# Botswana — national dossier

Botswana — economy, society, governance, health, education, technology, geography, resources and military in one sourced dossier: 44 indicators, each…

Canonical: https://terralore.co/country/BWA
Updated: 2026-08-14 (latest domain refresh; each figure carries its own observation year)

## Overview

- Official name: Republic of Botswana
- Capital: Gaborone
- Region: Southern Africa, Africa
- Population: 2.2 m
- Area: 582,000 km²
- Languages: English, Tswana
- Currency: Botswana pula (BWP)

A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero. Each figure shows the year it was observed — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Economy

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $20 B | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita | $7,778 | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| GDP growth | -0.7% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Inflation | 2.7% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Trade openness | 69.5% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |

## Society

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2.6 m | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Life expectancy | 69.3 yrs | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Urban population | 68.0% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Fertility rate | 2.7 | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Literacy rate | 81.2% | 2003 | World Development Indicators |

## Governance

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 62.0 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Political stability | 83.5 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Government effectiveness | 59.4 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Regulatory quality | 61.2 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Rule of law | 62.3 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Control of corruption | 60.6 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |

## Health

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 6.3% | 2023 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) |
| Physicians | 0.38 | 2023 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) |
| Under-5 mortality | 33.3 | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) |
| Measles immunisation | 97.0% | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) |
| Safe drinking water | 63.3% | 2024 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) |

## Education

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 81.2% | 2003 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Education spending | 8.1% | 2020 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Primary enrolment | 109.3% | 2022 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Secondary enrolment | 70.6% | 2021 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Tertiary enrolment | 21.4% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |

## Technology

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.6% | 2013 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Researchers (per million) | 180 | 2013 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Internet users | 57.5% | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) |
| Mobile subscriptions | 164 | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) |
| High-tech exports | 0.5% | 2023 | World Development Indicators |

## Geography

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 566,730 km² | 2023 | World Development Indicators |
| Forest area | 26.3% | 2023 | World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural land | 45.6% | 2023 | World Development Indicators |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 2.7 | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Renewable energy | 27.4% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |

## Resources

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 1.0% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Mineral rents | 0.2% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Forest rents | 0.3% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Electricity access | 80.2% | 2024 | World Development Indicators |

## Military

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 2.8% | 2024 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) |
| Defense spending | $568 M | 2024 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) |
| Armed forces | 9,000 | 2020 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) |

Every metric above is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md).

Machine-readable claims — every figure above as an addressable claim ID (TL:BWA:<metric>:<year>) with value, source, license and a ready citation string: https://terralore.co/country/BWA.claims.json

History: "From the rock art of the Kalahari to a diamond democracy" — the sourced chronicle is at https://terralore.co/country/BWA/chronicle.md (5 eras, 21 events).

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Citation template: Terralore, "Botswana — national dossier", terralore.co/country/BWA, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.
