When did Botswana exist?

Botswana existed 1966–present. On this map it is drawn 1967–2024.

How large was Botswana?

At its greatest extent drawn on this map, Botswana covered about 581,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.

Africa · Independence and the modern states

Botswana

Republic · 1966–present

Botswana is a sparsely populated landlocked country in Southern Africa, about 70% of it Kalahari Desert, with some 2.4 million people; Gaborone is the capital. It is often cited as Africa's most stable and longest-running democracy.

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Type: Republic
Existed: 1966–present
Shown on the map: 1967–2024
Peak area: 581k km²
Region: Africa

Overview

Origins and colonial background

San and Khoe peoples lived in the region for tens of thousands of years before Bantu-speaking migrants — Kalanga around 200 CE and ancestral Tswana around 400 CE — established cattle-keeping chiefdoms organised as merafe under dikgosi. After the upheavals of the Difaqane, Tswana chiefs such as Sechele I resisted Boer expansion, notably at the Battle of Dimawe in 1852. Fearing German and Afrikaner encroachment and Cecil Rhodes's British South Africa Company, the dikgosi accepted British protection, and in 1885 the Bechuanaland Protectorate was established; in 1895 chiefs Khama III, Sebele I and Bathoen I famously persuaded London not to hand the territory to Rhodes.

Political history

The exile of Seretse Khama over his marriage to Ruth Williams galvanised nationalism; his Botswana Democratic Party won the first elections, and independence followed on 30 September 1966 with Khama as president. Extremely poor at independence, Botswana was transformed by the 1967 discovery of diamonds, managed through the Debswana partnership with De Beers. Presidents Quett Masire, Festus Mogae, Ian Khama and Mokgweetsi Masisi continued broadly prudent rule until, in October 2024, the opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change ended 58 years of BDP government, making Duma Boko president.

Economy and culture

Botswana produces more diamonds than any other country and has enjoyed some of the world's fastest per-capita growth, rising to upper-middle-income status; tourism built around the Okavango Delta is the other pillar. Tswana culture centres on the kgotla community council.

Society and religion

About 79% of citizens are Tswana, 11% Kalanga and 3% San — the latter controversially relocated from the Central Kalahari. Roughly 79% are Christian.

Later developments and current situation

Despite low corruption and strong institutions, Botswana struggles with unemployment, inequality and one of the world's most severe HIV/AIDS epidemics.

Common questions

What was Botswana?: Botswana is a sparsely populated landlocked country in Southern Africa, about 70% of it Kalahari Desert, with some 2.4 million people; Gaborone is the capital. It is often cited as Africa's most stable and longest-running democracy.
When did Botswana exist?: Botswana existed 1966–present. On this map it is drawn 1967–2024.
How large was Botswana?: At its greatest extent drawn on this map, Botswana covered about 581,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
Who ruled Botswana?: The exile of Seretse Khama over his marriage to Ruth Williams galvanised nationalism; his Botswana Democratic Party won the first elections, and independence followed on 30 September 1966 with Khama as president. Extremely poor at independence, Botswana was transformed by the 1967 discovery of diamonds, managed through the Debswana partnership with De Beers.
What did the economy and culture of Botswana rest on?: Botswana produces more diamonds than any other country and has enjoyed some of the world's fastest per-capita growth, rising to upper-middle-income status; tourism built around the Okavango Delta is the other pillar. Tswana culture centres on the kgotla community council.

Sources

Every source below was consulted while writing this entry.

Wikipedia — Botswana en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botswana

This entry was written from the sources above and last updated 10 September 2026.

This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made

Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.

Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).

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