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% of its territory being a 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% 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 least corrupt country in mainland Africa according to the Corruption Perceptions Index published by Transparency International.

Botswana's economy has generally experienced stable growth since independence. It is dominated by tourism and mining; Botswana produces more diamonds than any other country. Its gross national income per capita (purchasing power parity) of about $20,158 as of 2024^[update] (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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The Gods Must Be Crazy is a 1980 comedy film written, produced, edited and directed by Jamie Uys. An international co-production of South Africa and Botswana, it is the first film in The Gods Must Be Crazy series. Set in Southern Africa, the film stars Namibian San farmer Nǃxau ǂToma as Xi, a hunter-gatherer of the Kalahari Desert whose tribe discovers a glass Coca-Cola bottle dropped from an aeroplane, and believe it to be a gift from their gods. When Xi sets out to return the bottle to the gods, his journey becomes intertwined with that of a biologist (Marius Weyers), a newly hired village school teacher (Sandra Prinsloo), and a band of guerrilla terrorists.

The Gods Must Be Crazy was released in South Africa on 10 September 1980 by Ster-Kinekor, and broke several box office records in the country, becoming the most financially successful South African film ever produced at the time. The film was a commercial and critical success in most other countries, but took longer to find success in the United States, where it was eventually re-released in 1984 by 20th Century Fox, with its original Afrikaans dialogue being dubbed into English. Despite its success, the film attracted criticism for its depiction of race and perceived ignorance of discrimination and apartheid in South Africa. (Full article...)

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... that Molly Clutton-Brock treated the spines of African babies until she was deported by the government of Rhodesia?

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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, short 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 1Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) (from Gaborone)
Image 2Botswana traditional baskets (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 3CBD Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 4Festus Mogae alongside foreign presidents Joaquim Chissano, George W. Bush, and José Eduardo dos Santos in 2002 (from History of Botswana)
Image 5South African billionaire mining businessman, CAF President (from Tswana people)
Image 6Room 52 Roof Top Restaurant (from Gaborone)
Image 7South African ANC activist, writer and author, (from Tswana people)
Image 8A postage stamp circa 1943, the postmark reading "Gaborone's Village" (from Gaborone)
Image 9Tourist resort at Kasane (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 10Gaborone Hindu Temple (from Gaborone)
Image 11Duma Boko signing an agreement with the United States in 2025 (from History of Botswana)
Image 12Tebogo Letsile, the 2024 Summer Olympics 200 metres gold medalist (from Tswana people)
Image 13View from Kgale Hill (Oodi Hill on horizon) (from Gaborone)
Image 14New CBD (from Gaborone)
Image 15An 1865 portrait of Kgosi Sechele I in Ntsweng Bechuanaland (from Tswana people)
Image 16Aerial view over Okavango Delta (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 17Seretse Khama signing the oath of office to become Botswana's first President in 1966 (from History of Botswana)
Image 18Tswana Baskets (from Tswana people)
Image 19Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 20Kombi (Minibus taxi) (from Gaborone)
Image 21Rev. Derek Jones, the first mayor of Gaborone
Image 22 Tswana tribesmen, first Africans to compete at the Olympics (from Tswana people)
Image 23Rail network map of Botswana (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 24The National Assembly of Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 25Setswana traditional house (from Tswana people)
Image 26Francistown City Bus and Taxi Rank (from Francistown)
Image 27Botswana Gaborone I Towers (from Gaborone)
Image 28Quett Masire visiting the United States in 1984 (from History of Botswana)
Image 29Tswana girl dressed in Leteisi (from Tswana people)
Image 30Man on donkey herding goats in a dry river bed (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 31The Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, named after the first president of Botswana (from History of Botswana)
Image 32A 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 33Christ The King Cathedral (from Gaborone)
Image 34Flag map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 35Botswana traditional house at the National Museum (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 36Homestead in the ancient City of Kaditshwene
Image 374th President of Botswana, King of Bamangwato (Khama IV) (from Tswana people)
Image 38Satellite view of Gaborone. North is to the left of the image. (from Gaborone)
Image 39King Molema of Barolong (from Tswana people)
Image 40Ostriches at Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Botswana (from Gaborone)
Image 41Watch house in Gaborone Game Reserve (from Gaborone)
Image 42I-Towers, Gaborone Central Business District (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 43Francistown Stadium (from Francistown)
Image 44I-Tower at Central Business District (from Gaborone)
Image 45New Construction Developments (from Gaborone)
Image 46SSKI Airport (from Gaborone)
Image 47St. Joseph's College students (from Gaborone)
Image 48CBD Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 49Mokgweetsi Masisi speaking at a conference on the illegal wildlife trade in London in 2018 (from History of Botswana)
Image 50Batswana Men dressed in traditional attire in 1946 (from Tswana people)
Image 51South African politician (from Tswana people)
Image 52Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs building (from Gaborone)
Image 53King Khama (III) of Bamangwato (from Tswana people)
Image 54Magadi (traditional wedding) (from Culture of Botswana)
Image 55Street scene near the Main Mall (from Gaborone)
Image 56Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Phokeng (from Tswana people)
Image 57A road in Gaborone (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 58Gaborone aerial (from Gaborone)
Image 59Gaborone Mosque (from Gaborone)
Image 60Francistown Bus Terminal (from Francistown)
Image 61Orapa House (from Gaborone)
Image 62Prehistoric cave paintings at Tsodilo (from History of Botswana)
Image 63Gaborone Hindu temple (from Gaborone)
Image 64Graduation daggers that were given to Tswana Fighting Regiments (from Tswana people)
Image 65Road map of Gaborone (from Gaborone)
Image 66The Jwaneng diamond mine is the second biggest in the world today. (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 67Rhodesia Railways car at the national museum (from Gaborone)
Image 68Ian Khama meeting with William Hague in London (from History of Botswana)
Image 69GDP per capita (current), compared to neighbouring countries (world average = 100) (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 70Gaborone Dam (from Gaborone)
Image 71BR Express, the passenger train (from Francistown)
Image 72King Bathoen II 1947 of Bangwaketse (from Tswana people)
Image 73Bechuanaland Boys cleaning Aa Guns in the Twilight after Action, Syracuse, Sicily, 1944 art piece by Leslie Cole (from History of Botswana)
Image 74An illustration of a Tswana man and his wife in the early 1800s (from History of Botswana)