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 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, 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 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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Batswana nationality law is regulated by the 1966 Constitution of Botswana, as amended; the Citizenship Act 1998, and its revisions; and international agreements entered into by the government of Botswana. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Botswana. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. The Botswana nationality is typically obtained on the principle of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth to parents with Botswana nationality. It can be granted to persons who have lived in the country for a specific period of time, who have performed distinguished service to the nation or who have an affiliation to the country through naturalisation. (Full article...)

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Did you know -

... that the Tswana ruler and rainmaker Sechele I, denounced for polygamy by David Livingstone, was one of the most successful Christian missionaries of the 19th century?

Good content -

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

Blue wildebeest, C. taurinus
Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

Wildebeest (/ˈwɪldɪbiːst/ WIL-dib-eest, /ˈvɪl-/ VIL-,), also called gnu (/nuː/ NOO or /njuː/ NEW), are antelopes of the genus Connochaetes and native to Eastern and Southern Africa. They belong to the family Bovidae, which includes true antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep, and other even-toed horned ungulates. There are two species of wildebeest: the black wildebeest or white-tailed gnu (C. gnou), and the blue wildebeest or brindled gnu (C. taurinus).

Fossil records suggest these two species diverged about one million years ago, resulting in a northern and a southern species. The blue wildebeest remained in its original range and changed very little from the ancestral species, while the black wildebeest changed more as adaptation to its open grassland habitat in the south. The most obvious ways of telling the two species apart are the differences in their colouring and in the way their horns are oriented. (Full article...)

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General images -

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

Image 1Christ The King Cathedral (from Gaborone)
Image 2Orapa House (from Gaborone)
Image 3Aerial view over Okavango Delta (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 4Botswana Gaborone I Towers (from Gaborone)
Image 5CBD Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 6A 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 7An 1865 portrait of Kgosi Sechele I in Ntsweng Bechuanaland (from Tswana people)
Image 8Festus Mogae alongside foreign presidents Joaquim Chissano, George W. Bush, and José Eduardo dos Santos in 2002 (from History of Botswana)
Image 9South African politician (from Tswana people)
Image 10Tebogo Letsile, the 2024 Summer Olympics 200 metres gold medalist (from Tswana people)
Image 11Ostriches at Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 12New Construction Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 13Graduation daggers that were given to Tswana Fighting Regiments (from Tswana people)
Image 14Tswana Baskets (from Tswana people)
Image 15South African ANC activist, writer and author, (from Tswana people)
Image 16Flag map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 17Prehistoric cave paintings at Tsodilo (from History of Botswana)
Image 18Rhodesia Railways car at the national museum (from Gaborone)
Image 19Francistown Stadium (from Francistown)
Image 20The Jwaneng diamond mine is the second biggest in the world today. (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 21Road map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 22Room 52 Roof Top Restaurant (from Gaborone)
Image 23Duma Boko signing an agreement with the United States in 2025 (from History of Botswana)
Image 24BR Express, the passenger train (from Francistown)
Image 25The National Assembly of Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 26An illustration of a Tswana man and his wife in the early 1800s (from History of Botswana)
Image 27Homestead in the ancient City of Kaditshwene
Image 28Satellite View of Gaborone. North is to the left of the image. (from Gaborone)
Image 29New CBD (from Gaborone)
Image 30Ian Khama meeting with William Hague in London (from History of Botswana)
Image 31Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Phokeng (from Tswana people)
Image 32Man on donkey herding goats in a dry river bed (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 33Watch house in Gaborone Game Reserve (from Gaborone)
Image 34Setswana traditional house (from Tswana people)
Image 35A road in Gaborone (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 36Gaborone Mosque (from Gaborone)
Image 37Tourist resort at Kasane (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 38Seretse Khama signing the oath of office to become Botswana's first President in 1966 (from History of Botswana)
Image 39Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 40 Tswana tribesmen, first Africans to compete at the Olympics (from Tswana people)
Image 41Bechuanaland Boys cleaning Aa Guns in the Twilight after Action, Syracuse, Sicily, 1944 art piece by Leslie Cole (from History of Botswana)
Image 42King Khama (III) of Bamangwato (from Tswana people)
Image 43Gaborone aerial (from Gaborone)
Image 44Botswana traditional baskets (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 45I-Tower at Central Business District (from Gaborone)
Image 46Gaborone Hindu Temple (from Gaborone)
Image 47Magadi (traditional wedding) (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 48St. Joseph's College students (from Gaborone)
Image 49King Molema of Barolong (from Tswana people)
Image 50Tswana girl dressed in Leteisi (from Tswana people)
Image 51Rail network map of Botswana (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 52I-Towers, Gaborone Central Business District (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 53Batswana Men dressed in traditional attire in 1946 (from Tswana people)
Image 54Mokgweetsi Masisi speaking at a conference on the illegal wildlife trade in London in 2018 (from History of Botswana)
Image 55South African billionaire mining businessman, CAF President (from Tswana people)
Image 56Quett Masire visiting the United States in 1984 (from History of Botswana)
Image 57Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) (from Gaborone)
Image 58SSKI Airport (from Gaborone)
Image 59Botswana traditional house at the National Museum (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 60CBD Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 61Rev. Derek Jones, the first mayor of Gaborone
Image 62Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 63Francistown Bus Terminal (from Francistown)
Image 64Francistown City Bus and Taxi Rank (from Francistown)
Image 65Gaborone Hindu temple (from Gaborone)
Image 66GDP per capita (current), compared to neighbouring countries (world average = 100) (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 67View from Kgale Hill (Oodi Hill on horizon) (from Gaborone)
Image 68The Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, named after the first president of Botswana (from History of Botswana)
Image 69King Bathoen II 1947 of Bangwaketse (from Tswana people)
Image 70Kombi (Minibus taxi) (from Gaborone)
Image 71Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs building (from Gaborone)
Image 724th President of Botswana, King of Bamangwato (Khama IV) (from Tswana people)
Image 73A postage stamp circa 1943, the postmark reading "Gaborone's Village" (from Gaborone)
Image 74Street scene near the Main Mall (from Gaborone)

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