From Rags to Riches: Unveiling Botswana's Economic Triumph | Botswana Economy | Econ
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
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At independence in 1966, #Botswana was one of the poorest countries in the world, with only 12 kilometers of paved roads throughout the entire country. There were no hospitals or universities, and the majority of its population was illiterate, with only 22 people having attended university. However, today it has the world's fastest-growing #economy, with an average annual growth rate of about 5% over the past decade. It is one of the few upper-middle-income countries in sub-Saharan #Africa, with a recently estimated #GDP per capita of over $19,300. This places it ahead of the fastest emerging #economies such as Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, and India. So, how did this even happen? How is the Botswana economy drastically better than its neighbors? And, most importantly, is this miraculous growth sustainable in the long run?
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The key to the success of Botswana's economy lies in its good governance. The future of Botswana will depend on this factor rather than on diamonds.
True
Very true.
yes
This is true for most every country. Look at Singapore, it's governance of a benevolent "dictator" model made the country prosper since it's leadership genuinely wanted their country to thrive and not just take what they could for themselves
Well done France.
Botswana GDP 1961: $300 million
Botswana GDP 2022: $20 billion
GDP growth in 61 years: 66,667% or 7.1% compound growth on average
Impressive
But it has been stagnating since 2010
It was 6566.67 % not 66,667 % in 60 years from 1961 to 2021 please get your maths correct
These are South-East Asia type figures. Stunningly impressive.
Botswana is landlocked, imagine if it had access to the sea, it would be way richer than it actually is now.
A lot of countries can something similar. Its just good governance full stop
Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are among the top 5 countries regarding GDP per capita...and they don't have access to the sea. It is not a pre requisite at all.
@@AK-gu4jq There can only be a limited number of Tax Havens, we're taking about real economic value being produced. Plus, Singapore should be a better example here.
A country can have all the sea,land filled with richers my friend but without good governance, sorry no benifit for the masses and that country as a whole.
@@colinvanderross5825 yeah, but for here I made the statement with all factors contributing to current Botswana economic success being constant, which includes good management. Botswana is landlocked, all powers and prosperous nations in history had and still have access to the sea.
Great video, friend. Botswana is a oerfect example of what hreat leadership (Seretse Khama) and socioeconomic systems (democracy and capitalism) can do for a country. As a African myself (Nigerian) it annoys me when most people only attribute Africa's current problems to "colonialism or racism", effectively removing personal responsibility of us Africans, and ignore more important factors like geography, climate, socioeconomic systems, political unity and leadership. Thanks for focusing on those areas in this video.
I doubt Africans will ever realize this. Most of Africa's political leadership is Marxist in thinking, so blaming racism and colonialism is going to continue, it's a good excuse for them, and it helps blind the populace.
Add "culture" to your list as well but that also is determined by geography, climate, history, etc and people should be actively cognizant about that to work and it is true for the region (India) I am originally from as well and in fact every region and society since none is perfect.
And this list should be instilled in society in everyone's mind so that it can help remove victimhood of people who will try to understand their situation and work towards themselves without inferiority complex of any genetics (even if some genetic differences are a factor but I don't think they are that big of a factor and of course there are aspects where one's genetics can prove to be beneficial maybe but again not by a big margin or that relevance). And similarly, it can help to remove the superiority of genetics of the other group/race/nationality/culture/tribe and they would be more empathetic of the other group's situation and the reasoning of it.
But yes, only the above instillation is not enough. The world and society also probably needs rule of good law so that "might is right" is not executed towards the less mighty group in any transaction otherwise even if the less mighty group is working towards themselves, they might not get mighty enough soon and the reset button would be hit, let's say again through colonisation or some subtle neocolonialism or some forcible unfair trade and resource capture. And this rule of law would be rational for the mightier group as well (in case they aren't empathetic enough in the first place), because someday they might themselves need this rule of law to protect themselves to some degree against a mightier group than themselves in some other aspect. We probably can't apply such empathetic and rational rule of law in the universe with pacts of aliens (real or not) but we can try for applying this in the known world and society of ours. UN is for that purpose to some degree but many of us know how that functions to a large extent.
Do you know that Botswana was never really colonised. It never faced the same colonial hurdles as some of its neighbors. It was a British protectorate meaning the Botswana chiefs asked for protection from the Dutch (who's descendents colonised South Africa and now own about 70% of the land). The British never saw any economic prospects in the country so they never really took over anything. It was only a year after Botswana had gained independence that diamonds were found so that meant they had full control over how mining would be done in the country. Botswana is a symbol of how prosperous African countries can be when they don't have too much western influence over its economy and its people.
