The Republic of Botswana (Lefatshe la Botswana) is a landlocked nation of southern Africa. Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent on September 30, 1966. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Namibia to the west, Zambia to the north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast. The economy, closely tied to South Africa's, is dominated by cattle raising and mining. The capital is Gaborone.

Lefatshe la Botswana

(In Detail) (Full size)
National motto: Pula (Rain)</big>
Languages	English (official), Setswana
Capital	Gaborone
President	Festus Mogae
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 44th 600,370 km² 2.5%
Population  - Total (2003)  - Density	Ranked 144th 1,573,267 2.7/km²
Independence  - Date	From UK September 30, 1966
Currency	Pula (BWP)
Time zone	UTC+2
National anthem	Fatshe leno la rona (Blessed Be This Noble Land)
Internet TLD	.bw
Calling Code	267
edit (http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Template:Botswana_infobox)

Contents

1 History 2 Politics 3 Districts 4 Geography 5 Economy 6 Demographics 7 Culture 8 Main population centres 9 Education 10 Miscellaneous topics 11 Botswana in literature 12 External links

History

Main article: History of Botswana

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Politics

Main article: Politics of Botswana

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Districts

Main article: Districts of Botswana

Botswana is divided into 9 districts:

• Central
• Ghanzi
• Kgalagadi
• Kgatleng
• Kweneng
• North East
• North West
• South East
• Southern

Geography

Main article: Geography of Botswana

Economy

Main article: Economy of Botswana

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Botswana

Culture

Main article: Culture of Botswana

See also: List of writers from Botswana, Art of Botswana

Holidays

Date	English Name	Local Name	Remarks
January 1	New Year's Day	-
January 2	Public Holiday	-	-
Second Friday of April	Good Friday	-	-
Second Monday of April	Easter Monday	-	-
May 20	Ascension Day	-	-
July 1	Sir Seretse Khama Day	-	-
July 19	President's Day	-	-
July 20	Public Holiday	-	-
first Monday after Christmas	Public Holiday	-	-

Main population centres

• Gaborone
• Francistown
• Lobatse
• Maun
• Mochudi
• Serowe
• Ramotswa
• Selebi-Phikwe
• Gabane
• Jwaneng

Education

Main article: Education in Botswana

Miscellaneous topics

• Communications in Botswana
• Transportation in Botswana
• Military of Botswana
• Foreign relations of Botswana

Botswana in literature

Botswana forms the setting for a series of popular mystery novels by Alexander McCall Smith. Their protagonist, Precious Ramotswe, lives in Gaborone. The first novel in the series, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency appeared in 2001. The light-hearted books are appreciated for their human interest and local color.

External links

• Photos from Botswana (http://www.photos-botswana.com)

Countries in Africa

Algeria | Angola | Benin | Botswana | Burkina Faso | Burundi | Cameroon | Cape Verde | Central African Republic | Chad | Comoros | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Republic of the Congo | C�te d'Ivoire | Djibouti | Egypt | Equatorial Guinea | Eritrea | Ethiopia | Gabon | The Gambia | Ghana | Guinea | Guinea-Bissau | Kenya | Lesotho | Liberia | Libya | Madagascar | Malawi | Mali | Mauritania | Mauritius | Morocco | Mozambique | Namibia | Niger | Nigeria | Rwanda | S�o Tom� and Pr�ncipe | Senegal | Seychelles | Sierra Leone | Somalia | South Africa | Sudan | Swaziland | Tanzania | Togo | Tunisia | Uganda | Zambia | Zimbabwe | Western Sahara

Dependencies: Mayotte | R�union | Saint Helena

Commonwealth of Nations

Antigua and Barbuda | Australia | Bahamas | Bangladesh | Barbados | Belize | Botswana | Brunei | Cameroon | Canada | Cyprus | Dominica | Fiji | The Gambia | Ghana | Grenada | Guyana | India | Jamaica | Kenya | Kiribati | Lesotho | Malawi | Malaysia | Maldives | Malta | Mauritius | Mozambique | Namibia | Nauru | New Zealand | Nigeria | Pakistan | Papua New Guinea | Saint Kitts and Nevis | Saint Lucia | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Samoa | Seychelles | Sierra Leone | Singapore | Solomon Islands | South Africa | Sri Lanka | Swaziland | Tanzania | Tonga | Trinidad and Tobago | Tuvalu | Uganda | United Kingdom | Vanuatu | Zambia

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