The economy in Botswana has been growing at a fast pace. The economy is majorly dependent on the mining sector. The country is one of the world’s largest producers of diamonds, producing about 22% of the world’s diamonds that contributes to about one third of the nations GDP.

(Source: go2africa.com, mg.co.za)

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The GDP at current prices for Q2 2010 amounted to BWP 24.3 billion, compared to BWP 21.8 billion for the same period in 2009. In Q2 2010, the GDP growth rate registered at 11.9%, an increase compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

(Source:cso.gov.bw)

The country’s GDP at constant prices is BWP 6.65 billion in Q2 2010 compared to BWP 6.04 billion in Q2 2009.

(Source:cso.gov.bw)

Gross National Income (GNI)

The nation’s gross national income (GNI) per capita at PPP was USD 13,204 in 2010 compared to USD 12,011 for the year 2005.

(Source: UNDP)

At the end of 2009, the balance of trade had a deficit of BWP 73.16 million. Exports and imports in 2009 amounted to BWP 2,563.87 million and BWP 1,826 million respectively.

(Source: cso.gov.bw)

 

Income tax

Income tax on individual incomes in Botswana is taxed progressively up to 25%.

 

Income tax rate for Residents Individuals
Taxable Income (BWP)	Tax Rate %
BWP 0 - 30,000	NIL
BWP 30,000 - 60,000	5% of the excess over BWP 30,000
BWP 60,000 - 90,000	BWP 1,500 + 12.5 % of excess over BWP 60,000
BWP 90,000 - 120,000	BWP 5,250 + 18.75% of excess over BWP 90,000
Above BWP 120,000	BWP 10,875 + 25% of excess over BWP 120,000

 

 

Income tax rate for Non-resident Individuals
Taxable Income (BWP)	Tax Rate %
BWP 0 - 60,000	5% of every Pula
BWP 60,000 - 90,000	BWP 3,000 + 12.5% of excess over BWP 60,000
BWP 90,000 - 120,000	BWP 6,750 + 18.75% of excess over BWP 90,000
Over BWP  120,000	BWP 12,375 + 25% of excess over BWP 120,000

 

(Source: taxrates.cc)

Corporate tax

Standard corporate tax in Botswana is split - Basic Corporate Tax is 15% and Additional Company Tax (ACT) is 10%.

(Source: taxrates.cc, doingbusiness.org)

Inflation Rate

The inflation rate in Botswana in January 2011 was 7.9%. From 2000 to 2009, inflation was reported at its highest in 2008 at 12.6%.

 

(Source: bankofbotswana.bw)

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Inflow

In 2009, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow was BWP 19,108 million increasing from BWP 12,119 million in 2008.

 

(Source:bankofbotswana.bw)

Portfolio Investment Inflow

The Portfolio Investment in Botswana in 2009 amounted to BWP 1,373 million, an increase of 8.19% compared to the previous year.

 

(Source:bankofbotswana.bw)

Central Bank Assets

The assets of the Central Bank of Botswana are:

Currency Unit: Botswana Pula (BWP)

Assets of Central Bank of Botswana (BWP million)
	2010 (November)	2009	2008
International Reserves	54,940.9	57,908.1	68,611.7
Loans and advances to financial institutions	3.0	3.1	-
Fixed assets	185.1	160.8	147.6
Other assets	133.2	141.1	133.1
Total Assets	55,262.1	58,213.0	68,892.5

  (Source:bankofbotswana.bw)

Consumer Price Index

The consumer price index in Botswana is on a steady rise. In January 2011, the CPI registered at 171.3 compared to 131.4 in the same period of 2010.

Base, September 2006 = 100

(Source:bankofbotswana.bw)

Interest rates on deposits

The interest rates of the Central bank of Botswana

Interest rates on deposits (%)
	Dec-2010	Dec-09
Savings account	3.72	4.10
Overnight call	3.31	3.86
Notice	4.69	5.02
Fixed up to 12 months	5.88	5.98
Fixed over 12 months	6.12	6.40

(Source:bankofbotswana.bw)

 

Foreign Currency Denominated Deposits (%)
	Dec-2010	Dec-09
US dollar	0.89	0.89
Euro	1.04	1.04

 (Source:bankofbotswana.bw)

Money supply (Currency in Circulation)

From 2004 to November 2010, the amount of currency in circulation increased steadily. Money in circulation in November 2010 was BWP 1,918.67 million.

