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Infrastructure. The Bosnian government has issued an international tender for the construction of the 350 km long Pan-European Corridor Vc in Bosnia and Herzegovina which will passes along the route Budapest-Osijek-Sarajevo-Ploče. The highway along this corridor is the most significant roadway in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the shortest communication route between Central Europe and the Southern Adriatic. The routing of the road passes through the central part of the country in the north–south direction from Donji Svilaj to the border of B&H, north from the Croatian port of Ploče, following the rivers Bosna and Neretva. More than 50% of the total population and the economic activity of Bosnia and Herzegovina lies within the zone of influence along this route. As of August 2018, 200 km of the motorway has been completed. Due to annual growth of nearly 10% the Sarajevo International Airport extension of the passenger terminal, together with upgrading and expanding the taxiway and apron is planned to start in Fall 2012. The existing terminal will be expanded with 7.000 square metres. The upgraded airport will also be directly connected to the commercial retail center Sarajevo Airport Center making it easy for tourist and travellers to use the time before the flight for some last minute shopping.
Transport in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina has facilities for road, rail and air transport. There are five international road routes and 20 state highways, with bus connections to many countries. Railways total just over 1,000 km with links to Croatia and Serbia. There are 25 airports, seven of them with paved runways. The Sava River is navigable, but its use is limited. Roadways. National and international bus services. Bosnia & Herzegovina is well connected to other countries in Europe. The main bus station of Sarajevo has its own website. The main provider of international bus connection in Bosnia & Herzegovina is Eurolines. There are routes to Croatia, Germany, Austria, France, Netherlands, Montenegro, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and Serbia. Despite Bosnia & Herzegovina's geographical closeness to Serbia, there is only one bus a day, which takes more than 8 hours due to the lack of proper roads. Waterways. Sava River (northern border) open to shipping but use is limited (2008) Ports and harbours.
Gradiška, Brod, Šamac, and Brčko (all inland waterway ports on the Sava none of which are fully operational), Orašje, Bosnia Merchant marine. none (1999 est.) Airports. Air transport begin in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the period of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia when the flag-carrier Aeroput inaugurated a regular flight linking the national capital Belgrade with Podgorica in 1930, with a stop in Sarajevo. A year later Aeroput inaugurated another regular flight starting in Belgrade and then stopping in Sarajevo and continuing towards Split, Sušak and Zagreb. By mid-1930s Aeroput inaugurated two routes linking Belgrade and Zagreb with Dubrovnik through Sarajevo, and, in 1938, it inaugurated an international route linking Dubrovnik, which was becoming a major holiday destination, through Sarajevo, to Zagreb, Vienna, Brno and Prague. 25 (2008) Airports - with paved runways. "total:" 7 "2,438 to 3,047 m:" 4 "1,524 to 2,437 m:" 1 "under 914 m:" 2 (2008) Airports - with unpaved runways. "total:" 18 "1,524 to 2,437 m:" 1 "914 to 1,523 m:" 7 "under 914 m:" 10 (2008) Heliports. 6 (2013)
Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( or OSBiH) is the official military force of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The BiH armed forces were officially unified in 2005 and are composed of two founding armies: the Bosniak and Bosnian Croat Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (VFBiH) and the Bosnian Serbs' Army of Republika Srpska (VRS). The Ministry of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, founded in 2004, is in charge of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Chain of command. In accordance with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Article 5.5a), Bosnian Law of defense and Bosnian Law of service, the supreme civilian commander of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the collective Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The collective Presidency directs the Ministry of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Armed Forces. Former Bosnia and Herzegovina ministers of defence include Nikola Radovanović, Selmo Cikotić, Muhamed Ibrahimović, Zekerijah Osmić, Marina Pendeš and Sifet Podžić. , the minister is Zukan Helez. Former Chiefs of Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina include Lieutenant colonel general Sifet Podžić, Lieutenant colonel general Miladin Milojčić, Lieutenant colonel general Anto Jeleč and Colonel general Senad Mašović. The current Chief of Joint Staff is General Gojko Knežević. Conscription was completely abolished in Bosnia and Herzegovina effective 1 January 2006.
Defence law. The Bosnia and Herzegovina Defence Law addresses the following areas: the Military of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Government Institutions, Entity Jurisdictions and Structure, Budget and Financing, Composition of Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, War Declaration, natural disasters, conflict of interests and professionalism, Oath to Bosnia-Herzegovina, flags, anthem and military insignia, and transitional and end orders. History. The AFBiH was formed from three armies of the Bosnian War period: the Bosniak Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska, and the Croat Defence Council. The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was created on 15 April 1992 during the early days of the Bosnian War. Before the ARBiH was formally created, there existed Territorial Defence, an official military force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and several paramilitary groups such as the Green Berets, Patriotic League, and civil defence groups, as well as many criminal gangs and collections of police and military professionals. The army was formed under poor circumstances, with a very low number of tanks, APCs and no military aviation assets. The army was divided into Corps, each Corps was stationed in a territory. The first commander was Sefer Halilović.
The Army of Republika Srpska was created on 12 May 1992. Before the VRS was formally created, there were several paramilitary groups such as the Srpska dobrovoljačka garda, Beli Orlovi, as well as some Russian, Greek and other volunteers. The army was equipped with ex-JNA inventory. It had about 200 tanks, mostly T-55s and 85 M-84s, and 150 APCs with several heavy artillery pieces. The Air Defense of VRS shot down several aircraft, like F-16, Mirage 2000, F-18 and one Croatian Air Force MiG-21. The VRS received support from the Yugoslav Army and FR Yugoslavia. The Croatian Defence Council was the main military formation of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia during the Bosnian War. It was the first organized military force to control the Croat-populated areas, created on 8 April 1992. They ranged from men armed with shotguns assigned to village defence tasks to organized, uniformed, and well-equipped brigade-sized formations that nevertheless employed part-time soldiers. As time went on, the HVO forces became increasingly better organized and more "professional", but it was not until early 1994, that the HVO began to form guards brigades, mobile units manned by full-time professional soldiers.
In 1995–96, a NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops served in Bosnia and Herzegovina, beginning on December 21, 1995, to implement and monitor the military aspects of the Dayton Peace Agreement. IFOR was succeeded by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force or SFOR. The number of SFOR troops was reduced first to 12,000 and then to 7,000. SFOR was in turn succeeded by an even smaller, European Union-led European Union Force, EUFOR Althea. , EUFOR Althea numbered around 7,000 troops. The Bosnian Train and Equip Program. The program to train and equip the Bosnian Federation Army after the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement in 1995 was a key element of the U.S. strategy to bring stable peace to Bosnia. The Train and Equip Program also calmed the concerns of some Congressmen about committing U.S. troops to peacekeeping duty in Bosnia. Creating a stable and functioning Federation Army that could deter Serb aggression had the prospect of allowing NATO and U.S. troops to withdraw from Bosnia within the original 12-month mandate, which the administration assured Congress was all it would take to stabilize the country.
The program conducted an “international program review” in April 1998 to demonstrate to U.S. partners that it had been well managed and successful and to solicit additional contributions. The event was attended by 20 current and potential donor countries and an air of satisfaction prevailed. The Dayton Peace Agreement left the country with three armies under two commands: the Bosniak and Bosnian Croat armies within the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, facing their recent adversaries the Army of the Republika Srpska. These three forces together had around 419,000 personnel in regulars and reserves. This force size and orientation was totally at odds with the international peacemakers' vision. Slow reductions did take place. By 2004, the two warring factions had reduced their forces to 12,000 regulars and 240,000 reserves but had made virtually no progress in integrating the two into one new force, though the basis of a state defence ministry had been put in place via the Standing Committee on Military Matters (SCMM). Conscription for periods of around four months continued, the costs of which were weighing down both entities.
The restructuring of the three armies into the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina represents part of a wider process of 'thickening' the central state institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. To mitigate some of the potential controversy around restructuring, the Office of the High Representative (OHR) made use of evidence of malpractice in Republika Srpska military institutions. Firstly, from 2002 onwards, OHR utilised a scandal around the provision of parts and assistance to Iraq in breach of a UN embargo (the so-called Orao affair) to support the cause for bringing governance of the armies under the level of central institutions. Following this, in 2004, the process was accelerated, drawing its justification from new evidence of material and other forms of support flowing from Republika Srpska armed forces to ICTY indictee Ratko Mladić. OHR condemned the ‘systematic connivance of high-ranking members of the RS military’ and noted that measures to tackle such systematic deficiencies were under consideration. This was quickly followed by the expansion of the mandate for a Defence Reform Commission, which ultimately resulted in the consolidation of three armed forces into one, governed at the level of the central state.
As the joint AFBiH began to develop, troops began to be sent abroad. Bosnia and Herzegovina deployed a unit of 37 men to destroy munitions and clear mines, in addition to 6 command personnel as part of the Multinational force in Iraq. The unit was first deployed to Fallujah, then Talil Air Base, and is now located at Camp Echo. In December 2006, the Bosnian government formally extended its mandate through June 2007. Bosnia and Herzegovina planned to send another 49 soldiers from the 6th Infantry Division to Iraq in August 2008, their mission being to protect/guard Camp Victory in Baghdad. Structure. The Military units are commanded by the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina Joint Staff in Sarajevo. There are two major commands under the Joint Staff: Operational Command and Support Command. There are three regiments that are each formed by soldiers from the three ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs and trace their roots to the armies that were created during the war in BiH. These regiments have their distinct ethnic insignias and consist of three active battalions each. Headquarters of regiments have no operational authority. On the basis of the Law on Service in the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the regimental headquarters have the following tasks: to manage the regimental museum, monitor financial fund, prepare, investigate and cherish the history of the regiment, the regiment publish newsletters, maintain cultural and historical heritage, give guidance on holding special ceremonies, give guidance on customs, dress and deportment Regiment, conduct officer, NCO and military clubs. Each regiments' three battalions are divided evenly between the three active brigades of the Army.
Operational Command. Overall the brigades are multinational with 45.9% Bosniaks, 33.6% Serbs, 19.8% Croats and about 0.7% of other ethnic groups (as for 2016). Brigades under the Support Command control. Within the armed forces, there are a number of services. These include a Technical Service, Air Technology service, Military Police service, Communications service, Sanitary service, a Veterans service, Civilian service, Financial service, Information service, Legal service, Religious service, and a Musical service. Uniform and insignia. Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina were unified in 2005 and at that time they needed a uniform for the newly founded Armed Forces. MARPAT was designated as the future camouflage pattern to be used on combat uniforms of the AFBiH. Insignia is found on military hats or berets, on the right and left shoulder on the uniform of all soldiers of the Armed Forces. All, except for generals, wear badges on their hats or berets with either the land force badge or air force badge. Generals wear badges with the coat of arms of Bosnia surrounded with branches and two swords. All soldiers of the armed forces have on their right shoulder a flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina. All members of the three regiments wear their regiment insignia on the left shoulder. There are other insignias, brigades or other institution are worn under the regiment insignia. The name of the soldiers is worn on the left part of the chest while the name "Armed Forces of BiH" is worn on the right part of the chest. In 2023, members of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina began to wear a new field uniform of high-quality cloth and original camouflage schemes with the characteristics of the Bosnian environment.
Foreign relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina The implementation of the Dayton Accords of 1995 has focused the efforts of policymakers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the international community, on regional stabilization in the countries-successors of the former Yugoslavia. Relations with its neighbors of Croatia and Serbia have been fairly stable since the signing of the Dayton Agreement in 1995. Diplomatic relations. List of countries which Bosnia and Herzegovina maintains diplomatic relations with: EU accession. The accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Union is one of the main political objectives of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) is the EU's policy framework. Countries participating in the SAP have been offered the possibility to become, once they fulfill the necessary conditions, member states of the EU. Bosnia and Herzegovina is therefore a potential candidate country for EU accession. International organizations. Bank for International Settlements, Council of Europe, Central European Initiative, EBRD,
Energy Community United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, FAO, Group of 77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, International Criminal Court, International Development Association, IFAD, International Finance Corporation, IFRCS, ILO, International Monetary Fund, International Maritime Organization, Interpol, IOC, International Organization for Migration (observer), ISO, ITU, Non-Aligned Movement (guest), Organization of American States (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Southeast European Cooperative Initiative, United Nations, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
History of Botswana The history of Botswana encompasses the region's ancient and tribal history, its colonisation as the Bechuanaland Protectorate, and the present-day Republic of Botswana. The first modern humans to inhabit Botswana were the San people, and agriculture first developed approximately 2,300 years ago. The first Bantu peoples arrived , and the first Tswana people arrived about 200 years later. The Tswana people split into various tribes over the following thousand years as migrations within the region continued, culminating in the "Difaqane" in the late 18th century. European contact first occurred in 1816, which led to the Christianization of the region. Facing threats from German South West Africa and the Afrikaners, the most influential Tswana chiefs negotiated the creation of a protectorate under the United Kingdom in 1885. The British divided the territory into tribal reserves for each of the major chiefs to rule, giving the chiefs more power than they had previously, but it otherwise exercised only limited direct control over the protectorate. The British government took a more active role beginning in the 1930s. Botswana supported British involvement in World War II and many fought as part of the African Auxiliary Pioneer Corps.
