Side by side
Botswana and South Africa compared
Two sourced records set beside each other — the figures each nation publishes, and the events each chronicle records of the other. Compared, never graded.
31 May 1910 — Four colonies join to create the Union of South Africa
- Shared indicators
- 43
- Domains
- 9
- Crossed events
- 3
- Data through
- 2026-08-10
The figures, side by side
Each figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two dossiers. Every value shows the year it was observed — vintages differ by indicator and nation. A “—” is an absence in the source data, never a zero. Metric names link to the world ranking; values open the figure on its own dossier.
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Entangled histories
3 events in which either nation’s sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle; nothing here was written for this page.
- 1895
The three kings' mission to Britain
Khama III, Sebele I and Bathoen I travel to Britain and persuade the government to keep the protectorate out of Cecil Rhodes's British South Africa Company.
Politics & Power · from the Botswana chronicle · The Bechuanaland Protectorate · Bechuanaland Protectorate, Khama III, Bathoen I, William Charles Willoughby and the 1895 visit of the three kings
- 1948
Seretse Khama marries Ruth Williams
Bangwato heir Seretse Khama marries Englishwoman Ruth Williams in London, igniting a crisis with apartheid South Africa and Britain.
Politics & Power · from the Botswana chronicle · The Bechuanaland Protectorate · Sir Seretse Khama, Seretse Khama
- 1950–1956
Exile and return of Seretse Khama
Britain exiles Seretse and Ruth to appease South Africa; he is allowed home in 1956 after renouncing the Bangwato throne, fuelling nationalism.
Politics & Power · from the Botswana chronicle · The Bechuanaland Protectorate · Sir Seretse Khama, Seretse Khama