Botswana Economy 2001

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 $6,600 in 2000. Diamond mining has fueled much of Botswana's economic expansion and currently accounts for more than one-third of GDP and for three-fourths of export earnings. Tourism, subsistence farming, and cattle raising are other key sectors. The government must deal with high rates of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment officially is 19%, 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.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $10.4 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 6% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4%
industry: 46% (including 36% mining)
services: 50% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line: 47% (2000 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.6% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 235,000 formal sector employees (1995)

Labor force - by occupation: 100,000 public sector; 135,000 private sector, including 14,300 who are employed in various mines in South Africa; most others engaged in cattle raising and subsistence agriculture (1995 est.)

Unemployment rate: 40% (2000 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.6 billion
expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $560 million (FY96)

Industries: diamonds, copper, nickel, coal, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing

Industrial production growth rate: 6.2% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production: 610 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 1.517 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 950 million kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: sorghum, corn, millet, pulses, groundnuts (peanuts), beans, cowpeas, sunflower seed; livestock

Exports: $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: diamonds 72%, vehicles, copper, nickel, meat (1998)

Exports - partners: EU 77%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 18%, Zimbabwe 3% (1998)

Imports: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, textiles, petroleum products

Imports - partners: Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 76%, Europe 10%, South Korea 5% (1998)

Debt - external: $455 million (2000)

Economic aid - recipient: $73 million (1995)

Currency: pula (BWP)

Currency code: BWP

Exchange rates: pulas per US dollar - 5.4585 (January 2001), 5.1018 (2000), 4.6244 (1999), 4.2259 (1998), 3.6508 (1997), 3.3242 (1996)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

NOTE: The information regarding Botswana on this page is re-published from the 2001 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Botswana Economy 2001 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Botswana Economy 2001 should be addressed to the CIA.