A power struggle took place in the 1950s between the Ngwato chief Seretse Khama and his regent Tshekedi Khama. Seretse's marriage to a white woman, Ruth Williams Khama, led the British to ban him from the protectorate. He returned in 1956 with popular support, and tribes moved toward elected government as an independence movement formed. A national legislature was created in 1961, and political parties were formed. Seretse became the leader of the Bechuanaland Democratic Party, which was endorsed by the British government to lead post-independence, and it saw overwhelming support in the first election in 1965. The Republic of Botswana was granted full independence in 1966. With a strong mandate, Seretse and his party implemented liberal democracy and began developing infrastructure in what was one of the world's poorest nations. Extensive diamond deposits were discovered in 1969, causing a massive reorganisation of Botswana's economy. The Debswana mining company was created in 1978, and Botswana became the world's fastest growing economy. The HIV/AIDS pandemic became a crisis in Botswana in the 1980s, and the 1990s came with the introduction of political factionalism after the political scandal of the Kgabo Commission. The Botswana Democratic Party remained the dominant party from independence until the Umbrella for Democratic Change won the 2024 general election.
Pre-colonial history. Prehistory. Present-day Botswana was primarily forest ten million years ago and the rivers were much larger than they are in the present, flowing into the massive paleolake, Lake Makgadikgadi. "Homo erectus" lived in the region during the Early Stone Age. Stone tools in present-day Botswana, such as Acheulean axes, date back to two million years ago. Hominin migration to the Kalahari Desert is estimated to have happened prior to Marine Isotope Stage 6, 186,000 years ago. Lake Makgadikgadi began to shrink approximately 50,000 years ago. The ancestors of the Khoe and San peoples—unrelated peoples who are referred to collectively as the "Khoisan" or "Sarwa" peoples—lived in present-day Botswana by approximately 40,000 to 30,000 years ago. They may have been the first humans to enter the Late Stone Age. They established themselves around rivers during drier periods of history but spread throughout the region during wetter periods. They are known to have inhabited the areas around Lake Makgadikgadi, as well as Tsodilo and ≠Gi. Other peoples such as the Nata, Shua, and Xani are believed to have arrived after the Khoe and San. Rock art dates back to approximately 30,000 years ago, and virtually all permanent water supplies were associated with early humans 20,000 years ago. More detailed study of southern Africa in the Stone Age has been limited.
The various peoples of the region were hunter-gatherers who remained in small groups and engaged in trade with one another. It is believed that each groups was a collection of related families holding a specific territory, led by the eldest man of its head family. Men hunted large animals, while women gathered plants and caught small animals. The groups intermarried and practiced a dowry system, "xaro". Ancient history. Approximately 2,000 years ago, the peoples of the region brought cattle and sheep to present-day Botswana and began making pottery. Agriculture developed during this time and the peoples began settling in villages, which rose and fell as the climate and cattle raids caused livestock access to fluctuate. Among the earliest crops were pearl millet, finger millet, sorghum, Bambara groundnuts, cowpeas, and cucurbits. The first Bantu people arrived in the region between 2,000 and 1,500 years ago, and it was once believed that they had first introduced livestock to the area. The Kgalagadi people were the first of the Bantu peoples to settle in present-day Botswana, arriving . The first Tswana people (singular "Motswana", plural "Batswana") are estimated to have arrived c. 400 CE. These Bantu peoples brought iron and copper tools to the region and settled along permanent waterways.
Post-classical period. The Taukome people arrived in present-day Botswana by the 7th century, and their possession of glass beads indicates early connection to Indian Ocean trade. The number of livestock kept in the area increased significantly between the 8th century and the 10th century. The Tswana people organised themselves into a tribal government, called a "morafe" (plural "merafe"), each led by a chief called a "kgosi" (plural "dikgosi"). This system produced a more hierarchical government relative to others in the region. Cattle became a central part of society in the region, and ownership of cattle denoted one's status. The early history of the Tswana people remains largely unknown because little archaeological evidence has been left. Trade routes connected tribes throughout the Kalahari Desert by 900 CE, and access to the Indian Ocean trade expanded in the region over the 10th century. The Toutswe people became the predominant group in present-day Botswana during the 11th and 12th centuries as they became wealthier through ownership of cattle. Specularite mining became widespread during this period. The value of products fluctuated during this period as expanding trade with foreign nations and the discovery of gold took interest away from specularite and animal products like ivory. One tribe in Tsodilo was particularly influential in the trade of specularite until it fell at the end of the 12th century. The tribes in southeastern Botswana were far removed from these developments and remained largely unaffected.
Neighbouring present-day Botswana during the 11th and 12th centuries were the people of Leopard's Kopje, who formed the Kingdom of Mapungubwe and projected influence throughout the region. Their influence declined by the 13th century, and they were replaced as the regional power by Great Zimbabwe as the gold trade became a driving factor in the region's economy. It controlled many of the tribes that existed in what is now northeastern Botswana. After the fall of Great Zimbabwe in the 15th century, several other states developed. The Kingdom of Butua, formed by the Kalanga peoples, was established on the present-day Botswana–Zimbabwe border. Migration of Tswana peoples through present-day Botswana occurred over the following centuries as they were displaced by native and colonial populations from the south. Large migrations of Kalanga and Sotho–Tswana peoples into present-day Botswana occurred during the 15th and 16th centuries, and the Kalanga peoples controlled the land between the Motloutse River and the Makgadikgadi Pan until the 18th century. The Hurutshe, Kgatla, and Kwena peoples split from the Phofu dynasty in the Transvaal region amid drought and hereditary conflicts, eventually migrating north to present-day Botswana.
Early modern period. The Tswana people had a presence throughout present-day Botswana by 1600. Some peoples of the region remained in the Late Stone Age until about this time. According to oral tradition, the pastoralist Herero and Mbanderu peoples split from the Mbunda people in the 17th century as Tswana cattle raids scattered the groups. Oral tradition also holds that the Yeyi people migrated from the upper Chobe River into the Okavango Delta in the 18th century, though contact between the Yeyi and the Khoe may have existed much longer. Different Tswana tribes were able to separate and form independently from one another as the region's primary asset, cattle, is easily transported. The western tribes were especially prone to separation because of the large distances between towns and farmlands. They were often the targets of raids by the Griqua people. The first Tswana state was formed by the Ngwaketse people in the mid-18th century. Subsequent states were formed by the Kwena people, the Ngwato people, and the Tawana people over the following decades. With these came the development of the "mophato" (plural "mephato"), a militia regiment organised by age group, among the eastern Tswana peoples in the 1750s. Two Kgatla peoples, the Kgafela people and the Tlokwa people, joined together at this time and seized control over the area surrounding Pilanesberg in present-day South Africa. They subjugated several peoples in the region and twice won conflicts against the Fokeng people. The use of "mephato" spread to the western Tswana peoples by the end of the century. It was never widely adopted in the south.
The Difaqane. The "Difaqane", a period of conflict and displacement in southern Africa, took place during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. During this time, the Tswana people were subject to raids by many groups, including the Ndebele, the Kololo, the Ngoni, the Pedi, and the Voortrekkers. Most Tswana groups opted to retreat instead of fight. This triggered extensive migration across the region, causing the Tswana tribes to more thoroughly spread and establish a stronger presence throughout the territory of present-day Botswana. They settled primarily in the "hardveld" that makes up the eastern region of present-day Botswana. The Kwena and Ngwaketse peoples migrated from Transvaal to the "sandveld". The first of the Kgatla peoples to settle in present-day Botswana, the Mmanaana people, migrated from South Africa in the early 19th century before settling in Moshupa and Thamaga. Only some of the northwestern Tswana peoples were spared displacement or interruption. The Kololo people attacked the northwestern Tswana peoples in 1826, forcing the Kwena and Ngwaketse from their respective territories. Sebogo, the regent of the Ngwaketse tribe, raised 4,000 men in their "mephato" and surrounded Dithubaruba where the Kololo were residing. Killing the warriors and the civilians, they permanently expelled the Kololo from the region.
The tribes reestablished their states in the 1840s, founding several towns and villages of varying sizes. Governance was based around the "kgotla", a deliberative forum in which the chief or a regional leader heard the concerns of most male citizens before making decisions. European missionaries. European missionaries first arrived in present-day Botswana in 1816 through the London Missionary Society. This and other missionary groups worked to convert the chiefs to Christianity and to build missionary schools. The missionary Robert Moffat set his mission station on the border of present-day Botswana as a barrier against the Boers so they could not move further inward. Moffat published the first Setswana language text with a uniform orthography when he began translating Christian texts and wrote a Setswana dictionary. Both the Old and New Testaments could be read in Setswana by 1857. The 19th century Tswana people used several economic ideas that were rare in southern Africa, including credit, service contracts, and the "mafisa" system of the rich loaning cattle to the poor in exchange for labour. They also had a conception of private property by the mid-19th century, and both married men and married women were entitled to land rights. The men typically herded cattle while the women grew crops. Sorghum was the region's most commonly grown crop in the 19th century. Land was widely available, but droughts meant that farming was inconsistent.
British traders arrived in the 1830s and engaged in transactions with the chiefs. The influx of European settlers nearby allowed the Tswana tribes to incorporate themselves into the global economy. Chief Sechele I of the Kwena people took advantage of the new trading routes, securing control of British trade for his tribe. The Scottish missionary David Livingstone arrived in Botswana in 1845, where he established the Kolobeng Mission. This was the beginning of heavier European involvement in the Tswana tribes as they established intercontinental trade routes. Westernised fashion was adopted in urban areas through the rest of the century and combined with traditional clothing. In another effort to thwart the Boers, Livingstone provided firearms to the Kwena people. Sechele was the first person who Livingstone converted to Christianity, and the chief subsequently offered to convert his head men using rhinoceros-hide whips. The Tswana peoples faced conflict from other groups in the region, peaking in the 1850s. Many Batswana, particularly the Kwena and Ngwato tribes, fought against Afrikaners and Zulu tribes in the eastern Kalahari Desert. The Kwena and the Mmanaana fought against Boers from Transvaal in 1852, defending their territory and ending the nation's westward expansion. The Batswana saw missionary groups as a means of refuge from invaders, incentivising conversion to Christianity. Sechele requested a British protectorate in 1853 to end regional conflicts, but he was denied.
European visitors became more common in the mid-19th century as hunters, explorers, and traders sought profit and adventure in the region. Many wrote travel books about the area, which were some of the only non-academic publications about present-day Botswana at the time. By the 1860s, migration out of the region increased as Batswana men travelled to work in South African mines. The discovery of the Tati Goldfields triggered the first European gold rush of Southern Africa in 1868. An early mining camp established in the 1870s expanded greatly as it became a major railway hub between Cape Province and Bulawayo, becoming Botswana's first major city, Francistown. At this point in Botswana's history, the major chiefs were all Christian. A war between the Kwena and the Kgafela in 1875. By the end of the decade, chief Khama III of the Ngwato people seized control of British trade from the Kwena people. Bechuanaland Protectorate. Formation of the protectorate. The United Kingdom feared increasing German influence in the region, and it agreed to form the Bechuanaland Protectorate. The British wished to preserve its influence over the Tswana tribes, as they provided a connection between southern and central Africa. Tswana chiefs feared encroachment by German South West Africa and the Afrikaners, and they believed that the alternative to British control was settler colonialism by Germany. They also wished to avoid falling under the control of South Africa or mining magnate Cecil Rhodes, though the protectorate still found itself dependent on South Africa economically.
The region was divided into tribal land ruled by the chiefs and crown land controlled by the United Kingdom. Eight tribes were recognised by the British upon the creation of the protectorate. The largest four were given tribal reserves: the Kwena, the Ngwaketse, the Ngwato, and the Tawana. Three smaller ones were also recognised: the Kgatla, the Tlokwa, and the Malete. The eighth, the Tshidi, were given a reserve crossing the border between the protectorate and South Africa. While members of non-Tswana minorities were allowed to participate in Tswana society and governance, they were given no tribal reserves of their own. The introduction of tribal reserves altered the nature of Tswana governance, as tribes had previously been less defined and subject to expansion or shifting. With territories divided into tribal jurisdictions, residents were no longer able to easily leave a tribe. The protectorate initially extended to the Ngwato, reaching from 22 degrees south to the Molopo River, but it was extended to 18 degrees south to reach the Chobe River in 1890. This provided the British more labourers under its jurisdiction and created a larger barrier to limit German colonisation. Other Tswana peoples lived to the south of the protectorate and were later absorbed into South Africa.
