Polity · 1967 CE – present
Republic of Botswana
Botswana · Botswana
Also recorded as Botswana
- Peak recorded area
- 578,322 km²
- 1895 CE
- Rulers on record
- 9
- from 1966 CE
- Data series
- 363
- 1967 CE–2025 CE
Overview
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.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
4 dated territorial extents on record from CShapes 2.0. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. Cliopatria holds 3 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 59 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population216 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 2.6Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 69.43years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -5,665persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 1.59% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 72.01years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 66.9years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 132 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP200 obs · 1820 CE–2019 CE | 17.6Kint'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd111 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 19.9Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita73 obs · 1950 CE–2022 CE | 16.4K2011 int'l $2022 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Agriculture % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 1.78% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Industry % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 27.88% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Services % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 64.63% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Military
6 of 34 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Expenditure % GDP96 obs · 1977 CE–2024 CE | 2.83% of GDP2024 CE · SIPRI Military Expenditure Database |
| CINC Score51 obs · 1966 CE–2016 CE | 0.0002CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption51 obs · 1966 CE–2016 CE | 2.4Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production51 obs · 1966 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel51 obs · 1966 CE–2016 CE | 9,000persons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure50 obs · 1966 CE–2016 CE | 486Mcurrent USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 60 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.4588% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Coal Production117 obs · 1900 CE–2016 CE | 12.28TWh2016 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 26.29% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 45.63%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.1048hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Agricultural Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 25.9Mha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
Governance
6 of 25 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.594index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.478index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.334index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 2RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.814index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Checks And Balances49 obs · 1975 CE–2023 CE | 3count2023 CE · Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023 |
Development
6 of 53 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.81index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Railway Line Km74 obs · 1920 CE–1993 CE | 714km1993 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10052 obs · 1960 CE–2023 CE | 179.03per_1002023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Tertiary Enrollment Gross %49 obs · 1970 CE–2024 CE | 21.41%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Primary Enrollment Gross %46 obs · 1970 CE–2022 CE | 109.27%2022 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Dpt Immunization %45 obs · 1980 CE–2024 CE | 95%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Rulers
9 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Quett MasireVice-President of Botswana1966 CE – 1980 CE
- Seretse KhamaPresident of Botswana1966 CE – 1980 CE
- Quett MasirePresident of Botswana1980 CE – 1998 CE
- Festus MogaeVice-President of Botswana1992 CE – 1998 CE
- Festus MogaePresident of Botswana1998 CE – 2008 CE
- Ian KhamaPresident of Botswana2008 CE – 2018 CE
- Mokgweetsi MasisiHead of State2018 CE – 2024 CE
- Slumber TsogwaneVice-President of Botswana2018 CE – 2024 CE
- Duma BokoHead of State2024 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Southern Africa, north of South Africa
- Government type
- parliamentary republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Duma BOKO (since 1 November 2024); head of government: President Duma BOKO (since 1 November 2024); cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; election/appointment process: president indirectly elected by the National Assembly for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
- Ethnic groups
- Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and people of European ancestry 7%
- Natural resources
- diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver
- Economy
- good economic governance and financial management; diamond-driven growth model declining; rapid poverty reductions; high unemployment, particularly among youth; COVID-19 sharply contracted the economy and recovery is slow; public sector wages have posed fiscal challenges
Language & currency
- Currency
- pulas (BWP)
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1966 CE –
- African UnionAUInternational organisation · founding member1966 CE –
- Commonwealth of NationsCWInternational organisation · member1966 CE –
- SADCSADCEconomic bloc · founding member1992 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
CIA World Factbook 2024
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
CShapes 2.02.0
Schvitz, G. et al. (2022). Mapping the International System, 1886-2019: The CShapes 2.0 Dataset. Journal of Conflict Resolution 66(1).
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023DPI 2023
Cruz, C., Keefer, P. & Scartascini, C. (2023). Database of Political Institutions 2023. Inter-American Development Bank.
IDB open data, attribution
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database2024
SIPRI (2024). Military Expenditure Database.
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Republic of Botswana is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.