🇧🇼
Botswana
Republic of Botswana · Southern Africa
At a glance
CapitalGaborone
Most common first languageTswana77.3% speak it as a mother tongue
Official languageEnglish
CurrencyBotswana pula
Drives on theleft
Highest pointOtse Hill1,491 m
Biggest category of goods exportedmanufactured goods86% of goods exports, 2023
Services share of exports16.7%of everything sold abroad, 2024
CoastlineLandlockedno access to the sea
Internet domain.bw
Botswana by the numbers
Rank is out of the countries with data for that measure. Every figure is the latest year the source publishes.
| Measure | Value | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| PopulationEveryone living in the country, all ages, counted mid-year. | 2.56m (2025) | 143rd of 209 |
| GDPThe total value of everything the country produces in a year, at current prices. | $19.9bn (2025) | 134th of 203 |
| Land areaTotal land area, excluding inland water and offshore territory. | 567k km² (2023) | 47th of 209 |
| Military spending, totalWhat the government spends on its armed forces in a year — pay, equipment and operations. | $568m (2024) | 95th of 151 |
| Exports of goods & servicesThe value of everything the country sells abroad in a year, goods and services combined. | $6.38bn (2025) | 123rd of 180 |
| Mobile subscriptionsActive mobile phone subscriptions — NOT the same as people. Many people hold two, so a country can have more subscriptions than residents. | 4.13m (2024) | 132nd of 205 |
| Forest areaLand under natural or planted trees, whether or not it is productive. | 149k km² (2023) | 44th of 203 |
| Agricultural landCropland, land under permanent crops, and permanent pasture. | 259k km² (2023) | 43rd of 206 |
| COâ‚‚ emissionsCarbon dioxide released in a year, in millions of tonnes. | 7 Mt (2024) | 127th of 198 |
| Urban populationThe number of people living in urban areas, as each country defines them. | 1.74m (2025) | 138th of 209 |
| Life expectancyHow long a baby born today would live if death rates never changed. | 69.3 years (2024) | 150th of 209 |
| GDP per personEverything the country produces in a year, divided by its population. | $7,778 (2025) | 110th of 205 |
| Internet useThe share of people who have used the internet in the last three months. | 57.5% (2024) | 142nd of 191 |
| InflationHow much prices rose over the year, measured on a basket of consumer goods. | 2.7% (2025) | 99th of 182 |
| UnemploymentThe share of people who want a job and are looking for one but do not have one. | 24.5% (2025) | 4th of 185 |
| Urban shareThe share of the population living in urban areas. | 68.0% (2025) | 93rd of 209 |
| Births per womanHow many children a woman would have across her life at current birth rates. | 2.70 (2024) | 65th of 209 |
| Military spending, share of GDPWhat the country spends on its armed forces, as a share of everything it produces. | 2.83% of GDP (2024) | 32nd of 155 |
| Trade opennessImports plus exports as a share of GDP. Above 100% is normal for small trading economies. | 69.5% of GDP (2025) | 112th of 183 |
| COâ‚‚ per personCarbon dioxide from fuel and industry, divided by the population. | 2.69 t (2024) | 97th of 198 |
| Human Development IndexThe UN’s combined measure of health, education and income, on a scale from 0 to 1. | 0.731 (2023) | 111th of 193 |
Land borders
Botswana shares these with other countries
Drives on the left 60Is landlocked 43Has english as an official language 63Is a member of the commonwealth 55Is a member of the african union 54Mainly exports manufactured goods 83Is in southern africa 5
Keep going
Country data from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and the UNDP Human Development Report (CC BY 3.0 IGO)
Games · Learn · Atlas · Privacy