@@focus45554 Actually, they were colonized. They actually asked teh British to make them a protectorate in order to keep Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa from subsuming them. They already had pre-existing ties to the British and also went with them because their cultural and traditional leadership styles and frameworks were very similar to stuff like democracy and consensus rule which the British had.
You are right, Botswana has never really been enslaved or colonized, I would say that their chiefs were definitely really smart as they were able to convince the British to be on their side. Even in East Africa, the Maasai had the Brits on their side, however for them they never really were able to build up a nation like the Motswana people@@focus45554
Sir Khama was one of the very few african leaders who didn't fill his own pockets but rather worked towards the betterment of his country and the result today shows.
you know nothing
@@thabotymon6643because you are ignorant and JALEOUUUUUUUS !
@@thabotymon6643well considering most african countries kick out all of the competent leaders and bureaucrats. sir khama was one of the few who didnt, it paid a thousand times over
@@alberthoffman5297Yeah he was one of the few african leaders to make use of the existing colonial system, by using european doctors, teachers, bureaucrats etc, like India or Singapore
The important thing to bare in mind is that Botswana has gone forward since independence. Now when you compare South Africa to Botswana, South Africa has gone backward. OK there are some good points like more people have houses, electricity and water. Generally everywhere else South Africa has gone bacward. In my opinion I can put it down to one major difference. Botswana has law and order which South Africa doesn't. In South Africa criminality starts right at the top and then filters all the way down.
South Africa's downward spiral is inevitable unless its institutions fundamentally changed. The book/papers by economist Acemoglu on Why Nations Fail gives clear analyses for the two countries. The extremely extractive nature of South Africa's institutions means that the economy can grow extremely fast to a certain point, but then will inevitably collapse because there will be many vying for the control of such extractive institutions, leading to corruption and state collapse. For Botswana, it benefitted from both having foresighted leaders, as well as the fortunate position of not being subjected to the slave trades. There are so many videos on Botswana, but the critical fact that it never got deeply involved in the slave trade is never mentioned.
@@tonysoviet3692South Africa can succeed in one case, which is to give every Bantu nationality a state and to give the Western Cape, the Northern Cape, part of the Eastern Cape, and part of the Free State to colored people, whites, and the rest of the population. Harmony is what made Botswana succeed while Ethiopia fails.
Let not forget that 80% of the land and wealth is still in the hands of European settlers which fuels corruption in itself?
@@tonysoviet3692i just read that book not too long ago. Offers salient points on the destruction of African nations post independence
From Botswana. Well researched, can't say I picked anything not true. However, I must say on the last issue regarding the direction the country has taken under Khama & Masisi is somewhat tricky because locally its seen as a power play between the two. On Economic Populism & Protectionism however I must say its something we have seen under Masisi and he has a huge support on that, mainly because Batswana felt we have been under South African Economic Influence for so long that we have become too dependent even for the simplest of goods. Every president has talked about it but Masisi finally did something about it for example under previous administrations they would impose and import restriction on certain goods especially vegetables when there was a local surplus, Masisi on the other hand went a step further by banning the importation of vegetables for good and made a list of all goods they felt could be produced locally because its one of things local farmers and producers had for the longest time cried about especially that South African supermarkets preferred their goods over our own. The local supermakets Choppies & Sefalana slowly took over the market and prioritised Botswana goods, now with this import restriction even south African ones are forced to comply. The other issue of concern was the Debeers Deal that previous governments argued was a state secret, Masisi argued against that and pointed issues that he felt was unfair, arm twisted them to make few concessions and that the deal should be made aware to the public something which even the opposition argued so its seen as a big win for him because he's more concerned with one issue you raised of mineral beneficiation, to cut polish locally and marketing and selling of rough diamonds something which the previous deal said only Debeers can do, now Botswana has brought started its own Diamond company to sell rough diamonds (Okavango Diamond Company) and brought in some companies like HB Antwerp which will but from government company directly. He even speaks about beneficiation in jewellery etc. These are some of the issues that have been a hot issue especially that some experts saw government as having given concessions to Debeers or arguing that at independence it was a better deal but it had to evolve over time especially looking at post-diamond era so that Botswana can continue playing in that space, with some arguing that government should invest in synthetic diamonds as well. Abuse of power, I believe all presidents have in one way or another has done it even pre Khama-Masisi era, however to me what's more encouraging has been the ability of our Institutions like Judiciary, Ombudsman or parliament to call president/government to order or make rulings against them. In Botswana government still lose alot of cases against ordinary citizens which is good
O a buile otlhe. 🙏🏾. Modimo ke yoo. 🇧🇼
If this is the case, then Kenya's new constitution, which puts people's power over the presidency and government, should help Kenya as well be stabler. Botswana should be recognised as a good example for other African countries. Though Kenya doesn't have significant resources like Botswana, we mostly rely on human capital development.
