1987 Edition

Boundary disputes

short section with Namibia is indefinite

Paraguay (Rio Parana area), Uruguay; claims a Zone of Interest in Antarctica

Branches

Bolivian Army, Bolivian Navy, Bolivian Air Force (literally, the Army of the Nation, the Navy of the Nation, the Air Force of the Nation)

Climate

tropical; warm winters and hot summers

mostly tropical, but temperate in south

Coastline

7,491 km

Comparative area

slightly smaller than Texas

larger than conterminous US

Continental shelf

200 meters or to depth of exploitation

Environment

continuing drought severely affecting important cattle industry; overgrazing; desertification

recurrent droughts in northeast; floods and frost in south; deforestation in Amazon basin

Land boundaries

3,774 km total

13,076 km total

Land use

2% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 75% meadows and pastures; 2% forest and woodland; 21% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

7% arable Jand; 1% permanent crops; 19% meadows and pastures; 67% forest and woodland; 6% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Military manpower

males 15-49, 1,510,000; 984,000 fit for military service; 65,000 reach military age (19) annually Tshabong Boundary representation is not necessarily authoritative

Special notes

landlocked; very long boundary with South Africa

largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador

Terrain

predominately flat to gently rolling tableland

mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt

Territorial sea

200 nm

Total area

200 km

600,370 km?; land area: 585,370 km?

8,511,970 km?; land area: 8,456,510 km?

Ethnic divisions

95% Batswana; about 4% Kalanga, Basarwa, and Kgalagadi; about 1% white

Portuguese, Italian, German, Japanese, black, Amerindian; 55% white, 38% mixed, 6% black, 1% other

Infant mortality rate

about 63/1,000 (1985)

70/1,000 (1986)

Labor force

about 400,000 total; 110,000 formal sector employees (1984); most others are engaged in cattle raising and subsistence agriculture; 40,000 formal sector employees spend at least six to nine months per year as wage earners in South Africa (1980); 17% unemployment (1983)

50 million in 1984; 40% services, 35% agriculture, 25% industry

Language

English (official), Setswana

Portuguese (official), English

Life expectancy

63.5 (1985)

62.8

Literacy

about 24% in English; about 35% in Tswana; less than 1% secondary school graduates

76%

Nationality

noun—Motswana (sing.), Botswana (pl.); adjective—Botswana

noun—Brazilian(s); adjective—Brazilian

Organized labor

16 trade unions organized

about 25 million (1986)

Population

1,149,141 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 3.48%

147,094,739 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.45%

Religion

50% indigenous beliefs, 50% Christian

(1980) 89% Roman Catholic (nominal)

Administrative divisions

]0 administrative districts

Branches

executive—President appoints and presides over the Cabinet, which is responsible to National Assembly; bicameral legislature (National Assembly with 34 popularly elected members and four members elected by the 34 representatives; House of Chiefs with deliberative powers only); judicial—local courts administer customary law, High Court and subordinate courts have criminal jurisdiction over all residents, Court of Appeal has appellate jurisdiction

Capital

Gaborone

Communists

no known Communist organization; Koma of BNF has long history of Communist contacts

Elections

general elections held 8 September 1984 Politica) parties and leaders: Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), Quett Masire; Botswana National Front (BNF), Kenneth Koma; Botswana People’s Party (BPP); Botswana Independence Party (BIP), Motsamai Mpho

Government leader

Dr. Quett K. J. MASIRE, President (since July 1980)

Legal system

based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; constitution came into effect 1966; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Member of

Af{DB, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, Southern African Customs Union, SADCC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

National holiday

Botswana Day, 30 September

Official name

Republic of Botswana

Federative Republic of

Suffrage

universa) adult at age 21

Type

parliamentary republic; independent member of Commonwealth

Voting strength

(September 1984 election) Legislative Assembly—BDP, 28 seats; BNF, 5 seats; BPP, } seat

Agriculture

principal crops are corn, sorghum, millet, cowpeas; livestock raised and exported; heavy dependence on imported food

Budget

revenues, $433 million; expenditures, $35] million (FY84/85 est.)

Electric power

174,000 kW capacity; 583 million kWh produced, 480 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$653 million (f.0.b. 1985); diamonds, cattle, animal products, copper, nickel

Fiscal year

] April-31 March

GDP

$905 million, $880 per capita; average annual real growth 2% (FY83/84)

Imports

$535 million (c.i.f., 1985); foodstuffs, vehicles, textiles, petroleum products

Major industries

livestock processing; mining of diamonds, copper, nickel, coal, salt, soda ash, potash; tourism

Major trade partners

Switzerland, US, UK, other EC members of Southern African Customs Union

Monetary conversion rate

1.88 pula=US$1 (November 1986)

Natural resources

diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal

Airfields

105 total, 97 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 24 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

6 major transport aircraft

Highways

11,514 km total; 1,600 km paved; 1,700 km crushed stone or gravel, 5,177 km improved earth, 3,037 km unimproved earth

Railroads

726 km 1.0 67-meter gauge

Telecommunications

the small system is a combination of open-wire lines, radiorelay links, and a few radiocommunication stations; 17,900 telephones (1.7 per 100 popl.); 3 AM, 2 FM, 2 TV stations; 1 Indian Ocean satellite ground station

Belo Hori

‘onte Corumbés , Rig de Janeiro Séo Paulo Boundary representation is nol necessarily authonlatwe z South Atlentic Ocean —o00km= Pérto Alegre See cegiona! map IV

Branches

Army, Air Wing, Botswana Police

Military manpower

males 15-49, 215,000; 113,000 fit for military service; 13,000 reach military age (18) annually Brazil North Atlentic Meneus rio Branco Cuiehs ane BRASILIA