Botswana is topographically flat, with up to 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahari Desert<\/a>. It is bordered by South Africa<\/a> to the south and southeast, Namibia<\/a> to the west and north, and Zimbabwe<\/a> to the northeast. Its border with Zambia<\/a> to the north near Kazungula<\/a> is poorly defined but is, at most, a few hundred meters long.<\/p>\n A mid-sized country of just over 2 million people, Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. Around 10 percent of the population lives in the capital and largest city, Gaborone<\/a>. Formerly one of the poorest countries in the world\u2014with a GDP per capita of about US$70 per year in the late 1960s\u2014Botswana has since transformed itself into one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. The economy is dominated by mining, cattle, and tourism. Botswana boasts a GDP (purchasing power parity) per capita of about $18,825 per year as of 2015, which is one of the highest in Africa. Its high gross national income (by some estimates the fourth-largest in Africa) gives the country a relatively high standard of living and the highest Human Development Index of continental Sub-Saharan Africa.<\/p>\n Botswana is a member of the African Union<\/a>, the Southern African Development Community<\/a>, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the United Nations<\/a>. The country has been among the hardest hit by the HIV\/AIDS epidemic. Despite the success in programs to make treatments available to those infected, and to educate the populace in general about how to stop the spread of HIV\/AIDS<\/a>, the number of people with AIDS rose from 290,000 in 2005 to 320,000 in 2013. As of 2014, Botswana has the third-highest prevalence rate for HIV\/AIDS, with roughly 20% of the population infected.<\/p>\n The country’s name means “land of the tswana”, referring to the dominant ethnic group<\/a> in Botswana. The term Batswana was originally applied to the Tswana, which is still the case.<\/p>\n However, it has also come to be used generally as a demonym for all citizens of Botswana. Many English dictionaries also recommend the term Botswanan to refer to people of Botswana.<\/p>\n Archaeological digs have shown that hominids have lived in Botswana for around two million years. Stone tools and fauna remains have shown that all areas of the country were inhabited at least 400,000 years ago. Evidence left by modern humans such as cave paintings are about 73,000 years old. The original inhabitants of southern Africa were the Bushmen (San<\/a>) and Khoi<\/a> peoples. Both speak Khoisan<\/a> languages and hunted, gathered, and traded over long distances. When cattle were first introduced about 2000 years ago into southern Africa, pastoralism became a major feature of the economy, since the region had large grasslands free of tsetse fly<\/a>.<\/p>\n It is unclear when Bantu-speaking<\/a> peoples first moved into the country from the north, although AD 600 seems to be a consensus estimate. In that era, the ancestors of the modern-day Kalanga<\/a> moved into what is now the north-eastern areas of the country. These proto-Kalanga were closely connected to states in Zimbabwe as well as to the Mapungubwe<\/a> state. These states, located outside of current Botswana’s borders, appear to have kept massive cattle herds in what is now the Central District\u2014apparently at numbers approaching modern cattle density. This massive cattle-raising complex prospered until 1300 AD or so, and seems to have regressed following the collapse of Mapungubwe. During this era, the first Tswana-speaking groups, the Bakgalagadi<\/a>, moved into the southern areas of the Kalahari. All these various peoples were connected to trade routes that ran via the Limpopo River<\/a> to the Indian Ocean<\/a>, and trade goods from Asia such as beads made their way to Botswana most likely in exchange for ivory, gold, and rhinoceros horn<\/a>.<\/p>\n The arrival of the ancestors of the Tswana-speakers who came to control the region has yet to be dated precisely. Members of the Bakwena<\/a>, a chieftaincy under a legendary leader named Kgabo II, made their way into the southern Kalahari by AD 1500, at the latest, and his people drove the Bakgalagadi inhabitants west into the desert. Over the years, several offshoots of the Bakwena moved into adjoining territories. The Bangwaketse<\/a> occupied areas to the west, while the Bangwato<\/a> moved northeast into formerly Kalanga areas. Not long afterwards, a Bangwato offshoot known as the Batawana migrated into the Okavango Delta, probably in the 1790s.