Botswana
Everything Palanor holds about Botswana, in one place: 44 public signals, what its economy runs on, how often America’s largest companies name it, the news that names it, and Country Posture. Every figure is computed from stored readings and carries its source and date.
AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaMiddle East & Africa
The latest read
- GDP in current U.S. dollars: $19.9 billion (2025); 96th percentile since 1990; highest since 2022; 1y +3.3%.
- Household consumption, share of GDP: 45.8% of GDP (2025); 88th percentile since 1990; highest since 2020; 1y +0.51 pts.
- Net exports, share of GDP: -5.48% of GDP (2025); 26th percentile since 1990; 1y +9.81 pts.
Country Posture
What Botswana’s economy is doing
Momentum
2025Inputs only. Did not pass the pre-registered back-test: 1996–2009: AUC 0.590 below 0.60; AUC 0.590 below the single-input baseline (0.624); 2010–2022: AUC 0.595 below 0.60; AUC 0.595 below the single-input baseline (0.641).
Inputs
| Real GDP growth | -0.7 |
| Growth against its three-year average | -2.7 |
| Change in unemployment | 0.7 |
| Change in the employment rate | -0.3 |
| Export volume growth | — |
| OECD leading indicator | — |
Resilience
202437Moderate buffers
0 = thin buffers · 100 = deep buffers
Moved most by current account (down) and reserves, months of imports (down) since the year before.
Inputs
| Interest as a share of revenue (2023) | 3.4 | 38 |
| Budget balance (2023) | -4.2 | 28 |
| Reserves, months of imports | 4.7 | 30 |
| Current account | -4.5 | 24 |
| Governance (WGI mean) | 0.55 | 39 |
| External debt | 11.9 | 65 |
Pressure
2025Inputs only. Did not pass the pre-registered back-test: 1996–2009: AUC 0.657 below the single-input baseline (0.672).
Inputs
| Inflation | 2.7 |
| Change in inflation | -0.2 |
| Currency move against the dollar | -0.4% |
| Conflict deaths per million | 0.0 |
| Political stability | 1.08 |
| Private credit, three-year change | 3.3 |
| Bond spread over U.S. Treasuries | — |
Posture describes what an economy is doing; it is not a rating and never ranks countries. Each input is read against the country’s own history and against every other economy that year. An axis shows a score only after passing a back-test fixed before any result was computed. Method and back-test.
Passport reach
Where a Botswana passport opens doors
The share of world GDP, outside Botswana itself, in the economies whose published rules let a holder of this passport in, as of October 2026. Palanor records the rules of destinations holding 88% of world GDP, from each government’s own list, and weights them by World Bank GDP for 2025. Rank is among 199 passports.
Visit
6.2%rank 124 of 199 · -3.4 pts in a year
short stays without a visa arranged in advance; 4 destinations in full.
Work
0.0%rank 114 of 199
the right to work (free movement in full; treaty and working-holiday routes at half); 0 destinations in full.
Recorded changes
Reach is shown here and not weighted into Country Strength: it rewards membership of a free-movement area or a treaty more than the strength of an economy. Entry is always at the border officer’s discretion, and conditions (length of stay, fees, age limits) vary. Method, sources and the full ranking: Passports and citizenship.
Palanor calculation from each destination government's published rules; GDP weights from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0), one year for the whole line, so it moves only when a list changes.
GDP by expenditure
What Botswana’s economy runs on
In 2025, household spending was 45.8% of GDP, government consumption 31.5%, investment 29.2% and net exports -5.5% (exports 32.0%, imports 37.5%). In 2021, 2022 the parts miss 100 by more than three points (the statistical discrepancy in Botswana’s national accounts).
World Bank national accounts. The parts can miss 100 by a few points (the statistical discrepancy).
Same World Bank definition for every country, so the shares compare directly: What each economy runs on.
IMF World Economic Outlook
The IMF’s outlook for Botswana
The latest year before the October 2026 edition (often still an IMF estimate) and the IMF’s own projections. These are the IMF’s published forecasts, shown as published; Palanor does not project them further. Since the previous edition the IMF cut its growth forecast for this year by 0.4 percentage points (Palanor calculation).
| Measure | 2025 | 2026 IMF f’cast | 2027 IMF f’cast | 2031 IMF f’cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real GDP growth% | -0.7 | 4.4 | 2.2 | 4.0 |
| Inflation, average consumer prices% | 2.8 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 4.5 |
| GDP, current US dollarsUS$ bn | 19.9 | 22.1 | 23.7 | 33.0 |
| GDP at purchasing-power parityintl $ bn | 53.0 | 57.2 | 60.3 | 75.2 |
| GDP per person, US dollarsUS$ | 7,802 | 8,563 | 9,050 | 11,971 |
| Current account balance% of GDP | 3.1 | -1.0 | -1.0 | -1.5 |
| Government gross debt% of GDP | 34.0 | 40.3 | 45.5 | 64.4 |
| Government net debt% of GDP | 33.2 | 38.5 | 43.3 | 62.0 |
| Government overall balance% of GDP | -6.1 | -6.9 | -7.3 | -9.4 |
| Government primary balance% of GDP | -4.9 | -4.8 | -4.7 | -4.8 |
| Government net interest paid% of GDP · Palanor calc. | 1.3 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 4.6 |
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Database (edition on the projection). Dashed: the IMF's published projection.
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Database (edition on the projection). Dashed: the IMF's published projection.
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Database, October 2026. Provided by the IMF “as is” and free of charge from the IMF; the IMF does not endorse Palanor. Net interest paid is a Palanor calculation: the IMF's primary balance minus its overall balance.
Company graph
Companies headquartered in Botswana
Palanor’s company graph holds 9 entities headquartered here (GLEIF headquarters address, else legal address).
Signals
Every series about Botswana
Grouped by theme, the most-read first. All 44 in the Library.
Growth and output1
- Botswana · GDP · USD bn (current)96th percentile since 1990; highest since 2022; 1y +3.3%$19.9bn2025
Trade and capital flows1
- Botswana · Net International Investment Position, % of GDP (IMF)5th percentile since 1994; 1y +4.36 pts20.3% of GDP2025
Migration1 of 3
- U.S.-Born People Living in Botswana (UN)record high since 1990971 people2024
AI stance and technology1
- AI User Share: Botswana (Microsoft AI Diffusion)1y +2.20 pts15% of people aged 15-642026-06-30
Climate and the physical world1 of 3
- Botswana Burned Area (GWIS)31st percentile since 2002; 1y +18.2%2.592025
Peers
Elsewhere in Africa
Alphabetical. Palanor does not rank countries.
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