Well you're doing better than us here in The South. Maybe one day we could bounce back.
I recently learned,
Botswana was only keeping 25% of their Diamond PROFITS.
Very disappointing.
The current president unfortunately agreed to give debeers another 10 year contract;
But the Profit was raised to 30%.
Better than nothing, I suppose.
Anyway,
I would love to hear more about your country!
Do you ever make videos on this tipoc?
@@HughJass-jv2lt the lower is better. Why would the Diamond Business open if they are profit-sharing above 30%, don't you understand the Laffer Curve economics concept on taxation? Beyond 30% tax, workers or businesses in an economy reduce their productivity. Actually it should go back to 25% if they want to increase business productivity and competitiveness
The thing that kills most African countries including mine🇸🇴 and draws them to chaos is not tribalism, extremist or illiteracy. It's corruption. Corruption breeds greed then division ,bad governing and finally ends with chaos and violence . Botswana root for success is honesty governing almost zero corruption and open and free market. That is a lesson for other African countries to learn.
Correction!! Tribalism/Illiteracy and Ignorance breeds Corruption. Zimbabwe's Tribalism ,Ignorance and extremism destroyed their Economy .and is Still a big Problem.in Africa.
You correct, tribalism is the escape goat. Corruption, greed are the real issues.
Botswana is diversifying its economic portfolio. It has opened up significant trade routes connecting Durban to the northern markets of DRC, Tanzania, and Uganda through a partnership with its neighbour Zambia which as an equally stable political environment.
The key to a diverse economy is personal liberty and free markets- if people are free to pursue what is best for them personally capital will move where the opportunity for success can be found - it may well be in areas that you would never plan for - an example of this is New Zealand- when in the 90s they end sheep farming subsidies the amount of sheep fell but production of lamb and other products went up - also the spare land was found to be good for wine growing so there was a massive boom in the privation and export of wine around the world - the moral of the story is to allow people/ families/ communities and businesses to direct their path to prosperity- if it’s built from the ground up its more sustainable
Many other African countries were not involved in the slave trade. The more likely reason for Botswana's success is that 1) it did not have a substantial settler population with European and western vested interests to sabotage its development
2) it is essentially monoethnic- like most European nations-who like pontificating about democracy -so ethnic competition is not present unlike most multiethnic African states ( and I dare say even the USA as shown by recent events)
3) It has a tiny population~2.7 million - so competition for resources amongst the population is basically nil
4) with this tiny population, the West does not consider it a threat- therefore they can hold it up as an example to other African countries
The West had little role in africa économics backwardness, on the contrary it gave réforms and institution that let the continent better off. You are talking about ethnic divisions, but sorry to remember you that those ethnic problems were far worse before and subsharan were brutally tribalistic and even canibalisitic to other tribes. What made bostwana wealthy is very simple, it doesnt dépend on the demographics like you said, it is because of pro market and libertarian reforms. Unlike most african countries who fell stupidly for the trap of the socialist military "guru"(Thomas Sankara,Kadhafi,Boumediane ect...), they understood like asian countries the power of free markets. Asia did not complain of colonization, they incentivise instead entrepreuneurship, mondialization, free competiton and productivity. This how they catched up the west living standards. When africa use to be composed of big empires and states, it was more problematic than now because a small minority of people were exploitating HUGE amount of land and they contributed to the slave market even MORE than europeans. As you notice today is not perfect, but it better To have lots of states because there is more competiton and less protectionist policies
@@naimatazi9108 You may want to tell that to the birds.
I read somewhere the Botswana traditional leadership made truces with the British, instead of confrontation. Peace and diplomacy is always the answer I guess.
@@mimi21746True. However, many people had truces with the British e.g., The Chinese, Indians,Arabs and closer home, Maasai, Kalenjin etc. This did not prevent the British from waging war on them( the opium wars, "pacifications"). Peace is only possible amongst equals or when one's strength is overwhelming. Then, there is no challenge and "peace" prevails. The exact scenario I have described above.
@@naimatazi9108 I disagree on this, ethnic divisions were worsened after British Colonisation. The British always perceived big unions or nations as threats. They even supported US confederates, broke apart the Ottoman Empire, prevented East Africa Federation and always have tried to split Kenya, South Africa in the past. They even tried splitting China unsuccessfully. I am not disagreeing with you on the innovation part, but rather on the somehow "generosity" of the British.
South Africa's downward spiral is inevitable unless its institutions fundamentally changed. The book/papers by economist Acemoglu on Why Nations Fail gives clear analyses for the two countries. The extremely extractive nature of South Africa's institutions means that the economy can grow extremely fast to a certain point, but then will inevitably collapse because there will be many vying for the control of such extractive institutions, leading to corruption and state collapse. For Botswana, it benefitted from both having foresighted leaders, as well as the fortunate position of not being subjected to the slave trades. There are so many videos on Botswana, but the critical fact that it never got deeply involved in the slave trade is never mentioned.
What of slave trade? Most countries who had slaves got rich. Botswana started from zero and made everything on its own, had only 12 km of tarred road at independence 1966 just yesterday
One factor is also that Botswana was never colonized. Ist I'm hearing about the non involvement in slavery as a factor but it may have some merit also.
@@desalines I would say being non-involved in slavery helped Botswana to avoid being colonized. European powers saw that Botswana was too in-land and remote, so slavery was not as lucrative since there was no port infrastructure or connected roads. Leaders in Botswana in the 19th century actually came to the British to ask to be a dominion, because they feared the Boers would decimate its people. I think it was called the Bechuanaland Protectorate.
I live in Botswana
Is really secure country??
After china i think Botswana has the most impressive growth
contrary to the popular views here that small population is an advantage for Botswana, I honestly think it is a rather a disadvantage for a vast country with scattered population like Botswana. Imagine billions buildings, roads, bridges and taking amenities like Water and electricity to every corner of the country service a population of less than 100 000 thousands? Despite its stability, Peace and stable economy, Botswana is unable to attract big manufacture firms because its small population. Over years, firms like Hyudai assembly plant relocated to South Africa because of Botswana small market.
It moved there cos of South Africa
Hyundai moved to south Africa because anc government sabotaged us by delaying our exports at their ports which led Hyundai and Volvo leaving.
Like Vegeta said; "the great ones practice the basics."
You have to mention that Botswana's gdp per capita is only 6800 nominal, the 19k figure is PPP. If it would be 19k nominal that would make Botswana as rich as Czech Republic and slightly under Portugal or even Spain. No way
0:00: Sub-Saharan Africa has 30% of the Earth's mineral resource reserves, including oil, uranium ore, gold, and diamonds.
0:16: The region has a history of conflicts, from slavery to dictators and civil wars.
1:36: Botswana is an exceptional case in sub-Saharan Africa, being the second largest producer of gem diamonds and having a high level of economic freedom.
6:04: Botswana's economic growth between 1960 and 1990 was the fastest in the world, driven by the diamond industry.
7:06: Diamonds account for a third of Botswana's GDP, half of its public spending, and three-quarters of its foreign earnings.
7:19: The government's wise utilization of diamond revenues led to heavy investments in infrastructure, healthcare, and education, contributing to further economic growth.
Recap by Tammy AI
My pride
My Botsa
Besides the confluence of diamond resources and the tradition of wise management that Seretse Khama pioneered, it's the homogeneity of the Botswanan population (who are mainly Tswana) as well as the democratic and egalitarian traditions of the Tswana people that have led Botswana to its current run of stability. I hope that stability keeps up!
Fun fact: the Mexican state of Chihuahua and Botswana have almost the exact same shape on a map
As a motswana i can comfirm we keep of growing
As a Dane I love to see other democratic countries fight/properly manage corruption and reap the rewards. Good country, good democracy.
Another little correction request 👉👈the maps are inaccurate, the territory of modern day Mozambique has never been dutch, but Portuguese back then
What Africans can do when there isn’t to much corruption
This is a fantastic video. I want to visit!
Some footages they dont reflect our Country eg 10:20 thats not Botswana, we are not crowded like that, nor we use scooters like that. 😅. But otherwise Job well done. I appreciate your efforts for such a presentation on our Country.
Can the next video be about Rwanda?
Great video
Very intersting
I need to shift from Rwanda to botswana. Any one who can help me with orientation please?
Make Brazil
Correction world number 1 producer of gem diamonds but second to russia in industrial diamonds
Good Job Botswana
Diamonds are forever!!
If any country in africa has politices stability it will success without doubt
Leaders of Zimbabwe and South Africa will have to answer for how they turned progressive nations to what they are currently
Diamonds and stability. 😏
Botswana also shares a border with Zambia 🇿🇲 (see Kazungula Bridge)
de beerskept 90% of the raw diamonds, exploitation at the highest form
Unemployment 19% and one of the most unequal societies in the world. Doesnt even sound like the most prosperous country in Africa to me
The history of the country right from how it was formed matters a lot, don’t as me about Ethiopia….that’s huge population with different huge communities. Very different and difficult to manage
Botswana was a product of proper economic policy, stable political enviroment and good governence. Not a product of sitting on a diamond mine, as this is the case for many major dirt poor nations africa.
