Map of Botswana
Botswana is a country in Africa with its capital at Gaborone, home to about 2.56 million people across 581,737 km². The interactive map below plots 20 cities and towns, 6 rivers, 1 lakes and 1 mountain summits recorded for Botswana in YearMaps.
- Population
- 2.56 million
- Area
- 581,737 km²
- Capital
- Gaborone
- Continent
- Africa
Interactive Map of Botswana
Centred on Gaborone at 24.6463° S, 25.9120° E. Use the layer panel to switch on rivers, dams, ports, peaks and historical borders.
About Botswana
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. Its total area is 581,730 square kilometres (224,610 sq mi). Gaborone, in the South-East District, is the country's capital and largest city.
Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. While it is not enshrined by statutory law, Botswana is de facto the nation state of the Batswana people, who constitute nearly 80% of the population while legally undistinguished Kalanga people, who account for another 11%, are the single largest ethnic minority.
The Batswana 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, when the Umbrella for Democratic Change won the 2024 Botswana general election.
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 except Russia. Its gross national income per capita (purchasing power parity) of about $20,158 as of 2024 (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 Botswana’s economic gains, Botswana continues to grapple with high unemployment, severe income inequality, and one of the world's most critical HIV/AIDS epidemics. Botswana is a member of the Southern African Customs Union, the Southern African Development Community, the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Botswana (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Geography and Climate of Botswana
In the early 1800s, multiple political entities in what is now Botswana were destabilized or destroyed by a series of conflicts and population movements in southern Africa. By the end of this period, the Tswana ethnic group, who also live across the border in South Africa, had become the most prominent group in the area. In 1852, Tswana forces halted the expansion of white Afrikaner settlers who were seeking to expand their territory northwards into what is now Botswana. In 1885, Great Britain claimed territory that roughly corresponds with modern day Botswana as a protectorate called Bechuanaland. Upon independence in 1966, the British protectorate of Bechuanaland adopted the new name of Botswana, which means "land of the Tswana." More than five decades of uninterrupted civilian leadership, progressive social policies, and significant capital investment have created an enduring democracy and upper-middle-income economy. The ruling Botswana Democratic Party has won every national election since independence; President Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe MASISI assumed the presidency in 2018 after the retirement of former President Ian KHAMA due to constitutional term limits. MASISI won his first election as president in 2019, and he is Botswana’s fifth president since independence. Mineral extraction, principally diamond mining, dominates economic activity, though tourism is a growing sector due to the country's conservation practices and extensive nature preserves. Botswana has one of the world's highest rates of HIV/AIDS infection but also one of Africa's most progressive and comprehensive programs for dealing with the disease.
- Location
- Southern Africa, north of South Africa.
- Climate
- Semiarid; warm winters and hot summers.
- Terrain
- Predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest.
- Highest point
- Manyelanong Hill 1,495 m.
- Lowest point
- Junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m.
- Coastline
- 0 km (landlocked)
- Land borders
- Total: 4,347.15 km; border countries: Namibia 1,544 km; South Africa 1,969 km; Zambia 0.15 km; Zimbabwe 834 km.
- Major rivers
- Zambezi (shared with Zambia [s]), Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique [m]) - 2,740 km; Limpopo (shared with South Africa [s], Zimbabwe, and Mozambique [m]) - 1,800 km; Okavango river mouth (shared with Angola [s], and Namibia) - 1,600 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth.
- Natural resources
- Diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver.
- Land use
- Agricultural land: 45.6% (2023 est.); arable land: 0.5% (2023 est.); permanent crops: 0% (2023 est.); permanent pasture: 45.2% (2023 est.); forest: 27.8% (2023 est.); other: 26.6% (2023 est.)
- Natural hazards
- Periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility.
- Geographic note
- Landlocked; sparsely populated with most settlement concentrated in the southern and eastern parts of the country; geography dominated by the Kalahari Desert, which covers about 70% of the country, although the Okavango Delta brings considerable biodiversity as one of the largest inland deltas in the World.
- Languages
- Setswana 77.3%, Sekalanga 7.4%, Shekgalagadi 3.4%, English (official) 2.8%, Zezuru/Shona 2%, Sesarwa 1.7%, Sembukushu 1.6%, Ndebele 1%, other 2.8% (2011 est.)
- Religions
- Christian 79.1%, Badimo 4.1%, other 1.4% (includes Baha'i, Hindu, Muslim, Rastafarian), none 15.2%, unspecified 0.3% (2011 est.)
- Ethnic groups
- Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and people of European ancestry 7%.
- Economy
- Good economic governance and financial management; diamond-driven growth model declining; rapid poverty reductions; high unemployment, particularly among youth; COVID-19 sharply contracted the economy and recovery is slow; public sector wages have posed fiscal challenges.
From the CIA World Factbook (public domain), archived edition of 2026-01-22. The Factbook is no longer updated, so figures reflect that edition.
