Botswana Profile
Botswana is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. . It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast, border with Zambia to the north near Kazungul.
The citizens of Botswana refer to themselves as Batswana. The country is formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland; Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966 and it has held uninterrupted democratic elections since independence.
Botswana is flat and up to 70% is covered by the Kalahari Desert. The country has a population of over two million people and is the most sparsely populated countries in the world.
Botswana was one of the poorest countries in Africa when it gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1966, with a GDP per capita of about US$70 per year. Botswana has since transformed itself, becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in the world with a GDP (purchasing power parity) per capita of about $16,400 per year as of 2013 and a high gross national income possibly the fourth-largest in Africa, giving the country a modest standard of living.
The country, being a member of the African Union also has a strong tradition as a representative democracy and has the second highest Human Development Index of continental Sub-Saharan African countries, despite having been ravaged by the AIDS epidemic
It is also the world’s largest producer of diamonds and the trade has transformed it into a middle-income nation.
Botswana protects some of Africa’s largest areas of wilderness. It is sparsely populated, because it is so dry. The Kalahari Desert, home to a dwindling band of bushman hunter-gatherers, makes up much of the territory and most areas are too arid to sustain any agriculture other than cattle
General information about Botswana has been summarized to include the following;
Background and Geography of Botswana
Membership of regional and international organisations
Population and health of Botswana
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