Botswana

Where Is Botswana Located?

Botswana is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It borders South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, Zimbabwe to the northeast and Zambia along a very short river border near Kazungula. The capital, Gaborone, sits in the southeast, close to the South African border. This Botswana travel guide starts with the map.

Last checked: November 2026

The country covers about 581,730 square kilometers, slightly more than mainland France. Most of it is flat to gently rolling tableland, and the Kalahari, a vast sand-filled basin, covers roughly 70 percent of the land. A common misunderstanding is that the Kalahari is a classic desert. It’s semi-arid, with scrub, grassland and seasonal rain, which is why it supports so much wildlife.

In the northwest, the Okavango River ends in the Kalahari instead of reaching the sea, and it spreads into the Okavango Delta, one of the largest inland deltas in the world. The water comes from rain far upstream in the Angolan highlands, so the Delta fills during Botswana’s dry months. In the north-central region, the Makgadikgadi Pans form a network of salt pans and seasonal lakes.

The Okavango and the Chobe-Linyanti system are the country’s only perennial rivers, and the Tropic of Capricorn crosses the southern third of the territory. Botswana uses Central Africa Time (UTC+2) all year and doesn’t change its clocks. The Botswana Tourism Organisation location page gives more geographic background.

Most visitors arrive by air or by road from a neighboring country. Our flights to Botswana guide covers the international airports, and our guide to getting around Botswana explains travel inside the country.

Botswana Travel Guide: What Is the Country Known For?

Botswana is known for safari wildlife, wide open landscapes and diamonds. The Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park are its best-known safari areas, and the country has been a parliamentary republic since independence from Britain on 30 September 1966. English is the official language, and the currency is the Botswana pula (BWP).

Gaborone is the capital, and Setswana is the national language. The president is both head of state and head of government, and Duma Boko has held the office since 1 November 2024. The national statistics office, Statistics Botswana, counted 2,359,609 people in the 2022 census, so the population is about 2.36 million. Gaborone itself had 246,325 residents, so don’t confuse the city figure with the national total.

Botswana has about four people per square kilometer, which means settlements are far apart and many reserves are remote. That is one reason travel here takes planning. Diamond mining, which grew after the discovery at Orapa in 1967, shaped the national economy.

Two places are on the UNESCO World Heritage List: the Tsodilo Hills, inscribed in 2001, and the Okavango Delta, inscribed in 2014. Our guide to the best places to visit in Botswana covers both, and our Botswana itineraries turn them into 5, 7 and 10 day plans. Check entry rules early with our Botswana visa guide for tourists.

Botswana History: From Early Settlers to Independence

Botswana’s history runs from hunter-gatherer communities in the Kalahari to the Bechuanaland Protectorate, which Britain declared on 31 March 1885, and independence on 30 September 1966. Diamonds found at Orapa in 1967 then reshaped the economy. In 2024, an opposition coalition won power for the first time since independence.

Early Settlement and the Tsodilo Hills

People have lived in what is now Botswana for a very long time. The Tsodilo Hills in the northwest hold more than 4,500 rock paintings, according to UNESCO, and the site was inscribed in 2001 for its long record of human settlement. San hunter-gatherer communities were among the region’s early inhabitants, and Tswana-speaking groups later became the largest part of the population. The UNESCO World Heritage Centre page for Tsodilo has the official listing.

The Bechuanaland Protectorate

In the 1880s, Tswana leaders including Khama III, Bathoen and Sebele asked Britain for protection, partly because of pressure from German South West Africa and Afrikaner settlers. Britain declared the Bechuanaland Protectorate on 31 March 1885 and extended it north to the Chobe River in 1890.

The protectorate lasted about 80 years. In the 1950s, Seretse Khama, heir to the Ngwato chiefship, was barred from the territory after he married Ruth Williams, an Englishwoman. He later returned and became a leader of the independence movement.

Independence and the Diamond Era

Seretse Khama founded the Bechuanaland Democratic Party in 1962, and it won the first general election, held on 1 March 1965. Bechuanaland became the Republic of Botswana on 30 September 1966, with Khama as its first president. He held the office until his death in 1980.