The Kgafela people settled in Mochudi in 1887. This Kgatla group quickly became influential in the region and its name became synonymous with Kgatla. British soldiers led by Charles Warren arrived in 1891 to formally establish the protectorate. Its government was defined, and a commissioner was appointed as its head. The commissioner was given broad powers over the protectorate, so long as he respected previously established tribal law. Its capital was the South African city of Vryburg, meaning that the colonial rulers did not reside in the protectorate and had little direct involvement in its affairs. Instead, the high commissioner operated through two assistant commissioners, and a district commissioner facilitated contact with the various tribes. The centralisation of British rule in South Africa meant that the Bechuanaland Protectorate was economically dependent on it. The British government believed the Bechuanaland Protectorate to be only a temporary entity and expected that it would soon be absorbed by a British colony. In the meantime, it believed that a self-sufficient protectorate would cost less to maintain. For these reasons, the colonial administration imposed very little direct control of the Bechuanaland Protectorate. The chiefs benefited from these affairs and were able to empower and enrich themselves; they retained broad autonomy, but colonial backing meant that they no longer needed the consent of the tribes to maintain rule. Tribal rule became autocratic, which led to human rights abuses and discrimination against women and ethnic minorities.
Early years of the protectorate. The British planned to eventually incorporate the Bechuanaland Protectorate into the Union of South Africa. In the years after the protectorate's creation, the United Kingdom entered talks with Cecil Rhodes to absorb it into the British South Africa Company. In response, three of the most influential chiefs—Khama III of the Ngwato, Sebele I of the Kwena, and Bathoen I of the Ngwaketse—made a diplomatic trip to the United Kingdom in 1895 and convinced the government not to complete the deal. This set a precedent of chiefs interacting with the British as a unified group and enshrined these three figures as early figures in Botswana's history as a single nation. Rhodes's handling of the failed Jameson Raid discouraged the British and negotiations were postponed indefinitely. The celebration of these chiefs resulted in the publication of "Three Great African Chiefs: Khamé, Sebéle and Bathoeng" by the London Missionary Society the same year. This text introduced a founding myth that their three respective tribes were created by three brothers.
Also in 1895, the capital was moved from Vryburg to another South African city, Mafeking, and the Ancient Ruins Company was registered to dig up prehistoric ruins in Bechuanaland and Rhodesia in search for gold. The protectorate was heavily affected by the 1890s African rinderpest epizootic, losing large portions of its livestock and wild game. The protectorate's railroad was built in 1897 as the main north–south transit line. When the United Kingdom raised the Pioneer Column to go to war with the Ndebele people, Khama III of the Ngwato assisted by sending soldiers. Botswana became a staging ground for the Jameson Raid in 1896. The Kgatla tribe was later part of the Boer War, fighting alongside the British Army. The early colonial economy of the Bechuanaland Protectorate remained much the same as the pre-colonial economy. The United Kingdom primarily used the protectorate as a supply of labour, offering high wages to Batswana who migrated south to work in mines. Taxes were also imposed, beginning with a hut tax in 1899, which was then replaced by a poll tax in 1909. A native tax was later imposed in 1919. Colonial taxes in the Bechuanaland Protectorate were higher than those in neighbouring colonies, causing mass exodus to the south, and the chiefs allowed more generous power sharing with citizens to incentivise them to stay. The United Kingdom considered integrating the protectorate into South Africa as it unified its southern African colonies, but it ultimately grouped them economically by creating the South African Customs Union, joining in 1910. Membership entitled the protectorate to only 2% of the union's revenue.
By 1910, all Tswana tribes had adopted Christianity. Bechuanaland sent several hundred soldiers to assist the British Army during World War I. The London Missionary Society found itself in decline at this time, and it gradually lost influence over the protectorate. Sebele II became chief of the Kwena in 1918, succeeding his father, Sechele II. Sechele II had conflicted with the dominant London Missionary Society, permitting an Anglican presence and reinstating many traditional practices such as polygyny, rainmaking, and "bogwera". Sebele II continued his father's challenge to the London Missionary Society, to the grievance of the British government. The dual government of the chiefs and the colonial administration made administration difficult, so the administration created two advisory councils to standardise these authorities. The Native Advisory Council (later the African Advisory Council) was established in 1919. This annual meeting of the chiefs and other influential people in the protectorate allowed the British government to hear from and manage the tribes collectively instead of individually. Khama III of the Ngwato refused to participate, citing weak enforcement of alcohol prohibition in southern tribe. Khama III died in 1923 and was succeeded by Sekgoma II, who served until his own death in 1926. Sekgoma's son Seretse Khama was still an infant, so Tshekedi Khama became regent. Tshekedi came to be recognised as a representative for all of the Tswana tribes. As Seretse grew, Tshekedi insisted that he be given a liberal education rather than be sent to a Rhodesian industrial school.
Development and increased British influence. In the 1920s, chief Isang Pilane of the Kgatla people oversaw the Bechuanaland Protectorate's first major water development scheme, having sixteen boreholes drilled, seven of which became successful water supplies. These became more common over the following decades as the British government took interest in expanding the protectorate's economy. By the 1930s, Isang Pilane and the Native Advisory Council privatised the boreholes, as they were not maintained under collective ownership. A severe drought occurred in the early 1930s, killing over 60% of the protectorate's cattle. The British government took a more active role in the protectorate's governance beginning in 1930. That year, it began providing direct funding to the protectorate. Charles Rey was appointed Resident Commissioner of the Bechuanaland Protectorate, and he was responsible for reorganising the economy around cattle exports. An initiative to reform the protectorate toward mining and commercial agricultural development was attempted but saw push back from the chiefs.
Resident Commissioner Rey came into conflict with chief Sebele II, having him exiled in 1931. Sebele II was replaced by his younger brother, Kgari. Further initiatives were attempted by the British government in 1934 to constrain the unchecked power of the chiefs following the overthrow of Sebele II. These initiatives mandated advisory councils that chiefs had to consult and required that the British government be given access to court records. Chief Bathoen II of Ngwaketse and regent Tshekedi Khama of Ngwato issued a legal challenge to these initiatives. Although the British court ruled against the challenge, the new policies were never fully implemented. Other restrictions were adopted through colonial proclamation to limit the ability of the chiefs to levy taxes and seize stray cattle. A new resident commissioner, Charles Arden-Clarke, was appointed in 1936 and worked more closely with the chiefs. Early years of World War II. Fears of German attack in Bechuanaland grew in the lead up to World War II due to its strategic position between Britain's central and southern colonies in Africa. 11 days before war was declared, the British government warned the protectorate to be on standby, and military forces were organised. Four days after Britain declared war on Germany, Resident Commissioner Arden-Clarke held a meeting with the chiefs where they pledged full support for the war effort. The next day, the high commission issued a proclamation of emergency powers that gave it total control over public activity in the protectorate, but the chiefs were informed that they would be responsible for most enforcement and peacekeeping.
The earliest years of World War II had almost no effect on the people of Bechuanaland, and many only had a vague idea that the war existed. The colonial administration shrank as large numbers of white residents enlisted in the British Army. Those who remained were focused on security planning in case southern Africa became another front in the war. Against the wishes of the chiefs, the colonial administration encouraged Batswana who wished to serve with the British Army to enlist with the South African Native Military Corps. About 700 Batswana men enlisted with the group. Maintaining the Bechuanaland Protectorate became a low priority for the United Kingdom during the Great Depression and World War II, and the protectorate received no funding from the United Kingdom during the war. The British Empire had relatively little control over Bechuanaland compared to its other territories, and British efforts to control wartime production in the protectorate were unsuccessful. The war drastically altered the protectorate's economy as it went on, introducing shortages, rationing, and higher prices. Profiteering and price gouging were common, and the colonial administration, unable to enforce price controls, resorted to gentlemen's agreements with traders. Taxes were raised and Colonial Development Fund projects were curtailed at the onset of World War II to establish financial independence from the empire. The Control of Livestock Industry Proclamation No. 1 of 1940 was passed to tax cattle, the protectorate's main industry, but it met overwhelming resistance from Batswana and the European Advisory Council. A war fund operated in Bechuanaland, and although the United Kingdom expected that donations be voluntary, chiefs invoked their authority over their tribes to enforce donations. It was replaced by a levy in 1941, but this was less popular and proved difficult to enforce.
Batswana participation in World War II. Military recruitment began in Bechuanaland in 1941. About 5,500 men were trained and sent to war within the first six months. Another 5,000 Batswana men joined the war in 1942. In total, approximately 11,000 soldiers from Bechuanaland fought alongside the British Army during the war. Over 10,000 of these served in the British Army's African Auxiliary Pioneer Corps. The chiefs traditionally had the right to conscript soldiers, and they ignored the colonial government's wishes that military service should be entirely voluntary. Regent Tshekedi Khama of Ngwato made himself unpopular by using military conscription as a tool for control, weaponising it to silence critics and political opponents. Men who wished to avoid conscription sometimes fled to South Africa or to remote areas like the Okavango Delta swamps and the Kgalagadi bush. Others used more immediate precautions, such as digging holes when recruiters visited. The chiefs wished to leverage their participation in the war for additional rights within the British Empire, and they feared that British defeat would make them subjects of Germany or South Africa, a fate they wished to avoid. The war effort was also an opportunity to reclaim Tswana men who had migrated to South Africa for mining jobs; the chiefs wished to end this practice and felt they could do so by offering military jobs. Some military pay was deferred to the families of soldiers, and limitations on exports were lifted during the war, causing an influx of money into Bechuanaland.
Relative to other nations in the British Empire, the people of Beschuanaland approved of the war. Many Batswana held a sense of loyalty to the empire or felt that their interests were aligned. Some chiefs, such as Kgari Sechele II of the Kwena and Molefi Pilane of the Kgatla, personally enlisted. They served as regimental sergeant majors, the highest rank available to Batswana. Toward the end of World War II, the colonial government allowed Batswana to have business licenses and operate within the protectorate. This had previously been restricted to whites and Indians. The High Commissions Territories Corps was stationed in the Middle East from 1946 to 1949. Independence movement. The end of World War II came with drastic social change. The chiefs came to be seen as less essential to social structure, and many gave up their universal claims over tribal cattle. Other public resources, such as land and labour, were privatised and commodified. Access to education created a class of liberal intellectuals who opposed the rule of the chiefs and began forming their own centres of power in workers' associations and civic groups. By 1946, only 2% of the population had employment outside of agriculture and services. The protectorate saw a major increase in birth rates as part of the mid-20th century baby boom in the years after World War II, accompanied by an increase in life expectancy. The colonial administration began its first development project in the protectorate, a slaughterhouse, in the 1950s. The British, still expecting to merge the protectorate into South Africa, finally scrapped this plan after the beginning of Apartheid. As efforts began to develop a new path for the protectorate's future, the protectorate was placed in a state of limbo, and no path forward was clear. One proposal was to incorporate it into the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, which the United Kingdom formed under a policy of "multi-racial partnership".
When the Ngwato heir Seretse Khama came of age, regent Tshekedi Khama attempted to hold on to power. Seretse married a white woman, Ruth Williams, while studying in the United Kingdom, causing scandal in the Ngwato royal family. Though the public initially opposed the marriage, Tshekedi's unpopularity shifted opinion in Seretse's favour. The issue was raised in the "kgotla" in 1949, and Tshekedi's rule was overwhelmingly rejected by thousands in attendance. Tshekedi and his supporters fled to the Kwena in exile. The British government was less tolerant of Seretse's marriage to a white woman. In an attempt to appease the Apartheid government of South Africa, it banished the couple from the protectorate in 1950. This provoked a burgeoning nationalist movement among Seretse's supporters in the protectorate, which fully emerged in 1952. During Seretse's absence, the United Kingdom placed the district commissioner in charge for four years before appointing Rasebolai Kgamane, a supporter of Tshekedi, as regent.
The Bechuanaland Protectorate Federal Party was the first political party formed in the protectorate when it was created by the Ngwato union leader Leetile Disang Raditladi in 1959. Composed primarily of elites and intellectuals, it advocated a unification of the Tswana tribes. The party failed to gain support and was short-lived. The following year, the Bechuanaland People's Party (BPP, later the Botswana People's Party) was created as a more radical party, objecting to traditional tribal government and gaining appeal among migrant workers. It was led by Motsamai Mpho, Philip Matante, and Kgalemang Morsete. The BPP, created as a Tswana counterpart to the African National Congress party of South Africa, supported immediate independence and the total abolition of chiefdom. Fearing that the BPP would undermine the existing government and ignite tensions with the Apartheid government of South Africa, the chiefs and the British government restricted its ability to meet. The protectorate's tribes collectively formed a legislative council in 1961. The Kwena people found themselves under a regent, Neale Sechele, in 1963, meaning that they had little political influence as the independence movement developed. The "Bechuanaland Protectorate Development Plan 1963/1968" was drafted through a deliberative process in 1963, creating an outline for the nation's independence.
