CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Botswana


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!| Background:
 * Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name upon independence in 1966. Four decades of uninterrupted civilian leadership, progressive social policies, and significant capital investment have created one of the most dynamic economies in Africa. Mineral extraction, principally diamond mining, dominates economic activity, though tourism is a growing sector due to the country's conservation practices and extensive nature preserves. Botswana has one of the world's highest known rates of HIV/AIDS infection, but also one of Africa's most progressive and comprehensive programs for dealing with the disease.
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!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: water: 15,000 sq km land: 585,370 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 0.01% other: 99.34% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Environment - international agreements: signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements !| Geography - note:
 * Southern Africa, north of South Africa
 * 22 00 S, 24 00 E
 * Africa
 * total: 600,370 sq km
 * slightly smaller than Texas
 * total: 4,013 km
 * 0 km (landlocked)
 * none (landlocked)
 * semiarid; warm winters and hot summers
 * predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest
 * lowest point: junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m
 * diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver
 * arable land: 0.65%
 * 10 sq km (1998 est.)
 * periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility
 * overgrazing; desertification; limited fresh water resources
 * party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
 * landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country
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!| Population: note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.) !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 56.2% (male 424,613; female 452,801) 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 30,896; female 40,929) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 18.5 years female: 19.9 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 68.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 70.96 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 30.99 years female: 30.53 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Major infectious diseases: overall degree of risk: high (2004) !| Nationality: adjective: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 79.8% male: 76.9% female: 82.4% (2003 est.)
 * 1,561,973
 * 0-14 years: 39.2% (male 310,282; female 302,452)
 * total: 19.2 years
 * -0.89% (2004 est.)
 * 24.71 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 33.63 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
 * total: 69.98 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 30.76 years
 * 3.17 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * 37.3% (2003 est.)
 * 350,000 (2003 est.)
 * 33,000 (2003 est.)
 * typhoid fever, malaria
 * noun: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)
 * Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and white 7%
 * indigenous beliefs 85%, Christian 15%
 * English (official), Setswana
 * definition: age 15 and over can read and write
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!| Country name: conventional short form: Botswana former: Bechuanaland !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: head of government: President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 16 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004); vice president appointed by the president election results: Festus MOGAE elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 54.3% !| Legislative branch: elections: National Assembly elections last held 30 October 2004 (next to be held NA October 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BDP 44, BNF 12, BCP 1 !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: note: a number of minor parties joined forces in 1999 to form the BAM but did not capture any parliamentary seats; the BAM parties are: the United Action Party [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO], the Independence Freedom Party or IFP [Motsamai MPHO], and the Botswana Progressive Union [D. K. KWELE] !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: chancery: 1531-1533 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 FAX: [1] (202) 244-4164 telephone: [1] (202) 244-4990 !| Diplomatic representation from the US: embassy: address NA, Gaborone mailing address: Embassy Enclave, P. O. Box 90, Gaborone telephone: [267] 353982 FAX: [267] 312782 !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: Republic of Botswana
 * parliamentary republic
 * Gaborone
 * 9 districts and four town councils*; Central, Francistown*, Gaborone*, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Lobatse*, Northwest, Northeast, Selebi-Pikwe*, Southeast, Southern
 * 30 September 1966 (from UK)
 * Independence Day (Botswana Day), 30 September (1966)
 * March 1965, effective 30 September 1966
 * based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
 * 18 years of age; universal
 * chief of state: President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
 * bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Chiefs (a largely advisory 15-member body consisting of the chiefs of the eight principal tribes, four elected subchiefs, and three members selected by the other 12 members) and the National Assembly (44 seats, 40 members are directly elected by popular vote and 4 are appointed by the majority party; members serve five-year terms)
 * High Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrates' Courts (one in each district)
 * Botswana Democratic Party or BDP [Seretse Ian KHAMA]; Botswana National Front or BNF [Otswoletse MOUPO]; Botswana Congress Party or BCP [Mokgweetsi KGOSIPULA]; Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO]
 * NA
 * ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
 * chief of mission: Ambassador Lapologang Caesar LEKOA
 * chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph HUGGINS
 * light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center
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!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: 48.7% (including 36% mining) services: 52% (2003 est.) !| Investment (gross fixed): !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: NA !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $3.283 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) !| Public debt: !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Current account balance: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * Botswana has maintained one of the world's highest growth rates since independence in 1966. Through fiscal discipline and sound management, Botswana has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country with a per capita GDP of $8,800 in 2003. Two major investment services rank Botswana as the best credit risk in Africa. Diamond mining has fueled much of the expansion and currently accounts for more than one-third of GDP and for nine-tenths of export earnings. Tourism, subsistence farming, and cattle raising are other key sectors. On the downside, the government must deal with high rates of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment officially is 21%, but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%. HIV/AIDS infection rates are the highest in the world and threaten Botswana's impressive economic gains. Long-term prospects are overshadowed by the expected leveling off in diamond mining production.
