's Village" (from Gaborone)
Image 4Gaborone Hindu Temple (from Gaborone)
Image 5Tourist resort at Kasane (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 6Flag map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 7Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) (from Gaborone)
Image 8I-Tower at Central Business District (from Gaborone)
Image 9New CBD (from Gaborone)
Image 10Gaborone aerial (from Gaborone)
Image 11Street scene near the Main Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 12Road map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 13The National Assembly of Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 14Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 15Kombi (Minibus taxi) (from Gaborone)
Image 16Botswana traditional house at the National Museum (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 17Rail network map of Botswana (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 18New Construction Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 19Gaborone Hindu temple (from Gaborone)
Image 20Christ The King Cathedral (from Gaborone)
Image 21Gaborone Mosque (from Gaborone)
Image 22View from Kgale Hill (Oodi Hill on horizon) (from Gaborone)
Image 23CBD Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 24Tswana Baskets (from Tswana people)
Image 25The Jwaneng diamond mine is the second biggest in the world today. (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 26Man on donkey herding goats in a dry river bed (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 27Rev. Derek Jones, the first mayor of Gaborone
Image 28BR Express, the passenger train (from Francistown)
Image 29Jan Mashiani and Len Taunyane were the first black participants from Africa in the Olympics (from Tswana people)
Image 30I-Towers, Gaborone Central Business District (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 31Festus Mogae alongside foreign presidents Joaquim Chissano, George W. Bush, and José Eduardo dos Santos in 2002 (from History of Botswana)
Image 32Bechuanaland Boys cleaning Aa Guns in the Twilight after Action, Syracuse, Sicily, 1944 art piece by Leslie Cole (from History of Botswana)
Image 33A road in Gaborone (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 34Prehistoric cave paintings at Tsodilo (from History of Botswana)
Image 35Aerial view over Okavango Delta (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 36An illustration of a Tswana man and his wife in the early 1800s (from History of Botswana)
Image 37Francistown City Bus and Taxi Rank (from Francistown)
Image 38Madila sour cultured milk (from Tswana people)
Image 39GDP per capita (current), compared to neighbouring countries (world average = 100) (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 40Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 41SSKI Airport (from Gaborone)
Image 42Magadi (traditional wedding) (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 43Francistown Bus Terminal (from Francistown)
Image 44Ostriches at Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 45Mokgweetsi Masisi speaking at a conference on the illegal wildlife trade in London in 2018 (from History of Botswana)
Image 46Orapa House (from Gaborone)
Image 47Francistown Stadium (from Francistown)
Image 48St. Joseph's College students (from Gaborone)
Image 49Homestead in the ancient City of Kaditshwene
Image 50Room 52 Roof Top Restaurant (from Gaborone)
Image 51Botswana Gaborone I Towers (from Gaborone)
Image 52A 1960 stamp of the Bechuanaland Protectorate featuring images of Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II, the first and last British monarchs of the protectorate (from History of Botswana)
Image 53Watch house in Gaborone Game Reserve (from Gaborone)
Image 54Rhodesia Railways car at the national museum (from Gaborone)
Image 55Graduation daggers that were given to Tswana Fighting Regiments (from Tswana people)
Image 56Satellite View of Gaborone. North is to the left of the image. (from Gaborone)
Image 57Seretse Khama signing the oath of office to become Botswana's first President in 1966 (from History of Botswana)
Image 58Batswana Men dressed in traditional attire in 1946 (from Tswana people)
Image 59An 1865 portrait of Kgosi Sechele I in Ntsweng Bechuanaland (from Tswana people)