Botswana
| Republic of Botswana Lefatshe la Botswana. |
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| Motto: Pula (Rain) | ||||||
| Anthem: Fatshe leno la rona (This Land of Ours) |
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![Location of Botswana (dark blue)– in Africa (light blue & dark grey)– in the African Union (light blue) — [Legend]](/web/20150403041006/https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Location_Botswana_AU_Africa.svg) Location of Botswana (dark blue)
– in Africa (light blue & dark grey) |
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| Capital and largest city |
Gaborone 25°40′S 25°55′E / 25.667°S 25.917°E |
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| Official languages | English Tswana |
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| Demonym | Batswana | |||||
| Government | Parliamentary republic | |||||
| - | President | Ian Khama | ||||
| - | Vice President | Mompati Merafhe | ||||
| Independence | ||||||
| - | from the United Kingdom | 30 September 1966 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 581,730 km2 (47th) 224,610 sq mi |
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| - | Water (%) | 2.6 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2010 estimate | 2,029,307[1] (144th) | ||||
| - | 2001 census | 1,680,863 | ||||
| - | Density | 3.4/km2 (229th) 8.9/sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2010 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $28.491 billion[2] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $15,489[2] | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2010 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $14.030 billion[2] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $7,627[2] | ||||
| Gini (1993) | 63[3] very high |
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| HDI (2010) |  0.633[4]medium · 98th |
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| Currency | Pula (BWP) | |||||
| Time zone | Central Africa Time (UTC+02) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | not observed (UTC) | ||||
| Drives on the | left | |||||
| Calling code | +267 | |||||
| Internet TLD | .bw | |||||
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Botswana (officially called Republic of Botswana) is a country in southern Africa. The capital of Botswana is Gaborone.
Geography[change | change source]
- See also: List of settlements in Botswana
The countries next to Botswana are Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia. It is also possible to travel from Botswana directly into Zambia by crossing the Zambezi River by ferry.
Botswana is landlocked. All of Botswana's trade must be brought in over land, or by airplane.
The two most important geographical features in Botswana are the Okavango Delta and the Kalahari Desert.
Culture[change | change source]
People from Botswana are called Batswana. The population of Botswana is about 1.8 million. This is only 2.7 persons per km², a small number for a country of this size. This is because most of the country is desert and very dry.
Botswana has two official languages. One is English. The other is a local language called Setswana (also called Tswana).
Botswana is a democracy. The people vote for their political leaders. Those leaders vote for the president. The current[when?] president of Botswana is Ian Khama.
Economy[change | change source]
The economy of Botswana has been growing very fast since it became an independent country in 1966. The people of Botswana have had the world's fastest growth in standard of living since that time.
Botswana's economy comes mostly from mining. This includes diamonds, metals (including copper) and minerals (including salt). Botswana is the highest producer of diamonds by value in the world.[5] In 1999, Botswana produced over 30 million carats (6,000 kg) of diamonds from the three Debswana mines. That is about 25% of worldwide production.
Tourism is also important to the country. Many people come to Botswana each year to see its wildlife.
The currency of Botswana is called the pula (which means rain). It is made up of 100 thebe (which means shield). One US dollar is about 6.8 Pulas.[when?]
Related pages[change | change source]
References[change | change source]
- ↑ Central Intelligence Agency (2009). "Botswana". The World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bc.html. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Botswana". International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2008&ey=2011&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=616&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=36&pr.y=12. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
- ↑ "Distribution of family income – Gini index". The World Factbook. CIA. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2172.html. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
- ↑ "Human Development Report 2010". United Nations. 2010. http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2010_EN_Table1.pdf. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
- ↑ "Botswana diamonds". Know Botswana.com. http://www.knowbotswana.com/botswana-diamonds.html. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
Other websites[change | change source]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Botswana |
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