Botswana is a country located in the southern part of the African continent. For the most part, Botswana has a flat landscape and is about 80% covered by the Kalahari desert. Mostly unknown to tourists visiting Africa, but nonetheless Botswana has a lot to offer its visitors.
Are you planning to visit Botswana and would like to know more about this amazing African country before travelling there? Or would you just love to know some interesting and fun facts about Botswana most people don’t know? You’ve come to the right place, we’ve got you covered.
Over the years I have had the chance to visit Botswana many times and every time I enjoy being there to visit its natural wonders and amazing wildlife. For me it is an intriguing country, filled with old traditions and mysteries, stunning national parks, friendly people and a great diversity of wildlife. In order to give an introduction to the country and to give more information about Botswana, I have listed some random and interesting Botswana facts that might be new to you or to give you a better insight into the country itself. So, what is Botswana known for?
Updated version February 2020.
25 Interesting facts about Botswana
- Gaborone is the capital city of Botswana. Gaborone, or ‘Gabs’ as local residents mostly call it, became the capital city after Botswana gained independence. The city was named after Chief Kgosi Gaborone.
- The current president is Mokgweetsi Eric Masisi, since 2018. He became the fifth president of Botswana since independence, following Ian Khama and is a member of the Botswana Democratic Party.
- The population of Botswana is just over 2 million inhabitants and has a land surface of 581.730 km2 (or 224.620 mi), giving the country a population density of only around 4 people/km2.
- The 5 largest cities of Botswana by population are Gaborone, Francistown, Molepolole, Selebi-Phikwe and Maun.
- The wildlife of Botswana is very diverse and abundant. The country is home to over 150 different species of mammals (including the Big Five animals), over 460 species of birds and more than 200 species of reptiles and amphibians.
- Botswana is home to the worlds biggest concentration of African elephants, of which the highest concentration is to be found in Chobe National Park. Especially during the dry season large herds of Elephants make their way to the river banks of the Chobe river. Did you know that the African elephant can live up to 80 years?
- Around 38% of the country’s surface is dedicated to national parks, reserves and wildlife management areas, which is one of the higher ranks compared to most other countries.
- Botswana is a mainly flat country with its highest point situated in the Tsodilo Hills at 1489 metres.
- The Okavango Delta is the largest inland delta in the world. It’s a beautiful oasis in the Kalahari desert, whose waters start flowing from the highlands of Angola all the way over the sands of the Kalahari desert. The Delta gives life to many forms of life which seems to be unexpected in the middle of a desert. The Okavango Delta became the 1000th inscribed site on the World Heritage List of Unesco in 2014. Are you looking for a travel destination? Here are 9 reasons to visit the Okavango Delta in Botswana.
- The Makgadigadi pan is one of the largest salt pan areas in the world, stretching over an area of 12.000 km2. The climate in the area is harsh, very hot and with little rain. When it rains, the pan can change into a blue lake attracting many animals including flamingos.
- The music video ‘Wildest Dreams’ of Taylor Swift was filmed in Botswana, on the Makgadigadi Salt Pans.
- Botswana is not the cheapest tourist destination to travel to. However, their policy is “High quality, low impact”. So when going there, you will not find yourself amidst hundreds of other tourists and can still enjoy a feeling of exclusivity. Did you know that Botswana was nominated by Lonely Planet as a top travel destination in 2016? We also think Botswana is a unique travel destinations. Click here to find out our 6 reasons why.
- Some of the more common trees to find in Botswana are the Marula tree, Mopane, Camelthorn, Wild Date Palm, Acacia, as well as the legendary Baobab tree.
- The national animal of Botswana is the Burchell’s Zebra, which is also shown on the Coat of Arms, with the image of a shield supported by 2 zebra.
- The national bird of Botswana is the Kori Bustard. It is the heaviest flying bird native to Africa and mainly found in Botswana and Namibia.
- The national dish of Botswana is called Seswaa, which consists out of a meat stew (normally beef or goat) served with maize meal (thick pap or polenta). If you like to try something different, one of the delicacies of African cuisine are the Mopane worms (or Mopane caterpillars). Did you know that Mopane worms contain a very high source of protein?
- English is the official language of the country, it is taught at schools, and is widely spoken in all urban centres. Even in rural areas, many local villagers (especially younger ones who have received schooling) will be able to converse in English. However, Setswana is the national language and the most spoken language throughout the country.
- The currency used is called Pula and is divided into Thebe. In Setswana (the local language) this means rain and shield.
