Botswana

American  

[bot-swah-nuh] / bɒtˈswɑ nə /

noun

1. a republic in southern Africa: formerly a British protectorate; gained independence 1966; member of the Commonwealth of Nations. 275,000 sq. mi. (712,250 sq. km). Gaborone.

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Botswana British  

/ bɒt-, bʊtˈswɑːnə, bʊˈtʃwɑːnə /

noun

1. a republic in southern Africa: established as the British protectorate of Bechuanaland in 1885 as a defence against the Boers; became an independent state within the Commonwealth in 1966; consists mostly of a plateau averaging 1000 m (3300 ft), with the extensive Okavango swamps in the northwest and the Kalahari Desert in the southwest. Languages: English and Tswana. Religion: animist majority. Currency: pula. Capital: Gaborone. Pop: 2 127 825 (2013 est). Area: about 570 000 sq km (220 000 sq miles)

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Botswana Cultural  

1. Republic in south-central Africa, bordered on the south by South Africa, the west by Namibia, the north by Angola and Zambia, and the northeast by Zimbabwe; formerly called Bechuanaland. The capital and largest city is Gaborone.

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Discover More

Botswana became independent from British control in the 1960s.

Example Sentences

De Beers is majority-owned by British mining giant Anglo American, with a 15 percent stake held by Botswana.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

Botswana relies on diamonds for about a third of its gross domestic product, but revenues have fallen sharply due to weak prices and rising competition from lab-grown stones, which has curbed demand.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

Botswana has signed energy and mining exploration agreements with Oman as it seeks to deepen economic ties with the sultanate, the presidency said.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

However, in 2014 he abdicated, two years after it had emerged he had been elephant hunting in Botswana with Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, who had been his mistress, during an economic crisis in Spain.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

Two women spoke about their donations to a wonderful charity in Malawi that built wells, a wonderful orphanage in Botswana, a wonderful microfinance cooperative in Kenya.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie