Botswana

The Republic of BOTSWANA is a rather vast Southern African country which achieved independence from the United Kingdom in September 1966. The landlocked country is a neighbor to four bordering countries: Namibia in the west, South Africa in the south and southeast, Zambia at a tiny boundary in the north near the town of Kasane, and Zimbabwe in the northeast. The climate of Botswana is typically semiarid with hot summers and warm winters. Botswana’s currency is the Pula, and its ISO 4217 currency code is BWP. Some of the country’s exports for global trade (↗) are beans, copper, diamonds, grain (maize, millet, and sorghum), groundnuts, meat, nickel, soda ash, sunflowers, and textiles.

● ● ● ● ●  People and Places  ● ● ● ● ●  According to Encyclopædia Britannica, Botswana's population in the year 2020 is about 2,383,000 and is ranked 145th among populations of the whole world’s countries, dependencies, and territories. With a population of about 247,000 (year 2022), Gaborone serves as the national capital of Botswana. Other major Botswanan cities include Francistown, Kanye, Mahalapye, Maun, Mochudi, Mogoditshane, Molepolole, Palapye, Selibe Phikwe, and Serowe. Notable places and sites of interest all across the country mostly relate to the natural environment and ecosystems. Some recreational examples include the Caracal Biodiversity Centre in Kasane, Nata Bird Sanctuary, Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Chobe National Park, Gemsbok National Park, Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park, Kutse Game Reserve, Mabuasehube Game Reserve, Makgadikgadi Pans Game Reserve, Moremi Wildlife Reserve, Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Northern Tuli Game Reserve, and Nxai Pan National Park. The easternmost point of Botswana is an arrowhead-shaped region known as Tuli Block, a “Land of Giants” known for its towering trees, enormous rock formations, and private nature reserves featuring quintessential “zoo animals” like the aardvark, antelope, cheetah, crocodile, elephant, giraffe, hippopotamus, and zebra.

As of 2022, about 35 languages are used for communication. English is the official language, while Tswana is a native and widely spoken language. Other languages include Afrikaans, ǂ’Amkhoe, ǁAni, Birwa, Chichewa, ǁGana, Gciriku, ǀGwi, Haiǁom, Herero, Juǀ’hoansi (Ju’hoan), Kalanga, Kgalagadi, Khoekhoe, Khoisan (umbrella category for multiple languages), Khwedam, Kua, Kuhane, Kung-Ekoka, Kwangali, Lozi, Mbukushu, Nambya, Naro, Ndebele, Nossob, Setswana, Shua, Sotho (Northern and Southern), Taa (!Xóõ), Tshuwau, Tswapong, Xhosa, Yeyi, Zezuru, and Zulu. Two-thirds (67%) of the Botswanan population have Tswana ethnic heritage. Other ethnic groups among Botswanan people include Afrikaner, Basarwa, Bushman (San), Herero, Kalanga (Western Shona), Kgalagadi (Khalagari or Western Sotho), Khoisan, Mbanderu, Mbukushu, Ndebele, Northern Sotho (Birwa, Tswapong, etc.), Subiya, and Yei. About 64% of Botswanan citizens are Christians, followed by believers in Badimo and other ethnic religions (34%), Bahá’í believers (0.8%), Muslims (0.3%), Hindus (0.14%), and Buddhists (0.06%).

● ● ● ● ●  Land and Water Features  ● ● ● ● ●   If you ask a Botswana enthusiast to say the country’s most notable landscape feature, a response would likely mention either the Kalahari Desert or Okavango Delta. Both of these contrasting features are part of a Botswanan paradox: while the vast and dry Kalahari Desert in western Botswana encompasses much of the country (80%) and is inapt for the livelihoods of people and animals, the Okavango Delta of northern Botswana is a comparative oasis that many species benefit from. In fact, the Okavango Delta is a relatively rare interior delta that does not flow into an ocean or sea and contains 95% of all the surface water in Botswana! Tourists love the delta region because of the area’s safari opportunities. The delta is listed since 2014 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (↗). While areas near the delta have a greater biodiversity then the desert, the Kalahari Desert provides bush areas and grasslands with suitable habitat and resources for particular organisms. Other notable landscape features are found in Botswana, such as the Mababe Depression east of the delta and south of Chobe National Park, the Moremi Gorge near Serowe in the southeast, and variously sized salt pans — see the last paragraph for a short list and details of Botswana’s major salt pans. Marshes and farmland are predominantly located in northern Botswana, and rolling plains in the east provide grazing land and delicious grass for livestock to eat.

In addition to the Okavango Delta’s UNESCO designation, the Tsodilo Hills of northwestern Botswana is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (↗) encompassing “one of the highest concentrations of rock art in the world” and is therefore nicknamed the “Louvre of the Desert”! These quite inhospitable surroundings in the Kalahari Desert feature thousands of rock paintings within a small 10 km² (3.9 mi²) area, and archaeology studies make note of contemporaneous human civilization and environmental conditions starting more than 100,000 years ago. Situated in Botswana’s southeastern area and more specifically to the southwest of Gaborone, Monalanong Hill (Manyelanong Hill) is arguably the highest point in Botswana with an estimated height of 1,494 meters and 4,902 feet. Several other high points in southeastern Botswana include Kgale Hill, Otse Hill (1,469 meters and 4,822 feet), and Thamaga Hill. High points in the central area of Botswana include Matuba (1,167 meters and 3,829 feet), Daily's Koppie, Malauwe Koppies, Oppie Koppie, and the Tswapong Hills. High points in the northwestern region include Male Hill and Mount Aha (1,250 meters and 4,100 feet). Other hilly regions include the Aha Hills in the northwest, Chinamba Hills in the northeast, Koanaka Hills in the west, and Kgwebe Hills in north-central Botswana.

There are multiple salt pans, lakes, streams, rivers, and other water features of Botswana. Many of these are in close proximity to the Okavango Delta, while others are hundreds of kilometers/miles away. Most of Botswana’s salt pans sit in the northeast near the circular formation of towns and villages such as Gweta, Kumaga, Mosetse, Nata, Orapa, and Rakops (see map for geographic orientation). Here are four examples of salt pans found in northeastern Botswana: Makgadikgadi, Ntwetwe, Nxai, and Sua. One of the largest lakes in Botswana, Lake Ngami is generally located in northwestern Botswana but specifically south of the Okavango Delta, west of the Kgwebe Hills, and near the towns of Sehithwa and Tsau (Tsao). Lake Xau is another lake, and it is found about 250 kilometers and 155 miles east and slightly southeast of Lake Ngami. Known as the Kwando River in Namibia, the Chobe River flows along the north-central border of Botswana and the southeastern border of Namibia’s Caprivi Strip region. The river is north of Chobe National Park and immediately north of the Linyanti Swamp. The Molopo River forms the southwestern Botswana-South Africa border, while the Nosop River forms the southern border with South Africa. Botletle (Botete), Limpopo, Marico, Motloutse, Ngotwane, Okavango, Shashe, and Thaoge are other rivers flowing in various territories of Botswana. Intermittent rivers include Eiseb, Lotsane, Moselebe, Ncamasere, Okwa, Serurumi, and Xaudum.

This post was updated with more information in November 2022. GeoFact of the Day’s map of Botswana was designed in June 2020.