Country or area · Southern Africa · Africa · UN WPP 2024

Botswana population

Botswana population now

2,613,622

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line. 95% range for 31 December 2026: 2.5–2.7 million.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 2,480,244

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 2.60338 million; 95% range, 31 Dec: 2.5–2.7 million
Median age: 24.7
Aged 65+: 4.1%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024 peak 2088

male female projection · one cell = 500 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

BWA · 1950–2100 · in brief

Botswana in numbers

2,480,244 people lived in Botswana in mid-2023: 0.03% of the world's people, and the 146th-largest population of the 236 countries and areas the UN reports. That is 6.0 times its 1950 population of 414 thousand.

The UN's medium projection has it peaking in 2088 at 3.9 million, then falling to 3.8 million by 2100. The projection is uncertain: on 1 January 2100 the UN's 95% range runs from 1.2 million to 10.1 million.

In the medium projection, deaths outnumber births every year from 2090 on.

The median age was 18.9 in 1950 and 23.9 in 2023; the projection has 42.3 in 2100. 4.0% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 21.2% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) is projected to peak in 2079 at 2.5 million.

By size it is the 146th country in 2023; the projection puts it 138th in 2050 and 133rd in 2100. In the medium projection it overtakes Albania in 2029, Lithuania in 2030 and Jamaica in 2031. It is overtaken by Guinea-Bissau in 2050 and Equatorial Guinea in 2063.

Population, mid-2023: 2,480,244
Rank by population, 2023: 146 of 236
Share of the world, 2023: 0.03%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: +1.65% · +40,353 people
People per km² of land, 2023: 4.4
Land area, 2023: 566,730 km²
Births, 2023: 61,294
Deaths, 2023: 14,197
Net migration, 2023: −6,487
Children per woman, 2023: 2.73
Median age, 2023: 23.9 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 69.2 years
In a city, 2025: 21 of every 100
Population, mid-1950: 413,698
Projected, mid-2050: 3,437,430
Projected, mid-2100: 3,836,824

BWA · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

peak 2088estimates | projections02 m4 m6 m8 m10 m12 m1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection, up to the bottom of the 95% range 95% range medium projection. Each column is the population on 1 January of one year; the paper rules cut it into equal cells.