Diamonds were found at Orapa in 1967, and development planning took off in the years that followed. Later presidents included Seretse Ian Khama from 2008 and Mokgweetsi Masisi from 2018. After the 2024 election ended 58 years of Botswana Democratic Party government, Duma Boko was sworn in as president on 1 November 2024.

Botswana Culture: Language, Faith, Festivals and Customs

Botswana’s culture centers on the Setswana language, community meetings called kgotla and botho, a shared idea of respect and responsibility toward others. English is the official language, most people are Christian, and many also honor ancestral spirits known as badimo. Dance, song and basketry remain part of daily and festival life.

Language

English is used in government, schools and business, and Setswana is the national language and the home language of most people. Kalanga is spoken mainly around Francistown. Citizens are called Batswana, and one person is a Motswana.

Greetings matter. Say Dumela rra to a man, Dumela mma to a woman and Dumelang to a group. Visitors who try a few Setswana words usually get a warm response.

Religion

The 2022 census recorded 86.5 percent of people as Christian, 7.1 percent as having no religion, 4.6 percent as following African traditional religions and 0.6 percent as Muslim. Many Christians also honor badimo, so church life and traditional belief often overlap.

Festivals and Holidays

Botswana Day is on 30 September, and 1 October is also a public holiday. Arts festivals move from year to year, so confirm dates with the organizers.

• Maitisong Festival: a performing arts festival in Gaborone, usually in March or April.
• Kuru Dance Festival: a San dance and music festival at D’Kar in the Kalahari, usually in August.
• Maun International Arts Festival: an arts festival in Maun, usually in October or November.

Our best time to visit Botswana guide explains how holidays and seasons affect travel plans.

Etiquette and Everyday Life

Say hello before you ask a question, and greet elders first. When shaking hands, some people support the right wrist with the left hand as a sign of respect. The kgotla is the traditional village assembly where community matters are discussed openly, and it still shapes how many people expect decisions to be made. Tipping is at your discretion.

Music and Arts

Traditional music and dance appear at weddings, national holidays and festivals. San communities keep their own dance traditions, which are the focus of the Kuru Dance Festival, and the Maitisong program includes marimba bands and choirs. Botswana is known for basketry, and craft markets also sell pottery and beadwork.

Food in Botswana: Staples, Signature Dishes and Drinks

Food in Botswana is built on meat, porridge and wild greens. Seswaa, slow-cooked and pounded beef or goat, is widely described as the national dish, and it’s usually served with bogobe or pap. Meals are hearty and simple, and the best-known dishes appear at weddings, funerals and family gatherings.

Staples

Bogobe is a thick porridge made from sorghum or maize. Pap is the maize-meal version that many households now use because maize meal is widely available. Samp, which is crushed maize, and morogo, wild leafy greens cooked with onion and tomato, are common sides. Beef and goat feature heavily because cattle farming is a large industry.

Signature Dishes

• Seswaa: beef, goat or mutton boiled with salt until tender, then pounded or shredded. It’s also called tshotlho or leswao.
• Bogobe jwa lerotse: sorghum porridge cooked with lerotse, a wild melon.
• Dikgobe: samp cooked with beans, often flavored with tomato and onion.
• Morogo wa dinawa: wild greens cooked with beans.
• Serobe: the intestines and offal of goat, sheep or cow, cleaned and cooked until soft.
• Koko ya Setswana: Tswana chicken stew, traditionally made with free-range chicken.
• Phane: mopane worms, dried and then fried with tomato and onion.
• Tswii: water lily bulbs, a traditional food in the northwest.

Regional differences show up in the details. Tswii belongs mainly to the Okavango area in the northwest, phane is eaten across southern Africa, and seswaa goes by different names depending on where you are.

Street Food

Magwinya, also called fat cakes or vetkoek, are deep-fried dough balls and a common everyday snack. Diphaphatha are flat cakes, and matlebekwane are dumplings. All three are made from simple flour dough.

Drinks

Madila is soured milk, traditionally served with bogobe. Camps and lodges that cater to visitors usually offer international menus and drinks, so ask your camp if you’d like to try traditional dishes. Meals are normally part of a camp rate, and our where to stay in Botswana guide explains what camps usually include.

Desserts

Watermelons are believed to have originated in Botswana, and they’re plentiful in season, so fresh fruit is a simple way to end a meal. The wild melon lerotse is cooked into savory dishes, not served as a sweet.