230 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
230 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
BOTSWANA
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 600,370 km2; land area: 585,370 km2
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Comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas
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Land boundaries: 4,013 km total; Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa
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1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km
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Coastline: none--landlocked
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Maritime claims: none--landlocked
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Disputes: short section of the boundary with Namibia is indefinite;
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quadripoint with Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe is in disagreement
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Climate: semiarid; warm winters and hot summers
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Terrain: predominately flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari
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Desert in southwest
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Natural resources: diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash,
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potash, coal, iron ore, silver, natural gas
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Land use: arable land 2%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures
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75%; forest and woodland 2%; other 21%; includes irrigated NEGL%
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Environment: rains in early 1988 broke six years of drought that
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had severely affected the important cattle industry; overgrazing;
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desertification
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Note: landlocked
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PEOPLE
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Population: 1,258,392 (July 1991), growth rate 2.7% (1991)
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Birth rate: 36 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 43 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 59 years male, 65 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 4.6 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun and adjective--Motswana (singular), Batswana
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(plural)
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Ethnic divisions: Batswana 95%; Kalanga, Basarwa, and Kgalagadi
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about 4%; white about 1%
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Religion: indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 50%
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Language: English (official), Setswana
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Literacy: 23% (male 32%, female 16%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1990 est.)
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Labor force: 400,000; 182,200 formal sector employees, most others
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are engaged in cattle raising and subsistence agriculture (1988 est.);
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19,000 are employed in various mines in South Africa (1988)
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Organized labor: 19 trade unions
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: Republic of Botswana
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Type: parliamentary republic
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Capital: Gaborone
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Administrative divisions: 10 districts; Central, Chobe, Ghanzi,
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Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Ngamiland, North-East, South-East,
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Southern; note--in addition, there may now be 4 town councils named
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Francistown, Gaborone, Lobaste, Selebi-Pikwe
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Independence: 30 September 1966 (from UK; formerly Bechuanaland)
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Constitution: March 1965, effective 30 September 1966
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Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law;
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judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted
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compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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National holiday: Botswana Day, 30 September (1966)
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Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
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Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly consists of an
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upper house or House of Chiefs and a lower house or National Assembly
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Judicial branch: High Court, Court of Appeal
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Leaders:
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Chief of State and Head of Government--President Quett K. J. MASIRE
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(since 13 July 1980); Vice President Peter S. MMUSI (since 3 January
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1983)
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Political parties and leaders:
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Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), Quett MASIRE;
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Botswana National Front (BNF), Kenneth KOMA;
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Botswana People's Party (BPP), Knight MARIPE;
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Botswana Independence Party (BIP), Motsamai MPHO
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Suffrage: universal at age 21
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Elections:
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President--last held 7 October 1989 (next to be held October
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1994);
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results--President Quett K. J. MASIRE was reelected by the National
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Assembly;
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National Assembly--last held 7 October 1989 (next to be
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held October 1994); results--percent of vote by party NA;
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seats--(38 total, 34 elected) BDP 35, BNF 3
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Communists: no known Communist organization; Kenneth Koma of BNF
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has long history of Communist contacts
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Member of: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, FLS, G-77, GATT, IBRD,
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ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU,
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LORCS, NAM, OAU, SACU, SADCC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO,
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WMO
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Botsweletse Kingsley
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SEBELE; Chancery at Suite 404, 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington
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DC 20008; telephone (202) 244-4990 or 4991;
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US--Ambassador David PASSAGE; Embassy at Botswana Road, Gaborone
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(mailing address is P. O. Box 90, Gaborone); telephone 267 353-982
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through 353-984
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Flag: light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe
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in the center
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ECONOMY
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Overview: The economy has historically been based on cattle raising
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and crops. Agriculture today provides a livelihood for over 80% of the
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population, but produces only about 50% of food needs and contributes
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a small 3% to GDP. The driving force behind the rapid economic growth of
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the 1970s and 1980s has been the mining industry. This sector, mostly on
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the strength of diamonds, has gone from generating 25% of GDP in 1980 to
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over 50% in 1989. No other sector has experienced such growth, especially
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not agriculture, which is plagued by erratic rainfall and poor soils. The
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unemployment rate remains a problem at 25%.
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GDP: $3.1 billion, per capita $2,500; real growth rate 6.3%
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(1990)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12.0% (1990)
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Unemployment rate: 25% (1989)
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Budget: revenues $1,719 million; expenditures $1,792 million,
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including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92 est.)
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Exports: $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
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commodities--diamonds 77%, copper and nickel 12%, meat 4%, cattle,
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animal products;
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partners--Switzerland, UK, US, SACU (Southern African Customs
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Union)
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Imports: $1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
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commodities--foodstuffs, vehicles and transport equipment,
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textiles, petroleum products;
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partners--Switzerland, SACU (Southern African Customs Union),
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UK, US
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External debt: $780 million (December 1990 est.)
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Industrial production: growth rate 16.8% (FY86); accounts for
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about 57% of GDP, including mining
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Electricity: 217,000 kW capacity; 630 million kWh produced,
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510 kWh per capita (1989)
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Industries: mining of diamonds, copper, nickel, coal, salt, soda
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ash, potash; livestock processing
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Agriculture: accounts for only 3% of GDP; subsistence
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farming predominates; cattle raising supports 50% of the population;
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must import large share of food needs
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Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $257
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million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
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(1970-88), $1.8 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $43 million;
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Communist countries (1970-89), $29 million
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Currency: pula (plural--pula); 1 pula (P) = 100 thebe
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Exchange rates: pula (P) per US$1--1.8720 (January 1991), 1.8601
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(1990), 2.0125 (1989), 1.8159 (1988), 1.6779 (1987), 1.8678 (1986),
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1.8882 (1985)
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Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Railroads: 712 km 1.0 67-meter gauge
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Highways: 11,514 km total; 1,600 km paved; 1,700 km crushed stone
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or gravel, 5,177 km improved earth, 3,037 km unimproved earth
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Civil air: 6 major transport aircraft
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Airports: 100 total, 87 usable; 8 with permanent-surface runways;
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none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 26 with
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runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: the small system is a combination of open-wire
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lines, radio relay links, and a few radiocommunication stations; 17,900
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telephones; stations--2 AM, 3 FM, no TV; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth
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station
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Botswana Defense Force (including Army and Air Wing),
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Botswana National Police
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 260,290; 137,038 fit for
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military service; 14,767 reach military age (18) annually
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Defense expenditures: $99 million, 8.2% of GNP (1989)
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