Show the numbers: Botswana, 1950–2100

Botswana: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	95% range	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	408,831		18,806	7,996	6.43	46.2
1951	estimate	418,564		19,353	8,152	6.44	46.6
1952	estimate	428,548		19,915	8,266	6.44	47.0
1953	estimate	438,874		20,592	8,364	6.47	47.5
1954	estimate	449,072		21,261	8,446	6.51	48.0
1955	estimate	459,013		21,925	8,507	6.55	48.5
1956	estimate	468,839		22,561	8,543	6.58	49.0
1957	estimate	478,725		23,158	8,560	6.62	49.5
1958	estimate	488,852		23,616	8,548	6.62	50.1
1959	estimate	499,359		24,024	8,513	6.62	50.7
1960	estimate	510,396		24,332	8,471	6.59	51.2
1961	estimate	521,935		24,598	8,414	6.56	51.8
1962	estimate	533,950		24,866	8,358	6.54	52.3
1963	estimate	546,421		25,400	8,316	6.58	52.9
1964	estimate	559,512		25,921	8,286	6.61	53.4
1965	estimate	573,020		26,296	8,251	6.60	53.9
1966	estimate	576,309		26,370	8,120	6.61	54.4
1967	estimate	579,424		26,446	7,983	6.60	54.9
1968	estimate	582,441		26,564	7,840	6.58	55.4
1969	estimate	585,490		26,716	7,692	6.56	55.9
1970	estimate	588,642		26,984	7,547	6.55	56.5
1971	estimate	592,026		27,312	7,386	6.54	57.1
1972	estimate	608,936		28,339	7,336	6.56	57.7
1973	estimate	635,878		29,818	7,368	6.59	58.3
1974	estimate	668,938		31,608	7,448	6.61	58.9
1975	estimate	701,958		33,278	7,516	6.61	59.5
1976	estimate	738,801		35,065	7,569	6.60	60.2
1977	estimate	778,214		36,623	7,614	6.54	60.9
1978	estimate	820,934		38,265	7,670	6.48	61.5
1979	estimate	877,544		40,316	7,830	6.39	62.0
1980	estimate	925,941		41,859	7,926	6.29	62.5
1981	estimate	949,029		42,146	7,819	6.16	63.0
1982	estimate	990,964		42,718	7,858	5.97	63.4
1983	estimate	1,027,573		43,050	7,908	5.79	63.6
1984	estimate	1,064,700		43,550	8,020	5.63	63.7
1985	estimate	1,102,621		44,170	8,204	5.48	63.6
1986	estimate	1,141,269		44,705	8,501	5.33	63.4
1987	estimate	1,180,031		44,554	8,906	5.10	62.8
1988	estimate	1,218,303		44,227	9,664	4.88	61.7
1989	estimate	1,252,650		43,830	10,074	4.67	61.2
1990	estimate	1,287,897		43,901	10,887	4.51	60.1
1991	estimate	1,323,495		44,055	11,836	4.37	58.9
1992	estimate	1,360,018		44,648	12,653	4.25	58.2
1993	estimate	1,400,047		45,323	13,631	4.15	57.3
1994	estimate	1,440,183		45,654	14,990	4.02	56.0
1995	estimate	1,479,862		44,806	16,328	3.79	54.7
1996	estimate	1,517,810		43,947	17,102	3.57	54.3
1997	estimate	1,554,018		43,866	18,128	3.43	53.6
1998	estimate	1,589,365		44,587	19,190	3.36	53.0
1999	estimate	1,624,434		45,534	20,176	3.31	52.5
2000	estimate	1,659,560		46,859	21,010	3.29	52.3
2001	estimate	1,695,205		47,784	21,672	3.25	52.2
2002	estimate	1,729,303		48,237	22,075	3.17	52.4
2003	estimate	1,760,222		48,643	22,097	3.11	52.9
2004	estimate	1,791,251		49,351	21,870	3.06	53.6
2005	estimate	1,823,041		50,976	21,590	3.08	54.4
2006	estimate	1,856,713		52,751	21,410	3.11	55.1
2007	estimate	1,892,320		54,153	20,321	3.13	56.7
2008	estimate	1,930,082		55,371	19,939	3.13	57.7
2009	estimate	1,969,859		56,528	19,858	3.13	58.3
2010	estimate	2,011,487		57,668	19,568	3.13	59.1
2011	estimate	2,054,734		58,137	19,525	3.10	59.7
2012	estimate	2,092,335		58,497	19,295	3.07	60.4
2013	estimate	2,124,898		58,191	18,786	3.04	61.2
2014	estimate	2,156,467		58,201	18,154	3.03	62.2
2015	estimate	2,187,621		58,331	17,434	3.01	63.2
2016	estimate	2,218,925		58,673	16,678	2.99	64.3
2017	estimate	2,250,626		59,100	15,946	2.97	65.4
2018	estimate	2,282,868		59,541	15,370	2.94	66.4
2019	estimate	2,315,414		60,054	14,945	2.91	67.2
2020	estimate	2,348,752		60,407	14,795	2.86	67.6
2021	estimate	2,383,035		61,049	20,155	2.83	63.3
2022	estimate	2,419,846		61,615	14,215	2.79	68.8
2023	estimate	2,459,937		61,294	14,197	2.73	69.2
2024	estimate	2,500,552		61,418	14,465	2.70	69.3
2025	projection	2,541,726	2.5–2.6 million	61,186	14,725	2.66	69.4
2026	projection	2,582,518	2.5–2.7 million	60,884	14,981	2.63	69.6
2027	projection	2,624,258	2.5–2.7 million	60,499	15,256	2.59	69.7
2028	projection	2,665,027	2.5–2.8 million	60,095	15,536	2.56	69.8
2029	projection	2,706,188	2.5–2.9 million	59,578	15,844	2.52	70.0
2030	projection	2,745,899	2.5–3.0 million	59,019	16,151	2.49	70.1
2031	projection	2,785,936	2.5–3.1 million	58,504	16,474	2.46	70.2
2032	projection	2,824,042	2.5–3.2 million	57,994	16,809	2.44	70.3
2033	projection	2,862,425	2.5–3.3 million	57,410	17,156	2.40	70.5
2034	projection	2,899,540	2.4–3.4 million	56,888	17,499	2.38	70.6
2035	projection	2,936,415	2.4–3.5 million	56,435	17,872	2.35	70.7
2036	projection	2,972,413	2.4–3.6 million	56,012	18,264	2.32	70.9
2037	projection	3,007,857	2.4–3.7 million	55,729	18,672	2.30	71.0
2038	projection	3,042,599	2.4–3.8 million	55,544	19,089	2.28	71.1
2039	projection	3,076,466	2.4–3.9 million	55,422	19,535	2.25	71.2
2040	projection	3,110,283	2.4–4.0 million	55,336	19,988	2.23	71.3
2041	projection	3,142,997	2.4–4.1 million	55,328	20,457	2.21	71.5
2042	projection	3,175,264	2.3–4.2 million	55,390	20,940	2.20	71.6
2043	projection	3,206,676	2.3–4.3 million	55,425	21,432	2.18	71.7
2044	projection	3,238,458	2.3–4.4 million	55,508	21,946	2.17	71.8
2045	projection	3,269,571	2.3–4.5 million	55,556	22,473	2.15	72.0
2046	projection	3,301,031	2.3–4.6 million	55,577	22,999	2.14	72.1
2047	projection	3,332,974	2.3–4.7 million	55,552	23,556	2.12	72.2
2048	projection	3,364,025	2.3–4.8 million	55,560	24,098	2.11	72.3
2049	projection	3,394,199	2.2–4.9 million	55,496	24,665	2.09	72.5
2050	projection	3,423,337	2.2–5.1 million	55,367	25,255	2.08	72.6
2051	projection	3,451,523	2.2–5.2 million	55,230	25,830	2.06	72.7
2052	projection	3,479,294	2.2–5.3 million	55,031	26,426	2.05	72.8
2053	projection	3,506,861	2.2–5.4 million	54,883	27,023	2.04	73.0
2054	projection	3,533,095	2.2–5.5 million	54,674	27,632	2.03	73.1
2055	projection	3,557,765	2.2–5.6 million	54,424	28,274	2.01	73.2
2056	projection	3,582,350	2.1–5.8 million	54,180	28,898	2.00	73.3
2057	projection	3,605,828	2.1–5.9 million	53,865	29,515	1.99	73.5
2058	projection	3,629,684	2.1–6.1 million	53,526	30,162	1.98	73.6
2059	projection	3,652,744	2.1–6.2 million	53,200	30,793	1.97	73.7
2060	projection	3,672,992	2.1–6.4 million	52,799	31,451	1.96	73.8
2061	projection	3,692,943	2.0–6.5 million	52,390	32,116	1.95	74.0
2062	projection	3,712,148	2.0–6.6 million	51,956	32,769	1.94	74.1
2063	projection	3,729,475	1.9–6.7 million	51,559	33,429	1.94	74.3
2064	projection	3,745,105	1.9–6.8 million	51,209	34,108	1.93	74.4
2065	projection	3,760,253	1.9–6.8 million	50,847	34,756	1.92	74.5
2066	projection	3,774,629	1.9–6.9 million	50,443	35,408	1.91	74.7
2067	projection	3,787,162	1.9–7.0 million	50,115	36,079	1.91	74.8
2068	projection	3,799,545	1.9–7.0 million	49,779	36,741	1.90	74.9
2069	projection	3,809,949	1.9–7.1 million	49,532	37,367	1.90	75.0
2070	projection	3,819,786	1.8–7.2 million	49,180	38,019	1.89	75.2
2071	projection	3,827,211	1.8–7.4 million	48,899	38,668	1.88	75.3
2072	projection	3,834,099	1.8–7.5 million	48,590	39,244	1.87	75.4
2073	projection	3,841,631	1.8–7.7 million	48,409	39,796	1.87	75.6
2074	projection	3,847,382	1.7–7.7 million	48,200	40,325	1.87	75.7
2075	projection	3,852,975	1.7–7.8 million	48,030	40,831	1.86	75.8
2076	projection	3,858,759	1.7–7.9 million	47,838	41,311	1.86	76.0
2077	projection	3,864,312	1.7–7.9 million	47,658	41,773	1.85	76.1
2078	projection	3,868,975	1.6–8.0 million	47,492	42,187	1.85	76.2
2079	projection	3,873,468	1.6–8.2 million	47,290	42,590	1.84	76.3
2080	projection	3,876,342	1.6–8.3 million	47,067	42,898	1.84	76.5
2081	projection	3,878,085	1.5–8.5 million	46,849	43,194	1.83	76.6
2082	projection	3,879,058	1.5–8.6 million	46,582	43,461	1.83	76.8
2083	projection	3,880,977	1.5–8.7 million	46,328	43,716	1.82	76.9
2084	projection	3,882,401	1.5–8.7 million	46,024	43,953	1.82	77.0
2085	projection	3,883,810	1.5–8.8 million	45,844	44,121	1.82	77.2
2086	projection	3,884,324	1.4–9.0 million	45,584	44,267	1.81	77.3
2087	projection	3,884,843	1.4–9.0 million	45,321	44,377	1.81	77.4
2088	projection	3,885,521	1.4–9.3 million	45,076	44,487	1.81	77.6
2089	projection	3,885,363	1.3–9.3 million	44,855	44,598	1.81	77.7
2090	projection	3,884,724	1.3–9.3 million	44,575	44,677	1.80	77.8
2091	projection	3,881,940	1.3–9.4 million	44,250	44,804	1.80	78.0
2092	projection	3,877,567	1.3–9.4 million	43,876	44,902	1.80	78.1
2093	projection	3,873,650	1.2–9.5 million	43,571	45,004	1.80	78.2
2094	projection	3,869,620	1.2–9.6 million	43,219	45,140	1.79	78.3
2095	projection	3,865,388	1.2–9.6 million	42,929	45,264	1.79	78.5
2096	projection	3,861,098	1.2–9.7 million	42,607	45,390	1.79	78.6
2097	projection	3,856,237	1.2–9.9 million	42,243	45,556	1.79	78.7
2098	projection	3,850,966	1.2–10.0 million	41,969	45,705	1.79	78.9
2099	projection	3,844,970	1.2–10.0 million	41,658	45,855	1.78	79.0
2100	projection	3,839,891	1.2–10.1 million	41,374	46,033	1.78	79.1