- The Border between Botswana and Zambia is only 150 meters which makes it the shortest border in the world. You cross between the 2 countries via the Kazungula ferry. However, soon the ferry will be a thing from the past. The Kazungula bridge is expected to be opened in 2020 and will connect Zambia and Botswana over the Zambezi river by road and rail and will have a longest span of 129 metres.
- In the North Western part of the country, Botswana borders with 3 other countries; Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia. A point where 4 countries meet is called a quadripoint. However, since the border between Zambia and Botswana is not met by a land border but is separated by the Zambezi river, it is believed that there are 2 separate trijunctions (point where 3 countries meet) about 150 meters apart. This might be the only place in the world where you can pick up cellular signal from 4 countries in one place.
- Before its independence in 1966 Botswana was a British protectorate and was one of the poorest and least developed countries in Africa. One year after gaining independence, a huge diamond mine was discovered in Orapa. At the moment, Botswana is one of the most prosperous countries in Africa.
- Botswana is the worlds biggest diamond producing country in terms of value and the second biggest in terms of production. They produce about 17,7% of the total world production of diamonds. Diamonds count for nearly half of the governments value. Furthermore, diamond revenues enables every child in Botswana to receive free education up to the age of 13.
- Botswana has the richest diamond mine by value in the world. The Jwaneng Diamond Mine is located in the Southern part of Botswana. The meaning of Jwaneng is “place of small stones”’.
- The previous president, Ian Khama, is the son of Botswana’s first president after independence, Sir Seretse Khama and Ruth Williams, who is of British origin. He was born in 1953 in England while his parents were in exile in the UK due to their interracial marriage.
- Botswana is a member of SACU (Southern African Customs Union) together with Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland and Namibia. This means free exchange of goods between the member countries. Botswana is also part of SADC (Southern African Development Community).
Where is Botswana located?
Botswana is a landlocked country in the southern part of the African continent. It is located to the north of South Africa. Its other neighbouring countries are Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Botswana is a very interesting country to visit. Before travelling to a country I always like to get more information about the country itself. Before I travelled there for the first time I gathered some information on Botswana which helped me to understand the culture and the people. I hope that these Botswana facts might have piqued your interest and hopefully you will add it to your bucket list.
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Hey Sean and Sabine,
this is a really great article, I have learned a lot of new things! And I love the photos. I have a few friends from Botswana and this country is in my bucket list! Cant wait to go there!
Thanks so much Danka. Botswana is such a lovely place, you should really go and visit your friends there and meanwhile enjoy the landscape 🙂
Sabine, you just did a wonderful job there about my country. i am loving it. i leave in Gaborone and i always visit this places to relax and have a fresh air.
Hi Sean & Sabine,
very nice article and fun facts. Thanks for sharing! I enjoyed reading your post, especially because I may be heading to Botswana in the near future, too.
Hi Piritta, hopefully you’ll get the chance in travelling to Botswana in the near future, you won’t regret it. We will be bringing out more posts about this lovely country, so you can get more inside information. 🙂
Great, I’m looking forward to your future posts! I’ve totally fallen in love with Africa. We were traveling around Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in June and now we’re already planning to go back still this year. This time to Zambia! Magnificent continent.
It’s indeed a magnificent continent. I haven’t been to central Africa, but I can highly recommend southern and eastern Africa. Zambia is wonderful, it was actually the first country I visited in Africa and I just loved it. South Luangwa NP is so beautiful and so much wildlife, just great!!
About Southern Africa, just check our future posts, there’ll be lots 🙂
Again a fantastic article. Very interesting facts and most of them were new to me. Hope to visit Botswana and Namibia soon.
Cheers,
Reni
Thanks so much Reni. Let us know when you will be heading again to Southern Africa, we might meet here 🙂
Wow, I didn’t know so many of these facts! I’ve recently read a lot about Botswana through my job in content marketing and I’ve become a bit obsessed. Now even more so! I’m not sure I’ll ever get there, but I love reading about it. Great post, not the usual facts I’ve read online about Botswana!
Thanks so much! Nice to hear you have become fond of Botswana, it’s a great country. Hope you’ll be able to visit it one day 🙂
Nice photos! Culture, wildlife and people- I’m sure I would love Botswana. Keeping my fingers crossed to make it there in 2016.
Great facts. I Liked the high price, low impact. Atleast they try to take care of it. This is an interesting place to visit
Botswana indeed tries to take care of their visitors, you pay a bit more, but get great value for your money 🙂
Hi Sabine, this is great! I love learning trivia especially travel-related ones. Geography’s always been my forte but I didn’t know much about Botsawana. Always a pleasure to learn new things!