As the population was politically inactive overall, the United Kingdom came to be one of the leading forces toward independence. Worrying that the BPP was too radical, the United Kingdom encouraged its preferred leader, Seretse Khama, to form a political party. Though Khama agreed with the BPP's antiracist and republican values, he opposed its dogmatic approach to politics and its acceptance of socialism. He agreed to give up his claim over the Ngwato people to serve as a politician, forming the Bechuanaland Democratic Party (BDP, later the Botswana Democratic Party) in 1962. The BDP established itself as the "party of chiefs", and it adopted ideas associated with pre-colonial tribal rule. The United Kingdom supported the BDP, understanding that it would maintain the colonial era livestock trade. By 1963, the Kgatla chief Linchwe was the only chief who opposed the BDP and had political influence, but the Kgatla people were in favour of the BDP, so he remained apolitical. A transition process began with BDP expected to rule an independent Botswana, and the colonial government worked with BDP leadership to prepare them for running a nation.
A conference was held in 1963 to oversee the creation of a new constitution. Internal strife within the BPP meant that the BDP had the most influence over the process. Tshekedi Khama had died by this time, so Bathoen II became the leader of the pro-federalisation faction, believing it would keep power in the hands of the chiefs. The United Kingdom and the Batswana politicians endorsed a unitary national government because Botswana was too poor to divide its resources and because a lack of centralisation would make it vulnerable to attacks from other nations. Federalisation proved politically unviable, so a compromise was made that the chiefs would form the House of Chiefs, an advisory body within the Parliament of Botswana. The chiefs still opposed this arrangement, and in a movement led by Bathoen, the House of Chiefs passed a vote of no confidence in the new government, but its lack of political power prevented it from leveraging meaningful reform. The District Council's Act was passed as another means of limiting chiefs power by creating councils to preside over each district and town, making these elected bodies the primary local authorities.
Gaborone was built in 1965 and declared the new capital. It was built on British crown land, which provided a neutral location not controlled by any one tribe. The constitution was implemented the same year. With this in effect, the United Kingdom granted the protectorate self-governance. 1965 also saw the passing of the District Councils Act that adapted the colonial role of district commissioner by tying it to newly created district councils, and it saw the establishment of the state-owned National Development Bank. Mpho split from the BPP to create the Bechuanaland Independence Party (BIP) in 1965. Led by Seretse Khama and Quett Masire, the BDP campaigned in almost every village in the protectorate leading up to the first general election. Unlike other political figures in Bechuanaland, Seretse Khama had appeal across the different tribes. The BDP was subsequently elected to lead the first government. The BPP won only three seats in the legislature, and the BIP failed to win any. After the election, the Botswana National Front (BNF) was created as a unified opposition to the BDP. Founded by Kenneth Koma, the BNF became the BDP's largest rival.
The BDP chose Khama as the nation's prime minister. Unlike most inaugural political parties in Africa, the BDP was a moderate conservative party instead of a radical anti-colonial party. After its formation, the House of Chiefs delivered a vote of no confidence in the constitution in 1966, leading to a national campaign in support of the constitution that garnered enough support for the chiefs to end their efforts to challenge it. The protectorate was granted independence as the Republic of Botswana in 1966. Republic of Botswana. Botswana in 1966. Independence for Botswana meant the implementation of liberal democracy, bringing about elections, human rights protections, and civil service. This allowed for a merit-based system of promotion and the creation of a technocratic bureaucracy. The nation formed a government adapted from the Westminster system, and Prime Minister Seretse Khama became President Seretse Khama. A national identity was crafted, bringing together disparate ethnic groups in a single Tswana label, with a culture based on that of the Tswana tribes.
Botswana retained much of its pre-colonial tribal institutions after independence. This was an effect of both the strong centralised government associated with the Tswana tribes and the relatively limited intervention of the British government in colonial times. The deliberative nature of the nation's politics before and after independence was an exception to many other African nations that became authoritarian after independence. Instead of abolishing the chiefdom, the new government incorporated it into the legal system, giving the chiefs judicial powers through the "kgotla", subject to appellate courts. A tradition of subservience to leadership, once given to the chiefs, shifted to the presidency. The government reinforced its stability by staffing its civil service with foreign experts, as opposed to other new African countries that often expelled foreign experts. This preserved a Western-style bureaucratic government with an emphasis on development. The United Kingdom continued funding Botswana for the first five years of its existence. Its peaceful, democratic status relative to other African nations meant that it received more aid from Western organisations. At the time of independence, Botswana was an extremely poor nation, more so than most others in Africa. It did not have an educated workforce, with only 40 citizens having university degrees, and there were no known natural resource supplies to support the nation. Botswana was dependent on the Apartheid regime in South Africa for access to the global community, and the majority of Botswana's labourers were migrant workers in South Africa. Botswana came into more direct conflict with Rhodesia, which caused military skirmishes until 1978.
Limited British involvement meant that little development had taken place since colonisation. Literacy was at 25%, and only 10 kilometres of paved road existed. Approximately 90% of the population was in abject poverty, and most of the population were cattle farmers or subsistence farmers. As the nation achieved independence, a severe drought eliminated 30–50% of the cattle population. Approximately half of Batswana were dependent on the World Food Programme to avoid starvation. Other nations had low expectations for Botswana, and throughout Africa it was seen as an Apartheid Bantustan. This relationship with Apartheid was also a factor in Botswana's success as an independent nation: the Batswana leadership wished to avoid the same fate as South Africa should the nation fail, and the diplomatic connections formed with the West to prevent subsumption by South Africa meant that Botswana was more trusting of Western powers and willing to accept their assistance. The early leadership of Botswana was dominated by the ruling tribal families as well as a small number of highly educated public servants. Their economic and ideological similarities meant that the government remained stable without political infighting. Though Bathoen left his position as chief to pursue politics, most other chiefs accepted their reduced political power in the new government. Further activity of the chiefs was regulated by the Chieftainship Act of 1966.
A lack of corruption gave the state more legitimacy and won the favour of Western allies. Unlike most newly formed African nations, much of the leadership came from the agricultural community, meaning that their interests aligned with the majority. This encouraged the new government to retain colonial-era policies that benefited cattle farmers. The Botswana Meat Commission was created to regulate the beef industry. The BDP's pan-tribal appeal and the mutual interest in establishing independence further incentivised the new government to act in the interest of the majority. Small groups of white settlers remained in the country and objected to its independence. Though they would later be crucial in Botswana's development, mineral rights were given low priority upon independence, and the tribes transferred them to the central government in 1967. Presidency of Seretse Khama. Khama was widely popular and seen as the natural leader of all the Tswana peoples. His administration implemented policies geared toward the creation of infrastructure and public goods, particularly the paving of roads. He began the construction of schools, slaughterhouses, and boreholes that continued over the following decades. Inhabited land of both the Tswana and the San was used to construct the boreholes. Development came at the expense of commerce and production, which was limited to the funding of livestock. Considerable focus was placed on nourishing cattle and constructing slaughterhouses to stimulate the beef industry amid a draught. Public welfare programs were also established. The discovery of diamonds ensured that these programs received sufficient funding. These investments and a conservative approach to government spending prevented the Dutch disease scenario that crippled other resource-laden African countries. Education was expanded throughout the nation, and the Tswana language was standardised alongside English at the expense of other languages. Khama justified this as a means to achieve unity.
Quett Masire served as Vice-President under Seretse Khama as well as Minister of Finance. He exercised control over the nation's budgeting and spending by creating a series of National Development Plans, subject to the approval of the National Assembly and the Economic Committee of the Cabinet. Iterations of these plans remained a central facet of government policy well after Khama and Masire's successors took office. In 1967, diamonds were discovered in Botswana by the South African diamond company De Beers, and operations began shortly after. Copper deposits were found in Selebi-Phikwe that year, further revealing the nation's mineral wealth. The government partnered with De Beers in 1969 to carry out larger diamond mining operations, and it was involved with a renegotiation of the Southern African Customs Union the same year to greatly improve its economic leverage in the region. A mine in Morupule began producing coal in 1973, providing the nation with a large share of its power supply. The Orapa diamond mine was opened in Orapa in 1971, and a revenue sharing agreement was finalised between the government and De Beers in 1974. Masire later confirmed that De Beers had funded his private ventures, causing speculation that the company may have received an advantageous deal in the matter.
The Water Act and the Tribal Land Act were enacted in 1968, creating the Water Apportionment Board and twelve land boards, respectively. These oversaw the apportionment of water and land rights by the state rather than through the ownership of each tribe. Through this, they effectively subsumed the traditional powers of the chiefs. The Tribal Grazing Lands Policy was implemented in 1975 to prevent overgrazing, but it proved unsuccessful. In effect, it allowed wealthy citizens to claim large plots of land for cattle at the expense of less wealthy citizens. The first election after independence took place in 1969. The BDP did slightly worse relative to its 1965 performance, and Vice-President Masire lost his seat to Bathoen, requiring him to take a specially elected seat. The BPP faded in relevance as the politics of Botswana developed. The state-owned Botswana Development Corporation was founded in 1970, and the Orapa diamond mine opened in 1971. By 1973, diamonds made up 10% of Botswana's GDP, and by the end of the 1970s, mining was the largest industry in the country. The government of Botswana renegotiated its mining agreement with De Beers between 1971 and 1975, shifting the majority of earnings to the nation. As the diamond economy developed and investments were made back into the country, Botswana escaped poverty and came to be seen as a success among the other nations in post-colonial sub-Saharan Africa. These developments made Botswana the fastest growing economy in the world. The upper and middle classes saw the most benefit, increasing wealth inequality, but it also meant taxes could be lowered, which earned the support of peasants.
Botswana's development and its use of foreign civil service was successful enough that the government convinced the United States to send the Peace Corps without traditional limitations on what roles the organisation can perform. With the 1970s came an increase in young locally educated Batswana, who became more influential in government. As these newcomers received similar education and began working in the same administrative culture, there was no major operational difference between the foreigner-led civil service and that run by the Batswana. The Ministry of Development Planning had briefly existed following a schism in the Ministry of Finance between traditional caretakers who had been associated with the protectorate against Masire's supporters who wished to see more aggressive development. The latter took control, and the ministries were reunified as the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning in 1970. Because of the limited number of qualified people to manage the economy, this ministry took almost full control of the government's spending and initiated the Shashe Project that called for extensive development exceeding the country's GDP. This included the establishment of a copper and nickel mining complex, which became the government's highest priority.
In 1973, Seepapitso IV became the first chief to be suspended from his position in the post-colonial era. The BDP was again highly successful in the 1974 election. Minimum wages were introduced the same year. Botswana began issuing its own currency, the Botswana pula, in 1976. Bank of Botswana governor Quill Hermans pushed for financial disentanglement from South Africa and its South African rand. Despite international concerns that Botswana might not be able to maintain its own currency, Khama felt that his economic advisors were capable and trusted their decision. Within a decade of independence, Botswana was one of the wealthiest nations in the Third World. The economic transformation is referred to as Botswana's "miracle". Linchwe II, chief of the Kgatla people, reinstated the "bogwera" initiation rite for his tribe in 1975, aggravating the national government. Khama took a universalist approach in his administration, avoiding ethnic politics and rejecting the influence of tribal leaders in favour of civil servants. He at times asked individuals to resign if one ethnic group became too influential in the civil service. The Tswana peoples feared that dissent from the Kalanga minority could be destabilising. To addresses this, Khama incorporated educated members of the Kalanga tribe into the government, appointing many to high-ranking positions. The decision was controversial, and it spawned conspiracy theories about malevolent influence of the Kalanga. These sometimes centred on the Bakalanga Students Association, which became the Society for the Promotion of Ikalanga Language in 1980.
Fear of neighbouring white-led governments in Namibia, Rhodesia, and South Africa, as well as the danger of the Angolan Civil War, led Botswana to create a national military in 1977. Prior to this, the Botswana Police Service was responsible for national security. The lack of military meant that Botswana was not susceptible to leading causes of instability in other African nations: military coups and corruption through military spending. The military saw combat the following year when Rhodesian militants attacked Leshoma, killing fifteen soldiers. In its partnership with De Beers, the government of Botswana formed the Debswana mining company in 1978, acquiring significant income for the state. Mining became the predominant industry of the nation's economy over the following decades, and Botswana became the world's fastest growing economy. Foreign involvement in the economy became a political issue at this time as outsiders collected on the nation's growth while domestic jobs developed slowly. Cattle farming, which had already been affected by a major outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 1977, lost the significance that it had previously held.
