Resources
Botswana
● Economy: Planning is needed for the country’s transition away from diamonds
● HIV/Aids: More than half the people needing anti-retroviral treatment are receiving it
● Tourism: Botswana is reaching out to new markets where it feels its industry is under-leveraged - -
Content
An exception but not quite a model
Peace and relative prosperity are marred by the toll of Aids and the lack of a broad economic base, writes David White.
Economy: The trouble with narrow foundations
Diamond production, which has sustained economic expansion, is reaching a plateau.
Politics: Calls for direct elections go unheaded
A smooth system that always favours the ruling party
Profile: Figurehead for HIV/Aids awareness
Cynthia Leshomo, proudly carrying the title of Miss Stigma Free.
Tourism: Where the buffalo roam
On the same morning, tourists can see elephant, giraffe and kudu and dodge enraged hippo,
Botswana key facts
- Official name: Republic of Botswana
- Capital: Gaborone
- Population: 1.8 million
- Currency: Pula
- Official language: English
Introduction
Botswana is arid and landlocked, its central plateau separating the populous eastern grasslands from the Kalahari Desert and the swamps of the Okavango Delta in the west. Diamonds provide Botswana with a prosperous economy, but rain is an even more precious resource, honored in the name of the currency, the pula. Botswana has one of the world's highest rates of HIV infection among adults.
