Botswana

Demographics

Botswana has the 54th lowest Human Development Index rating in the world

• Population: 1,842,323 (UK: 61 million)
• Birth rate: 23 births/1,000 population (UK: 11 births/1,000)
• Life expectancy at birth: 51 years (UK: 79 years)
• Population under 15 years: 35% (UK: 18%)
• High infant mortality: more than 1 in 23 die at birth (UK: 1 in 197 die at birth)
• Population below the poverty line: 30%
• HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate: 37% of population (UK: 0.2%)
• Literacy rate: 81% (UK: 99%)

Infrastructure

A poor road infrastructure makes overland travelling both challenging and time-consuming.

• Area of the country: 231,804 sq miles (UK: 94,525 sq miles)
• 15,196 miles of roads, but only 5,045 miles of paved roads (UK: 241, 104 miles - all paved)
• 85 landing strips but only 11 are paved.

Economy

Botswana has maintained a high economic growth rates since independence in 1966, fuelled by diamond mining, tourism and finance. However, poverty, high unemployment and AIDS remain serious problems.

• Main exports include diamonds, copper, nickel, soda ash, meat, textiles

Environment

Botswana is landlocked, mostly flat with desert in the south-west. Its population is concentrated in the eastern part of the country. There are environmental issues:

• overgrazing
• desertification
• limited fresh water resources

Climate

A semiarid country (desert in the south-west) with warm winters and hot summers, creating natural hazards to the population:

• periodic droughts;
• seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility

Religion

Complete freedom of religion. After two centuries of having the gospel, the old tribal religions remain strong, and often spiritually unchallenged.

• Christian 71.6%,
• Badimo 6%,
• other 1.4%,
• unspecified 0.4%,
• none 20.6%