Botswana

total:

0.19 cu km/yr (41%/18%/41%)

per capita:

107 cu m/yr (2000)

• overgrazing;
• desertification;
• limited fresh water resources

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.68 male(s)/female

total population:

1 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

degree of risk:

high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne disease:

malaria (2009)

noun:

Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)

adjective:

Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)

conventional long form:

Republic of Botswana

conventional short form:

Botswana

local long form:

Republic of Botswana

local short form:

Botswana

former:

Bechuanaland

name:

Gaborone

geographic coordinates:

24 45 S, 25 55 E

time difference:

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law;
• judicial review limited to matters of interpretation;
• accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

chief of state:

• President Seretse Khama Ian KHAMA (since 1 April 2008);
• Vice President Mompati MERAFHE (since 1 April 2008);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Seretse Khama Ian KHAMA (since 1 April 2008); Vice President Mompati MERAFHE (since 1 April 2008)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president

elections:

• president indirectly elected for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held on 9 October 2009);
• vice president appointed by the president

election results:

Festus G. MOGAE elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 52%: note - MOGAE stepped down on 1 April 2008 and designated KHAMA to serve out the remainder of his term

• High Court;
• Court of Appeal;
• Magistrates' Courts (one in each district)

• Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO];
• Botswana Congress Party or BCP [Gilson SALESHANDO];
• Botswana Democratic Party or BDP [Daniel KWELAGOBE];
• Botswana National Front or BNF [Otswoletse MOUPO];
• Botswana Peoples Party or BPP [Bernard BALIKANI];
• MELS Movement of Botswana or MELS [Themba JOINA];
• New Democratic Front or NDF [Dick BAYFORD]

note: a number of minor parties joined forces in 1999 to form the BAM but did not capture any parliamentary seats - includes the United Action Party [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO];

the Independence Freedom Party or IFP [Motsamai MPHO]; the Botswana Progressive Union [D. K. KWELE]

• First People of the Kalahari (Bushman organization);
• Pitso Ya Ba Tswana;
• Society for the Promotion of Ikalanga Language (Kalanga elites)

other:

diamond mining companies

chief of mission:

Ambassador Lapologang Caesar LEKOA

chancery:

1531-1533 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

telephone:

[1] (202) 244-4990

FAX:

[1] (202) 244-4164

chief of mission:

Ambassador Stephen J. NOLAN

embassy:

Embassy Enclave (off Khama Crescent), Gaborone

mailing address:

Embassy Enclave, P. O. Box 90, Gaborone

telephone:

[267] 395-3982

FAX:

[267] 395-6947

agriculture:

NA%

industry:

NA%

services:

NA%

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

• diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash;
• livestock processing;
• textiles

general assessment:

• the system is expanding with the growth of mobile-cellular service and participation in regional development;
• system is fully digital with fiber-optic cables linking the major population centers in the east;
• fixed-line connections declined in recent years and now stand at roughly 8 per 100 persons;
• mobile-cellular telephone density currently is about 80 per 100 persons

domestic:

small system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and a few radiotelephone communication stations; mobile-cellular service is growing fast

international:

• country code - 267;
• international calls are made via satellite, using international direct dialing;
• 2 international exchanges;
• digital microwave radio relay links to Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa;
• satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2008)

total:

888 km

country comparison to the world: 97

narrow gauge:

888 km 1.067-m gauge (2008)

total:

25,798 km

country comparison to the world: 103

paved:

8,410 km

unpaved:

17,388 km (2005)

males age 16-49:

487,853

females age 16-49:

464,278 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

341,190

females age 16-49:

315,588 (2009 est.)

male:

23,420

female:

22,904 (2009 est.)

• Botswana still struggles to seal its border from thousands of Zimbabweans who flee economic collapse and political persecution;
• Namibia has long supported, and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to, plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River at Kazungula crossing, thereby de facto recognizing the short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary