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Economy Botswana

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 $8,800 in 2003. Two major investment services rank Botswana
as the best credit risk in Africa. Diamond mining has fueled much of
the expansion and currently accounts for more than one-third of GDP
and for nine-tenths of export earnings. Tourism, subsistence
farming, and cattle raising are other key sectors. On the downside,
the government must deal with high rates of unemployment and
poverty. Unemployment officially is 21%, 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.
Long-term prospects are overshadowed by the expected leveling off in
diamond mining production.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $14.2 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
7.2% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4%
industry: 48.7% (including 36% mining)
services: 52% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
23.9% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
47% (2002 est.)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
9.2% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
264,000 formal sector employees (2000)

Labor force - by occupation:
NA

Unemployment rate:
40% (official rate is 21%) (2001 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $3.263 billion
expenditures: $3.283 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2003)

Public debt:
7% of GDP (2003)

Agriculture - products:
livestock, sorghum, maize, millet, beans, sunflowers, groundnuts

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

Industrial production growth rate:
7.3% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
409.8 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
1.564 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
1.183 billion kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumptio