What are some facts about the population of Botswana?
Botswana is sparsely populated country of 1.8 million. Because of the uninhabitable Kalahari Desert, the population is heavily concentrated along the eastern corridor, from the capital city of Gaborone to Francistown. Of the population, 39.5% are 0-14 years old; 56% are 15-64 years old; and only 4.5% of the population is older than 65 years old. Most people are Tswana (or Setswana), and the remaining 21% are Kalanga (11%), Basarwa (bushmen is considered a derogatory term) (3%), and other (7%) which includes Kgalagadi and white. At 17%, Botswana has one of the highest overall rates of HIV/AIDS infections is the world. Among pregnant women, the rates are 34%, and among citizens ages 15-49, 24%. The effects of excess mortality due to HIV/AIDS, has caused life expectancy to drop by 20 years in the past decade to ~ 45 years, infant mortality to increase to 67 deaths/1,000 live births, and to lower population and growth rates. In addition, the socioeconomic impact is considerable including l