Presidency of Quett Masire. After Seretse Khama's death in 1980, Vice-President Quett Masire became the president of Botswana. Despite concerns about Khama's succession, Masire maintained the government infrastructure he helped build and preserved faith in the government. To appease Khama's Ngwato tribe and the other northern tribes, Masire appointed Khama's cousin, Lenyeletse Seretse, as vice-president. Popular opinion among the Ngwato was that Khama's son, Ian Khama, was entitled to the presidency. Upon Lenyeletse's death in 1983, Masire selected Peter Mmusi to replace him. This time he selected someone from a southern tribe, so as not to set a precedent that the president and vice-president must always be from opposite regions. Botswana was part of the Southern African Development Coordination Conference established in 1980 to create a southern African market. The nation was affected by the early 1980s recession. The Jwaneng diamond mine began operation 1982, becoming the most lucrative diamond mine in the world. The University of Botswana was created the same year when it split from the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. Legal developments in 1982, the Financial Assistance Policy and the legalisation of commercial activity by civil servants, spurred the nation's economy but also loosened regulations that would prevent corruption. As democracy and economic growth proved to be long-term trends, Botswana garnered a reputation as an "African miracle".
Strong opposition to the BDP-controlled government first arose in the 1980s. Opposition parties began winning local elections, interest groups began forming, and five major anti-BDP newspapers began publication. Previously dependent on support by specific ethnic groups, the BNF gained support among the working class. By the 1984 general election, it was a competitive opposition party. A severe drought affected Botswana from 1982 to 1987, necessitating government food assistance for about 65% of rural Batswana. Masire's critics associated him with this drought as it coincided with the beginning of his presidency, suggesting that Khama had a divine mandate that Masire did not. Mid-way through the 1980s, the diamond industry reached its peak at 53% of the national GDP. By this time, the nation's economy became strong enough that citizens were no longer incentivised to opt for subsistence agriculture or migration for work in South Africa. Entrepreneurship became more widespread, particularly among former government workers who moved from the public sector to the private sector. Free secondary education was established in 1989. Trade unions and other special interest groups developed in the 1980s to influence public policy, although the government was often unwilling to acknowledge them. It responded to the burgeoning labour movement by passing heavy restrictions on unions in 1983. The decade also introduced movements for the recognition of minority ethnicities, rejecting the national Tswana identity.
During the 1980s, South Africa began military incursions into Botswana to seek out South African rebels. In response to the civilian casualties, the government of Botswana increased military spending. It also tasked the military with wildlife protection and anti-poaching enforcement in response to the danger posed by armed poachers. The first case of HIV/AIDS in Botswana was diagnosed in 1985, and over the following decade the country became the most severely affected in the world. Life expectancy in Botswana would drop from 67 to 50 by 1997. A dramatic shift in Botswana's health system followed through the 1980s and 1990s; Western medicine grew more widely respected alongside traditional healing, and private hospitals were established to coexist with the government-run facilities. The early 1990s recession affected Botswana. A landmark constitutional court case brought by Unity Dow ended with a ruling in 1991 that children could inherit citizenship from their mothers as well as their fathers, which was adopted into law with the Citizenship Act of 1995.
The Kgabo Commission was held in 1991 to investigate governmental land boards, and it found that ethical violations had been committed by Vice-President Peter Mmusi and BDP Secretary General Daniel Kwelagobe, both of whom were also members of the Cabinet of Botswana. Facing outrage within the government and among the public, both resigned. The fallout created two polarised factions within the party, one led by the two former cabinet members (the Big Two), and one led by their opponents (the Big Five): Festus Mogae, Bihiti Temane, Chapson Butale, Gaositwe Chiepe, and their leader Mompati Merafhe. This built on tensions that had grown between the southern leadership of the BLP and the new generation of politicians from the north. Masire chose Mogae as the new vice-president. Worried about the possibility of normalising corruption, Masire hired the deputy head of the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (Hong Kong) to create a similar organisation in Botswana. The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime was created in 1994, and a land board tribunal was created to hear appeals of land board decisions in 1995.
The BDP's position as the dominant party received its first serious challenge in light of the Kgabo Commission. The scandal and the resulting schism in the BDP allowed the BNF to become a more competitive opposition party after the 1994 general election. With the added complication of urbanisation reducing the BDP's rural base, opposition parties held a significant minority in the National Assembly. Following Mmusi's death, Kwelagobe aligned with Ponatshego Kedikilwe, and they formed the Barata-Phathi faction of the BDP. The Big Five developed into the A-Team faction. Botswana benefited from the end of the South African Apartheid government in 1994, as the new African-led government did not restrict Botswana's growth or engage in military operations across the border. As the region stabilised, economic developments like shopping malls, property speculation, and citizen-owned tourism expanded. The Ngwaketse tribe came into conflict with the government in April 1994, when minister of local government and lands Patrick Balope accused chief Seepapitso IV of failure to fulfil his duties and ordered the chief's suspension—the second suspension of Seepapitso's rule. Seepapitso's son Leema accepted an appointment to the role, against Seepapitso's wishes. The tribe wrestled with the issue of Leema's ambiguous legitimacy and the fear that tribal culture would not longer be recognised, and the removal became a national issue. Seepapitso filed a legal challenge, and the court ruled on 22 February 1995 that while Seepapitso's removal was legal, Leema's appointment was not. With the power of appointment returned to the tribe, they refused to choose a new leader as a form of protest. The government then relented and allowed Seepapitso to be reinstated.
The ritual murder of Segametsi Mogomotsi, a 14-year-old girl from Mochudi, took place in November 1994. Social unrest broke out when the suspects, who were wealthy businessmen and politicians, were released for lack of evidence. Over the following months, student-led protests and riots against the use of occult practices like ritual murder to gain wealth took place. An outbreak of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia in 1995 caused the deaths of 320,000 cattle. The Agriculture Act of 1995 expanded the process of privatising communal land. Minority tribes increasingly pushed for recognition beginning in the 1990s. The government began the removal of San people from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in 1995. While it argued that the intention was to help integrate communities that were too remote, and it offered livestock to incentivise cooperation, international organisations accused the government of coercion and forced displacement to make room for mining. The first major legal effort to protect the rights of ethnic minorities came from a 1995 motion in parliament to define the constitution as tribally neutral, but it was tabled. The Kamanakao Association was formed the same year by the academic Lydia Nyati-Ramahobo to protect the rights of the Yeyi people.
A series of governmental and electoral reforms were implemented in the final years of Masire's presidency. Election supervision was transferred to an independent body, the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18, postal voting was implemented, and policies were enacted to protect labour rights and gender equality. Masire wished to create a stable order of succession and to ensure that his chosen successor Vice-President Mogae became president, so he worked with the lawyer Parks Tafa to draft a constitutional amendment. This implemented automatic succession and term limits for the presidency. He then forced the amendment through on his own initiative. Reforming the nation's economy, a tentative system of tripartism was implemented to bring together government, the private sector, and labour representatives. When the party was selecting its central committee membership in 1997, the risk of factionalism grew severe enough that Masire cancelled its internal election and had the factions give him lists of names. Presidency of Festus Mogae.
Masire stepped down as president on 1 April 1998, and he was succeeded by Vice-President Festus Mogae. Mogae made the controversial decision to appoint Ian Khama, commander of the army and the son of Seretse Khama, as the next vice-president, passing his choice through by threatening to dissolve parliament. Although they were officially neutral between the factions of the BDP, Mogae and Khama were both understood to be major figures among the A-Team. 1998 saw one of many splits within the BNF opposition party. It had divided into two factions: the conservatives who held socialist beliefs and the progressives who held social democratic beliefs. Violence at the party's congress saw progressives split off into their own party, the Botswana Congress Party (BCP), which became the main opposition party until they lost most of their seats in the 1999 election. This division of the opposition, as well as the civil reforms of the previous years, allowed the BDP to regain some of the seats that it lost in 1994. Several southern members of the BCP's leadership returned to the BNF after all of the top positions were taken by northerners.
To raise themselves to the level of the Tswana tribes, the Yeyi people named a paramount chief in 1999, but this went unrecognised by the Chieftainship Act. They brought the issue to the Supreme Court, which struck the relevant provision of the law as discriminatory. Mogae established a commission in 2000 to review minority tribes' representation in the House of Chiefs, which in turn caused protest from those who felt Mogae sought to undermine the power of the chiefs. The commission determined that the House of Chiefs should be retained, and it was renamed to the Setswana "Ntlo ya Dikgosi". Other proposed changes were not accepted following pushback from the major Tswana tribes, particularly the Ngwato. The following year, the Kgatla-baga-Mmanaana people saw their chief Gobuamang Gobuamang II formally recognised as a minor "kgosi" within the Kwena territory where they reside. The Botswana–Namibia border came under dispute in 1999 when both countries claimed a territory in the Caprivi Strip. In the 2000s, Botswana invested heavily in the development of an air force. Botswana Television was established in 2000. The Tsodilo Hills became a World Heritage Site in 2001. The San people issued a legal challenge in 2002 to contest their expulsion from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, but the case was dismissed. Mosadi Seboko of the Lete people became the first female leader of a tribe in 2003. Mogae had one of the government's most prominent critics, Kenneth Good, deported in February 2005. The Three Dikgosi Monument was unveiled in 2005.
Mogae considered the nation's HIV/AIDS pandemic to be the most important issue during his presidency. To combat it, he made antiretroviral treatments for HIV/AIDS freely available. Presidency of Ian Khama. Ian Khama succeeded to the presidency at the end of Mogae's term on 1 April 2008. His style of leadership was advertised as following the "four Ds": democracy, development, dignity, and discipline. After taking office, he restructured the nation's executive in a more hierarchical manner, centralising power around the presidency. Khama placed emphasis on national security in his administration. During his tenure, the Directorate of Intelligence and Security came to be known for politically motivated espionage and arrests against his political opponents. He also appointed several former military figures in his government Botswana was less involved in the African Union during Khama's presidency, instead presenting a more Western-orientated foreign policy. The 2008 financial crisis pressured Botswana's economy, which remained dependent on diamond mines despite the government's efforts. The diamond industry ended a steady decline when it stabilised at about 39% of the nation's GDP in 2009.
Regulation of chiefs was reformed in 2008 with the Bogosi Act. Khama supported devolving power to the chiefs in the name of restoring discipline and traditional morality. He issued a directive that increased the legal drinking age to 21, empowered minor tribal leaders to order floggings, created "mephato" groups to be vigilantes, and reintroduced corporal punishment in schools. Several newly installed chiefs endorsed this policy and implemented stricter punishments for wrongdoers. Among these was Kgafela II, chief of the Kgatla people. To enforce traditional morality among his people, he significantly increased the use of flogging for those who violated the law. Kgafela and others involved were criminally charged for misusing the punishment in 2010, and the court dismissed his claim of immunity, determining that chiefs lack sovereignty and are subject to the constitution. As the BDP chose its party leadership in 2009, Khama appointed numerous A-Team figures to party sub-committees despite the victory of the Barata-Phathi during the party's congress. When the party's secretary general Gomolemo Motswaledi consulted with lawyers to question the legality of Khama's actions, Khama had him suspended from the committee. After taking the issue to court, it was found that the incumbent president is immune from legal prosecution, and Khama suspended Motswaledi from the BDP entirely. In early 2010, Khama suspended and then expelled several other members of the Barata-Phathi faction from the BDP. This led to the BDP's first major split in March when the Barata-Phathi faction left the party to form the Botswana Movement of Democracy.
The Public Service Act took effect in 2010, legalising strikes for civil servants under some circumstances. The following year, the Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) led a two-month strike among the nation's civil service to demand a 16% pay, and the government responded by removing thousands of employees from their positions. The removals were overseen by Mokgweetsi Masisi, the Minister for Presidential Affairs. To oppose the government's position, BOFEPUSU facilitated a merger of major opposition parties into the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC). This new group was led by Duma Boko, who had taken charge of the BNF in 2010 and moderated its rhetoric. Khama implemented strong conservation reforms during his presidency, especially regarding hunting. While applauded internationally and forming the reputation of Botswana as a "green miracle", they were met with frustration domestically because of the unilateral top-down means they were implemented, especially from those living in the designated conservation areas. These policies included an escalation of military anti-poaching practices; anti-poaching units were equipped with automatic firearms to complement a shoot-to-kill policy against suspected poachers.
