Kaie Tours
About Botswana

Geography

• Location: Southern Africa, north of South Africa
• Area-comparative: slightly smaller than Texas
• Border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km
• Climate: semiarid; warm winters and hot summers Winter/autumn (April - August) days are hot and dry with freezing temperatures at night. Spring (Sept - Nov) Very hot dry days and cool nights. Summer (Nov - Mar) Frequent rains and thunderstorms cooling the hot days and nights.
• Natural resources: diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver

Annual Temperatures for Botswana

	JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUNE	JULY	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC
Max (°C)	30	30	28	26	23	20	20	24	27	28	30	30
Min (°C)	22	21	19	16	11	7	7	10	15	18	20	21

People

• Population: 1,464,167 (July 1999 est.)
• Nationality
  • Noun: Motswana (singular)
  • Noun: Batswana (plural)
  • Adjective: Motswana (singular)
  • Adjective: Batswana (plural)
• Ethnic groups: Batswana 95%, Kalanga, Basarwa, and Kgalagadi 4%, white 1%
• Religions: indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 50%
• Languages: English (official), Setswana

Government

• Government type: Multi party democracy
• Festus Mogae is the president of the Republic
• Capital: Gaborone
• Independence: 30 September 1966 (from UK)

Health

• Malaria: The north of Botswana is malarial. Gaborone and the south of the country is non-malarial
• Tick-bite fever and Venoms: As a precaution against ticks and snakebite we recommend when bush-walking to wear long trousers tucked into socks

Economy

Based on diamond-mining, tourism, financial services industries, cattle-ranching and manufacturing

Currency

Pula and Thebe (one Pula = 100 Thebe)

Banks

Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, Gaborone
Barclays Bank hours: Mon-Sat, 06h00-20h00; Sun, 07h00-20h00
Regular banking hours: Mon-Fri, 09h00-15h30; Sat:08h30-11h00

Currency Control

Import: There are no restrictions on foreign currency notes brought into the country as long as they are declared.

Visas and Passports

All visitors must have a passport valid for at least six months and the means to leave the country, i.e., an outgoing ticket and sufficient funds. Nationals of some commonwealth countries require visas to enter Botswana. Citizens of European Community countries, Scandinavia, USA and South Africa do not require visas.