<\/p>\n The first written records relating to modern-day Botswana appear in 1824. What these records show is that the Bangwaketse had become the predominant power in the region. Under the rule of Makaba II, the Bangwaketse kept vast herds of cattle in well-protected desert areas, and used their military prowess to raid their neighbors. Other chiefdoms in the area, by this time, had capitals of 10,000 or so and were fairly prosperous. This equilibrium came to end during the Mfecane period, 1823\u20131843<\/a>, when a succession of invading peoples from South Africa entered the country. Although the Bangwaketse were able to defeat the invading Bakololo<\/a> in 1826, over time all the major chiefdoms in Botswana were attacked, weakened, and impoverished. The Bakololo and Amandebele<\/a> raided repeatedly, and took large numbers of cattle, women, and children from the Batswana\u2014most of whom were driven into the desert or sanctuary areas such as hilltops and caves. Only after 1843, when the Amandebele moved into western Zimbabwe, did this threat subside.<\/p>\n During the 1840s and 1850s trade with Cape Colony<\/a>-based merchants opened up and enabled the Batswana chiefdoms to rebuild. The Bakwena, Bangwaketse, Bangwato and Batawana cooperated to control the lucrative ivory trade, and then used the proceeds to import horses and guns, which in turn enabled them to establish control over what is now Botswana. This process was largely complete by 1880, and thus the Bushmen, the Kalanga, the Bakgalagadi, and other current minorities were subjugated by the Batswana<\/a>.<\/p>\n Following the Great Trek<\/a>, Afrikaners<\/a> from the Cape Colony established themselves on the borders of Botswana in the Transvaal<\/a>. In 1852 a coalition of Tswana chiefdoms led by Sechele I<\/a> resisted Afrikaner incursions, and after about eight years of intermittent tensions and hostilities, eventually came to a peace agreement in Potchefstroom in 1860. From that point on, the modern-day border between South Africa and Botswana was agreed on, and the Afrikaners and Batswana traded and worked together ‘peacefully’.<\/p>\n Due to newly peaceful conditions, trade thrived between 1860 and 1880. Taking advantage of this were Christian missionaries<\/a>. The Lutherans<\/a> and the London Missionary Society<\/a> both became established in the country by 1856. By 1880 every major village had a resident missionary, and their influence slowly became felt. Khama III<\/a> (reigned 1875\u20131923) was the first of the Tswana chiefs to make Christianity a state religion, and changed a great deal of Tswana customary law as a result. Christianity became the de facto official religion in all the chiefdoms by World War I.<\/p>\n During the Scramble for Africa<\/a> the territory of Botswana was coveted by both Germany<\/a> and Great Britain<\/a>. During the Berlin Conference<\/a>, Britain decided to annex Botswana in order to safeguard the Road to the North and thus connect the Cape Colony to its territories further north. It unilaterally annexed Tswana territories in January 1885 and then sent the Warren Expedition<\/a> north to consolidate control over the area and convince the chiefs to accept British overrule. Despite their misgivings, they eventually acquiesced to this fait accompli.<\/p>\n In 1890 areas north of 22 degrees were added to the new Bechuanaland Protectorate. During the 1890s the new territory was divided into eight different reserves, with fairly small amounts of land being left as freehold for white settlers. During the early 1890s, the British government decided to hand over the Bechuanaland Protectorate to the British South Africa Company<\/a>. This plan, which was well on its way to fruition despite the entreaties of Tswana leaders who toured England in protest, was eventually foiled by the failure of the Jameson Raid<\/a> in January 1896.<\/p>\n When the Union of South Africa<\/a> was formed in 1910 from the main British colonies in the region, the High Commission Territories \u2014 the Bechuanaland Protectorate, Basutoland<\/a> (now Lesotho<\/a>), and Swaziland (now Eswatini<\/a>) \u2014 were not included, but provision was made for their later incorporation. However, the UK began to consult with their inhabitants as to their wishes. Although successive South African governments sought to have the territories transferred to their jurisdiction, the UK kept delaying; consequently, it never occurred. The election of the Nationalist<\/a> government in 1948, which instituted apartheid, and South Africa’s withdrawal from the Commonwealth in 1961, ended any prospect of the UK or these territories agreeing to incorporation into South Africa.<\/p>\n An expansion of British central authority and the evolution of tribal government resulted in the 1920 establishment of two advisory councils to represent both Africans and Europeans. The African Council consisted of the eight heads of the Tswana tribes and some elected members. Proclamations in 1934 regulated tribal rule and powers. A European-African advisory council was formed in 1951, and the 1961 constitution established a consultative legislative council.