Economy - overview: | Botswana has maintained one of the world's highest growth rates since independence in 1966. Through fiscal discipline and sound management, Botswana has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country with a per capita GDP of $8,800 in 2003. Two major investment services rank Botswana as the best credit risk in Africa. Diamond mining has fueled much of the expansion and currently accounts for more than one-third of GDP and for nine-tenths of export earnings. Tourism, subsistence farming, and cattle raising are other key sectors. On the downside, the government must deal with high rates of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment officially is 21%, but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%. HIV/AIDS infection rates are the highest in the world and threaten Botswana's impressive economic gains. Long-term prospects are overshadowed by the expected leveling off in diamond mining production. |
| GDP: | purchasing power parity - $14.2 billion (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 7.2% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 4%
industry: 48.7% (including 36% mining)
services: 52% (2003 est.) |
| Investment (gross fixed): | 23.9% of GDP (2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: | 47% (2002 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 9.2% (2004 est.) |
| Labor force: | 264,000 formal sector employees (2000) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | NA |
| Unemployment rate: | 40% (official rate is 21%) (2001 est.) |
| Budget: | revenues: $3.263 billion
expenditures: $3.283 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
| Public debt: | 7% of GDP (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products: | livestock, sorghum, maize, millet, beans, sunflowers, groundnuts |
| Industries: | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing; textiles |
| Industrial production growth rate: | 7.3% (2004 est.) |
| Electricity - production: | 409.8 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - consumption: | 1.564 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports: | 1.183 billion kWh (2001) |
| Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
| Oil - consumption: | 16,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
| Oil - exports: | NA (2001) |
| Oil - imports: | NA (2001) |
| Current account balance: | $539 million (2004 est.) |
| Exports: | $2.544 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: | diamonds, copper, nickel, soda ash, meat, textiles |
| Exports - partners: | European Free Trade Association (EFTA) 87%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 7%, Zimbabwe 4% (2000) |
| Imports: | $1.753 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: | foodstuffs, machinery, electrical goods, transport equipment, textiles, fuel and petroleum products, wood and paper products, metal and metal products |
| Imports - partners: | Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 74%, EFTA 17%, Zimbabwe 4% (2000) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: | $5.25 billion (2004 est.) |
| Debt - external: | $392 million (2004 est.) |
| Economic aid - recipient: | $73 million (1995) |
| Currency: | pula (BWP) |
| Currency code: | BWP |
| Exchange rates: | pulas per US dollar - 4.9499 (2003), 6.3278 (2002), 5.8412 (2001), 5.1018 (2000), 4.6244 (1999) |
| Fiscal year: | 1 April - 31 March
Source: CIA World Factbook
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