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. Its total area is 581,730 square kilometres (224,610 sq mi). Gaborone, in the South-East District, is the country's capital and largest city.

Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. While it is not enshrined by statutory law, Botswana is de facto the nation state of the Batswana people, who constitute nearly 80% of the population while legally undistinguished Kalanga people, who account for another 11%, are the single largest ethnic minority.

The Batswana 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, when the Umbrella for Democratic Change won the 2024 Botswana general election. (Full article...)

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A depiction of a Young Motswana woman by Emil Holub (1881)

The Batswana (Tswana: Batswana, singular Motswana) are a Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa. Ethnic Tswana made up approximately 85% of the population of Botswana in 2011.

Batswana inhabit south and eastern Botswana and the North West, Northern Cape, Gauteng, Free State, and other provinces of South Africa. (Full article...)

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A female African bush elephant in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania

Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), the African forest elephant (L. cyclotis), and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea; extinct relatives include mammoths and mastodons. Distinctive features of elephants include a long proboscis called a trunk, tusks, large ear flaps, pillar-like legs, and tough but sensitive grey skin. The trunk is prehensile, bringing food and water to the mouth and grasping objects. Tusks, which are derived from the incisor teeth, serve both as weapons and as tools for moving objects and digging. The large ear flaps assist in maintaining a constant body temperature as well as in communication. African elephants have larger ears and concave backs, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears and convex or level backs.

Elephants are scattered throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. They live in different habitats, including savannahs, forests, deserts, and marshes. They are herbivorous, and they stay near water when it is accessible. They are considered to be keystone species, due to their impact on their environments. Elephants have a fission–fusion society, in which multiple family groups come together to socialise. Females (cows) tend to live in family groups, which can consist of one female with its calves or several related females with offspring. The leader of a female group, usually the oldest cow, is known as the matriarch. (Full article...)

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

Image 1Ministry of Health building (from Gaborone)
Image 2Typical Kgotla setting (from Tswana people)
Image 3South African politician (from Tswana people)
Image 4CBD Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 5Botswana Gaborone I Towers (from Gaborone)
Image 6Flag map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 7King Bathoen II 1947 of Bangwaketse (from Tswana people)
Image 8Tswana Baskets used for storing grain (from Tswana people)
Image 9An illustration of a Tswana man and his wife in the early 1800s (from History of Botswana)
Image 10Universal Plaza building in Gaborone CBD (from Gaborone)
Image 11Orapa House (from Gaborone)
Image 12Flag of Bophuthatswana (from Tswana people)
Image 13Seretse Khama signing the oath of office to become Botswana's first President in 1966 (from History of Botswana)
Image 14Man on donkey herding goats in a dry river bed (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 15Depiction of a Precolonial Homestead in the ancient City of Kaditshwene circa early 1400
Image 16South African ANC activist, writer and author, (from Tswana people)
Image 17King Molema of Barolong (from Tswana people)
Image 18CBD Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 19Quett Masire visiting the United States in 1984 (from History of Botswana)
Image 204th President of Botswana, King of Bamangwato (Khama IV) (from Tswana people)
Image 21Rhodesia Railways car at the national museum (from Gaborone)
Image 22Prehistoric cave paintings at Tsodilo (from History of Botswana)
Image 23Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) (from Gaborone)
Image 24A postage stamp circa 1943, the postmark reading "Gaborone's Village" (from Gaborone)
Image 25Tourist resort at Kasane (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 26Street scene near the Main Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 27Tebogo Letsile, the 2024 Summer Olympics 200 metres gold medalist (from Tswana people)
Image 28I-Tower at Central Business District (from Gaborone)
Image 29Botswana traditional house at the National Museum (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 30Duma Boko signing an agreement with the United States in 2025 (from History of Botswana)
Image 31BR Express, the passenger train (from Francistown)
Image 32Bechuanaland Boys cleaning Aa Guns in the Twilight after Action, Syracuse, Sicily, 1944 art piece by Leslie Cole (from History of Botswana)
Image 33Batswana men dressed in traditional attire during the visit of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret to Lobatse, Bechuanaland, on 17 April 1947 (from Tswana people)
Image 34Young Tswana maiden dressed in Leteisi (from Tswana people)
Image 35Ostriches at Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 36Magadi (traditional wedding) (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 37Gaborone Hindu Temple (from Gaborone)
Image 38The National Assembly of Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 39Rail network map of Botswana (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 40Satellite view of Gaborone. North is to the left of the image. (from Gaborone)
Image 41Ian Khama meeting with William Hague in London (from History of Botswana)
Image 42Rev. Derek Jones, the first mayor of Gaborone
Image 43The Jwaneng diamond mine is the second biggest in the world today. (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 44Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 45Aerial view over Okavango Delta (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 46Road map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 47Kgosi Sekgoma II and leaders of the Bangwato Military regiments in Serowe during the royal visit of the Prince of Wales in June 1925. (from Tswana people)
Image 48South African billionaire mining businessman, CAF President (from Tswana people)
Image 49The Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, named after the first president of Botswana (from History of Botswana)
Image 50Watch house in Gaborone Game Reserve (from Gaborone)