 * purchasing power parity - $14.2 billion (2003 est.)
 * 7.2% (2003 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2003 est.)
 * agriculture: 4%
 * 23.9% of GDP (2003)
 * 47% (2002 est.)
 * lowest 10%: NA
 * 9.2% (2003 est.)
 * 264,000 formal sector employees (2000)
 * NA
 * 40% (official rate is 21%) (2001 est.)
 * revenues: $3.263 billion
 * 7% of GDP (2003)
 * livestock, sorghum, maize, millet, beans, sunflowers, groundnuts
 * diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing; textiles
 * 7.3% (2003 est.)
 * 409.8 million kWh (2001)
 * 1.564 billion kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 1.183 billion kWh (2001)
 * 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 16,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * $539 million (2003)
 * $2.544 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
 * diamonds, copper, nickel, soda ash, meat, textiles
 * European Free Trade Association (EFTA) 87%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 7%, Zimbabwe 4% (2000)
 * $1.753 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
 * foodstuffs, machinery, electrical goods, transport equipment, textiles, fuel and petroleum products, wood and paper products, metal and metal products
 * Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 74%, EFTA 17%, Zimbabwe 4% (2000)
 * $5.25 billion (2003)
 * $392 million (2003)
 * $73 million (1995)
 * pula (BWP)
 * BWP
 * pulas per US dollar - 4.9499 (2003), 6.3278 (2002), 5.8412 (2001), 5.1018 (2000), 4.6244 (1999)
 * 1 April - 31 March
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!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: domestic: small system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and a few radiotelephone communication stations; mobile cellular service is growing fast international: country code - 267; two international exchanges; digital microwave radio relay links to Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) !| Radio broadcast stations: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet hosts: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 142,400 (2002)
 * 435,000 (2002)
 * general assessment: the system is expanding with the growth of mobile cellular service and participation in regional development
 * AM 8, FM 13, shortwave 4 (2001)
 * 252,720 (2000)
 * 1 (2001)
 * 31,000 (1997)
 * .bw
 * 1,920 (2003)
 * 11 (2001)
 * 60,000 (2002)
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!| Railways: narrow gauge: 888 km 1.067-m gauge (2003) !| Highways: paved: 5,619 km unpaved: 4,598 km (1999) !| Ports and harbors: !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) !| Airports - with unpaved runways: 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 54 under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.)
 * total: 888 km
 * total: 10,217 km
 * none
 * 85 (2003 est.)
 * total: 10
 * total: 75
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!| Military branches: !| Military manpower - military age and obligation: !| Military manpower - availability: !| Military manpower - fit for military service: !| Military manpower - reaching military age annually: !| Military expenditures - dollar figure: !| Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
 * Botswana Defense Force (including an Air Wing)
 * 18 is the apparent age of voluntary military service; the official qualifications for determining minimum age are unknown (2001)
 * males age 15-49: 381,801 (2004 est.)
 * males age 15-49: 202,176 (2004 est.)
 * males: 20,651 (2004 est.)
 * $298.9 million (2003)
 * 3.6% (2003)
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