Republic of Botswana
Southern Africa
Savanna · Diamond · Stable
Botswana (officially Republic of Botswana) is a country located in Southern Africa. Its capital city is Gaborone, with other major cities including Francistown and Maun. With a population of approximately 2.6M, the main languages spoken are English, Setswana. The country covers an area of 582,000 km². The official currency is the Botswana pula (P). Traffic drives on the left side.
Botswana went from one of the world's poorest countries at independence in 1966 to an upper-middle-income economy, largely through transparent diamond revenues — the Jwaneng mine is the richest diamond mine on Earth by value.
Gaborone serves as the political, cultural and economic heart of Botswana, positioned in Southern Africa. As the seat of government and often the most populous city, it concentrates the country's main institutions, universities and cultural landmarks. Beyond the capital, major cities include Francistown, Maun — each a hub of regional culture, economy and history. Gaborone was built from nothing in 1964, three years before independence, on the edge of the South African border — the choice of a new site rather than an existing town reflected the government's desire for a capital uncontaminated by colonial-era racial geography — and today its diamond-funded growth has made it one of southern Africa's most stable and prosperous cities.
With a population of approximately 2.6M, Botswana is a vibrant society with a rich mix of traditions and communities. The principal languages spoken are English, Setswana, which reflect the country's cultural heritage and open doors to a wide international community. Internationally, Botswana is reached via the dialling code +267. Botswana's Tswana tradition of Kgotla — a public assembly open to all adults, historically held under a tree where community decisions were debated until consensus — was incorporated into the country's post-independence governance as a formal consultative mechanism, making it one of Africa's earliest examples of indigenous democratic institution integration.
Botswana spans 582,000 km², in the Southern Africa subregion of Africa. Geographically centred around 22.0°S, 24.0°E, the country offers a diverse range of landscapes shaped by its location, climate and geology. Road traffic follows the left-hand rule, in line with surrounding Africa convention.
The official currency is the Botswana pula (P), used for everyday transactions and commerce throughout the country. Botswana's economy is shaped by its geography, natural resources and trade relationships. Business and daily life operate under UTC+02:00, aligning the country with its regional neighbours.
Football / Athletics holds a special place in the heart of Botswana's national identity. Isaac Makwala's 200m and 400m double at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London — achieved after he was controversially barred from the 200m heats due to illness, reinstated after a solo time trial, and then ran his semi-final and final within hours — produced one of the championships' most dramatic performances and Botswana's most celebrated individual athletic moment.
The highest point in Botswana is Otse Hill, rising to 1,491 metres above sea level. The Okavango Delta — an inland river that flows from Angola into the Kalahari Desert and simply stops, spreading into 15,000 square kilometres of seasonal floodplain without ever reaching the sea — creates one of the world's most biodiverse ecosystems in the middle of southern Africa's driest region, a hydrological accident that produced a UNESCO World Heritage Site.