ECONDEX

Economic and development data for every country, explained with the numbers checked.

Botswana

Sub-Saharan Africa. Upper middle income. Capital: Gaborone. Population 2,562,122 (2025).

Key trends

GDP per person (PPP) (constant international $)
11,607 15,195 18,783 1995 2025 17,687
GDP growth (%)
−13.6 −1.1 11.4 1995 2025 −0.7
Inflation, consumer prices (% annual)
2.1 7.3 12.5 1995 2025 2.7
Life expectancy at birth (years)
52.6 60.8 69.0 1995 2024 69.3

Indicators

Each country reports for different years, so check the year beside every figure. Rank 1 is the highest value among countries with recent data.

Economy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
GDP per person (PPP)constant international $ 17,687 2025 +1,398 +1,692 103 of 199
GDP growth% −0.7% 2025 +8.0 pp +4.1 pp 197 of 209
GDP per person growth% −2.3% 2025 +7.7 pp +3.9 pp 199 of 209
GNI per person (Atlas method)current US$ 7,390 2025 +790 +1,250 108 of 201
Trade% of GDP 69.5% 2025 −10.8 pp −43.4 pp 113 of 183
Foreign direct investment, net inflows% of GDP −3.3% 2025 −3.5 pp −6.1 pp 191 of 195
Central government debt% of GDP 19.7% 2023 +4.5 pp +0.7 pp 45 of 48

Prices and jobs

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Inflation, consumer prices% annual 2.7% 2025 +0.8 pp −0.4 pp 99 of 180
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate)% of labour force 24.5% 2025 +3.5 pp +5.6 pp 4 of 186

People and health

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Populationpeople 2,562,122 2025 +196,228 +358,849 143 of 217
Population growth% annual 1.6% 2025 +0.2 pp +0.2 pp 66 of 217
Urban population% of total 68.0% 2025 +1.5 pp +2.5 pp 98 of 217
Life expectancy at birthyears 69.3 2024 +2.1 +7.1 158 of 217
Infant mortalityper 1,000 live births 32.1 2024 −5.3 −14.1 43 of 196
Health spending% of GDP 6.3% 2023 +0.2 pp −0.2 pp 99 of 193

Education

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Adult literacy rate% of people aged 15+ 81.2% 2003 * – – –
Government spending on education% of GDP 8.1% 2020 * −0.3 pp −2.8 pp –

Access and infrastructure

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Internet users% of population 57.5% 2024 +8.6 pp +20.7 pp 142 of 185
Access to electricity% of population 80.2% 2024 +10.1 pp +20.2 pp 171 of 215

Inequality and poverty

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Gini index (inequality)index, 0 to 100 54.9 2015 * −2.0 – –
Poverty headcount ratio% of population, at the World Bank international poverty line 21.4% 2015 * +0.3 pp – –

Environment and energy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Renewable energy% of final energy consumption 27.4% 2021 +0.7 pp −1.5 pp 88 of 212

* Latest figure is too old to be included in rankings or peer medians.

Advanced metrics

Indicator Own history Versus peers (latest) Growth and catch-up
10-yr meanZ-score Income group medianRegion medianVolatility (σ) 10-yr CAGR% of high-income median10 yrs earlier
GDP per person (PPP) 17,612 +0.1 17,730 3,781 966 +1.0% 36% 36%
GDP growth 2.3% −0.5 3.2% 4.6% 6.1 – – –
GDP per person growth 0.8% −0.5 3.2% 2.5% 6.0 – – –
GNI per person (Atlas method) 6,968 +0.6 7,775 1,355 736 +1.9% 21% 23%
Trade 86.3% −1.3 79.8% 59.9% 13.1 – – –
Foreign direct investment, net inflows 1.6% −2.9 2.4% 2.0% 1.7 – – –
Central government debt 17.6% +1.1 48.9% 58.1% 1.9 – – –
Inflation, consumer prices 4.4% −0.6 3.3% 3.5% 3.0 – – –
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate) 21.3% +1.6 5.5% 5.4% 2.0 – – –
Population 2,354,463 +2.0 6,549,143 14,957,094 106,289 +1.5% 87% 84%
Population growth 1.5% +1.3 0.5% 2.3% 0.1 – – –
Urban population 66.4% +2.6 65.4% 44.9% 0.6 – – –
Life expectancy at birth 65.8 +1.5 74.5 64.3 2.5 – – –
Infant mortality 38.9 −1.6 11.2 37.2 4.4 – – –
Health spending 6.1% +0.5 6.2% 4.4% 0.3 – – –
Government spending on education 8.5% −0.4 – – 0.9 – – –
Internet users 46.6% +1.5 82.0% 36.8% 7.2 – – –
Access to electricity 69.0% +2.0 100.0% 57.8% 5.6 – – –
Renewable energy 26.8% +0.6 13.8% 70.6% 1.0 – – –

Compare Botswana with other countries