Great
Lore of From Rags to Riches: Unveiling Botswana's Economic Triumph | Botswana Economy | Econ momentum 100
Maybe I missed it, but there's no mention of all the debts that these colonised nations were burdened with as the price of their "independence"?! They are still paying those debts, plus interest, to all the colonisers!
Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique are Southern Africano Countries.
How can they implement the policies if they risk facing sanctions.
You focus on the poverty and forget it has over 6 fastest growing economies
Great video. As somebody from Botswana, I kindly ask you to not use random “African” stock images when talking about Botswana. Its not the right approach. At least mention that you are showing images from other countries. Thank you
this video has exaggerated some facts, or misrepresented some. A quick google search reveals the GDP per Capita is about USD 6,700 in 2021.
Small population means that there's a lot more to go around, if they had the Population of Nigeria they would be in a terrible state, this is why population control is necesary.
Very delusional. Manufacturing and all that economic growth comes because of "people" doing things. People are important, the more the higher the amount of labour, ideas, and markets. Only good governance is needed to bring the best out of people.
There is nothing good when it comes to the "people" of Africa, they are meant to be slaves and that's it, now we have tractors, so the Africos are expired farm equipment, thank you for your time, delusional Mimi.
@@mimi21746Not true
@@mimi21746your reasoning is not correct. Population has nothing to do with governance.
We have so many countries with small population but their governance is terrible.
No it is a mix population growth and economic growth. Even if you have a good growing economy but you population grows faster then the economy you will end up with less wealth per person, in short to much population growth can increase poverty.
@econYT the music you used in this above botswana video is too irritatin, please use good bgms from the next time! its giving me a headache
19k dollar 😳🤯😳🤯
growth can only be measured when there is equitable growth, Botswana is not developed for Africans, GINI coefficient office of this country is very indicating money is in the hands of the few, the foreigners not the Africans or natives....
0:02 is Djibouti not included? 💀
Slavery is probably the least significant thing for sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria killed about 50-100 times more people each year.
what about the 10 million people in Congo that died by the Belgian leader? it’s funny how y’all try to downplay stuff so y’all don’t feel guilty. so predictable
Afrikaners in Mozambique? Since when?
When I was a 12 year old kid. I used to get punched by my brother for saying the word Botswana. What is wrong with saying the word Botswana?
talk about algeria economy
This shows you that you don't have to be a racist, suppressive, White Republic to be successful is economics.
Ask the Western countries, particularly US why wars have ensued in Africa for the past 50 years.
I thought it was better as Rhodesia.
First comment
Botswana was never colonised
Ethiopia and Liberia were never colonised also.
Botswana GDP is only around $7,000. Not $19,000. Plus a lot of your information is outdated. Stop getting information from google. Botswana is no longer one of the richest countries in Africa. Among so many other things in this video are wrong
Is benefits African
Amazing what happens when you are smart enough to let Anglo American run your economy!
But doesn't Rwanda have a better growth rate and more developed?
No? Currently Rwanda is doing good but don't forget that they faced one of worst genocide ever recorded in human history and also Rwanda is not democratic like Botswana nor as rich as Botswana
Nope
Have a high growth rate but still has a long way in terms of development, like HDI for example. Rwanda has a population 0f 12 million but ist GDP is still lower than that of 2 million Botswana
No it’s not: not by a long shot. The Rwanda story is mostly PR. Rwanda has 18’m people, Botswana has 2.5’m. Rwanda GDP is 10b usd compared to botswana at 18b usd. Botswana is about 8 times richer than Rwanda. Rwanda gdp per capita is around 900usd compared to botswana at 8000 usd. 85% of household in botswana have electricity, in Rwanda it’s about 50%. I hope that gives you a picture
Rwanda is failing, it ranks so low on economic freedom, even Socialist Tanzania is way better on economic freedom, lol.
U left out north Africa and northeast Africa and he lying
This video had a lot of talkinyet they are saying nothing g anything
Botswana has less Muslims that is the main reason for peaceful country 😂😂😂
So in 7 years when diamonds are depleted, the country will go to an usual sub Saharan state ? I don't see future prospects for the country, at least what I understood from the video
Not really, people will remain educated that might benefit in settling of many regional hq for MNCs just like India or other countries that have educated and skilled population but aren't resource rich
What they only have diamonds reserves for seven years, debeers shows they have already twenty years if reserves. But that's not even a threat the biggest threat in diamonds is lab grown diamonds, they are cheap to make and profit margins are bigger plus it's pretty much similar to natural diamonds.
