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 percent of its territory 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. With a population of slightly over 2.4 million people and a comparable land area to France, Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. It is essentially the nation-state of the Tswana people, who constitute nearly 80 percent of the population.

The Tswana 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. As of 2024^[update], Botswana is the third-least corrupt country in Africa according to the Corruption Perceptions Index published by Transparency International.

The economy is dominated by mining and tourism. Botswana has a per capita GDP (purchasing power parity) of about $20,158 as of 2024^[update]. Botswana is the world's biggest diamond-producing country. Its relatively high gross national income per capita (by some estimates the fourth-largest in Africa) gives the country a relatively high standard of living and the second-highest Human Development Index of continental Sub-Saharan Africa (after South Africa). Despite this, Botswana continues to grapple with high unemployment rates. Botswana is a member of the Southern African Customs Union, the Southern African Development Community, the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations. (Full article...)

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Mmegi is an English-language national newspaper in Botswana, with occasional articles or comments in Setswana. Established in 1984, it is now published daily online and weekly in print format by Dikgang Publishing House in the capital, Gaborone. Mmegi used to be Botswana's only independent newspaper to be published daily.

The newspaper's name means "the reporter" in Setswana and its strapline is "News we need to know daily". Until 1989, it was called Mmegi wa Dikgang/The Reporter. (Full article...)

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... that the main tourist attractions of Botswana are its game reserves?

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This is a good article, A-class article, featured list, or featured article, one of Wikipedia’s best work.

A hippopotamus in Saadani National Park, Tanzania

The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) (/ˌhɪpəˈpɒtəməs/; pl.: hippopotamuses; often shortened to hippo (pl.: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis or Hexaprotodon liberiensis). Its name comes from the ancient Greek for "river horse" (ἱπποπόταμος).

After elephants and rhinoceroses, the hippopotamus is the next largest land mammal. It is also the largest extant land artiodactyl. Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, the closest living relatives of the hippopotamids are cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises, etc.), from which they diverged about 55 million years ago. Hippos are recognisable for their barrel-shaped torsos, wide-opening mouths with large canine tusks, nearly hairless bodies, pillar-like legs, and large size: adults average 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) for bulls (males) and 1,300 kg (2,900 lb) for cows (females). (Full article...)

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

Image 1A 1960 stamp of the Bechuanaland Protectorate featuring images of Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II, the first and last British monarchs of the protectorate (from History of Botswana)
Image 2An 1865 portrait of Kgosi Sechele I in Ntsweng Bechuanaland (from Tswana people)
Image 3Francistown City Bus and Taxi Rank (from Francistown)
Image 4Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) (from Gaborone)
Image 5Bechuanaland Boys cleaning Aa Guns in the Twilight after Action, Syracuse, Sicily, 1944 art piece by Leslie Cole (from History of Botswana)
Image 6Room 52 Roof Top Restaurant (from Gaborone)
Image 7Tebogo Letsile, the 2024 Summer Olympics 200 metres Gold medalist(cropped) (from Tswana people)
Image 8Francistown Bus Terminal (from Francistown)
Image 9Seretse Khama signing the oath of office to become Botswana's first President in 1966 (from History of Botswana)
Image 10I-Towers, Gaborone Central Business District (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 11Ostriches at Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 12Rail network map of Botswana (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 13Rhodesia Railways car at the national museum (from Gaborone)
Image 14I-Tower at Central Business District (from Gaborone)
Image 15Botswana Gaborone I Towers (from Gaborone)
Image 16Gaborone Hindu Temple (from Gaborone)
Image 17The Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, named after the first president of Botswana (from History of Botswana)
Image 18Prehistoric cave paintings at Tsodilo (from History of Botswana)
Image 19Botswana traditional baskets (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 20Road map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 21Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Phokeng (from Tswana people)
Image 22St. Joseph's College students (from Gaborone)
Image 23CBD Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 24Graduation daggers that were given to Tswana Fighting Regiments (from Tswana people)
Image 25Rev. Derek Jones, the first mayor of Gaborone
Image 26Duma Boko signing an agreement with the United States in 2025 (from History of Botswana)
Image 27A road in Gaborone (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 28New Construction Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 29Festus Mogae alongside foreign presidents Joaquim Chissano, George W. Bush, and José Eduardo dos Santos in 2002 (from History of Botswana)
Image 30Tswana Baskets (from Tswana people)
Image 31View from Kgale Hill (Oodi Hill on horizon) (from Gaborone)
Image 32Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 33Tourist resort at Kasane (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 34The National Assembly of Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 35SSKI Airport (from Gaborone)
Image 36Ian Khama meeting with William Hague in London (from History of Botswana)
Image 37BR Express, the passenger train (from Francistown)
Image 38Orapa House (from Gaborone)
Image 39Magadi (traditional wedding) (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 40Gaborone aerial (from Gaborone)
Image 41Batswana Men dressed in traditional attire in 1946 (from Tswana people)
Image 42Flag map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 43New CBD (from Gaborone)
Image 44Quett Masire visiting the United States in 1984 (from History of Botswana)
Image 45Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs building (from Gaborone)
Image 46An illustration of a Tswana man and his wife in the early 1800s (from History of Botswana)
Image 47Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 48Kombi (Minibus taxi) (from Gaborone)
Image 49Francistown Stadium (from Francistown)
Image 50CBD Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 51Christ The King Cathedral (from Gaborone)
Image 52GDP per capita (current), compared to neighbouring countries (world average = 100) (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 53Watch house in Gaborone Game Reserve (from Gaborone)
Image 54Homestead in the ancient City of Kaditshwene
Image 55Mokgweetsi Masisi speaking at a conference on the illegal wildlife trade in London in 2018 (from History of Botswana)
Image 56Aerial view over Okavango Delta (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 57A postage stamp circa 1943, the postmark reading "Gaborone's Village" (from Gaborone)
Image 58Satellite View of Gaborone. North is to the left of the image. (from Gaborone)
Image 59Gaborone Hindu temple (from Gaborone)
Image 60Gaborone Mosque (from Gaborone)
Image 61The Jwaneng diamond mine is the second biggest in the world today. (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 62Street scene near the Main Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 63Man on donkey herding goats in a dry river bed (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 64Botswana traditional house at the National Museum (from Culture of Botswana)