Welcome to Botswana
Victoria W. 6th
Parliamentary Buliding
Their parliamentary building in Gaborone.
Seretse Khama Ian
Botswana's President Lt. Gen. Seretse Khama Ian.
Flag
The flag of Botswana.
Geography
Botswana is in Africa near South Africa and Zimbabwe with a size of 581,730 square kilometers. They get little rainfall, in winter it is hot and dry, in summer it is burning hot. The average temperature is 57 degrees Fahrenheit the winter, in the summer it is 78 degrees Fahrenheit. Botswana's natural resources are diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, and silver. The capitol is Gaborone and other cities are Maun and Francistown. The major rivers are the Boteti, Zambezi, and the Okavango Delta (which is 6,000-15,000 km² depending on the water level. The Okavango runs into their biggest desert which is the Kalahari Desert which is 12 million acres. They have a desertification problem, that is effecting their farms and causing hunger. They only have little grass left.
Political Map
A political map of Botswana.
Physical Map
A physical map of Botswana.
Kalahari Safari
People going sight-seeing in the Kalahari Desert.
History
1885-Britain settles in and makes the government of "Bechuanaland" (the old name)
1965-Gaborone becomes their Capitol
1966-They got independence from Great Britain and became Botswana with Seretse Khama as their president
1967-Diamonds are found at Orapa
1980-Seretse Khama dies and Quett Masire(vice president) takes Khama's place as president after the National Assembly vote.
Culture
Botswana's main ethnic groups are Tswana (79% or Setswana) and Kalanga (11%). Most of Botswana is Christian (72%) and people with no religion (20%). They speak a lot of different languages, but Setswana is the most with 78%. Their official language is English with 2%, but not many people speak it. They celebrate Christmas(Christian holiday), Seretse Khama Day (to honor him for Botswana's independence), and Easter weekend (Christian holiday).
Cross
The Christian cross of Botswana's religion.
People
People of Botswana eating fruit.
Kung Woman
Kung woman in the Kalahari desert.
Famous Animals
Meerkats
Meerkats in desert.
Zebras
A pack of zebras in the desert.
Lion
A lion chilling in the desert.
Land
Kalahari Desert Sunset
The beautiful Kalahari Desert sunset.
Okavango Delta
Elephants walking around the Okavango Delta.
Kalahari Desert
An animal in the big Kalahari Desert.
National Anthem
♫ Botswana National Anthem ♫
Government
Botswana is a parliamentary republic, this happened after they got their independence from Britain. They have Quett Masire as their president now, but they used to have Seretse Khama who led them to freedom. They have many different political parties, bit the main ones are the Botswana Alliance Movement (BAM) and Botswana Congress Party (BCP).
Economics
People in Botswana make money by farming and raising cattle. The government struggles with the high unemployment and poverty rate. Botswana values in diamonds and minerals and that is one of it's big industries. They export mostly beef and diamonds to a lot of European countries. They are very rich in diamonds and that is why they are one of the wealthy countries in the world. They import fuel, food, machines, and other goods.
Top 5 Places to VIsit
- Chobe National Park
- Okavango Delta
- Tsodilo Hills
- Nxai Pan National Park
- Tuli Block