Portal: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% of its territory being a 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% 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, though dominated by the Botswana Democratic Party until 2024. As of 2024^[update], Botswana is the least corrupt country in mainland Africa according to the Corruption Perceptions Index published by Transparency International.

Botswana's economy has generally experienced stable growth since independence. It is dominated by tourism and mining; Botswana produces more diamonds than any other country. Its gross national income per capita (purchasing power parity) of about $20,158 as of 2024^[update] (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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The pula is the currency of Botswana. It has the ISO 4217 code BWP and is subdivided into 100 thebe. Pula literally means "rain" in Setswana, because rain is very scarce in Botswana—home to much of the Kalahari Desert— playing a major role in rites of traditional Tswana belief; therefore valuable and the word extends its meaning as "blessing" or "fortune". The word also serves as the national motto of the country.

A sub-unit of the currency is known as thebe, or "shield", and represents defence. The names were picked with the help of the public. (Full article...)

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... that the Motswana ANC activist Fish Keitseng helped anti-Apartheid leaders including Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki to move through Bechuanaland?

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

Adult male vervet monkey

The vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus Chlorocebus. The five distinct subspecies can be found mostly throughout Southern Africa, as well as some of the eastern countries. These mostly herbivorous monkeys have black faces and grey body hair color, ranging in body length from about 40 cm (16 in) for females, to about 50 cm (20 in) for males.

In addition to behavioral research on natural populations, vervet monkeys serve as a nonhuman primate model for understanding genetic and social behaviors of humans. They have been noted for having human-like characteristics, such as hypertension, anxiety, and social and dependent alcohol use. Vervets live in social groups ranging from 10 to 70 individuals, with males moving to other groups at the time of sexual maturity. Studies done on vervet monkeys involve their communication and alarm calls, specifically in regard to kin and group recognition, and particular predator sightings. (Full article...)

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

Image 1Graduation daggers that were given to Tswana Fighting Regiments (from Tswana people)
Image 2An 1865 portrait of Kgosi Sechele I in Ntsweng Bechuanaland (from Tswana people)
Image 3Botswana traditional baskets (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 4The National Assembly of Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 5Kombi (Minibus taxi) (from Gaborone)
Image 6Flag map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 7A postage stamp circa 1943, the postmark reading "Gaborone's Village" (from Gaborone)
Image 8CBD Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 9Rhodesia Railways car at the national museum (from Gaborone)
Image 10Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 11Batswana Men dressed in traditional attire in 1946 (from Tswana people)
Image 12Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs building (from Gaborone)
Image 13Francistown City Bus and Taxi Rank (from Francistown)
Image 14Mokgweetsi Masisi speaking at a conference on the illegal wildlife trade in London in 2018 (from History of Botswana)
Image 15Tourist resort at Kasane (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 16Gaborone Hindu temple (from Gaborone)
Image 17Tebogo Letsile, the 2024 Summer Olympics 200 metres gold medalist (from Tswana people)
Image 18Duma Boko signing an agreement with the United States in 2025 (from History of Botswana)
Image 19A 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 20Bechuanaland Boys cleaning Aa Guns in the Twilight after Action, Syracuse, Sicily, 1944 art piece by Leslie Cole (from History of Botswana)
Image 21St. Joseph's College students (from Gaborone)
Image 22Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Phokeng (from Tswana people)
Image 23Road map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 244th President of Botswana, King of Bamangwato (Khama IV) (from Tswana people)
Image 25Prehistoric cave paintings at Tsodilo (from History of Botswana)
Image 26Gaborone Hindu Temple (from Gaborone)
Image 27King Khama (III) of Bamangwato (from Tswana people)
Image 28New CBD (from Gaborone)
Image 29Tswana girl dressed in Leteisi (from Tswana people)
Image 30SSKI Airport (from Gaborone)
Image 31New Construction Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 32Francistown Bus Terminal (from Francistown)
Image 33South African billionaire mining businessman, CAF President (from Tswana people)
Image 34Seretse Khama signing the oath of office to become Botswana's first President in 1966 (from History of Botswana)
Image 35Ian Khama meeting with William Hague in London (from History of Botswana)
Image 36Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) (from Gaborone)
Image 37Rev. Derek Jones, the first mayor of Gaborone
Image 38Francistown Stadium (from Francistown)
Image 39View from Kgale Hill (Oodi Hill on horizon) (from Gaborone)
Image 40Tswana Baskets (from Tswana people)
Image 41Botswana traditional house at the National Museum (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 42Man on donkey herding goats in a dry river bed (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 43Aerial view over Okavango Delta (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 44King Molema of Barolong (from Tswana people)
Image 45Ostriches at Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 46I-Towers, Gaborone Central Business District (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 47GDP per capita (current), compared to neighbouring countries (world average = 100) (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 48Magadi (traditional wedding) (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 49Gaborone Mosque (from Gaborone)
Image 50King Bathoen II 1947 of Bangwaketse (from Tswana people)
Image 51Festus Mogae alongside foreign presidents Joaquim Chissano, George W. Bush, and José Eduardo dos Santos in 2002 (from History of Botswana)
Image 52The Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, named after the first president of Botswana (from History of Botswana)
Image 53Street scene near the Main Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 54CBD Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 55I-Tower at Central Business District (from Gaborone)
Image 56An illustration of a Tswana man and his wife in the early 1800s (from History of Botswana)
Image 57Rail network map of Botswana (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 58Botswana Gaborone I Towers (from Gaborone)
Image 59The Jwaneng diamond mine is the second biggest in the world today. (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 60Watch house in Gaborone Game Reserve (from Gaborone)
Image 61Setswana traditional house (from Tswana people)
Image 62BR Express, the passenger train (from Francistown)
Image 63A road in Gaborone (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 64Orapa House (from Gaborone)
Image 65Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 66Gaborone aerial (from Gaborone)
Image 67Room 52 Roof Top Restaurant (from Gaborone)
Image 68South African ANC activist, writer and author, (from Tswana people)
Image 69Quett Masire visiting the United States in 1984 (from History of Botswana)
Image 70Satellite view of Gaborone. North is to the left of the image. (from Gaborone)
Image 71Homestead in the ancient City of Kaditshwene
Image 72 Tswana tribesmen, first Africans to compete at the Olympics (from Tswana people)
Image 73Christ The King Cathedral (from Gaborone)
Image 74South African politician (from Tswana people)