BOTSWANA                                                                        
GEOGRAPHY                                                                       
Total area: 600,370 km2; land area: 585,370 km2                                 
                                                                                
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas                                   
                                                                                
Land boundaries: 4,013 km total; Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa                 
1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km                                                       
                                                                                
Coastline: none--landlocked                                                     
                                                                                
Maritime claims: none--landlocked                                               
Disputes: short section of the boundary with Namibia is indefinite;             
quadripoint with Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe is in disagreement               
                                                                                
Climate: semiarid; warm winters and hot summers                                 
                                                                                
Terrain: predominately flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari               
Desert in southwest                                                             
                                                                                
Natural resources: diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash,                    
potash, coal, iron ore, silver, natural gas                                     
                                                                                
Land use: arable land 2%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures              
75%; forest and woodland 2%; other 21%; includes irrigated NEGL%                
                                                                                
Environment: rains in early 1988 broke six years of drought that                
had severely affected the important cattle industry; overgrazing;               
desertification                                                                 
                                                                                
Note: landlocked                                                                
                                                                                
PEOPLE                                                                          
Population: 1,258,392 (July 1991), growth rate 2.7% (1991)                      
                                                                                
Birth rate: 36 births/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1991)                                    
                                                                                
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)                          
                                                                                
Infant mortality rate: 43 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)                       
                                                                                
Life expectancy at birth: 59 years male, 65 years female (1991)                 
                                                                                
Total fertility rate: 4.6 children born/woman (1991)                            
                                                                                
Nationality: noun and adjective--Motswana (singular), Batswana                  
(plural)                                                                        
                                                                                
Ethnic divisions: Batswana 95%; Kalanga, Basarwa, and Kgalagadi                 
about 4%; white about 1%                                                        
                                                                                
Religion: indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 50%                                 
                                                                                
Language: English (official), Setswana                                          
                                                                                
Literacy: 23% (male 32%, female 16%) age 15 and over can                        
read and write (1990 est.)                                                      
                                                                                
Labor force: 400,000; 182,200 formal sector employees, most others              
are engaged in cattle raising and subsistence agriculture (1988 est.);          
19,000 are employed in various mines in South Africa (1988)                     
                                                                                
Organized labor: 19 trade unions                                                
                                                                                
GOVERNMENT                                                                      
Long-form name: Republic of Botswana                                            
                                                                                
Type: parliamentary republic                                                    
                                                                                
Capital: Gaborone                                                               
                                                                                
Administrative divisions: 10 districts; Central, Chobe, Ghanzi,                 
Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Ngamiland, North-East, South-East,                
Southern; note--in addition, there may now be 4 town councils named             
Francistown, Gaborone, Lobaste, Selebi-Pikwe                                    
                                                                                
Independence: 30 September 1966 (from UK; formerly Bechuanaland)                
                                                                                
Constitution: March 1965, effective 30 September 1966                           
                                                                                
Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law;                 
judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted          
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction                                                     
                                                                                
National holiday: Botswana Day, 30 September (1966)                             
                                                                                
Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet                            
                                                                                
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly consists of an                  
upper house or House of Chiefs and a lower house or National Assembly           
                                                                                
Judicial branch: High Court, Court of Appeal                                    
                                                                                
Leaders:                                                                        
                                                                                
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Quett K. J. MASIRE             
(since 13 July 1980); Vice President Peter S. MMUSI (since 3 January            
1983)                                                                           
                                                                                
Political parties and leaders:                                                  
Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), Quett MASIRE;                                  
Botswana National Front (BNF), Kenneth KOMA;                                    
Botswana People's Party (BPP), Knight MARIPE;                                   
Botswana Independence Party (BIP), Motsamai MPHO                                
                                                                                
Suffrage: universal at age 21                                                   
                                                                                
Elections:                                                                      
                                                                                
President--last held 7 October 1989 (next to be held October                    
1994);                                                                          
results--President Quett K. J. MASIRE was reelected by the National             
Assembly;                                                                       
                                                                                
National Assembly--last held 7 October 1989 (next to be                         
held October 1994); results--percent of vote by party NA;                       
seats--(38 total, 34 elected) BDP 35, BNF 3                                     
                                                                                
Communists: no known Communist organization; Kenneth Koma of BNF                
has long history of Communist contacts                                          
                                                                                
