BOTSWANA COUNTRY PROFILE
Botswana is a landlocked, politically stable democracy in Southern Africa, famed for its rich diamond reserves and expansive wilderness. Botswana is an upper-middle-income economy. It is also celebrated globally for its successful wildlife conservation and upmarket safari tourism.
Geography & Climate
The country covers 581,730 square kilometres in the centre of Southern Africa, sharing borders with South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. The landscape: is dominated by the Kalahari Desert (which covers about 70% of the country) and the lush Okavango Delta, a vast seasonal wetland teeming with wildlife. The climate is predominantly semi-arid with hot summers, mild winters, and unpredictable rainfall.
Economy
The primary drivers are diamond mining which remains the backbone of the economy. Tourism (wildlife safaris) and cattle farming are vital contributors.
The government has reinvested mineral wealth into public infrastructure, education, and healthcare.
The capital city of Botswana is Gaborone, which is the largest and most populous city. A sparsely populated nation, home to approximately 2.3 million people. The majority of the population belongs to the Tswana ethnic group
Gaborone is one of the fastest growing cities in Africa. The growth of Gaborone, especially suburban growth, has caused much of the farmland surrounding the city to be absorbed into the city. Much of the food for Gaborone comes from north of the city with some smaller-scale farms on the southern end.
The city centre was planned to be functionalist, with major buildings designed and built in the style of Modern architecture. The city is surrounded by multi-storey buildings. The city’s central business district (CBD) was recently constructed and is within proximity to Main Mall and Government Enclave areas. The Main Mall, a car-free shopping and commercial area, runs in an east-west direction with the Government Enclave and National Assembly on the west end and the Gaborone City Town Council complex on the east.
Gaborone’s CBD is home to the new Square Mall, the i-Towers, the new SADC headquarters, the Industrial Court, a court specifically for settling trade disputes, and the Three Dikgosi Monument, a landmark featuring the statues of Khama III, Sebele I, and Bathoen I, three dikgosi, or chiefs, who travelled to Great Britain to establish the Bechuanaland Protectorate separate from Southern Rhodesia. The other buildings in the CBD include the Hotel 52, Hotel 430 and Hilton hotel retail space, and office space.