It’s indeed always good to learn about new countries and Botswana is still a bit of an unknown country for most tourist. Glad to be able to show you new things to learn 🙂
These kids were trying to impress us by jumping off the highest branch, it was so nice to see 🙂
Sounds so interesting…To be honest I didnt know any of those facts but would love to visit the country…Going to Western Africa next week actually
Some interesting facts about Botswana. Thanks for sharing! I hope they are able to preserve the “high price, low impact” experience. 🙂
Thanks! I also hope they’ll preserve this special experience with not having too many tourists in one place, basically overrun the place 🙂
Hi Jocelyn, there are many national parks in (Southern) Africa, where you can see lot’s of animals in the wild. You will not be disappointed at all. So maybe one day you will 🙂
I love this post! I used to watch The #1 Ladies Detective Agency, and fell in love with the idea of visiting Botswana. Thanks for sharing this information!
I have read all the books about the Ladies Detective Agency and they are so lovely to read. It gives you an insight about some of their customs 🙂
Wow I didn’t know most of these! Such great facts & your photography is stunning 🙂
Simone x
Thanks a lot Simone and glad you like the article and the photos 🙂
Im just pointing out.
The okavango delta… is the third largest delta in the world. Not the largest.
Caitlyn, that might be. Just pointing out…the Okavango delta is the largest “Inland” delta, not connected to any sea, as mentioned in the article.
Lots of great facts! The most surprising is that the official language is English. I love your stunning photos.
Thanks a lot :). It is indeed a bit surprising that the official language is English, but amongst themselves they do speak their own local language.
ooooo, I love learning new things! I don’t know much about it; all these facts are fascinating! This country sounds really fascinating. I would love to try that mokoro too! When did you first went there, were you expecting anything? Did it meet your expectations?
Hi Stacey, glad you learned something new about Botswana. And indeed, that mokoro ride is so fantastic. The Okavango Delta is a stunning region, so beautiful and so peaceful.
The first time I visited Botswana was as part of a tour through Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe and I did not have any expectations at all. But if I would, it would have exceeded my expectation. 🙂
Great to know you loved our country Sabine.. 🙂 lots of love from Botswana(Gaborone)
Thanks so much Collen. I have been lucky to visit your country quite a lot of times and I will definitely visit it more often in the future. You have such a beautiful country!! 🙂
Botswana is also the only country left in Africa with indigenous wild ostriches
Hi, thanks for the additional fact, I did not know that about the ostriches. I can use it for a next article about Botswana 🙂
Thank you so much for your very nice article, It’s really very well published with great pictures.
I had been living here in Gaborone since 1984 until now and always move around this beautiful country and still enjoy the warmth hospitality of Batswana people specially at the rural areas.
Thanks a lot, so glad you enjoyed reading the article. You are so right about the beautiful country with its beautiful people.
I am glad that you guys enjoyed your tour in Botswana. I am happy even for those who are interested in visiting this country in future. as Batswana we love visitors, and always feel honored to have yo around. thanks for selling our country so well.
I am going to be cocky as ever right now and say, there is no place like home! I currently live in Asia, born and bred in Botswana, travelled to most continents and still, home is best 🙂
Thanks so much for the article, cured a bit of the homesick syndrome today x
I am from South Africa and Sabine is from Belgium and every time we leave Africa we want to come back!
what an awesome article, a humongous thank you, i must admit i didnt know some of the facts, plus this article made me so proud of my country and i am loving the positive responses. so thank you 🙂
Thanks so much, Botswana is a great country and definitely a place to be proud of. It’s so great to read all the positive comments 🙂
Sabine, enthralling article and as i read i expected more unkown and unexpected facts, you have motivated me to do more research…proudly Motswana and my little safari experience at home was out of this world and i would love to indulge again 🙂
wow, what an amazing country, never knew half of this. Not somewhere I ever thought about visiting but it’s right at the top of the list now.
It’s always nice to introduce people to new and unexpected countries. You will not be disappointed when visiting (well, I hope at least) 🙂
I am Lucky, I’ve got Family in Botswana, and I’ve been there three times. But; I can’t get enough, when I retire I would like to move there, but I can’t because I don’t have an occupation that is needed. Even though I wouldn’t be a burden to society because I will keep my pension from home.
Wow! Botswana hasn’t been on my radar until recently…it looks like an absolutely wonderful place to visit…thank you for sharing!
Thank you. Great article! I lived in Botswana from 1974 for 20 years. I go back whenever I can. When I arrived there Gaborone was little more than a village and is now a successful and colorful city. There has been huge progress. But the character of the country hasn’t changed. Once you’ve lived there you’re spoilt for life. I still miss it even 20 years later.
