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Botswana
A landlocked southern African nation, Botswana is widely regarded as Africa's greatest governance success story, transforming from one of the world's poorest countries at independence in 1966 to an upper-middle-income economy through prudent diamond revenue management. The capital Gaborone anchors the southeast. The Okavango Delta, the world's largest inland delta, teems with wildlife.
Major cities: Gaborone, Francistown, Molepolole, Maun
2024
2.5M
UN
2050
3.4M
UN
2100
3.8M
UN
~2200
3.0M
GPU
~2500
1.0M
GPU
Population2.5M
Fertility (TFR)2.70
Life expectancy69.3
Median age22.9
Infant mortality38.2 per 1,000
Pop. density4/km²
Urbanization67%
Youth share (0-14)32%
Land area566,730 km²
LanguageEnglish 2%
ReligionChristian
HDI0.731 (#111)
RegionAfrica
Latest available year is shown in parentheses where the source series varies across indicators. Governance metrics use World Bank percentile ranks; battle deaths and military spending are context variables, not direct fertility drivers.
UN WPP 2024 — verified data through 2100
| Year | Population | TFR | Life Exp. | CBR | CDR | Net Migration | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 414K | 6.43 | 46.2 | 45.5 | 19.3 | -1K | 2.6% |
| 1955 | 464K | 6.55 | 48.5 | 47.3 | 18.3 | -4K | 2.9% |
| 1960 | 516K | 6.60 | 51.2 | 47.1 | 16.4 | -4K | 3.1% |
| 1965 | 575K | 6.60 | 53.9 | 45.8 | 14.4 | -15K | 3.1% |
| 1970 | 590K | 6.55 | 56.4 | 45.7 | 12.8 | -16K | 3.3% |
| 1975 | 720K | 6.61 | 59.5 | 46.2 | 10.4 | +11K | 3.6% |
| 1980 | 937K | 6.29 | 62.5 | 44.7 | 8.5 | -11K | 3.6% |
| 1985 | 1.12M | 5.48 | 63.6 | 39.4 | 7.3 | +3K | 3.2% |
| 1990 | 1.31M | 4.51 | 60.1 | 33.6 | 8.3 | +3K | 2.5% |
| 1995 | 1.50M | 3.79 | 54.7 | 29.9 | 10.9 | +9K | 1.9% |
| 2000 | 1.68M | 3.29 | 52.3 | 27.9 | 12.5 | +10K | 1.5% |
| 2005 | 1.84M | 3.08 | 54.4 | 27.7 | 11.7 | +4K | 1.6% |
| 2010 | 2.03M | 3.13 | 59.1 | 28.4 | 9.6 | +5K | 1.9% |
| 2015 | 2.20M | 3.01 | 63.2 | 26.5 | 7.9 | -10K | 1.9% |
| 2020 | 2.37M | 2.86 | 67.6 | 25.5 | 6.3 | -11K | 1.9% |
| 2024Now | 2.52M | 2.70 | 69.3 | 24.4 | 5.7 | -6K | 1.9% |
| 2025 | 2.56M | 2.66 | 69.4 | 23.9 | 5.7 | -6K | 1.8% |
| 2030 | 2.77M | 2.49 | 70.1 | 21.3 | 5.8 | -3K | 1.5% |
| 2035 | 2.95M | 2.35 | 70.7 | 19.1 | 6.0 | -3K | 1.3% |
| 2040 | 3.13M | 2.23 | 71.3 | 17.7 | 6.4 | -3K | 1.1% |
| 2045 | 3.29M | 2.15 | 71.9 | 16.9 | 6.8 | -2K | 1.0% |
| 2050 | 3.44M | 2.08 | 72.6 | 16.1 | 7.3 | -2K | 0.9% |
| 2055 | 3.57M | 2.01 | 73.2 | 15.2 | 7.9 | -2K | 0.7% |
| 2060 | 3.68M | 1.96 | 73.9 | 14.3 | 8.5 | -1K | 0.6% |
| 2065 | 3.77M | 1.92 | 74.5 | 13.5 | 9.2 | -2K | 0.4% |
| 2070 | 3.82M | 1.89 | 75.2 | 12.9 | 9.9 | -4K | 0.3% |
| 2075 | 3.86M | 1.86 | 75.8 | 12.5 | 10.6 | -1K | 0.2% |
| 2080 | 3.88M | 1.84 | 76.5 | 12.1 | 11.1 | -2K | 0.1% |
| 2085 | 3.88M | 1.82 | 77.2 | 11.8 | 11.4 | -1K | 0.0% |
| 2090 | 3.88M | 1.80 | 77.8 | 11.5 | 11.5 | -3K | 0.0% |
| 2095 | 3.86M | 1.79 | 78.5 | 11.1 | 11.7 | -2K | -0.1% |
| 2100 | 3.84M | 1.78 | 79.1 | 10.8 | 12.0 | -1K | -0.1% |