Festus Mogae
President

(pronounced "FES-tus Mo-HIGH")

"The killer disease [AIDS] has raised the national human toll to nightmarish proportions."

The Republic of Botswana is a landlocked country in southern Africa, bordered by Namibia to the west and north, Zimbabwe to the northeast, and South Africa to the south and southeast. The national territory encompasses 600,370 sq km (231,804 sq mi) and the southern and western regions are geographically defined by the Kalahari Desert. The capital is Gaborone, which is located in the southeast near the border with South Africa. Approximately 80% of the 1.5 million inhabitants live in the eastern strip, which is the most developed region of Botswana.

The Tswana ethnic group makes up 55–60% of the population; Kalanga account for 25–30%; Kgalagadi, Herero, Basarwa ("Bushmen"), Khoi ("Hottentots"), and whites make up the remaining 5–10%. The official language is English, with Setswana and Ikalanga also widely spoken. Christianity...