COUNTRY shares a border with Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. It is mostly flat to gently rolling tableland, with the Kalahari Desert to the southwest.
A person who lives in Botswana is called Motswana, but people who live in Botswana are called Batswana, which are also the adjectives used to describe something/somethings from this country. As of July 2012, there are 2,098,018 people in Botswana. The ethnic groups that reside in Botswana are mostly Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, with some Kalanga (11%) and Basarwa (3%). Though the official language is English, several languages are spoken there, including Setswana (78%), Kalanga (8%), and Sekgalagadi (3%). Christians make up approximately 72% of the population, while Badimo make up an additional 6%.
The country's official name is Republic of Botswana. The capital is Gabarone, and the country is made up of 9 districts and 5 town councils. Though Botswana gained independence from the United Kingdom on Setpember 30, 1966, the constitution was actually drafted in March 1965. The constitution can be found here through Constitution Finder. The current president is Seretse Khama Ian Khama. Information about the leaders of Botswana's government can be found here. The currency is pulas (abbreviated BWP), which stands at 6.695 BWP per USD as of 2011.
All of this information was gathered from the CIA World Factbook. For more information, check out these resources...
Botswana Government Site
Botswana, CIA World Factbook
Background Notes: Botswana, U.S. Department of State
2011 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Botswana, U.S. Department of State
You can also check out the Country Studies tab on our Fed Docs libguide here for more resources on all of the countries.
Sonnet Ireland
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research
Planning and Urban Studies
Political Science