The BDP retained its majority in the legislature after the following election, but for the first time it did so with only a plurality of the popular vote. Ian Khama then appointed Masisi as his vice-president. The decision was controversial because of Masisi's inexperience relative to other possible choices. According to Mogae, Masisi was chosen with the understanding that he would appoint Tshekedi Khama II as vice-president after taking the presidency himself. Botsalo Ntuane was elected Secretary General of the BDP in 2015 on a platform of anti-corruption and electoral reform. This threatened the entrenched nature of the BDP, and Ntuane found a political rival in Masisi. Khama was hostile to the press, especially toward outlets that disagreed with his administration's actions. He had two journalists charged with sedition in 2017, but the chargers were later dropped. Presidency of Mokgweetsi Masisi. Masisi became president at the end of Khama's term on 1 April 2018. As the 2019 general election approached, Masisi developed an image to contrast himself from Khama, presenting himself as an anti-corruption figure while supporting the media and BOFEPUSU. His anti-corruption drive resulted in the arrest of Isaac Kgosi, who had led the Directorate of Intelligence and Security in Khama's administration.
Masisi proceeded to reverse many of Khama's policies. Among these were the repeal of conservation policies, including a controversial hunting ban that targeted the ivory trade. He also oversaw the decriminalisation of homosexuality. As this developed, Masisi and Khama became rivals instead of allies. Khama attempted to recruit Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi as an alternative BDP candidate against Masisi, and when that failed, he founded his own party, the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF). The BDP reclaimed a majority of the popular vote in 2019, but the election was marred by government pressure and occasional raids against opposition figures. The UDC challenged the results, but they were unsuccessful. Regional trends shifted in 2019 as the BDP lost some of its support in the north while increasing its influence in the south. The election also saw the primary opposition party, the BNF, lose ground to the BCP. Like most nations, Botswana saw major economic decline during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the country stayed in lockdown for much of 2020 and 2021. The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant was discovered in Botswana later in 2021. Anti-Indian sentiment became widespread as the Indian community in Botswana was relatively wealthy.
Khama fled to South Africa in exile in November 2021, and the government of Botswana charged him with illegal ownership of weapons soon after. Presidency of Duma Boko. The UDC became the first opposition party in Botswana to take power following its victory in the 2024 general election, ending 58 years of rule by the BDP. In his first State of the Nation Address in November 2024, Duma Boko said that his government would push for increased investment into solar energy, medicinal cannabis and industrial hemp. He also announced engagements with Elon Musk to extend affordable internet access nationwide through Starlink. In March 2025, Botswana launched its first satellite, the BOTSAT-1, into space. Boko attended the satellite's launch, which took place at SpaceX facilities in the United States.
Geography of Botswana Botswana is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa, north of South Africa. Botswana occupies an area of , of which are land. Botswana has land boundaries of combined length , of which the constituent boundaries are shared with Namibia, for ; South Africa ; Zimbabwe, and Zambia, . Much of the population of Botswana is concentrated in the eastern part of the country. Sunshine totals are high all year round although winter is the sunniest period. The whole country is windy and dusty during the dry season. Geography. The land is predominantly flat to gently undulating tableland, although there is some hilly country, where mining is carried out. The Kalahari Desert is in the central and the southwest. The Okavango Delta, one of the world's largest inland deltas, is in the northwest and the Makgadikgadi Pans, a large salt pan lies in the north-central area. The Makgadikgadi has been established as an early habitation area for primitive man; This large seasonal wetland is composed of several large component pans, the largest being Nwetwe Pan, Sua Pan and Nxai Pan. Botswana's lowest elevation point is at the junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers, at a height of . The highest point is Monalanong Hill, at .
The country is divided into four drainage regions, which are sometimes indistinct due to the arid nature of the climate: Except for the Chobe, Okavango, Boteti and Limpopo rivers, most of Botswana's rivers cease to flow during the dry and early rainy seasons. In Botswana forest cover is around 27% of the total land area, equivalent to 15,254,700 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, down from 18,803,700 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 15,254,700 hectares, of the naturally regenerating forest 0% was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 11% of the forest area was found within protected areas. For the year 2015, 24% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership and 76% private ownership. Climate. Botswana is semi-arid, due to the short rain season. However, the relatively high altitude of the country and its continental situation gives it a subtropical climate. The country is remote from moisture-laden air flows for most of the year. The dry season lasts from April to October in the south and to November in the north where rainfall totals are higher. The south of the country is most exposed to cold winds during the winter period (early May to late August) when average temperatures are around . The whole country has hot summers with average temperatures around . Sunshine totals are high all year round although winter is the sunniest period. The whole country is windy and dusty during the dry season.
Natural hazards. Botswana is affected by periodic droughts, and seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust, which can obscure visibility. Environment. Current environmental issues in Botswana are overgrazing, desertification and the existence of only limited fresh water resources. Research from scientists has found that the common practice of overstocking cattle to cope with drought losses actually depletes scarce biomass, making ecosystems more vulnerable. The study of the district predicts that by 2050 the cycle of mild drought is likely to become shorter —18 months instead of two years—due to climate change. International agreements. Botswana is a party to the following international agreements: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Organization, Ozone Layer Protection and Wetlands. Extreme points. This is a list of the extreme points of Botswana, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.
Demographics of Botswana Demographic features of the population of Botswana include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects. Botswana, like many nations in southern Africa, suffers from a high HIV infection rate, estimated among adults ages 15 to 49 to be 20.7%. Population. Census results. Bechuanaland Protectorate. The seven censuses of Botswana before its independence happened irregularly. Due to the Anglo-Boer War, the first census of Bechuanaland Protectorate, originally set to occur in 1901, took place on 17 April 1904. The 1931 census was postponed to 1936 because of the Great Depression. The early censuses were unreliable and took several years to tabulate; the results were outdated by the time they were calculated. Post-independence. There have been six censuses after the independence of Botswana, each occurring every ten years in the year ending in 1 (i.e. 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2022). The 1971 census was the first census in Botswana to use de facto enumeration; this method counts people based on how many people spent census night at a specific location. Previously, the citizens were counted based on their usual place of residence. The 2001 census was the first census in Botswana to comply with the SADC 2000 Census Project, the guidelines of which unify the demographic statistics in southern Africa. The 2011 Census was the fifth census after independence the 2011 Botswana Population and Housing Census, it occurred in August 2011. The most recent sixth and most recent census is the 2022 Population and Housing Census which was carried out in April 2022.
UN estimates. According to the total population was in , compared to only 413,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2020 was about 33.4%, 62.1% were between 15 and 65 years of age, while 4.5% of the population were 65 years or older. Vital statistics. United Nations estimates. Registration of vital events in Botswana is not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. Population estimates account for under numeration in population censuses. Registered births and deaths. Source: Vital Statistics Report 2012. Life expectancy at birth. Life expectancy from 1950 to 2020 ("UN World Population Prospects"): Languages. Setswana 77.3%, Kalanga 7.4%, Sekgalagadi 3.4%, English 2.8%, Shona 2.0%, Sesarwa 1.7%, Sehambukushu 1.6%, Ndebele 1.0%, Others 2.8%. (2011 est.) Migrants. According to the United Nations, there were 110,596 international migrants in Botswana in 2019. Their most common countries of origin were as follows:
Politics of Botswana Botswana is a parliamentary republic in which the president of Botswana is both head of state and head of government. The nation's politics are based heavily on the Westminster system and on traditional Setswana chiefdom. The legislature is made up of the unicameral National Assembly and the advisory body of tribal chiefs, the "Ntlo ya Dikgosi". The National Assembly chooses the president, but once in office the president has significant authority over the legislature with only limited separation of powers. The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) ruled as the dominant party from independence in 1966 until its defeat at the 2024 Botswana general election. Elections are considered free and fair by observers. During the country's 58-year long dominance of the BDP, political opposition was mostly fragmented and faced institutional challenges such as the first-past-the-post voting system and the lack of state-funded party funding. Thus several opposition parties existed and regularly held a small number of seats in the National Assembly for much of that period. These were mainly the Botswana National Front (BNF) and the Botswana Congress Party (BCP). The BNF-led Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) was formed in 2012 as an electoral alliance of opposition parties to consolidate the opposition vote in one political formation, the UDC was elected in 2024, thus ending the BDP's predominance.
Botswana achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1966. The BDP led by Seretse Khama formed the first government and continued winning elections every five years. Quett Masire became president following Khama's death in 1980 and the BDP was enveloped by factionalism in the 1990s. This factionalism persisted through the presidencies of Festus Mogae from 1998 to 2008 and Ian Khama from 2008 to 2018. The liberal Botswana Movement for Democracy was formed in 2010 to challenge what they saw as Khama's increasing authoritarian tendencies and was the BDP's first major splinter party. Khama's successor, Mokgweetsi Masisi, became president in 2018 and quickly entered into a strong political rivalry with Khama, which came to redefine the politics in Botswana over the following years. Botswana has an above average human rights record and it is recognised by human rights groups as one of the strongest democracies in Africa. Economic policy in Botswana revolves around the nation's lucrative diamond industry, which makes up a significant portion of the economy. The country has been praised as an economic success as it pursued free market policies in the 20th century and it has since shifted to more redistributive economic policy. Wealth inequality remains high and welfare programs are limited and means-based, but public services and infrastructure receive strong funding. Foreign policy in Botswana has historically emphasised multilateralism, non-alignment and realpolitik. Apartheid South Africa was the nation's primary foreign policy concern until 1994 and then instability in Zimbabwe thereafter.
History. Pre-statehood. The location of present-day Botswana was historically controlled by Bantu peoples, primarily the Tswana people. Many legal traditions practiced by the Tswana people, such as respect for traditional authority and protection of property rights, have played a role in the development of post-colonial Botswana politics. Centralised political structures developed prior to colonisation have also been retained. Politics of the Tswana people prior to statehood was often led by chiefs, who continue to have a role in Botswana politics. In the early-19th century, these chiefdoms developed into nation states. These nation states incorporated limited government and ethnic pluralism. The United Kingdom first began influencing the region in the 1820s and the region became part of the British Empire in 1885 as the Bechuanaland Protectorate. The Tswana people were made subjects of the Crown and placed under British law. The first significant movement for independence was led by the radical Bechuanaland People's Party. The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) was formed by Seretse Khama in 1962 as part of a negotiated independence process. Botswana became self-governing in 1965 and it became an independent republic in 1966. The United Kingdom continued to invest in the country financially and pay some of its expenses through 1971. Institutions and traditions from both precolonial Tswana society and colonial British rule were retained following independence and continue to influence the politics of Botswana.
Presidency of Seretse Khama. Upon receiving self-governance, the nation held the 1965 Bechuanaland general election, in which the BDP won a large victory. Of the 31 seats in the legislature, the BDP won 28. Three members of the Botswana People's Party made up the opposition, all elected from relatively urbanised constituencies. The government under the first president, Seretse Khama, was based heavily on collaborative governance similar to that of the pre-colonial tribal governments. Policies were often considered by several ministries and a commission before being adopted. Khama also ensured that foreign involvement was welcome, opposed to a nationalism that restricted opportunity. While Khama was president, his vice president, Quett Masire, held considerable power as well. In addition to being the vice president, he was the minister of finance and he was the secretary general of the BDP. He oversaw a series of National Development Plans that dispensed much of the government's policies. Regional instability prompted the creation of a military, the Botswana Defence Force, in 1977. Prior to this, the Botswana Police Service handled all of the nation's security responsibilities. The Botswana National Front (BNF) was founded by Kenneth Koma as a left-wing party and it became the opposition party in the 1969 general election.
Presidency of Quett Masire. Khama served as president until his death in 1980, at which point Vice President Masire became president. The opposition gained support in the 1980s and 1990s as the country urbanised and the BDP's rural political base shrank. The Kgabo Commission, part of a corruption controversy involving Vice President Peter Mmusi and BDP Secretary General Daniel Kwelagobe, dominated the politics of Botswana in 1991 and brought about an era of factionalism in the BDP. Mmusi's resignation led to Festus Mogae being chosen as the next vice president. The incident firmly established a growing factional conflict within the BDP. Mmusi and Kwelagobe formed one faction, the Big Two. Mompati Merafhe and his supporters—namely David Magang, Bahiti Temane, Roy Blackbeard and Chapson Butale—formed an opposing faction, the Big Five. Merafhe later took on Jacob Nkate as his closest ally and they dubbed themselves the A-Team. The Big Two appealed the findings of the commission in court, but they were ultimately suspended from parliament. Their supporters then gained power after the 1994 general election. Amid this inter-party conflict, the BNF became a significantly stronger opposition, winning thirteen seats. Kwelagobe aligned with Ponatshego Kedikilwe following Mmusi's death and they renamed themselves the Barata-Phathi.
