The Republic of Botswana is located in the centre of the Southern
African region and is landlocked by Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The capital city is Gaberone, other major cities are
Francistown,
Lobatse and
Selebi-Phikwe. Formerly
the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name
upon independence in 1966. The economy, one of the most robust on the
continent, is dominated by diamond mining. While indigenous
crafts such as Botswana baskets, weaving, woodcarving and pottery will
catch everyone's eye, it is diamonds that have turned out to be Botswana’s
best financial friend – the country is one of the world’s top producers
of the gem.
The official language of Botswana is English, however most people speak
Setswana, the language of the Tswana (plural Batswana).
Most of Botswana lies on a plateau, the
Kalahari desert covering most of
the South and South West of the region. The Okavango Basin is a large
marsh area that covers a large proportion of Botswana.
The half-water, half-grass Okavango Delta in the north is the final
resting place of the third largest river in southern Africa. The watery
labyrinth is a bird-watcher’s paradise and overflows with beautiful
fish, reptiles, predators and mammals. The permanent emerald swirl of the
world’s biggest inland river delta, the fertile Okavango, is visible
from outer space. The Okavango is regarded as one of the world's most spectacular
inland deltas, a lush cross between a great sprawling oasis and a swamp,
teeming with birds and wildlife. In contrast the Makgadikgadi is one of
the biggest salt pans anywhere - horizon to horizon a vast unbroken disc
of pewter coloured sand, seemingly barren and featureless, shimmering
with atmospheric tension. Even more remote, Tsodilo Hills guards one of
the greatest concentrations of rockart in the world, some huge and
obvious, others tiny, delicate and almost secretive. The Okavango flows
into a sea of sand, the Kalahari Desert, then disappears, never to
emerge again.
Much of the country is covered with ancient
windblown Kalahari sands and the
fossilised remains of a former desert. Landlocked, and roughly central
to the southern African sub-continent, Botswana extends through nine
degrees of latitude. These factors tend toward considerable variation in
climate, but a low average rainfall. A very flat country with hilly
areas along the Limpopo valley in the east, Botswana is semi-arid with
rainfall figures of between 600 mm in the north to 200 mm in the
south-west. Temperatures can be quite extreme - small quantities of
water may freeze overnight
in
winter (June, July) while in October and November day temperatures can
reach 40°C or more.
The hunter-gatherer San (Bushmen, or
Basarwa), original inhabitants of this rugged country, still lead a
Stone Age existence in isolated communities here. The San, or bushmen have lived in the Kalahari for at least 30 000
years and are a small but fascinating part of Botswana's culture. The
Tswana, now the principle ethnic group in Botswana migrated to the
region over 200 years ago. The majority of the population are
concentrated in the eastern part of the country, in the capital,
Gaborone and in Francistown in the East.
Given its area (just under 600 000 square kilometres) and a
relatively small population of about 1.5 million, Botswana has an
average of three people per square kilometre, but the cattle density of
the country is considerably higher. One of the richest per capita
countries in Africa, much of its wealth comes from diamond mines with
beef production as the second most important income generator. However,
wildlife and tourism are high earners for the country, and roughly 20%
of the land is designated as protected wildlife areas.