Botswana in Numbers
- Population
- 2.56 million
- GDP
- US$19.9 billion
- GDP per person
- US$7,778
- Life expectancy
- 69.3 years
- Population growth
- 1.61% a year
- Population density
- 4 per km²
- Urban population
- 68.0%
- Surface area
- 581,730 km²
- Forest cover
- 27.8%
- Arable land
- 0.5%
- Access to electricity
- 80.2%
- Internet users
- 57.5%
Indicators from World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0). The year under each figure is its reference year.
Botswana in Depth
History
Present-day Botswana was primarily forest ten million years ago. Homo erectus lived in the region during the Early Stone Age. Stone tools in present-day Botswana date back to two million years ago. Hominin migration to the Kalahari Desert, which includes Botswana, is estimated to have happened prior to 186,000 years ago. Lake Makgadikgadi began to shrink approximately 50,000 years ago. Roughly 30,000–40,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Khoe and the San lived in the region, adapting their movements to changing water and climate conditions. Rock art dates back to approximately 30,000 years ago, and permanent water sources were widely inhabited by 20,000 years ago.
Around 2,000 years ago, people introduced cattle, sheep, pottery, and agriculture.
Geography
Botswana's geography features a predominantly flat and dry landscape, with much of the country covered by the Kalahari Desert. The country's terrain consists of sandy soils, rocky hill ranges, grasslands, and more. Much of Botswana's population is concentrated in the southeastern part of the country, where major urban centres are located.
Botswana is a landlocked country in southern Africa, bordered by Namibia to the west and north, Zambia to the north, Zimbabwe to the northeast, and South Africa to the south and southeast. Botswana features the Okavango Delta located in the northwest, a vast inland river delta where the Okavango River spreads across the Kalahari rather than flowing into the sea.
Economy
Since independence, Botswana has had one of the fastest growth rates in per capita income in the world. Formerly one of the world's poorest countries—with a GDP per capita of about US$70 per year in the late 1960s—Botswana has transformed itself into an upper middle-income country. GDP per capita grew from $439 in 1950 to $15,842 in 2018. Although Botswana was resource-abundant, a good institutional framework allowed the country to reinvest resource-income to generate stable future income. By one estimate, it has the fourth-highest gross national income at purchasing power parity in Africa, giving it a relatively high standard of living in Africa, around that of Mexico. As of 2022, the unemployment rate stood at 25.4%, while youth unemployment reached 45.41% in 2023.
Demographics
As of 2024, the Tswana are the majority ethnic group in Botswana, making up approximately 79% of the population, followed by Kalanga at 11% and the San (Basarwa) at 3%. The remaining 7% consists of White Batswana/European Batswana, Indians, and a number of other smaller Southern African ethnic groups.
Native groups include the Bayei, Bambukushu, Basubia, Baherero and Bakgalagadi. The Indian minority is made up of both recent migrants and descendants of Indian migrants who arrived from Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritius and South Africa.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Botswana (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Botswana: Key Facts
| Currency | Botswana pula |
|---|---|
| Official language | English |
| Head of state | Duma Boko |
| Form of government | parliamentary republic |
| Calling code | +267 |
| Internet domain | .bw |
| Highest point | Otse Hill |
| Lowest point | Limpopo River |
| Established | 30 September 1966 |
Facts from Wikidata Q963 (CC0).
History of Botswana: Empires and States
The atlas records 4 polities whose mapped territory included part of Botswana, from British Africa in 1885 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here | Extent |
|---|---|---|
| British Africa | 1885–1960 CE | Nearly all |
| The British Empire | 1885–1968 CE | Nearly all |
| British East Africa | 1961–1968 CE | Nearly all |
| Republic of Botswana | 1967–2024 CE | Nearly all |
Historical Maps of Botswana
Botswana on the world map in each year one of these states held it:
Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.
Visiting Botswana
Botswana is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, completely surrounded by four countries: Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Botswana is a true gem among African nations, boasting a remarkable level of wealth and tranquility that few other countries on the continent can match. With its high standard of living and extremely low crime rates, Botswana has established itself as an oasis of stability amidst the many challenges faced by its neighbours. But Botswana is much more than just a peaceful haven. This captivating country is also home to a wealth of attractions that are sure to delight any traveller. From the stunning Tsodilo Hills and Chobe National Park to the Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, there is no shortage of natural wonders to explore.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Botswana (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Largest Cities in Botswana
20 cities recorded. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gaborone | 208,411 | South-East | National capital |
| 2 | Francistown | 89,979 | Central | Populated place |
| 3 | Lobatse | 69,804 | South-East | Admin-1 capital |
| 4 | Molepolole | 63,248 | Kweneng | Admin-1 capital |
| 5 | Mahalapye | 50,744 | Central | Populated place |
| 6 | Maun | 49,945 | North-West | Admin-1 capital |
| 7 | Serowe | 48,573 | Central | Admin-1 capital |
| 8 | Kanye | 46,831 | Southern | Admin-1 capital |
| 9 | Mochudi | 39,700 | Kgatleng | Admin-1 capital |
| 10 | Palapye | 30,650 | Central | Populated place |
| 11 | Tshabong | 9,679 | Kgalagadi | Admin-1 capital |
| 12 | Kasane | 9,250 | North-West | Admin-1 capital |
| 13 | Ghanzi | 6,306 | Ghanzi | Admin-1 capital |
| 14 | Nata | 4,794 | Central | Populated place |
| 15 | Mopipi | 3,301 | Central | Populated place |
| 16 | Lehututu | 1,942 | Kgalagadi | Populated place |
| 17 | Nokaneng | 1,763 | North-West | Populated place |
| 18 | Lokhwabe | 1,473 | Kgalagadi | Populated place |
| 19 | Tsau | 1,409 | North-West | Populated place |
| 20 | Mohembo | 757 | North-West | Populated place |
Highest Mountains in Botswana
1 mountain recorded. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries.