After the BDP's poor performance in the 1994 election, South African academic Lawrence Schlemmer was brought in by the party to provide a political strategy. He recommended replacing the long-standing members of the BDP with newer, non-factional members, with a particular focus on the presidency. Multiple constitutional reforms were enacted in Botswana following a referendum in 1997: the vice president was designated the automatic successor of the president, the voting age was lowered to eighteen and an independent electoral commission was established. These reforms were championed by Masire, as automatic succession allowed him to anoint a successor. 1998–present. Masire stepped down as president in 1998 and Vice President Mogae became president. He chose Ian Khama as vice president and while the two were nominally non-factional, they effectively supported the A-Team faction of Merafhe and Nkate. This caused the factional differences in the party to further escalate. A schism also formed in the oppositional BNF, which led to the creation of the Botswana Congress Party in 1998. Enough assemblymen defected that this new party became the primary opposition, but they were replaced by BNF candidates in the 1999 general election.
Mogae's tenure as president ended in 2008 and Ian Khama, the son of President Seretse Khama, became president. The BDP underwent its first split in 2010 when Khama encouraged the Barata-Phathi faction to leave the party and they formed the Botswana Movement for Democracy, led by Gomolemo Motswaledi. Freedom House lowered Botswana's rating in the 2010s as a crackdown took place against journalists. Khama stepped down in 2018 and Vice President Mokgweetsi Masisi became president. He immediately reversed Khama's policies and replaced top officials who had been appointed by Khama. The two former allies quickly became political rivals and Khama defected from the Botswana Democratic Party. He instead aligned with the newly formed Botswana Patriotic Front in addition to supporting the Umbrella for Democratic Change. This made the 2019 general election the first competitive election in the nation's history, but the BDP remained in power with 52.7% of the total vote, winning 38 of the 57 seats in the assembly. The rivalry significantly escalated when Masisi's pursued criminal charges against Khama for illegal ownership of firearms in 2022, causing Khama to seek asylum in South Africa.
Opposition's rise to power. In the run-up to the 2024 Botswana general election, the opposition was splintered, therefore it was thought that BDP would cruise to a comfortable victory again. Despite this division, opposition UDC was able to gain an outright majority of seats in the parliament and Duma Boko was elected to the Presidency. The BDP was relegated to fourth place. Masisi peacefully conceded defeat and handed over power to the opposition. National government. Botswana is a parliamentary republic governed by the Constitution of Botswana. The constitution has been in effect since Botswana became independent from the United Kingdom on 30 September 1966. This makes it the longest uninterrupted democracy in Africa. Botswana operates under a blend of Roman-Dutch law, customary law and common law. Its seat of government is in Gaborone. Legislative branch. The legislature of Botswana is derived from the Westminster system of the United Kingdom, though it has several aspects that distinguish it from this system. Unlike in the United Kingdom, the leader of the legislature has no executive powers and it is subject to the Constitution of Botswana. Its official function under the constitution is to "make laws for the peace, order and good government of Botswana". The legislature is intended to act as a check on the executive, but it has little direct power to limit the executive's power, given the fusion of powers and the fact that single-party majority governments have always been the case.
The legislative body of Botswana is the National Assembly, a unicameral body consisting of 69 members. 61 of these members are directly elected by their constituents and six of these members are chosen by the National Assembly. The President of Botswana and the Speaker of the National Assembly are "ex-officio" members. For a bill to become a law, it must be approved by the National Assembly. The assembly uses a question time procedure to obtain information. The "Ntlo ya Dikgosi" is an advisory body established by the constitution. Its members include eight chiefs of the Tswana people, five members appointed by the president and 22 members chosen by the eight chiefs. Any bill that affects the constitution or traditional tribal laws must be referred to the "Ntlo ya Dikgosi", where it reads the bill and passes a resolution stating its position on the bill. It has no legislative powers of its own. Executive branch.
Judicial branch. The highest court of Botswana is the Court of Appeal, which is constituted under section 99 of the Constitution and consists of a president and such number of justices of appeal as may be prescribed by the National Assembly. There are eight judges of the Court of Appeal, who are all expatriates drawn from different parts of the Commonwealth. To date, no Motswana has ever been appointed to the Court of Appeal. The High Court is a superior court of record with unlimited original jurisdiction to hear and determine any criminal and civil cases under any law. The High Court is constituted under section 95 of the Constitution and consists of a Chief Justice and such number of other judges of the High Court as may be prescribed by the National Assembly. There are sixteen permanent judges of the High Court. Until 1992, the judges of the High Court were expatriate judges who were appointed on short-term contracts of two to three years. In 1992 the first citizen judges were appointed to the bench. There are three High Court divisions in Lobatse, Gaborone and Francistown.
Most cases are settled by customary courts, which are presided over by tribal chiefs. These courts are often preferred by the community due to their relative simplicity. There are also Magistrates' Courts in Botswana. These courts are subordinate to the High Court and hear a range of civil, criminal and family law matters. There are nineteen Magistrates' Courts in the country, with fifty magistrates of whom seventeen are expatriate. Local and tribal government. Botswana's government is centralised and the powers of local government are determined by national law. Local government is authorised under the Local Government (District Councils) Act, 1965. The smallest division of government in Botswana is the local council. Cities in Botswana are under the jurisdiction of a mayor and a city council, which is led by a council chairperson. Smaller towns also have town councils, while rural areas are collected under district councils. These councils are primarily responsible for education, health, roads, water, local development and general welfare. Local governmental bodies do not collect significant funds and nearly all local spending is funded by the national government.
Tribes are led by tribal chiefs, who often have significant influence over the affairs of local government. Chiefs are responsible for chairing "kgotlas", traditional tribal meetings of the community and for presiding over customary courts. "Kgotlas" predate Botswana's independence and represent the traditional mode of government in which a chief ruled as the first among equals. Tswana chiefs were historically more accountable to the people than in other African societies, as the region's main industry, cattle farming, allowed farmers more mobility and independence than would be provided by growing crops. Tribal land is held and allocated by Land Boards. These Land Boards are made up of members chosen by the tribal community and members appointed by the Minister of Lands. Botswana is divided into 28 districts. Each district is under the jurisdiction of a district administration, led by a district commissioner. Political parties. Botswana is characterised by a competetive multi-party system. The country had a dominant-party system in which the BDP won every election from 1965 until 2024. The party was formed by Seretse Khama in 1962 during the nation's movement toward independence and it ruled with a majority in every government until 2024.
Historically, the Botswana National Front had been the main opposition party, advocating left-wing politics. The opposition in the Botswana legislature was often been fragmented, with several parties competing with one another in addition to challenging the BDP. The opposition was mainly been supported by urbanites, tribes outside of the majority Tswana population and certain tribal chiefs. Increasing urbanisation beginning in the 80s gave more strength to opposition parties. Factionalism is common in Botswana political parties and several parties have split from the Botswana National Front, including the Botswana Congress Party that became another significant opposition party after its creation in 1998. Several attempts were made to create alliances between opposition parties. Most notably in 2012, the Botswana National Front, the Botswana Movement for Democracy and the Botswana People's Party formed the Umbrella for Democratic Change which ultimately defeated the BDP at the 2024 Botswana general election. Elections.
Botswana has held regular elections since its independence at five year intervals, all of which have been won by the Botswana Democratic Party. Elections are overseen by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). Elections in Botswana use first-past-the-post voting in which the winner is the candidate that receives a majority or plurality of votes. Botswana is rare among African countries in that its elections have never been associated with widespread political violence. The independence of Botswana's elections have been the subject of scrutiny over the years. While elections are free and opposition parties are unrestrained, the incumbent party has access to other advantages. Prior to the creation of the IEC, the ruling party controlled elections through the Office of the Supervisor of Elections, which fell under the direct control of the Office of President. The creation of the IEC, as part of democratic reforms undertook in the 1990s, has since mitigated this to an extent, though questions around its independence lingered on during the remainder of one-party dominance.
Policy issues. Economic policy. Botswana is an upper middle income country with a mixed economy and it has one of the strongest economies in Africa. The foundation of Botswana's economic policy was set by the first post-independence government in the 1960s, incorporating a self-sustaining budget system through a series of national development plans. There is significant income inequality in Botswana, particularly between the relatively developed urban areas and the poorer rural areas. The unemployment rate in Botswana was 20% as of 2015. Botswana's dependence on the diamond industry has led to diversification of the economy becoming one of the nation's major economic policy goals throughout its history. Government programs such as the National Development Bank, the Botswana Development Corporation, the Financial Assistance Policy and the Economic Diversification Drive have been implemented to spur economic growth in other industries, but they have not significantly decreased the nation's dependence on its diamond industry.
The economy of colonial Bechuanaland focused on cattle farming and this was the primary industry for the first decade of Botswana's independence. As most of the nation was involved with this field in some form, there was little cause for class conflict in the predominantly rural population. While land distribution was sometimes an issue, there was enough unclaimed land that cattle farmers could operate as nomads, further reducing disagreement over economic issues. In 1967, diamond deposits were found in Botswana. This incentivised the government to pursue a commodity economy from mining, supplemented with smaller industries such as beef farming, manufacturing and tourism. The country's economic success is attributed to neoliberal policies of free markets and private property protections, significantly increasing the population's post-independence living standards. Botswana was one of the only sub-Saharan governments that did not engage in significant regulatory or redistributive policy following decolonisation. This, as well as its fiscally responsible management of the diamond industry, led to some of the world's largest economic growth over the following decades. More recent development has emphasised welfare statehood through redistributive economic policy.
Foreign policy. The president is responsible for the foreign policy of Botswana, overseeing the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Botswana's political and economic success relative to other countries in Africa has led it to play a larger role in regional and global affairs. By the end of the 20th century, Botswana had begun sending financial and military support to neighbouring countries and international organisations. Botswana has emphasised multilateralism in its foreign policy. Its landlocked territory and export-driven economy have incentivised it to maintain strong diplomatic ties with other countries, and its low population and proximity to unstable governments have caused Botswana to work closely with international organisations for security and resources. From 1966 to 1994, the countries bordering Botswana were unstable or otherwise hostile to Botswana. It did not establish formal relations with its largest neighbour, South Africa, during the latter's discriminatory apartheid rule. In its first years, Botswana had no military. The Botswana Defence Force was eventually created in response to regional instability. As South Africa liberalised after 1994, Botswana's primary foreign policy concern became the instability in neighbouring Zimbabwe.
For much of its history as an independent country, Botswana practiced a realpolitik foreign policy. During the presidency of Ian Khama, it shifted to an idealist foreign policy, in which it routinely criticised governments for human rights violations. During this period, it was often the only member of the African Union to support the International Criminal Court or to condemn human rights violations in autocratic nations. Social policy. Botswana's relative wealth compared to other countries in the region has allowed for high spending on public services such as education, health and infrastructure. As of 2014, the Ministry of Education and Skills Development had the largest budget of any government initiative. Approximately 10,000 kilometres of road were paved in the first fifty years of the country's independence, compared to the 50 kilometres that existed before independence. Welfare programs in Botswana are relatively limited and subject to means testing and there is no national level social security. The country's predominantly arid environment results in droughts becoming a frequent public welfare concern. HIV/AIDS is the most serious healthcare issue in the country and the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Botswana is one of the most severe outbreaks in the world. Botswana received less foreign aid when combating the epidemic in the 1990s, allowing it to spread.
Human rights. Freedom House considers Botswana to be free with a score of 72/100 in its 2022 Freedom in the World report. It scored high in political rights, though Freedom House expressed concerns regarding the representation of women and minorities and the lack of freedom of information laws. It also scored high in civil rights, though Freedom House expressed concerns regarding freedom of the press and the right to strike. Transparency International has regularly recognised Botswana as the least corrupt country in Africa, and it is often described as comparable to the liberal democracies of Western Europe. One potential issues for human rights in Botswana is the lack of strong checks and balances in the government, which allows the president to exercise wide latitude over policy and arbitrarily curtail free speech. Early focus on public works projects after Botswana's independence rather than militarisation is credited for early legitimacy of the government, permitting stability in the nation's politics. Conceptions of human rights in Botswana are shaped by collectivist traditions such as "botho" philosophy rather than individualist traditions. Confrontational approaches to human rights such as protest, strike action and public condemnation are often seen as uncivil foreign inventions. Activism in Botswana instead focuses mainly on providing goods and services to those in need. Human rights Non-governmental organisations are relatively uncommon in Botswana. Among the most active is the Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS, which emphasises response to HIV but also addresses other areas such as the rights of women, children and LGBT people.