50 years
@@briopalumpus8676 True. India is investing in lab grown diamonds in a big way for this reason.
reminds me of nauru.
Not the fastest growing economy by far
Well done France. Thank you France.
Sssssh dont say it loudly 😂😆😆 America and Europe might want to invade and introduce "Democracy"
He's praising it because there's an American base there , what kind of stupidity is that
lol you thought you said somethin
Nope that's true
The irony of your comment being delusional.
This video misses out on the real reason why africa is poor. This is because western interference in the governing process of Africa since colonialism. I really hate these kind of videos. They make it seem like Africa can't govern itself. The real reason that the west has kept africa poor because they want the resources under the ground.
Botzwana is overrated. They have a decent GDP number but it's based on resource exportation. Their HIV infection rate, expectation age and gini index is still close to average sub sahara african country.
Whats to appreciate is Botswana's track record of good governance, many countries have rich natural resources but fumble the bag due to one thing, a selfish political class.
DR.Congo is one of the most resource rich country on Earth yet poor
May be overated to you but not to us average Batswana. 1- HIV; yes we have had high infection rate and equally we have put up a good fight against it which has build medical & health capacity very few African countries posses which was proven with Covid having the capacity to catch all virus strains even before the rest of the world caught it. Right from being first African country to give free ARV's even to foreigners, taking initiatives with experimental ARV drug programs and PMTCT which has borne great results for us like totally eliminating Mother-to-child transmission something which now UN & WHO let countries to benchmark on, just last year Botswana became the 1st African country to accomplish 95-95-95 UNAIDS objectives which means 95% of people living with HIV in Botswana know their status, 95% of those people are on ARV program & 95% of them the virus is supressed as a result our infection rate has fallen significantly. Lastly the fact that someone like me from disadvantaged background who grew up in rural Botswana with no parents accessed free school up to tertiary all government expenses, free healthcare. Obtained my degree then Went to Australia on government scholarship for my postgrad then went back home to work and now am a PHD candidate with a japanese university is a true reflection that our country works. May not be perfect but it works. In a normal developing country i would not have had the opportunities i have had with everything against me, i was literally brought up by this government from feeding monthly, to taking me to a boarding school all my life, buying me clothes etc We are not perfect but we appreciate the progress we making
Yeah but you are selecting numbers precisely designed to prove your point.
Botswana is less corrupt than Italy.
Ghana, Senegal, South Africa and Benin are less corrupt than hungry and Bulgaria, Ukraine, Serbia, Albania, Turkey.
Give it 20 years and many African countries will be wealthier, safer and more democratic than many Eastern European and balkans countries.
**4:05 Dutch settlers map is wrong. SORRY!
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You are awesome :)
You should talk more about western neocolonialism & how you're most likely to be toppled if you threaten Western governments & multinational interests.
Lefties never talk about Botswana because they know they are successful because of capitalism and good governance.
It's sad how certain facts are overlooked by the Western media when it comes to telling African stories. Botswana's success lies in both its pre - and post independence political history.
Tbh, I prefer they overlook it. Once westerners flood your country prices would go up for locals. Don't get me wrong, I love migration but not mass migration. Mass migration is only better over time (over the space of let's say 30years) but not when it happens all at once.
The way you assert that Botswana was capitalistic while its failing neighbours were socialist is laughably un-nuanced. Debswana is 50% state owned, that is to say, socialised, and it is for that reason alone that the state was able to bring in the revenues to invest in socialised services like education and healthcare. The “secret” to its success was not its embrace of the “free market” - if it had done that, De Beers would have a monopoly on diamond production and the state would see nothing. Rather, Botswana’s success lies precisely in its close regulation of market functions with considerable state involvement. If you think that’s more capitalistic than socialistic, you’re doing your audience an academic disservice.
As the depletion of natural resources in many African countries becomes mainstream within the next few decades, it would be interesting to see if many African economies would be able to diversify their economies into sustainable ones. The growth of Botswana and Rwanda has been both impressive and interesting to observe over the past three decades. I wonder if such growth would have been possible in a country with a significantly larger population and much more diverse ethnicity. Scalability seems to be a significant issue in initiating sustainable economies.
In such a case, countries like Kenya, Mauritius would be African superpowers, pretty stable, constitutional republics, less significant mineral reserves, just human capital driving the economy.
Kenya with no mineral resources and it being 70% arid and semi arid will emerge as a new superpower then.
