Botswana
Botswana has an excellent track record of political and macroeconomic stability. The economy relies heavily on the diamond mining, public services, and retail industries. The expansion of existing diamond mines, new copper production coming online, and the Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan will drive growth over the medium term.
We forecast that growth will slow to 2.6% in 2022 as most of last year’s growth was driven by base effects, in particular the strong recovery in diamond production, which we expect will not be sustained. After navigating the worst of the pandemic without racking up lots of debt, the government’s focus will now shift to curbing excessive public expenditure and transfers to state-owned enterprises, while increasing growth-enhancing development expenditure and rebuilding government savings. (Source: Botswana Quarterly Update, published March 2022.)
Macroeconomic Data
(2021)
Fiscal Balance (as a % of GDP) |
-1.9 |
Consumer Price Index (% change y-o-y, avg) |
6.7 |
Current Account Balance (as a % of GDP) |
-0.7 |
Real GDP (annual % change) |
11.4 |
GDP per Capita, US$ |
7,206.8 |
Import Cover (months) |
6.06 |
Population, million |
2.4 |
Total External Debt (as a % of GDP) |
9.1 |