Facts About Botswana
Here are some interesting facts about Botswana for kids which were chosen and researched by kids especially for kids.
Top 20 Botswana Facts for Kids
1. Botswana is a landlocked country in Southern Africa and borders Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
2. The capital city is Gaborone and this is also the largest city of the country.
3. Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. The country is slightly smaller in size than Madagascar and the state of Texas/ USA or slightly larger than France.
4. About 2.6 million Tswana people live in Botswana. A group of people is called Batswana, one person is referred to as Motswana.
5. The official language of Botswana is English, however, most people speak Setswana as home language.
6. About two thirds of the country are located in the Tropics.
7. The climate of Botswana is semi-arid, there is a rainfall season from November to April, when some rain is expected especially in the northern regions.
8. Botswana is mostly flat with some hills in the eastern parts of the country.
9. The Kalahari Desert covers 84% of the country. This semi-arid desert is a sandy savannah with very little rain. Thus it is not a true desert, as there is some rainfall.
10. The Makgadikgadi pans in the country’s northeast are among the largest salt flats in the world.
11. The modern humans are said to have evolved in this region more than 200,000 years ago.
12. Botswana’s Okavango Delta is a swamp formed by the Okavango River. This flat inland delta is produced by floods every year in July and August and is one of the largest in the world.
13. Botswana is known for her abundant wildlife and is home to the Big Five game animals including lions, leopards, rhinos, buffalos and elephants. Amongst many other animals in Botswana are the giant Nile crocodiles, giraffes, antelopes, zebras, wildebeest, monkeys and baboons.
14. Botswana has four national parks. Chobe National Park houses the world’s largest population of African elephants! Over 120,000 elephants live there.
15. Botswana gained independence from the UK in 1966 and then became a republic. National Day is celebrated on 30 September. (Independence Day)
16. The national animal of Botswana is the zebra and the national tree is the marula tree.
17. The currency is called Botswana pula and one pula is divided into 100 thebe. Interestingly, the term pula means ‘rain’ in English and as rain is scarce in the country is considered a blessing to have.
18. The motto of the country is: Pula! which means ‘Let there be rain!’
19. Botswana is the second largest diamond producing country in the world – after Russia. Jwaweng Diamond Mine is the world’s largest diamond mine. This mine produced about 12 million carat diamonds in 2020. This sum equal to 2,400 kg of diamonds.
20. The staple foods in Botswana are maize, sorghum and millet as well as vegetables and fruit such as cowpeas or okra, marula or melons. Meat is eaten often especially beef and chicken as well as mutton.
The national dish of Botswana is called seswaa. This is a slow cooked meat stew made over fire that only uses beef, mutton, chicken or lamb and onions and peppers as ingredients.