Read about India, and China my king!!
Many religions,languages.
My king show me any African president who tried and fail my lord?look these countries under France ,like Niger,all uranium taken free my lord
Look.DRC,the chinese are taking minerals free ,when the congolese are drowning into poverty!!!
My lord,show me a president no idiot,no corrupt in Africa ill show you a rich country
My lord ,a president like Salva kiir who urinates on himself ,with his people taking showerb of cow urine ,when river Nile cross the land ...
My lord what about Ali bongo vomiting on himself what he can do for his people my lord...
Rwanda counts 13millions of people on 280.000 km square .... So its population is larger enough
@@miguelimeldona754 28000 km²
Botswana is an example that good governance and capitalism work. Our second president, Sir QKJ Masire, was actually responsible for what we admire about Botswana. There is no doubt Botswana will grow spectacularly in the next three decades. Watch. Botswana is building that key digital knowledge economy. A lot is happening here under President Masisi .
President Masisi will lead our country to greatness❤️❤️❤️
Botswana has a very tiny population of a mere 2.5 million people. Singapore and Hong Kong each have much higher population (5.45 million and 7.4 million). Botswana only had to not mismanage their mineral wealth which accounts for near 80% of their economy with diamonds alone constituting 62%. I don't think what Botswana has done is relevant to the other African countries with much larger populations and less mineral wealth. Botswana is like the Kuwait of Africa.
Meanwhile Zimbabwe can't even have a stable currency and now uses us dollar
Africa was harmed a lot more under colonialism than Singapore or Hong Kong.
@@mildlydispleased3221 Singapore and HK are both former colonies just saying
@@good8072Singapore at independence had a GDP per capita that was closer to current Botswana (if adjusted for inflation) and a geographical jackpot.
@@Sataka23clipsStop talking nonsense.
Botswana has really shown the way to economic development through democracy, prudent husbanding of its natural resources and stringent anti-corruption. But Namibia is not far behind. Indeed our two presidents, not withstanding their age differences, 61 years vs ours 82, have forged a strong bond of personal friendship. To that extent that when our president was admitted a minor medical procedure, next day President Masisi flew to Windhoek State House to visit his friend, check on him and wish him well...true friendship.
A big big thank you to Seretse Khama, a real giant of Africa. Shocking that so many African leaders today are consumed by greed & corruption. It will be nigh impossible for all African leaders to be like Seretse Khama.
@@cocoday6215Because they made people happy and not starve
The main reason Africa is poor is dictatorship. Not colonisation and slavery. Botswana has proved that unequivocally.
Botswana never faced harsh colonialism like other African countries so the indigenous people of Botswana have had more control of their natural resources unlike some of its neighbors.
Some dictatorships are richer than some democracies though
Actually it proved the opposite is true, Botswana never had colonization and was never part of the slave trade, the people therefore lack dictator mentality. If they are not dictators, they can only have good governance. So Botswana proves Unequivocally, that Colonization and slavery destroyed Africa.
Correct. At this point the scapegoat of colonialism is just an enablism for under performance and gives excuses for others to dwell in their pit of failure. Nations outside of africa prospered after colonialism and are functional states and have been for many decades since despite having been brutally taken over and subjugated in their past, yet africa continues to wallow in ancient sorrows.
Lessons need to be learned from those other nations, and From their neighbor Botswana.
@@killgazmotron Correct. And don't forget, whilst there are present day malign influences from without in Afruca, like Wagner in the Sahel or 'France's hidden empire' which you can look up here on UA-cam, they are not operating in a vacuum. African tyrannical governments with African staff and troops enable them. But Africans never target their own rotten apples with their ire why? Why don't the police and army say, "no, we are with the people, not you" like they did in Sri Lanka? Africans never want to take responsibility for their acts and omissions and I say that as an African living in Africa and not the comfort and safety of the diaspora living abroad. The truth must be spoken!
Stop saying sub saying sub Sahara it means below or less. Watch your language.
People keep saying that colonialism is the reason why Africa is poor but that's like saying that one video game caused a disaster for the whole industry. Colonialism is bad and it brings problems but corruption is far worse since it's a problem from the inside of the country
Other independent governments faced challenges as these resources became more of a curse than a blessing due to issues such as greed, corruption, tribal conflicts, Western neo-colonisation, Western trap treaties and Western modern exploitation of Africa.
On your map you're depicting Mozambique as being settled by the Dutch? Wasn't it always a Portuguese territory?
Yes, it was Portuguese
Love your animations 🙌🏼 Where do you learn to animate like that?
