Portal:Botswana

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Coat of Arms of Botswana	Flag of Botswana

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Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, Zambia to the north and Zimbabwe to the northeast. With a population of slightly over 2.4 million people and a comparable land area to France, Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. It is essentially the nation-state of the Tswana people, who constitute nearly 80 percent of the population.

The Tswana ethnic group are descended mainly from Bantu-speaking peoples who migrated into southern Africa, including modern Botswana, in several waves before AD 600. In 1885, the British colonised the area and declared a protectorate named Bechuanaland. As part of the decolonisation of Africa, Bechuanaland became an independent Commonwealth republic under its current name on 30 September 1966. Since then, it has been a parliamentary republic with a consistent record of uninterrupted democratic elections, although the Botswana Democratic Party was the only ruling party from independence until 2024. As of 2024^[update], Botswana is the third-least corrupt country in Africa, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index published by Transparency International.

The economy is dominated by mining and tourism. Botswana has a per capita GDP (purchasing power parity) of about $20,158 as of 2024^[update]. Botswana is the world's biggest diamond-producing country. Its relatively high gross national income per capita (by some estimates the fourth-largest in Africa) gives the country a relatively high standard of living and the second-highest Human Development Index of continental Sub-Saharan Africa (after South Africa). Despite this, Botswana continues to grapple with high unemployment rates. Botswana is a member of the Southern African Customs Union, the Southern African Development Community, the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations. (Full article...)

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Botswana has competed in 11 Summer Olympics, and their first Olympic game was at the 1980 Summer Olympics. They have never participated in a Winter Olympics.

Botswana won its inaugural medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics with Nijel Amos getting a silver in the 800m. The men's 4 × 400 relay team won a bronze medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. (Full article...)

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... that the first trade union in Botswana was not recognised by the ruling Bechuanaland Protectorate until 1964, 16 years after its formation?

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This is a good article, A-class article, featured list, or featured article, one of Wikipedia’s best work.

Male African leopard in Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

The leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the five extant cat species in the genus Panthera. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of 92–183 cm (36–72 in) with a 66–102 cm (26–40 in) long tail and a shoulder height of 60–70 cm (24–28 in). Males typically weigh 30.9–72 kg (68–159 lb), and females 20.5–43 kg (45–95 lb).

The leopard was first described in 1758, and several subspecies were proposed in the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, eight subspecies are recognised in its wide range in Africa and Asia. It initially evolved in Africa during the Early Pleistocene, before migrating into Eurasia around the Early–Middle Pleistocene transition. Leopards were formerly present across Europe, but became extinct in the region at around the end of the Late Pleistocene-early Holocene. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Botswana-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Gaborone aerial (from Gaborone)
Image 2I-Tower at Central Business District (from Gaborone)
Image 3View from Kgale Hill (Oodi Hill on horizon) (from Gaborone)
Image 4A road in Gaborone (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 5New CBD (from Gaborone)
Image 6I-Towers, Gaborone Central Business District (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 7CBD Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 8SSKI Airport (from Gaborone)
Image 9Botswana traditional house at the National Museum (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 10Gaborone Mosque (from Gaborone)
Image 11Room 52 Roof Top Restaurant (from Gaborone)
Image 12An illustration of a Tswana man and his wife in the early 1800s (from History of Botswana)
Image 13Mokgweetsi Masisi speaking at a conference on the illegal wildlife trade in London in 2018 (from History of Botswana)
Image 14Prehistoric cave paintings at Tsodilo (from History of Botswana)
Image 15Kombi (Minibus taxi) (from Gaborone)
Image 16Francistown Stadium (from Francistown)
Image 17Gaborone Hindu temple (from Gaborone)
Image 18Festus Mogae alongside foreign presidents Joaquim Chissano, George W. Bush, and José Eduardo dos Santos in 2002 (from History of Botswana)
Image 19New Construction Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 20Jan Mashiani and Len Taunyane were the first black participants from Africa in the Olympics (from Tswana people)
Image 21A 1960 stamp of the Bechuanaland Protectorate featuring images of Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II, the first and last British monarchs of the protectorate (from History of Botswana)
Image 22Street scene near the Main Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 23Watch house in Gaborone Game Reserve (from Gaborone)
Image 24Christ The King Cathedral (from Gaborone)
Image 25Rail network map of Botswana (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 26Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) (from Gaborone)
Image 27Francistown Bus Terminal (from Francistown)
Image 28Botswana traditional baskets (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 29BR Express, the passenger train (from Francistown)
Image 30Homestead in the ancient City of Kaditshwene
Image 31Rev. Derek Jones, the first mayor of Gaborone
Image 32Gaborone Hindu Temple (from Gaborone)
Image 33Satellite View of Gaborone. North is to the left of the image. (from Gaborone)
Image 34Graduation daggers that were given to Tswana Fighting Regiments (from Tswana people)
Image 35The Jwaneng diamond mine is the second biggest in the world today. (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 36Man on donkey herding goats in a dry river bed (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 37Seretse Khama signing the oath of office to become Botswana's first President in 1966 (from History of Botswana)
Image 38Rhodesia Railways car at the national museum (from Gaborone)
Image 39Road map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 40Flag map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 41An 1865 portrait of Kgosi Sechele I in Ntsweng Bechuanaland (from Tswana people)
Image 42Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 43St. Joseph's College students (from Gaborone)
Image 44A postage stamp circa 1943, the postmark reading "Gaborone's Village" (from Gaborone)
Image 45Aerial view over Okavango Delta (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 46Tswana Baskets (from Tswana people)
Image 47Tourist resort at Kasane (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 48Ostriches at Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 49Batswana Men dressed in traditional attire in 1946 (from Tswana people)
Image 50Magadi (traditional wedding) (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 51Orapa House (from Gaborone)
Image 52Madila sour cultured milk (from Tswana people)
Image 53Bechuanaland Boys cleaning Aa Guns in the Twilight after Action, Syracuse, Sicily, 1944 art piece by Leslie Cole (from History of Botswana)
Image 54Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 55CBD Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 56Botswana Gaborone I Towers (from Gaborone)
Image 57GDP per capita (current), compared to neighbouring countries (world average = 100) (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 58The National Assembly of Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 59Francistown City Bus and Taxi Rank (from Francistown)