Botswana :: essays research papers

BotswanaBotswana is a landlocked country in southern Africa, more or less the size ofTexas. It c all overs 224,607 square miles, yet contains only 1,444,000 volume,making it one the just about thinly populated countries in Africa. The eastern portionis where or so slew reside, because the Kalahari Desert covers almost all therest of the nation. Botswanas climate is a dry one, consisting of very hotsummers, and warm winters. Flat and rolling land correct up the topography ofBotswana, with the Kalahari in the southwest. in that respect are several major cultural groups in Botswana. about Botswanans areblack Africans called Tswana, and the largest group of the Tswana are theBamangwato. The Bamangwato require up almost one third of Botswanas population.The majority of the Tswana are farmers. There are also about 10,000 of the San mountain, or Bushmen. Some San are hunter-gatherers, and several(prenominal) are farmers.Several thousand whites are also included in Botswanas popu lation. Most are ofBritish descent. Most whites earn more silver then the blacks, and this causessome racial tension. Although English is the official language of Botswana, mostpeople speak Setswana, a Bantu language. Eighty-five part of Botswanaspeople practice traditional African religions, while the rest are Christian.Most Botswanan children attend elementary school, but only fifteen percent willgo on to high school. The small percent of people that go to college attend theUniversity of Botswana in Gaborone, the nations capital. ample Britain once had control over Botswana. South Africa wantedBotswana, then called Bechuanaland, as part of their country. But Great Britainrefused. On September 30,1966, Botswana was declared independent. Its officialname is The Republic of Botswana. Seretse Khama became the nations low gearpresident.Some of Botswanas chief resources are ball fields,copper,nickel, and salt.The economy of Botswana was based on cattle and crop raising, but now diam ondmining is controlling the economy, disrespect a 25 percent unemployment rate due toslow diamond sales in 1994. In 1994, Botswana made 1.8 billion dollars inexports of diamonds,copper, nickel, and meat. Botswana has its deliver currencythe pula. One pula is equal to about 1.8 U.