Total area:
600,370 sq km; Land area: 585,730 sq km; Coastline: Landlocked
Climate:
Semi-arid; warm winters and hot summers
Physical description:
Predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland. Climate in the eastern parts, where most people live, has a milder climate and more fertile soils. Much of the country is covered with the thick sand layers of the Kalahari Desert.
Physical Infrastructure:
Communication: per 1,000 inhabitants (1997)
- Main telephone lines - 56
- Radio receivers - 154
- Television receivers - 20
- Daily newspapers - 27
- Internet hosts - 36
Transportation
- Railways - 971 km
- The main railway line which runs from Zimbabwe to South Africa, is an important transit route between Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
- Highways - 18,482, of which 4,343 paved
- Botswana's road network is well developed, with tarred roads of a good standard linking all major population centres. The Trans-Kalahari highway links Botswana wit all four of its neighbours.
- Airports with paved runways - 12 ; unpaved - 80
Energy provision:
Production - 610 kWh (1999); by source - fossil fuel 100%; Consumption - 1.517bn kWh
