Botswana, is officially know or as the "Republic of Botswana", which is a land locked country within the Southern African continent. The country we formerly a British constituency of "Bechuana land", and got it's name following independence from the Commonwealth empire on 30th of September 1966.

Botswana is surrounded by various countries including South Africa in the south and South East, Namibia in the Western region, Zambia from the Northerly, & Zimbabwe in the North East.

Short History Of Botswana

The area has been inhabited for thousands of years, documented by rock paintings at Tsodilo. Before the colonial period, Botswana consisted of several small kingdoms under the leadership of the Tswana. Because of pressure from immigrants Botswana asked for help from the British. United Kingdom included protection agreements with Tswana-rulers from 1885 to 1966 and was the largest British protectorate in southern Africa. In 1961, residents requested autonomy and the first political parties formed. 30 September 1966 Botswana gained its own independence.

When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910 out of the main British colonies in the region, the Bechuanaland Protectorate, Basutoland (now Lesotho), and Swaziland (the "High Commission Territories") were not included, but provision was made for their later incorporation. However, a vague undertaking was given to consult their inhabitants, and although successive South African governments sought to have the territories transferred, Britain kept delaying, and it never occurred. The election of the National Party government in 1948, which instituted apartheid, and South Africa's withdrawal from the Commonwealth in 1961, ended any prospect of incorporation of the territories into South Africa.

Geography and Environment

With an area of about 600,000 km² Botswana is slightly larger than France, while the country remains one of the least populated in the world.

The southern part of Botswana is dominated by semi-desert Kalahari, which covers up to 70 percent of the country. The world's largest inland delta, Okavango Delta, located in the northwestern part of the country. The large salt pond Makgadikgadi Basin lies to the north.

Tsodilo Hills is the country's highest point at 1,489 meters above sea level. Largest urban

Capita figures are calculated in 2005

• Gaborone (208 411)
• Francistown (89,979)
• Molepolole (63,251)
• Selebi-Phikwe (53,727)
• Maun (49,948)
• Serowe (47,421)
• Kanye (44,718)
• Mahalapye (44,473)
• Mochudi (43,417)
• Mogoditshane (41834)