Category: Botswana

Botswana is situated in Southern Africa and the citizens of Botswana are known as Batswana. About 70% of the country is covered by Kalahari Desert. The capital of Botswana is Gaborone and the country is bordered by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Around 200-500 AD, Bantu speaking people came to this region. Nguni as well as Sotho-Tswana people arrived to the region. Nguni settled the eastern coastal area and Sotho-Tswana settled in Highveld. Botswana, then known as Bechuanaland became the British protectorate in 1885. The country got independence for British in the year 1966. Bechuanaland is renamed as Botswana after getting independence.

Botswana is a democratic republic in which the President is the head of the government and head of the state. Executive power is vested on the government and Legislative power is exercised by both Parliament and the government. The judicial system is independent from both executive and legislative powers. The country is Africa’s least corrupted one. During independence, Botswana was one among the poorest countries of Africa, but it has transformed in to a middle-income country later. The economic freedom is high when compared to other countries in Africa. The economy of the country mainly depends on tourism, beef market and diamonds.

The total population of the country is 2.2 million and the major ethnic groups of the country are BaKalanga, Bushmen or AbaThwa and Batswana. Other ethnic groups are Baherero, Bakgalagadi, Basubia, Bambukushu and Bayei. Other minorities are Indians and Whites. Whites made up of 3% who speaks Afrikaans or English. The Indian population consists of Indian-Africans from Kenya, Mauritius, Tanzania, South Africa and Mozambique and so on. English is the official language of the country and another language spoken in the country is Setswana. About 70% of the people are following Christianity. Other religious beliefs in the country are Hinduism, Islam and Bahai.

In Botswana, a variety of tourist destinations can be enjoyed by the tourists. Kalahari Desert of the country is the biggest attraction with its golden sand dunes with open grasslands, acacia and shrubs. The desert is the home of San people who are semi-nomadic and they are expert hunter-gatherers. Khama Rhino Sanctuary offers excellent opportunities to view rhinos and other wild animals like gemsbok, brown hyena, jackal, leopard, heartbeest and wildebeest. Kasane is a small town with several banks, river lodges, shops and garages and Chobe National Park is situated in this place.

Some of the tourist attractions of Kasane are Kasane hot springs, fishing safari, bird watching in Sedudu Island, sundowner river cruises and Kasane rapids. Okavango Delta is the biggest inland delta of the world and it is a place of beautiful sceneries and several wild animals such as hippo, crocodile, fish species and water bucks. Tuli Block is a place where Limpopo and Shashe rivers meet. Orapa house is a tourist attraction famous for its architecture and the building is designed for diamond grading. St. Clair Lion Park is famous for the lion population of the region. Other attractions of Botswana are Kazangula Crocodile Farm, Nata Bird Sanctuary and Gantsi Craft.