(Source:bankofbotswana.bw)

Government Expenditure

In the fiscal year 2009-2010, government expenditure amounted to BWP 39.489.22 million, compared to BWP 35,150.70 million in 2008-09.

(Source:bankofbotswana.bw)

Total Domestic Debt

In September 2010, total public debt amounted to BWP 4,987 million, compared to BWP 4,100 million for the same period in 2009.

 

(Source:bankofbotswana.bw)  

 

Official exchange rate

The official exchange rate for BWP per USD in January 2011 registered at 0.1511. 

 

(Source:bankofbotswana.bw)  

Government finances

Fiscal balance

From 2005 to 2008 the fiscal balance was recorded as a surplus, further witnessing a decline in 2009 and 2010. In the fiscal year of 2010, the fiscal balance showed a deficit of BWP 9,466.1 million, an increase of more than double, compared to BWP 4,695.6 million in 2009.

 

(Source:bankofbotswana.bw)  

Total Revenue

The country's revenue in 2010 recorded at BWP 30,023.12 million, a decrease of about 1.41% from 2008 figures of BWP 30,455.13 million. 

 

(Source:bankofbotswana.bw)

Tax revenue

Tax revenues in Botswana decreased by 1.51% for the year 2009-10 and amounted to BWP 26,773.92 million.

 

(Source:bankofbotswana.bw)   

Total Grants

In 2009-10, total grants were BWP 768.8 million, an increase by 23.36% over the previous year.

 

(Source:bankofbotswana.bw)

Current Account Balance

From Q1 2008 to Q3 2008, the current account balance witnessed a surplus. From Q4 2008 till Q2 2010 a current account deficit was registered. The current account balance for Q2-2010 registered a deficit of BWP 1,921.5 million, compared to a deficit of BWP 286.9 million in the same period of 2009.

 

(Source:bankofbotswana.bw)    

Balance of Payments

In Q2 2010, the overall balance of payments reflected a deficit of BWP 1,224.6 million, compared to a deficit of BWP 2,417.5 million in the same period in 2009.

 

Balance of Payments (BWP million)
	Q2- 2010	Q2- 2009
Current account	-1,921.50	-286.90
Capital account	39.70	427.30
Financial account	1,131.60	-559.30
Net errors and omissions	-474.40	-1,998.60
Overall balance	-1,224.60	-2,417.50

(Source:bankofbotswana.bw)

 

Labour force

The labour force in Botswana 2009, was 357,919 people, of which females were 147,749 and males were 210,171 of the total labour force.

(Source:cso.gov.bw)

Unemployment rate 

The unemployment rate for December 2010 registered as 17.5% per the Labour Force Survey of 2005-2006.

(Source:cso.gov.bw)

Minimum wage

(Source: cso.gov.bw)

Level of Unionisation

Botswana has 25 trade unions affiliated to the Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU). BFTU’s objective is increasing the strength of the labour movement to enable proper participation in decision making.

(Source:fes-botswana.org)

The government of Botswana is based on a Parliamentary republic. The constitution is divided into three branches, namely the executive, legislative and judiciary branches of government. 

Currently, Seretse Khama Ian Khama is the president of Botswana Democratic Party (BDP).

The political parties in Botswana are:

·         Botswana Democratic Party (BDP)

·         Botswana National Front (BNF)

·         Botswana Congress Party (BCP)

·         Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD)

·         Botswana Peoples' Party (BPP)

(Source:fco.gov.uk)

Regulatory Environment in Botswana

The country’s economic freedom score is 68.3, making its economy the 40^th freest in the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom. Botswana ranks 2^nd out of 46 regional countries in Sub-Saharan Africa region. Botswana's overall score is above regional and world averages.

(Source:Heritage.org)

 

Corruption perception

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is a survey to measure the perceived level of corruption across countries worldwide. Botswana is ranked 33^rd on this list indicating the corruption levels in the public departments in the country are fairly low.

Botswana slipped on the CPI rankings since 2009 when it was ranked 37^th with a score of 5.6 indicating that the perceived levels of corruption have decreased in the country.

(Source:transparency.org)

Freedom of Information

The media in Botswana is less restricted. The country has a tradition to debate in openly in public and the government provides freedom of expression. This is limited to urban areas.

