Population:
2,317,233
(July 2020 est.)
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
144
[see also: Population country ranks ]
Nationality:
noun:
Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)
adjective:
Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)
Ethnic groups:
Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and people of European ancestry 7%
Languages:
Setswana 77.3%, Sekalanga 7.4%, Shekgalagadi 3.4%, English (official) 2.8%, Zezuru/Shona 2%, Sesarwa 1.7%, Sembukushu 1.6%, Ndebele 1%, other 2.8%
(2011 est.)
Religions:
Christian 79.1%, Badimo 4.1%, other 1.4% (includes Baha'i, Hindu, Muslim, Rastafarian), none 15.2%, unspecified 0.3%
(2011 est.)
Demographic profile:
Botswana has experienced one of the most rapid declines in fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa. The total fertility rate has fallen from more than 5 children per woman in the mid 1980s to approximately 2.4 in 2013. The fertility reduction has been attributed to a host of factors, including higher educational attainment among women, greater participation of women in the workforce, increased contraceptive use, later first births, and a strong national family planning program. Botswana was making significant progress in several health indicators, including life expectancy and infant and child mortality rates, until being devastated by the HIV/AIDs epidemic in the 1990s.
Today Botswana has the third highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the world at approximately 22%, however comprehensive and effective treatment programs have reduced HIV/AIDS-related deaths. The combination of declining fertility and increasing mortality rates because of HIV/AIDS is slowing the population aging process, with a narrowing of the youngest age groups and little expansion of the oldest age groups. Nevertheless, having the bulk of its population (about 60%) of working age will only yield economic benefits if the labor force is healthy, educated, and productively employed.
Batswana have been working as contract miners in South Africa since the 19th century. Although Botswana’s economy improved shortly after independence in 1966 with the discovery of diamonds and other minerals, its lingering high poverty rate and lack of job opportunities continued to push workers to seek mining work in southern African countries. In the early 1970s, about a third of Botswana’s male labor force worked in South Africa (lesser numbers went to Namibia and Zimbabwe). Not until the 1980s and 1990s, when South African mining companies had reduced their recruitment of foreign workers and Botswana’s economic prospects had improved, were Batswana increasingly able to find job opportunities at home.
Most Batswana prefer life in their home country and choose cross-border migration on a temporary basis only for work, shopping, visiting family, or tourism. Since the 1970s, Botswana has pursued an open migration policy enabling it to recruit thousands of foreign workers to fill skilled labor shortages. In the late 1990s, Botswana’s prosperity and political stability attracted not only skilled workers but small numbers of refugees from neighboring Angola, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
Age structure:
0-14 years: 30.54%
(male 357,065/female 350,550)
[see also: Age structure - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 18.31%
(male 208,824/female 215,462)
[see also: Age structure - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 39.67%
(male 434,258/female 484,922)
[see also: Age structure - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 5.92%
(male 59,399/female 77,886)
[see also: Age structure - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 5.56%
(male 53,708/female 75,159)
(2020 est.)
[see also: Age structure - 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
This is the population pyramid for Botswana. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 55.1
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 49.3
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 5.8
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 17.3
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]
Median age:
total: 25.7 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 24.5 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 26.7 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
157
Population growth rate:
1.48%
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
72
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]
Birth rate:
20.9 births/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
72
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]
Death rate:
9.2 deaths/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
54
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]
Net migration rate:
2.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
38
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]
Population distribution:
the population is primarily concentrated in the east with a focus in and around the captial of Gaborone, and the far central-eastern city of Francistown; population density remains low in other areas in the country, especially in the Kalahari to the west
Urbanization:
urban population: 70.2% of total population
(2019)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 2.87% annual rate of change
(2015-20 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]
Major urban areas - population:
269,000 GABORONE (capital)
(2018)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.76 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 92.5 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio country ranks ]
Maternal mortality rate:
144 deaths/100,000 live births
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
59
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]
Infant mortality rate:
total: 26.8 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 29.2 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 24.2 deaths/1,000 live births
(2020 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
66
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 64.8 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total population country ranks ]
male: 62.8 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 66.9 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
197
[See also: Healthy Life Expectancy ]
[See also: Health Performance ]
Total fertility rate:
2.45 children born/woman
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
77
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 99.2% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 92.3% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 96.2% of population
unimproved:
urban: 0.8% of population
rural: 7.7% of population
total: 3.8% of population
(2015 est.)
Current Health Expenditure:
5.5%
(2016)
[see also: Current Health Expenditure country ranks ]
Physicians density:
0.37 physicians/1,000 population
(2016)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]
Hospital bed density:
1.8 beds/1,000 population
(2010)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 78.5% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 43.1% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 63.4% of population
(2015 est.)
unimproved:
urban: 21.5% of population
(2015 est.)
rural: 56.9% of population
(2015 est.)
total: 36.6% of population
(2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
20.3%
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
4
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
370,000
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
19
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
4,800
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
26
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk:
high
(2019)
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
(2019)
vectorborne diseases:
malaria
(2019)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
18.9%
(2016)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
114
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
Education expenditures:
9.6% of GDP
(2009)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
4
[see also: Education expenditures country ranks ]
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.5%
[see also: Literacy - total population country ranks ]
male: 88%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 88.9%
(2015)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 13 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - total country ranks ]
male: 13 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - male country ranks ]
female: 13 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - male country ranks ]
(2013)
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 36%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 29.6%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 43.5%
(2010 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
18
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Botswana on this page is re-published from the 2020 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Botswana People 2020 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Botswana People 2020 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may have the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assigns counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order.
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This page was last modified 27-Jan-20