Portal:Botswana

WikiProject Botswana

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Coat of Arms of Botswana	Flag of Botswana

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. 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. While it is not enshrined by statutory law, Botswana is de facto the nation state of the Batswana people, who constitute nearly 80% of the population while legally undistinguished Kalanga people, who account for another 11%, are the single largest ethnic minority.

The Batswana 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 and income inequality 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...)

Selected article -

Mmegi is an English-language national newspaper in Botswana, with occasional articles or comments in Setswana. Established in 1984, it is now published daily online and weekly in print format by Dikgang Publishing House in the capital, Gaborone. Mmegi used to be Botswana's only independent newspaper to be published daily.

The newspaper's name means "the reporter" in Setswana and its strapline is "News we need to know daily". Until 1989, it was called Mmegi wa Dikgang/The Reporter. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Did you know -

... that "Fatshe leno la rona", the national anthem of Botswana, was reportedly not the government's preferred choice because it was composed by the co-founder and leader of an opposition party?

Good content -

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

A hippopotamus in Saadani National Park, Tanzania

The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius; /ˌhɪpəˈpɒtəməs/; pl.: hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (pl.: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis or Hexaprotodon liberiensis). Its name comes from the Ancient Greek for "river horse" (ἱπποπόταμος).

After elephants and rhinoceroses, the hippopotamus is the next largest land mammal. It is also the largest extant land artiodactyl. Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, the closest living relatives of the hippopotamids are cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises, etc.), from which they diverged about 55 million years ago. Hippos are recognisable for their barrel-shaped torsos, wide-opening mouths with large canine tusks, nearly hairless bodies, short legs, and large size: adults average 1.5 t (1.7 short tons) for bulls (males) and 1.3 t (1.4 short tons) for cows (females). (Full article...)

List of Good content

General images -

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

Image 1Aerial view over Okavango Delta (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 2Typical Kgotla setting (from Tswana people)
Image 3Orapa House (from Gaborone)
Image 4New Construction Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 5Prehistoric cave paintings at Tsodilo (from History of Botswana)
Image 6St. Joseph's College students (from Gaborone)
Image 7Paiting of Sechele on top a hill overlooking the battle of Dimawe in 1852 (from Tswana people)
Image 8Quett Masire visiting the United States in 1984 (from History of Botswana)
Image 9Man on donkey herding goats in a dry river bed (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 10BR Express, the passenger train (from Francistown)
Image 11Botswana traditional baskets (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 12The Jwaneng diamond mine is the second biggest in the world today. (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 13Christ The King Cathedral (from Gaborone)
Image 14Magadi (traditional wedding) (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 15Francistown Bus Terminal (from Francistown)
Image 16South African billionaire mining businessman, CAF President (from Tswana people)
Image 17CBD Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 18An illustration of a Tswana man and his wife in the early 1800s (from History of Botswana)
Image 19The National Assembly of Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 20Seretse Khama signing the oath of office to become Botswana's first President in 1966 (from History of Botswana)
Image 21Room 52 Roof Top Restaurant (from Gaborone)
Image 22Gaborone aerial (from Gaborone)
Image 23GDP per capita (current), compared to neighbouring countries (world average = 100) (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 24Kombi (Minibus taxi) (from Gaborone)
Image 25A 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 26SSKI Airport (from Gaborone)
Image 27Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs building (from Gaborone)
Image 28Botswana traditional house at the National Museum (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 29Setswana traditional house (from Tswana people)
Image 30King Molema of Barolong (from Tswana people)
Image 31CBD Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 32King Khama (III) of Bamangwato (from Tswana people)
Image 33Rhodesia Railways car at the national museum (from Gaborone)
Image 34Rev. Derek Jones, the first mayor of Gaborone
Image 35I-Tower at Central Business District (from Gaborone)
Image 364th President of Botswana, King of Bamangwato (Khama IV) (from Tswana people)
Image 37King Bathoen II 1947 of Bangwaketse (from Tswana people)
Image 38Watch house in Gaborone Game Reserve (from Gaborone)
Image 39Ostriches at Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 40Gaborone Hindu Temple (from Gaborone)
Image 41Botswana Gaborone I Towers (from Gaborone)
Image 42Mochudi Village in the early 19th century) (from Tswana people)
Image 43 Tswana tribesmen, first Africans to compete at the Olympics (from Tswana people)
Image 44Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 45Flag of Bophuthatswana (from Tswana people)
Image 46Francistown City Bus and Taxi Rank (from Francistown)
Image 47Tebogo Letsile, the 2024 Summer Olympics 200 metres gold medalist (from Tswana people)
Image 48Festus Mogae alongside foreign presidents Joaquim Chissano, George W. Bush, and José Eduardo dos Santos in 2002 (from History of Botswana)
Image 49Satellite view of Gaborone. North is to the left of the image. (from Gaborone)
Image 50The Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, named after the first president of Botswana (from History of Botswana)
Image 51South African ANC activist, writer and author, (from Tswana people)
Image 52Tswana Baskets used for storing grain (from Tswana people)
Image 53Rail network map of Botswana (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 54Duma Boko signing an agreement with the United States in 2025 (from History of Botswana)
Image 55New CBD (from Gaborone)
Image 56Batswana men dressed in traditional attire during the visit of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret to Lobatse, Bechuanaland, on 17 April 1947 (from Tswana people)
Image 57South African politician (from Tswana people)
Image 58Tourist resort at Kasane (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 59Depiction of a Precolonial Homestead in the ancient City of Kaditshwene circa early 1400
Image 60Francistown Stadium (from Francistown)
Image 61A postage stamp circa 1943, the postmark reading "Gaborone's Village" (from Gaborone)
Image 62I-Towers, Gaborone Central Business District (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 63Flag map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 64Gaborone Hindu temple (from Gaborone)
Image 65Robert Moffat (1795-1883), Scottish Missionary (from Tswana people)
Image 66A road in Gaborone (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 6718th Century Tswana Warrior (from Tswana people)
Image 68Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 69Bechuanaland Boys cleaning Aa Guns in the Twilight after Action, Syracuse, Sicily, 1944 art piece by Leslie Cole (from History of Botswana)
Image 70Mokgweetsi Masisi speaking at a conference on the illegal wildlife trade in London in 2018 (from History of Botswana)
Image 71Street scene near the Main Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 72View from Kgale Hill (Oodi Hill on horizon) (from Gaborone)
Image 73Ian Khama meeting with William Hague in London (from History of Botswana)
Image 74Young Tswana maiden dressed in Leteisi (from Tswana people)
Image 75Road map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 76Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) (from Gaborone)
Image 77Gaborone Mosque (from Gaborone)