Big up Botswana watching from cape town south Africa
I promise you, unless South Africa's growth starts hitting 4 to 6% soon, there won't be a Botswana success story. They're simply far too dependent on their neighbour for their fortunes to be any different.
Possibly will be affected. Listen to this though, last year, import of fresh produce from SA into BW was banned. The result? The nascent agricultural sector reduced the import bill from about P600m to around P400m. This is set to improve. Lets watch this space. Diamond, beef and other exports don't need to always go through SA, but some do.
@@mandandi if South Africa experiences a rapid unscheduled assembly or elects an interventionist party do you know what's going to happen to Botswana and Namibia? It's not physical goods, it's the completely intertwined financial systems, industrial goods, business services.
Watching from the UK it very much feels like the SADC countries are effectively an extension of South Africa but with no one wanting to acknowledge it. South Africa's failure will very much be SADC's failure.
@@mandandi Yes, you can grow your own carrots, but can you drum up lost secondary tourism? Can your banks decouple from South Africa's in time before whatever crisis afflicts them becomes your problem too? And the biggest question, can Botswana absorb millions of South Africans who'd leave their homes looking for refuge?
@@biggeststeppa1True. Actually, it is acknowledged. I used to work for Customs and this very issue used to come up regularly. Economic diversification initiatives are designed to deal with that issue. Changing the mindset of people is a huge challenge.
Covid has taught people here to learn entrepreneurship. Will the result be complete decoupling from SA? Nope, and that's not the goal. And its not going to show huge signs anytime soon. Perhaps a radical shift in SA is what people need to wake up even more in neighbouring countries! Covid and the ban on fresh vegetables have started the shift in mindset.
@@biggeststeppa1Reasonable arguments. Some banks are local to Bots, so yes the financial system and others will take a major hit, but it won't collapse. The refugee issue can only be answered properly when it has happened. No one knows where many people would go, given there are several neighbouring countries I think.
Embracing free market economic policies hasn't helped most poor countries. The rich countries that advocate this (i.e. the UK, the US), themselves, when they were first developing in the 1800s, had fiercely protectionist policies. South Korea, which went from rags to riches, had a government which intervened a lot to support the country's largest companies.
Think -- why would free market policies benefit countries whose industrial base is severely underdeveloped? They won't be able to compete with the industries in other countries. It's a non-starter.
Please stop this lazy neoliberal orthodox analysis (embracing free market policies made helped Botswana become wealthy). It doesn't explain anything, in general and in Botswana.
They have only 2,6 million people in that huge and mineral rich country..totally different ball game most of those other African countries like South Africa and Nigeria Ethiopia and everything between got to divide their GDP with 213 Million thats why gdp/per head is so peer in nigeria for example and botswana diesnt deal with terrorism from the Sahel Region and is sadly a multi-religios country it doent help…botswana is mainly christian the had only one colonizer…nigeria had the Arab and then the europeans there are tensions between religious groups Botswana is well governed…BUT its not just governance..all those factors and more that I mentioned plays a huge part in the economic development of a country
NIgeria has never been colonised by Arabs .The people living in Northern Nigeria were the ethnic Hausa and Fulani.
@@fjtpersian6566 they are muslim those Hausa and were enslaved by the Arabs before the european chattel slave trade ( based on skin color )
@@benjamin_6945 wrong
Hausa did adopt some Islamic customs because of the trading routes ,no Arab empire reached into Northern Nigeria and the Arabs used to capture anyone for slaves .
@@fjtpersian6566 Funny they captured anyone as slaves except for themselves….they even have a derogatory term to describe black people that term means slave….all across the Sahel band…
Botswana's success of good leadership is rare for the African continent. Elsewhere in Africa, you only see leaders looting the state coffers or *still* blaming colonialism for their failures. So much resource wealth (DRC, Zambia, Ivory Coast) and oil wealth (Nigeria, Angola) and yet, somehow these countries remain largely poor!
Might want to ask yourself who let those "leaders" into power in the first place, in exchange for preferable trade conditions and rights to their resources. (Hint: it's the west)
What is success from the pinnacle through which we delve in poverty , the imperialists with their sponsors keeps on drawing a wow picture of a prosperous Botswana,Botswana is a comprador bourgeoisie heaven - she heralds and celebrate the success of her colonial masters ,imperialists from the west - this comprador bourgeoisie have captured our government, her citizens lives in abstract poverty , the Economic monopoly capital by the bourgeoisie leaves nothing much for the down trodden & proletarian class to celebrate,who is Botswana you're referring to - the select few
Good video but please fix the names of the countries on your charts.. hard to look at Angota and Namibbia
God bless Botswana for. Honest leadership