| # | Name | Elevation | Feet | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monalanong Hill | 1,494 m | 4,902 ft | Africa |
Monalanong Hill
Mountain · 1,494 m
Monalanong Hill is a mountain rising to 1,494 metres (4,902 ft) in Botswana, in the Africa region. From PeakBagger.com, with kind permission..
Monalanong Hill is a mountain often considered the highest point of Botswana, with an altitude derived from SRTM data of 1,494 metres (4,900 feet).
The Otse Hill (at a reported altitude of 1,491 metres - 4,891 feet) or the Tsodilo Hills (at an altitude of about 1,400 metres - 4,593 feet) are also often cited as the highest point in Botswana.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Monalanong Hill (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Elevation
- 1,494 m (4,902 ft)
- Global rank
- #499 of 641 indexed
- Region
- Africa (#72)
- Country
- Botswana
- Coordinates
- -24.8400°, 25.6699°
Of the 641 named summits indexed in YearMaps, Monalanong Hill ranks #499 by elevation, below Senlin Shan (1,498 m) and above Feldberg (1,493 m).
- Ranges:
- Witwatersrand (Africa), Lebombo Mountains (Africa)
- Neighbouring summits:
- Emlembe (1,862 m), Mafadi (3,451 m), Thabana Ntlenyana (3,482 m)
Largest Lakes in Botswana
1 lake recorded. Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake.
| # | Name | Surface Area | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Xau | 77 km² | Lake |
Lake Xau
Lake · 77 km²
Lake Xau is a lake in Botswana, with a mapped surface area of about 77 km².
Lake Xau is a lake that is sometimes a dry lakebed in Botswana. It is fed by the Boteti River and the Okavango Delta. The lake has been described as "when it holds water, ... one of the most important wetlands for waterfowl in Southern Africa".
Adapted from Wikipedia: Lake Xau (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Surface area
- 77 km²
- Area rank
- #657 of 756 indexed
- Type
- Lake
- Country
- Botswana
- Coordinates
- -21.2977°, 24.7387°
Among the 756 water bodies with a mapped extent in YearMaps, Lake Xau ranks #657 by surface area, after Lake Havasu (77 km²) and ahead of Lago La Plata (77 km²). Areas are computed from the mapped outline and are approximate.
- Other water nearby:
- Lake Kariba (4,724 km²), Vaal Dam (414 km²)
More about Lake Xau
Lake Xau: Key Facts
| Surface elevation | 908 m |
|---|
Facts from Wikidata Q9383203 (CC0).
Rivers in Botswana
6 rivers recorded. Listed alphabetically. A river is listed where its mapped reach lies, so long rivers appear under more than one country.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Botswana
2 World Heritage Sites recorded. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each.
| # | Name | Inscribed | Type | Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tsodilo | 2001 | Cultural | (i) (iii) (vi) |
| 2 | Okavango Delta | 2014 | Natural | (vii) (ix) (x) |
Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Botswana
4 mountain ranges, deserts and other landforms recorded. Ranked by mapped area. Covers mountain ranges, deserts, plateaus, named glaciers, plains, basins, peninsulas and capes. One that crosses a border is listed under every country it lies in, with the area of the whole feature.
| # | Name | Area | Type | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Africa | 29.41M km² | Continent | Africa |
| 2 | Kalahari Desert | 763,095 km² | Desert | Africa |
| 3 | Witwatersrand | 48,856 km² | Range/mtn | Africa |
| 4 | Makgadikgadi Pan | 21,790 km² | Desert | Africa |
States and Provinces of Botswana
2 first-level divisions with their own map.
Countries Bordering Botswana
Land and maritime neighbours.
More Maps in Africa
Botswana: Quick Answers
- What is the capital of Botswana?
- The capital of Botswana is Gaborone.
- What is the population of Botswana?
- Botswana has a population of about 2.56 million, the #144 largest of 225 countries in YearMaps. Source: World Bank, 2025.
- How big is Botswana?
- Botswana covers 581,737 km², ranking #49 by area, with about 4 people per square kilometre.
- Which continent is Botswana in?
- Botswana is in Africa.
- Which countries border Botswana?
- Botswana shares a land or maritime border with South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia.
- What is the largest city in Botswana?
- Gaborone is the largest city in Botswana, with a metropolitan population of about 208,411.
- What is the highest mountain in Botswana?
- The highest summit recorded for Botswana in YearMaps is Monalanong Hill at 1,494 m (4,902 ft). Summits on a border are counted for both countries.
- What is the largest lake in Botswana?
- The largest lake recorded in or bordering Botswana is Lake Xau, at roughly 77 km².