Thanks, glad you liked it 🙂
So true what you say, once you lived there, you are spoiled for life 🙂
i used to live in South Africa and we were lucky to have been able to be able to travel and camp all over Southern Africa. I so wanted to visit the Okavango Delta but never got the opportunity before we left. Many years later I still want to do so. When do the rains come and what times of the year would be good weather wise and not high tourist season so cost is a consideration.
Hi Patricia, the rains in the Okavango Delta start around mid november. Just before the rains come it is really hot. August and September are good months, not too cold at night, nice weather during the day (not too hot) and still dry weather. You never see too many tourists in the Delta, so no worries about that 🙂
In any case, you’ll love it!!
Its such a pity what is happening in the South of Botswana where all the industry is. I lived there for 18 years. I still go back. Family and friends. The north is truly breathtaking but is only a small part of this amazing country with its wonderful history and those who survived in the harsh conditions.
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Welcome to the BOTSWANA WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS Group on Facebook!
If you enjoy everything or at least something about Botswana
this is the Group for you. You can also post photo’s,
video’s or your stories, from Botswana or KaZa Country Parks
(Botswana, Angola, Namibia, Simbabwe and Sambia ) on the wall.
INVITE your friends because the more people you have
the more sightings, photos, videos and discussions will be posted.
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Hi Sean and Sabine, thankyou so much for your article. You have really made Botswana sound amazing. All of which is so true! Im from Botswana ( Gaborone ). You have officially made me home sick ????. Im due to go home for a visit in December, hoping the months fly past.Thanks again for reminder of how beautiful and totally amazing Botswana is.
Melanie.
Hi Melanie, thanks so much for your nice comment. It’s so great to hear that what we write about Botswana (and how we feel about it) makes you think about your beautiful country. We will bring out more articles and our stories about Botswana 🙂
Dear Sabine,
I have spent four years in Botswana and after reading your article memories came back….Great Place and more importantly Great article as it had real Botswana in it!!!
Thanks so much. It’s really great to hear that this article brought back memories from your time in Botswana!! It’s a great country to visit and you had the opportunity to spend 4 years there 🙂
It is a beautiful place, we were fortunate to go there many years ago. We have some wonderful memories and this reminded me of our trip. Thanks,
I love this kind of articles : it both teaches a lot of interesting facts, shows beautiful places and gives ideas !
I pinned it both on my own board but also the collaborative ones I’m part of.
That’s a fascinating fact about the president’s family. Who better to help lead than somebody who’s faced exile. The country does seem beautiful and, well, elephants…
I honestly, did not know so many interesting things about Botswana. And your pictures are just amazing. Loved the post
Thanks Ami, glad you liked it 🙂
I have been hoping to visit Africa for a long time but had never considered Botswana. It looks amazing! Thank you for the introduction.
Interesting information Sabine, and as always awesome pictures!! 🙂 Africa is still on my to do list but you make me want to pack my bags every time I read one of your articles! 🙂
Hooray for diamonds! Botswana looks incredible and I would especially love seeing the African elephants. How amazing!
I haven’t really thought about visiting Botswana, but now it’s on my radar. Very interesting facts – glad you shared those with us!
Lovely! Have been sharing a lot with my African friends here In America, Botswana is a really beautiful place to visit.very beautiful and warm people!
Indeed, so true. A lovely place with beautiful and warm people. Great idea to share this with your friends in America 🙂
I seriously never knew this about Botswana. My curiosity rose be cos I have a colleague who is from botswana and she’s such a warm personality!
This information is vital for me who is visiting Botswana at the end of next month. Looking forward to enjoy Botswana
I learned a great deal from your post, even though I’d traveled a good portion of Botswana last year. I fell in love with the place. Your picture of the Kazungula Ferry is priceless and had me roaring. It brought back good (scary?) memories. We took our 4×4 on that to venture over to Vic Falls.
Yep, Sabine and I have taken 13 ton overland truck loads of tourists over on that ferry a few times. Let’s just say it was….fun. Here’s hoping they hurry up and finish that bridge soon!
Wow, I thought I knew a bit about Botswana, but it turned out I only knew the capital and the language. Fascinating post. A fun read.
To be honest, Botswana has not been on my radar as a travel destination, but I have to say that I am intrigued…
I loved Botswana and love learning more about this country. Thank you for this fascinating post! The elephants and Cape buffalo at Chobe were amazing and I love that education is so important.
This post was so informative. yes Botswana is such an interesting country especially the people who are friendly and welcoming
Was born here and I’m so glad to call this place my true home, thank you for sharing! 🙂