Portal:Botswana

WikiProject 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% of its territory being a 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. While it is not enshrined by statutory law, Botswana is de facto the nation state of the Batswana people, who constitute nearly 80% of the population while legally undistinguished Kalanga people, who account for another 11%, are the single largest ethnic minority.

The Batswana 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, though dominated by the Botswana Democratic Party until 2024. As of 2024, Botswana is the least corrupt country in mainland Africa according to the Corruption Perceptions Index published by Transparency International.

Botswana's economy has generally experienced stable growth since independence. It is dominated by tourism and mining; Botswana produces more diamonds than any other country. Its gross national income per capita (purchasing power parity) of about $20,158 as of 2024 (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 and income inequality 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...)

Selected article -

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Land Problems in Mogoditshane and Other Peri-Urban Villages, also known as the Kgabo Commission, was a 1991 commission of inquiry established by the government of Botswana. It was created to investigate allegations that land was being sold and purchased illegally in peri-urban villages such as Mogoditshane without the authorisation of land boards. Englishman Kgabo was appointed as its chairman. It published its findings and recommendations in the Kgabo Report, which found that due to housing shortages and a failure of the land board system, most land sales in Mogoditshane were unauthorised.

The commission caused a major political scandal when it implicated Vice-President Peter Mmusi and Minister of Agriculture Daniel Kwelagobe, both of whom held leadership positions in the dominant Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). They resigned from their positions, but the party reelected them as party leaders in the subsequent congress. The accusations against Mmusi and Kwelagobe were declared void by the High Court of Botswana because they were not granted a hearing to defend themselves. The scandal prompted two factions to form within the party, those who supported Mmusi and Kwelagobe and those who opposed them, and these factions dominated politics in Botswana for the next two decades. (Full article...)

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Did you know -

... that Molly Clutton-Brock treated the spines of African babies until she was deported by the government of Rhodesia?

Good content -

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

Botswana sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. This was the country's second time competing at a Summer Paralympic Games after making its debut at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. Botswana was represented by one athlete, Keatlaretese Mabote, a short-distance sprinter. He competed in one event, the men's 400 metres T12 competition, where he was eliminated in the heat stages because he was third in his heat and only the top two participants in a heat progressed to the semi-finals. (Full article...)

List of Good content

General images -

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

Image 1King Khama (III) of Bamangwato (from Tswana people)
Image 2Seretse Khama signing the oath of office to become Botswana's first President in 1966 (from History of Botswana)
Image 3King Molema of Barolong (from Tswana people)
Image 4Rev. Derek Jones, the first mayor of Gaborone
Image 5Ian Khama meeting with William Hague in London (from History of Botswana)
Image 6Tebogo Letsile, the 2024 Summer Olympics 200 metres gold medalist (from Tswana people)
Image 7Young Tswana maiden dressed in Leteisi (from Tswana people)
Image 8Quett Masire visiting the United States in 1984 (from History of Botswana)
Image 9A road in Gaborone (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 10Setswana traditional house (from Tswana people)
Image 11Watch house in Gaborone Game Reserve (from Gaborone)
Image 12Robert Moffat (1795-1883), Scottish Missionary (from Tswana people)
Image 13SSKI Airport (from Gaborone)
Image 14BR Express, the passenger train (from Francistown)
Image 15Francistown Bus Terminal (from Francistown)
Image 16St. Joseph's College students (from Gaborone)
Image 17Magadi (traditional wedding) (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 18King Bathoen II 1947 of Bangwaketse (from Tswana people)
Image 19CBD Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 20Aerial view over Okavango Delta (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 21Paiting of Sechele on top a hill overlooking the battle of Dimawe in 1852 (from Tswana people)
Image 22Bechuanaland Boys cleaning Aa Guns in the Twilight after Action, Syracuse, Sicily, 1944 art piece by Leslie Cole (from History of Botswana)
Image 23Mokgweetsi Masisi speaking at a conference on the illegal wildlife trade in London in 2018 (from History of Botswana)
Image 24New CBD (from Gaborone)
Image 25Satellite view of Gaborone. North is to the left of the image. (from Gaborone)
Image 26I-Tower at Central Business District (from Gaborone)
Image 27Prehistoric cave paintings at Tsodilo (from History of Botswana)
Image 28Rhodesia Railways car at the national museum (from Gaborone)
Image 29Depiction of a Precolonial Homestead in the ancient City of Kaditshwene circa early 1400
Image 30View from Kgale Hill (Oodi Hill on horizon) (from Gaborone)
Image 31Gaborone aerial (from Gaborone)
Image 32Francistown City Bus and Taxi Rank (from Francistown)
Image 33Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 34Botswana traditional house at the National Museum (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 35Kombi (Minibus taxi) (from Gaborone)
Image 36A 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 37Tourist resort at Kasane (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 38The National Assembly of Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 39Road map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 40Street scene near the Main Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 41CBD Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 42Botswana Gaborone I Towers (from Gaborone)
Image 43Typical Kgotla setting (from Tswana people)
Image 44Flag of Bophuthatswana (from Tswana people)
Image 45Gaborone Hindu Temple (from Gaborone)
Image 46Festus Mogae alongside foreign presidents Joaquim Chissano, George W. Bush, and José Eduardo dos Santos in 2002 (from History of Botswana)
Image 47Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 48Room 52 Roof Top Restaurant (from Gaborone)
Image 49 Tswana tribesmen, first Africans to compete at the Olympics (from Tswana people)
Image 50Ostriches at Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 51I-Towers, Gaborone Central Business District (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 52Tswana Baskets used for storing grain (from Tswana people)
Image 53An illustration of a Tswana man and his wife in the early 1800s (from History of Botswana)
Image 54Gaborone Mosque (from Gaborone)
Image 55South African billionaire mining businessman, CAF President (from Tswana people)
Image 56Duma Boko signing an agreement with the United States in 2025 (from History of Botswana)
Image 57A postage stamp circa 1943, the postmark reading "Gaborone's Village" (from Gaborone)
Image 58Mochudi Village in the early 19th century) (from Tswana people)
Image 59The Jwaneng diamond mine is the second biggest in the world today. (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 60Gaborone Hindu temple (from Gaborone)
Image 61Rail network map of Botswana (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 62South African politician (from Tswana people)
Image 63Christ The King Cathedral (from Gaborone)
Image 644th President of Botswana, King of Bamangwato (Khama IV) (from Tswana people)
Image 65The Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, named after the first president of Botswana (from History of Botswana)
Image 6618th Century Tswana Warrior (from Tswana people)
Image 67New Construction Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 68Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) (from Gaborone)
Image 69Orapa House (from Gaborone)
Image 70Flag map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 71Botswana traditional baskets (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 72GDP per capita (current), compared to neighbouring countries (world average = 100) (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 73Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs building (from Gaborone)
Image 74South African ANC activist, writer and author, (from Tswana people)
Image 75Francistown Stadium (from Francistown)
Image 76Batswana men dressed in traditional attire during the visit of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret to Lobatse, Bechuanaland, on 17 April 1947 (from Tswana people)
Image 77Man on donkey herding goats in a dry river bed (from Economy of Botswana)

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