Botswana

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A map of Botswana
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A map of Botswana

Botswana is a country in southern Africa. Its full name is The Republic of Botswana. The capital of Botswana is Gaborone.

[edit] Geography

Botswana is bordered by the countries of Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia. It is also possible to travel from Botswana directly into Zambia by crossing the Zambesi river by ferry.

Botswana has no coast on the sea, nor on a lake. This type of country is called landlocked, and means that all of Botswana's trade must be brought in over land, or by aeroplane.

The two most important geographical features in Botswana are the Okavango delta and the Kalahari desert.

[edit] Culture

People from Botswana are called Batswana or Botswanans. The population of Botswana is about 1.6 million people. This is a small number for a country of this size, and so the population density of Botswana is very low at only 2.7 persons per km². This is because most of the country is desert and very dry.

The languages spoken by most Batswana are English and the local language called Setswana (also called Tswana).

Botswana is a democracy and the people vote for their political leaders, who vote for their president. The current president of Botswana is Festus Mogae.

[edit] Economy

The economy of Botswana has been growing very fast since it became an independent country in 1966. The people of Botswana have had the world's fastest growth in standard of living since that time.

Botswana's economy comes mostly from the mining of diamonds, as well as metals such as copper and of minerals such as salt. Many people come to Botswana each year to see its wildlife, and so tourism is important to the country.

The currency of Botswana is called the Pula (which means rain). It is made up of 100 thebe (which means shield).

Countries and territories of Africa

Independent: Algeria | Angola | Benin | Botswana | Burkina Faso | Burundi | Cameroon | Cape Verde | Central African Republic | Chad | Comoros | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Republic of the Congo | Côte d'Ivoire | Djibouti | Egypt | Equatorial Guinea | Eritrea | Ethiopia | Gabon | The Gambia | Ghana | Guinea | Guinea-Bissau | Kenya | Lesotho | Liberia | Libya | Madagascar | Malawi | Mali | Mauritania | Mauritius | Morocco | Mozambique | Namibia | Niger | Nigeria | Rwanda | São Tomé and Príncipe | Senegal | Seychelles | Sierra Leone | Somalia | Somaliland | South Africa | Sudan | Swaziland | Tanzania | Togo | Tunisia | Uganda | Western Sahara | Zambia | Zimbabwe

Governed by other countries: Canary Islands | Ceuta and Melilla | Madeira Islands | Mayotte | Réunion | Saint Helena and dependencies