<\/p>\n In June 1964, the United Kingdom accepted proposals for a democratic self-government in Botswana. The seat of government was moved in 1965 from Mafikeng<\/a> in South Africa, to the newly established Gaborone, which is located near Botswana’s border with South Africa. Based on the 1965 constitution, the country held its first general elections under universal suffrage and gained independence on 30 September 1966. Seretse Khama<\/a>, a leader in the independence movement and the legitimate claimant to the Ngwato<\/a> chiefship, was elected as the first President, and subsequently re-elected twice.<\/p>\n The presidency passed to the sitting Vice-President, Quett Masire<\/a>, who was elected in his own right in 1984 and re-elected in 1989 and 1994. Masire retired from office in 1998. He was succeeded by Festus Mogae<\/a>, who was elected in his own right in 1999 and re-elected in 2004. The presidency passed in 2008 to Ian Khama<\/a> (son of the first President), who had been serving as Mogae’s Vice-President since resigning his position in 1998 as Commander of the Botswana Defence Force<\/a> to take up this civilian role.<\/p>\n A long-running dispute over the northern border with Namibia’s Caprivi Strip<\/a> was the subject of a ruling by the International Court of Justice<\/a> in December 1999. It ruled that Kasikili Island<\/a> belongs to Botswana.<\/p>\n At 224,607 square miles Botswana is the world’s 48th-largest country. It is similar in size to Madagascar<\/a> or France<\/a>.<\/p>\n The country is predominantly flat, tending toward gently rolling tableland<\/a>. Botswana is dominated by the Kalahari Desert, which covers up to 70% of its land surface. The Okavango Delta<\/a>, one of the world’s largest inland deltas<\/a>, is in the northwest. The Makgadikgadi Pan<\/a>, a large salt pan, lies in the north.<\/p>\n The Limpopo River Basin, the major landform of all of southern Africa, lies partly in Botswana, with the basins of its tributaries, the Notwane<\/a>, Bonwapitse<\/a>, Mahalapye<\/a>, Lotsane<\/a>, Motloutse<\/a> and the Shashe<\/a>, located in the eastern part of the country. The Notwane provides water to the capital through the Gaborone Dam<\/a>. The Chobe River<\/a> lies to the north, providing a boundary between Botswana and Namibia’s Zambezi Region<\/a>. The Chobe River meets with the Zambezi River<\/a> at a place called Kazungula (meaning a small sausage tree<\/a>, a point where Sebitwane<\/a> and his Makololo<\/a> tribe crossed the Zambezi into Zambia).<\/p>\n Since independence, Botswana has had one of the fastest growth rates in per capita income in the world. Botswana has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to an upper middle-income country. Although Botswana was resource-abundant, a good institutional framework allowed the country to reinvest resource-income in order to generate stable future income. By one estimate, it has the fourth highest gross national income at purchasing power parity in Africa, giving it a standard of living around that of Mexico.<\/p>\n The Ministry of Trade and Industry of Botswana<\/a> is responsible for promoting business development throughout the country. According to the International Monetary Fund, economic growth averaged over 9% per year from 1966 to 1999. Botswana has a high level of economic freedom compared to other African countries. The government has maintained a sound fiscal policy, despite consecutive budget deficits in 2002 and 2003, and a negligible level of foreign debt. It earned the highest sovereign credit rating in Africa and has stockpiled foreign exchange reserves (over $7 billion in 2005\/2006) amounting to almost two and a half years of current imports.<\/p>\n An array of financial institutions populates the country’s financial system, with pension funds and commercial banks being the two most important segments by asset size. Banks remain profitable, well-capitalized, and liquid, as a result of growing national resources and high interest rates. The Bank of Botswana<\/a> serves as a central bank. The country’s currency is the Botswana pula.<\/p>\n The mineral industry provides about 40% of all government revenues. In 2007, significant quantities of uranium<\/a> were discovered, and mining was projected to begin by 2010. Several international mining corporations have established regional headquarters in Botswana, and prospected for diamonds, gold<\/a>, uranium, copper<\/a>, and even oil, many coming back with positive results. Government announced in early 2009 that they would try to shift their economic dependence on diamonds, over serious concern that diamonds are predicted to dry out in Botswana over the next twenty years.<\/p>\n Botswana’s Orapa mine<\/a> is the largest diamond mine in the world in terms of value and quantity of carats produced annually. Estimated to have produced over 11 million carats in 2013, with an average price of $145\/carat, the Orapa mine was estimated to produce over $1.6 billion worth of diamonds in 2013.<\/p>\n Tourism, concentrated in the wildlife rich Okavango Delta is an increasingly important source of income for Botswana.<\/p>\n Botswana has 603 miles of rail lines, 11,484 miles of roads, and 92 airports, of which 12 have paved runways.<\/p>\n The engineered paved road network has almost entirely been constructed since independence in 1966.<\/p>\n The national airline is Air Botswana<\/a>, which flies domestically to four airports as well as internationally to South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The four major airports with scheduled service are: Sir Seretse Khama International Airport<\/a> in Gaborone, Francistown Airport<\/a>, Kasane Airport<\/a>, and Maun Airport<\/a>. Maun Airport is particularly critical to the tourism infrastructure due to its proximity to the Okavango Delta.<\/p>\n Botswana Railways<\/a> is the national railways company forms a crucial link in the Southern African regional railway systems. Botswana Railways offers rail-based transport logistics solutions to move a range of commodities for the mining sector and primary industries, passenger trains services and dry ports<\/a>.<\/p>\n The national flag of Botswana consists of a light blue field cut horizontally in the center by a black stripe with a thin white frame. Adopted in 1966 to replace the Union Jack, it has been the flag of the Republic of Botswana since the country gained independence that year. It is one of the few African flags that utilities neither the colors of the Pan-Africanist movement nor the colors of the country’s leading political party.<\/p>\n Before it gained independence, Botswana did not have its own distinctive colonial flag, with the flag of the United Kingdom serving as the de facto flag of the protectorate. When Botswana’s national flag was created in 1966, it was symbolically designed to contrast with the flag of South Africa, since the latter country was ruled under an apartheid<\/a> regime. Hence, the black stripe with the white frame came to epitomize the peace and harmony between the people of African and European descent who reside in Botswana. The new flag was first hoisted at midnight on 30 September 1966, the day Botswana became an independent country.<\/p>\n The colors of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. The light blue represents water\u2014specifically, in its form of rain, as it is a precious resource in Botswana, which relies on agriculture and suffers from frequent droughts due to the dry and arid climate of the Kalahari Desert<\/a>. The blue also alludes to the motto featured on the coat of arms of Botswana<\/a>\u2014Pula, which means “Let there be rain” in Setswana<\/a> – as well as life, which is sustained by water.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/10\/Botswana-on-the-Globe-300x279.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Etymology:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/10\/Tswana-Dancers-216x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>History:<\/h2>\n
Early History:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/10\/The-Two-Rhino-painting-at-Tsodilo-300x201.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Effects of the Mfecane:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/10\/Khoisan-1805-300x184.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Colonialism and the Bechuanaland Protectorate:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/10\/British-Drawing-of-a-Typical-Village-1806-300x236.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/10\/Stamp-of-British-Bechuanaland-from-1960-300x219.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Independence:<\/h3>\n
Geography:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/10\/Topographic-Map-of-Botswana-300x282.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Economy:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/10\/Export-Map-300x234.jpeg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/10\/Debswana-Diamond-Complex-Gaborone-300x169.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Transportation:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/10\/Botswana-Road-Map-294x300.gif\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/10\/Gaborone-Airport-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Flag of Botswana:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/10\/Flag-of-Botswana-300x200.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>