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The Law
The legal system can be divided into “Formal”
and “Customary Law”. “Formal Law is
handled by the Magistrate’s Courts, the High Court
and the Court of Appeal.
Economy
Botswana has maintained one of the
world's highest economic growth rates since independence
in 1966, though growth slowed to 4.7% annually in 2006-07.
Through fiscal discipline and sound management, Botswana
has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries
in the world to a middle-income country with a per capita
GDP of more than $11,000 in 2006. Two major investment
services rank Botswana as the best credit risk in Africa.
Diamond mining has fueled much of the expansion and
currently accounts for more than one-third of GDP and
for 70-80% of export earnings. Tourism, financial services,
subsistence farming, and cattle raising are other key
sectors. On the downside, the government must deal with
high rates of unemployment and poverty.
Tourism
Tourism is becoming highly significant as an earner
of foreign revenue and is currently third on the list
after diamonds and beef. Botswana is already one of
the prime tourist destinations in Africa because of
the unspoilt wilderness it has to offer. To maintain
the present situation Botswana is following a high-cost
low-volume tourism policy. Botswana realised its potential
as a tourist destination early on in its development
and has put aside 17% of its total surface area for
game reserves and national parks.
The wildlife of Botswana is of the very best in Africa.
Wildlife management areas comprise a further 22% which
adds to a record 30% of Botswana which is used for conservation-related
practices a percentage Government can truly be proud
of!
Language
The national language is Setswana. English is the official
language.
Local Time
G.M.T. PLUS 2 HOURS.
Electricty
230 v ac 50 HZ. Square and round-pin wall socket are
used. It is a good idea to take both kinds along.
Banks
The five main commercial banks in the country are:
First National Bank, Standard Chartered, Barclays Bank
Botswana, Stanbic Bank and Bank Gaborone.
Currency
The monetary unit is the pula (which means “rain”)
and the thebe (which means “a drop of rain”).
One Pula is equal to 100 thebe. Botswana is not included
in the monetary system of SA, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland.
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At
231,788 mi² (600,370 km²), Botswana is the
world's 45th-largest country (after Ukraine). It is
comparable in size to Madagascar, France or Kenya. The
extreme distance from north to south is about 1 100
km and from east to west at its widest the distance
is just under 1 000 km. Botswana is roughly situated
between 20°00’ E and 29°00’ E and
18°15’ S and 27°00’ S. It is situated
in the Southern African region and the northern two-thirds
lie within the Tropics. The Tropic of Capricorn is situated
some kilometres south of Mahalapye on the main road
between Gaborone and Francistown. The capital city of
Botswana is Gaborone.
The
population is about 1,8 (est July 2007) million, one
of the lowest population densities in Africa. This figure
can be misleading, however, since 80% of the population
live in the eastern third of the country, which amounts
to high localised population densities. This distribution
pattern is due two factors, namely that the Kalahari
to the west is inhospitable and has very limited surface
water. Secondly, the historical political organisation
of the Tswana was such that central villages that were
never built too far from the central community. Botswana
has a population growth of at 1.5 % per annum. That
is about 23.17/1000 births per female of child-bearing
age. Compare the current population (1,8 million) with
a population of 815 000 in 1980.
The
Batswana are the largest tribal group in the country,
forming about 50% of the population. About 75% of the
Batswana today live in South Africa. The Botswana means
“Land of the Batswana”. The “Bakalanga”
mainly live in the Francistown area and they are the
second-largest group in Botswana. The Herero fled from
the Germans in Namibia in 1904/05 when they were waging
their colonial wars and settled west of the Delta. Today
many of them are found in Maun. The women of this tribe
can be recognised on the streets of Maun by their beautiful,
long victorian colourful dresses. The Khoi (Hottentots)
and the San (Bushmen) were the first modern inhabitants
of Southern Africa. White citizens form a small minority
group, but there are a fair number of permanent and
temporary residents.
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