Botswana. Government and people. Economy

Botswana lies far from the sea in the center of southern Africa. More than 100 years ago, after the local people asked for British protection from white South African settlers, it was governed by the United Kingdom and called the Bechuanaland Protectorate. After repeatedly refusing South Africa's requests to turn the protectorate over to South African rule, the United Kingdom granted the region its independence in 1966, and the Republic of Botswana was born. Today, Botswana is a democratic republic.

Botswana, above left, which lies in the center of southern Africa, is one of the most thinly populated countries on the continent. Most Botswanans live in the east.

Government and people. Citizens who are at least 21 years old vote for candidates from several different parties to represent them as members of the National Assembly. The Assembly members then choose four additional members as well as a president. The president selects a Cabinet to help run the government. In addition, the House of Chiefs, made up of the leaders of Botswana's major ethnic groups, advises the government.

The vast majority of Botswanans are black Africans called Tswana who belong to eight main groups. The largest group is the Bamangwato, who make up nearly a third of the population. Most of the Tswana live in large rural villages and farm or herd for a living. Their main food crops are corn, millet, and sorghum.

Fish from the Okavango River arc a welcome addition to the diet of this Tswana villager

Botswana also has about 10,000 San, or Bushmen, an African people with yellowish-brown skin whose ancestors have lived in the region since prehistoric times. Sometime before A.D. 1000, the San were pushed from fertile eastern Botswana into the Kalahari region by the Tswana, who had migrated from the north. A few San still live in the Kalahari, gathering food and hunting as their ancestors did, but many have been forced into settlements, and some work on cattle farms.

A herd of elephants grazes in Chobe National Park, one of several wildlife reserves in Botswana, where these threatened animals are protected from ivory poachers. The Kalahari Desert covers the center and southwest of the country. The Okavango River forms a vast marshland in the northwest.

Several thousand whites also live in Botswana. Some own ranches, while others are technicians or managers in industry, business, or government. Generally, the whites earn more money and have a higher standard of living than black Botswanans. This situation has caused resentment, but the government insists that the country needs the skills and money of the whites to help the economy grow.

Economy. The economy of Botswana is developing rapidly. Copper, diamond, and nickel deposits discovered in the late 1960's and 1970's are now being mined, and the nation also has deposits of coal and cobalt. Cattle raising is also important.

Botswana has little manufacturing, however, and unemployment is a major problem in the country. About 50,000 Botswanans, most of them young men, work in South Africa for several months a year. While this arrangement brings badly needed money into Botswana, it separates families and causes other social problems.

Poor housing is also a major concern. About 50 per cent of Botswanans live in rural areas, but thousands move to the cities each year, hoping to find work and a better life. Unfortunately, many must live in crowded slums, especially in mining towns such as Orapa and Selebi-Pikwe.

The government of Botswana encourages private enterprise and foreign investment. Currently, the country's economy depends heavily on South African investments, markets, and technical skills. In addition, nearly all of Botswana’s imports and exports travel on a railroad that runs through South Africa to the sea.