Portal:Botswana

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

Intro

Coat of Arms of Botswana	Flag of Botswana

Shortcut

P:BWA

Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 per cent 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 per cent 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 had been 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...)

Show new selections

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

.bw is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Botswana. It is officially administered by the Botswana Communication Regulatory Authority since 2013, previously being administered by the University of Botswana. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Did you know - load new

... that the extinct ant Afromyrma petrosa was found over a diamond mine?

More Did you know

Good content - show another

This is a good article, A-class article, featured list, or featured article, one of Wikipedia’s best work.

The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is a species of highly venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. It is native to parts of sub-Saharan Africa. First formally described by Albert Günther in 1864, it is the second-longest venomous snake after the king cobra; mature specimens generally exceed 2 m (6 ft 7 in) and commonly grow to 3 m (9.8 ft). Specimens of 4.3 to 4.5 m (14 to 15 ft) have been reported. Its skin colour varies from grey to dark brown. Juvenile black mambas tend to be paler than adults and darken with age. Despite the common name, the skin of a black mamba is not black; the color name describes rather the inside of its mouth, which it displays when feeling threatened.

The species is both terrestrial (ground-living) and arboreal (tree-living); it inhabits savannah, woodland, rocky slopes and in some regions, dense forest. It is diurnal and is known to prey on birds and small mammals. Over suitable surfaces, it can move at speeds up to 16 km/h (10 mph) for short distances. Adult black mambas have few natural predators. (Full article...)

List of Good content

General images - show another

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

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