The World Press Freedom Index 2010 ranked Botswana at 62^nd with a score of 42.00 which indicates that media in Botswana is relatively low.

(Source: rsf.org)

Newspapers

·         Daily News

·         Botswana Guardian

·         Botswana Gazette

·         Mmegi/The Reporter

·         Sunday Standard

·         The Midweek Sun

·         The Voice

Judicial system

In Botswana, the judicial system is independent. The judicial system has a dual system i.e. Roman Dutch Law and Customary Law.The judiciary in Botswana consists of the Court of Appeal and the High Court which has two chambers: civil and criminal cases which include citizens and state.

(Source: gov.bw)

 

The total population of Botswana in 2009 was 880,728, increasing at a rate of about 2.5% over the previous year.

(Source: cso.gov.bw)

The gender ratio in the country is balanced i.e. there are about 99.9 males for every 100 females in the country.

(Source: UN)

The mortality rate of infants (per thousands live births) was 36.2 in 2010. The mortality rate (per thousand people) was 12 in 2008. The crude Birth rate per thousand populations for 2009 was 24.

The average life expectancy at birth in Botswana for men was 54.8 years and for females was 54.6 years in 2009.

(Source: UN, World Bank)

The population below 14 years of age in the country was 33.3% of the total population (for the year 2009). In 2009, 6.6% women and 4.9% men (% of total population) were aged above 60 years of age.

The international migrant stock till mid 2010 was recorded at 114,800 people. This was approximately 5.3% of the entire population.

The urban population in the country increased at an annual rate of 2.5% from 2005 and 2010. For the same period, the rural population decreased to 0.6%.

(Source: UN)

Ethnic groups in Botswana are:

·         Tswana

·         Kalanga

·         Kgalagadi

·         Herero

·         Bayeyi

·         Hambukush

·         Basarwa

·         Khoi

·         Whites

(Source:state.gov)

The country ranks 98^th out of 182 countries on the Human Development index 2009 conducted by the United Nations. The HDI provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and gross enrolment in education) and having a decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity, PPP, income).

(Source: UNDP)

The country’s literacy rate from 2005 to 2008 has been estimated at 83%.

(Source: UNICEF)

Education

In Botswana, there are ten years of compulsory education starting from the age of six.  The education system consists of pre-primary education, primary and secondary education.

(Source:cso.gov.bw)

Health care

The healthcare service in the country is not so well developed. There is a shortfall of human resources in healthcare services.

Three leading causes of death in Botswana are hypertension, cancers and diabetes.There are 23 district health teams, 17 primary hospitals, 12 district hospitals, 3 referral hospitals, 330 health posts, 222 clinics and 740 mobile stops.

In Botswana, there are district hospitals, primary hospitals and referral hospitals. The district hospital provides regular check ups for the citizens. The primary hospital deals with minor diseases and referral hospitals deal with referrals from the district and the primary hospitals. The referral hospital consists of Nyangabgwe Hospital, Princess Marina, and Lobatse Mental Hospital.

(Source: WHO, mapsofworld, mapsofworld)

The mass public transport in the country is roadways (buses and cabs), airways and railways which are operated by Botswana Railways.

Roadways

The country has about 18,327 kilometres of Public Highway Network out of which about 8,434 kilometres are roads.

(Source:gov.bw)

Railways

In Botswana, trains and luxury inter-city coaches are well connected between Gaborone, Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa, allowing better accessibility to the citizens.

(Source:sa-venues)

Airports

The following are the major airports in Botswana:

 (Source: Air charter world)

Telecommunications networks

The number of fixed telephone lines in Botswana has increased from 13,800 in 2004 to 13,700 in 2009 registering a CAGR of 0.8%. The usage of fixed telephone lines has increased from 7.26 per 100 inhabitants in 2004 to 7.05 per 100 inhabitants in 2009.

(Source: ITU)

The number of mobile cellular subscriptions rose from 522,800 in 2004 to 1,874,100. The ratio of mobile cellular subscriptions to fixed telephone lines was 13.6:1, indicating that the amount of mobile cellular usage in the country is greater compared to fixed telephone line usage. 

(Source: ITU)

In 2009, 120,000 i.e. 6% of the total population used internet services.

(Source:internetworldstats.com)