Member of: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, FLS, G-77, GATT, IBRD,                  
ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU,                      
LORCS, NAM, OAU, SACU, SADCC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO,         
WMO                                                                             
                                                                                
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Botsweletse Kingsley                      
SEBELE; Chancery at Suite 404, 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington           
DC 20008; telephone (202) 244-4990 or 4991;                                     
US--Ambassador David PASSAGE; Embassy at Botswana Road, Gaborone                
(mailing address is P. O. Box 90, Gaborone); telephone  267  353-982            
through 353-984                                                                 
                                                                                
Flag: light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe                     
in the center                                                                   
                                                                                
ECONOMY                                                                         
Overview: The economy has historically been based on cattle raising             
and crops. Agriculture today provides a livelihood for over 80% of the          
population, but produces only about 50% of food needs and contributes           
a small 3% to GDP. The driving force behind the rapid economic growth of        
the 1970s and 1980s has been the mining industry. This sector, mostly on        
the strength of diamonds, has gone from generating 25% of GDP in 1980 to        
over 50% in 1989. No other sector has experienced such growth, especially       
not agriculture, which is plagued by erratic rainfall and poor soils. The       
unemployment rate remains a problem at 25%.                                     
                                                                                
GDP: $3.1 billion, per capita $2,500; real growth rate 6.3%                     
(1990)                                                                          
                                                                                
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12.0% (1990)                                  
                                                                                
Unemployment rate: 25% (1989)                                                   
                                                                                
Budget: revenues $1,719 million; expenditures $1,792 million,                   
including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92 est.)                               
                                                                                
Exports: $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);                                      
                                                                                
commodities--diamonds 77%, copper and nickel 12%, meat 4%, cattle,              
animal products;                                                                
                                                                                
partners--Switzerland, UK, US, SACU (Southern African Customs                   
Union)                                                                          
                                                                                
Imports: $1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.);                                      
                                                                                
commodities--foodstuffs, vehicles and transport equipment,                      
textiles, petroleum products;                                                   
                                                                                
partners--Switzerland, SACU (Southern African Customs Union),                   
UK, US                                                                          
                                                                                
External debt: $780 million (December 1990 est.)                                
                                                                                
Industrial production: growth rate 16.8% (FY86); accounts for                   
about 57% of GDP, including mining                                              
                                                                                
Electricity: 217,000 kW capacity; 630 million kWh produced,                     
510 kWh per capita (1989)                                                       
                                                                                
Industries: mining of diamonds, copper, nickel, coal, salt, soda                
ash, potash; livestock processing                                               
                                                                                
Agriculture: accounts for only 3% of GDP; subsistence                           
farming predominates; cattle raising supports 50% of the population;            
must import large share of food needs                                           
                                                                                
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $257                   
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments          
(1970-88), $1.8 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $43 million;             
Communist countries (1970-89), $29 million                                      
                                                                                
Currency: pula (plural--pula); 1 pula (P) = 100 thebe                           
                                                                                
Exchange rates: pula (P) per US$1--1.8720 (January 1991), 1.8601                
(1990), 2.0125 (1989), 1.8159 (1988), 1.6779 (1987), 1.8678 (1986),             
1.8882 (1985)                                                                   
                                                                                
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March                                                   
                                                                                
COMMUNICATIONS                                                                  
Railroads: 712 km 1.0 67-meter gauge                                            
                                                                                
Highways: 11,514 km total; 1,600 km paved; 1,700 km crushed stone               
or gravel, 5,177 km improved earth, 3,037 km unimproved earth                   
                                                                                
Civil air: 6 major transport aircraft                                           
                                                                                
Airports: 100 total, 87 usable; 8 with permanent-surface runways;               
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 26 with           
runways 1,220-2,439 m                                                           
                                                                                
Telecommunications: the small system is a combination of open-wire              
lines, radio relay links, and a few radiocommunication stations; 17,900         
telephones; stations--2 AM, 3 FM, no TV; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth          
station                                                                         
                                                                                
DEFENSE FORCES                                                                  
Branches: Botswana Defense Force (including Army and Air Wing),                 
Botswana National Police                                                        
                                                                                
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 260,290; 137,038 fit for                    
military service; 14,767 reach military age (18) annually                       
                                                                                
Defense expenditures: $99 million, 8.2% of GNP (1989)                           
                                                                                