Economy of Botswana The economy of Botswana is currently one of the world's fastest growing economies, averaging about 5% per annum over the past decade. Growth in private sector employment averaged about 10% per annum during the first 30 years of the country's independence. After a period of stagnation at the turn of the 21st century, Botswana's economy registered strong levels of growth, with GDP growth exceeding 6–7% targets. Botswana has been praised by the African Development Bank for sustaining one of the world's longest economic booms. Economic growth since the late 1960s has been on par with some of Asia's largest economies. The government has consistently maintained budget surpluses and has extensive foreign-exchange reserves. Botswana's impressive economic record compared to some of its neighbors has been built on a foundation of diamond mining, prudent fiscal policies, and a cautious foreign policy. Botswana's economy is mostly dependent on diamond mining. Diamond mining contributes to 50% of the government revenue mainly through its 50:50 joint venture with De Beers in the Debswana Diamond Company. As of 2020, it is rated as the third least corrupt country in Africa in the Corruption Perceptions Index by international corruption watchdog Transparency International. It has the fourth highest gross national income per capita in purchasing power in Africa and above the world average.
Trade unions represent a minority of workers in the Botswana economy. In general they are loosely organised "in-house" unions, although the Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU) is consolidating its role as the sole national trade union centre in the country. Although Botswana's economy is considered a model for countries in the region, its overreliance on mining and its high rate of HIV/AIDS infection (one in every three adults is seropositive) and unemployment may threaten its future success. Botswana has become the first high-burden country to be certified for achieving an important milestone on the path to eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV by the World Health Organization (WHO). History. Agriculture still provides a livelihood for 70% of the rural population but supplies only about 50% of food needs and accounted for only 1.8% of GDP as of 2016. Subsistence farming and cattle raising predominate. The sector is plagued by erratic rainfall and poor soils. Diamond mining and tourism are also important to the economy. Substantial mineral deposits were found in the 1970s and the mining sector grew from 25% of GDP in 1980 to 38% in 1998.
Economic growth slowed in 2005–2008 and turned negative in 2009 as a result of the Great Recession, contracting by 5.2%. This was exacerbated by a major global downturn in the industrial sector, which shrank by 30%, Botswana's steep economic downturn contrasted with most other African nations which experienced continued growth through this period. Trade. Botswana is crossed by the trans-African automobile route - the Cairo-Cape Town Highway and the Trans-Kalahari Corridor. Botswana is part of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) with South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Namibia. The World Bank reports that in 2001 (the most recent year for which World Bank data is available), the SACU had a weighted average common external tariff rate of 3.6%. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, "there are very few tariff or non-tariff barriers to trade with Botswana, apart from restrictions on licensing for some business operations, which are reserved for [Botswana] companies." Based on the revised trade factor methodology, Botswana's trade policy score is unchanged.
The main export of Botswana is diamonds. As of 2024 it is the world's second largest diamond exporter. Due to Botswana's heavy reliance on diamonds, strong global demand is vital to the health of the economy. Diamond exports provide Botswana's economy with strong supplies of foreign exchange and have offered a basis for industrial development and stimulated improvements in Botswana's infrastructure. However, despite their preeminent role in Botswana's economy, there are concerns that diamond mines are not labour-intensive enough to provide sufficient employment for Botswana's workforce, and this mismatch has been cited as a factor in the country's structurally high unemployment rate. Mining. Two large mining companies, Debswana (formed by the government and South Africa's De Beers in equal partnership) and Bamangwato Concessions, Ltd. (BCL, also with substantial government equity participation) operate in the country. BCL was placed in provisional liquidation in late 2016, following years of loss-making operations, and was placed into final liquidation by the High Court in June 2017.
Diamonds and other gems. Since early 1980s, the country has been one of the world's largest producers of gem diamonds. Eight large diamond mines have opened since independence. De Beers prospectors discovered diamonds in northern Botswana in the early 1970s. The first mine began production at Orapa in 1972, followed by a smaller mine at Letlhakane. What has become the single richest diamond mine in the world opened in Jwaneng in 1982. The mine was discovered when termites looking for water brought grains of diamond to the surface. Botswana produced a total of 24 million carats of diamonds from Debswana in 2022, and is the highest producer of diamonds by value in the world as of 2023. The Orapa 2000 Expansion of the existing Orapa mine was opened in 2000. According to Debswana, the Orapa 2000 Expansion project increase the Orapa's mine annual output from 6 million carats to 12 million carats and raised total production to 26 million carats. In 2003, Debswana opened the Damtshaa diamond mine about 220 kilometers (140 mi) west of the city of Francistown. The mine was placed into care and maintenance in December 2015 due to weak global demand but was scheduled to reopen in January 2018. In 2008, Australia's Kimberley Diamond Company opened a mine in Lerala, Botswana's fifth mine and the first not operated by Debswana. However, Kimberley shut down the mine in May 2017, citing weak market conditions.
Most of Botswana's electricity is imported from South Africa's Eskom. Debswana operates the nearby Morupule Colliery to supply coal to it. Botswana exported $3.12k worth of electricity from 2021 to 2022, all going to Zimbabwe. In early 2008, the entire southern African region was hit hard by massive shortages of power, since the region works to share its power resources through the Southern African Power Pool, with most of its capacity coming from South Africa. Botswana has in turn put in place plans to become a net exporter of power to the regional pool, through governmental expansion of the Morupule power station, as well as encouraging private investment in the form of a 4 gigawatt power station by the Canadian greenfield company CIC Energy. In 2012, CIC Energy was acquired by India's Jindal Steel and Power. Jindal Africa currently aims to operate three surface mines in the coalfields of Mmamabula, as well as a power plant. According to the company, "the mine’s development will meet the demands of 600MW power stations and export region coal markets, with the potential to employ more than 2,000 people."
Botswana also produces soda ash through Botash, a joint venture between the government and South Africa's Chlor-Alkali Holdings (CAH) Group. Botash has been operating in the Sua Pan in northeastern Botswana since April 1991. Tourism. Tourism is an increasingly important industry in Botswana, accounting for approximately 13.1% of GDP in 2019. However, , it was reported to be less than 10%. One of the world's unique ecosystems, the Okavango Delta, is located in Botswana. The country offers game viewing and birding both in the Delta and in the Chobe National Park—home to one of the largest herds of free-ranging elephants in the world. Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve also offers game viewing and some of the remotest and most unspoiled wilderness in southern Africa. A number of national parks and game reserves, with their abundant wildlife and wetlands, are major tourist attractions. The main safari destinations for tourism are Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta, and Chobe National Park. Botswana is also participating in community-based natural resource management projects by trying to involve villagers in tourism. One example is the village of Khwai and its Khwai Development Trust.
Botswana was the setting for the 1980 movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy", although the movie was mostly filmed in South Africa. The seventh season of "The Amazing Race" visited Botswana. Tourism has been stimulated by the series of detective novels by Alexander McCall Smith and the American dramatisation that followed them. Agriculture. More than half of Botswana's population lives in rural areas and depends on subsistence crops and livestock farming. Agriculture meets only a small portion of food needs and contributes just 1.8% of Botswana's GDP as of 2017, according to the CIA World Factbook. 2024 estimates stated that it was still less than 2% of Botswana's GDP. Cattle raising dominated Botswana's social and economic life before independence. The Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) has a monopoly on beef production, however in late 2023, it ended. The national herd was about 2.5 million in the mid-1990s, though the 1995 government-ordered slaughter of the entire herd in Botswana's north-west Ngamiland District, to prevent the spread of "cattle lung disease" to other parts of the country, reduced the number by at least 200,000.
Botswana produced, in 2018: In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products. Manufacturing. Manufacturing industries in Botswana include food processing, predominantly beef processing, diamond processing, textile and garment manufacturing, beverage making, jewellery making, metals and metal products, soap making, construction materials manufacturing, and glass production. Manufacturing has potential growth, however, accounting for roughly 5% of the nation's gross domestic product. Over the years, there has been a notable decline in the role of the manufacturing sector in the national economy. The reason for this can be pinned to a number of factors, the main ones being lack of skills, failing to keep up with the latest technology, lack of competitiveness along with bad marketing techniques. Science and technology. There is a growing science sector in Botswana. The number of publications by Botswanan scientists catalogued in international databases increased from 133 in 2009 to 210 in 2014. In 2018, Botswana produced 281 scientific and technical journal articles. The country has one of the highest levels of scientific productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. The country also has a high-tech industry, being home to a number of information technology companies. In 2022, Botswana's high-tech exports were worth about $38 million.
Private sector development and foreign investment. Botswana seeks to diversify its economy away from minerals, the earnings from which have levelled off. External investment in Botswana has grown fitfully. In the early 1990s, two American companies, Owens Corning and H.J. Heinz, made major investments in production facilities in Botswana. In 1997, the St. Paul Group purchased Botswana Insurance, one of the country's leading short-term insurance providers. An American Business Council (ABC), with over 30 member companies, was inaugurated in 1995. Hyundai operated a car assembly plant in Botswana from 1994 to 2000. Botswana seeks to further diversify its economy away from minerals, which account for a quarter of GDP, down from nearly half of GDP in the early 1990s. Foreign investment and management are welcomed in Botswana and, as a result, the financial and services sectors have increased at an exponential rate in the 2000s to replace mining as the leading industry. Botswana abolished foreign exchange controls in 1999, has a low corporate tax rate (15%), no prohibitions on foreign ownership of companies, and as of January 2024 it is roughly 4%
The government considers private-sector participation as being critical to the success of the country's "Tenth National Development Plan" (2009–2016) and enhancing the role of research and development as being the most effective way to nurture entrepreneurship and private-sector growth. The government is considering additional policies to enhance competitiveness, including a new Foreign Direct Investment Strategy, Competition Policy, Privatisation Master Plan and National Export Development Strategy. Botswana is known to have vast coal deposits making it possibly one of the most coal-rich countries in the world. Large coal mines, massive coal-fired power plants, as well as a coals to liquid plant (through the Fischer–Tropsch process) to produce synthetic automotive fuel have been planned. With its proven record of good economic governance, Botswana was ranked as Africa's third least corrupt country in the Corruption Perceptions Index in 2020, ahead of many European and Asian countries. The World Economic Forum rated Botswana as the third most economically competitive nation in Africa in 2002. However, Botswana is not a member of the WEF anymore. In 2001 Botswana was once again assigned "A" grade credit ratings by Moody's and Standard & Poor's. This ranks Botswana as by far the best credit risk in Africa and puts it on par with or above many countries in central Europe, East Asia, and Latin America. However, as of 2024, Botswana has been ranked BBB+ in S&P's rating, while being ranked A3 in Moody's grade credit rating.
U.S. investment in Botswana remains at relatively low levels but continues to grow. Major U.S. corporations, such as Coca-Cola and H.J. Heinz, are present through direct investments, while others, such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, are present via franchise. The sovereign credit ratings by Moody's and Standard & Poor's clearly indicate that, despite continued challenges such as small market size, landlocked location, and cumbersome bureaucratic processes, Botswana remains one of the best investment opportunities in the developing world. Due to its history and geography, Botswana has long and deep ties to the economy of South Africa. The Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU), presently comprising Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, and South Africa, dates from 1910. Under this arrangement, South Africa has collected levies from customs, sales, and excise duties for all five members, sharing out proceeds based on each country's portion of imports. The exact formula for sharing revenues and the decision-making authority over duties—held exclusively by the Government of South Africa—became increasingly controversial, and the members renegotiated the arrangement in 2001. The new structure has now been formally ratified and a SACU Secretariat has been established in Windhoek, Namibia. Following South Africa's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Botswana also joined; many of the SACU duties are thus declining, making products from outside the area more competitive in Botswana. Currently, the SACU countries and the U.S. are negotiating a free trade agreement. Botswana is currently also negotiating a free trade agreement with Mercosur and an Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union as part of SADC.
Gaborone is host to the headquarters of the fourteen-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC), a successor to the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC, established in 1980), which focused its efforts on freeing regional economic development from dependence on apartheid South Africa. SADC embraced the newly democratic South Africa as a member in 1994 and has a broad mandate to encourage growth, development, and economic integration in Southern Africa. SADC's Trade Protocol, which was launched on 1 September 2000, calls for the elimination of all tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade by 2012 among the 11 signatory countries. If successful, it will give Botswana companies free access to the far larger regional market. Botswana has successfully carried an Action Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, which was adopted in the period 2006–2007. Free the Children delisted Botswana as a nation harbouring child-labour facilities in 2008. Financial sector. Botswana has a growing financial sector, and the country's national stock market, the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE), based in Gaborone, is given the responsibility to operate and regulate the equities and fixed interest securities market. Formally established in 1989, the BSE continues to be pivotal to Botswana's financial system, and in particular the capital market, as an avenue on which government, quasi-government and the private sector can raise debt and equity capital. Although the BSE has just under 40 companies listed, it plays host to the most pre-eminent companies doing business in Botswana. These companies represent a spectrum of industries and commerce, from Banking and financial services to Wholesaling and Retailing, Tourism and Information Technology.

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