Show the numbers: Botswana, mid-2026, by single year of age

Botswana: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	30,130	29,364
1	30,002	29,260
2	29,870	29,136
3	29,810	29,078
4	30,889	30,324
5	30,192	29,864
6	28,076	27,837
7	27,422	27,191
8	27,045	26,788
9	26,750	26,454
10	26,277	25,968
11	25,647	25,354
12	25,074	24,772
13	24,854	24,524
14	24,791	24,450
15	24,642	24,324
16	24,418	24,165
17	24,163	23,972
18	24,117	23,953
19	24,376	24,203
20	24,675	24,497
21	24,707	24,598
22	24,421	24,472
23	24,322	24,466
24	24,375	24,491
25	24,214	24,293
26	23,964	24,182
27	23,944	24,212
28	23,803	23,890
29	24,160	24,254
30	24,838	25,007
31	24,979	25,078
32	24,996	25,010
33	24,766	24,679
34	23,950	23,741
35	22,186	21,914
36	20,766	20,432
37	19,048	18,690
38	18,030	17,584
39	18,536	18,044
40	17,782	17,344
41	15,986	15,527
42	14,615	14,135
43	14,094	13,676
44	13,266	12,929
45	12,598	12,401
46	12,498	12,538
47	11,831	11,998
48	10,604	10,792
49	10,226	10,461
50	9,957	10,296
51	9,467	9,901
52	9,424	9,933
53	9,250	9,817
54	8,546	9,111
55	7,867	8,466
56	7,930	8,633
57	7,756	8,494
58	7,236	7,936
59	6,723	7,392
60	6,371	7,058
61	5,990	6,586
62	5,724	6,222
63	5,544	6,044
64	4,658	5,039
65	4,068	4,364
66	4,078	4,450
67	3,996	4,423
68	3,971	4,386
69	3,580	3,817
70	3,167	3,286
71	2,998	3,218
72	2,814	3,157
73	2,612	3,082
74	2,393	2,982
75	2,162	2,840
76	1,920	2,636
77	1,602	2,287
78	1,314	1,951
79	1,120	1,733
80	974	1,561
81	849	1,404
82	726	1,240
83	615	1,093
84	518	964
85	431	846
86	355	736
87	288	635
88	231	540
89	180	449
90	136	365
91	100	291
92	72	228
93	51	174
94	34	128
95	23	92
96	14	66
97	10	45
98	6	30
99	4	20
100+	4	37

BWA · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

Botswana, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

BWA · ages 15–64

Who does the work in Botswana

On the UN's projection, Botswana will have the most working-age people it ever has in 2079: 2,529,560 people aged 15–64. In 2023 it had 1,581,130.

100 aged 15–64

51 children

6 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: one orange square for each of 100 people aged 15–64 in 2023. Beneath them, teal for the children living alongside those 100 and violet for the people aged 65 or older.

Fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 in 22 years: 2038–2059.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: the strip runs 1950 to 2100. Coloured years are the ones with under 50 dependants for every 100 people aged 15–64; grey years are the rest, and a hatched year has not happened yet.

How every country compares

BWA · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in Botswana, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 Botswana loses 6,430 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 35–39, at 1,768 a year more leaving than arriving.

one square = 200 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: each column is one age, youngest on the left. Above the line, in blue, are the ages gaining people; below it, in orange, the ages losing them. This is the UN's projection for 2020–2025 — the record of migration by age does not go back beyond 2020.

Its best and worst years between 1950 and 2023: a gain of 26,015 (1978), and a loss of 16,054 (1970).

In 2024, 116,402 people living in Botswana had been born in another country, 5 of every 100 people there, against 2 in 1990.

How migration works everywhere

BWA · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in Botswana

Of every 100 babies born in Botswana in 2023, 11 had a mother under 20, 75 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 14 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 16 under 20 and 17 aged 35 or older.

1950
16 · 67 · 17

2023
11 · 75 · 14

2050 · projected
10 · 73 · 17

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: shrink a year's babies to 100 and colour each one by the age of its mother — that is a block. Under it, the same three groups as numbers, starting with the youngest mothers.

Babies born, 2023: 61,294
Average age when women have a baby: 28.7 years; 29.9 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 54; 130 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in Botswana by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	94	189	131	55	42	13
15–19	2,888	5,932	7,789	6,632	5,275	1,641
20–24	5,085	9,358	14,655	17,177	14,381	6,740
25–29	4,414	6,540	10,394	16,213	14,402	11,204
30–34	3,057	4,780	7,150	12,327	11,535	12,095
35–39	1,848	3,730	4,458	6,741	7,478	7,725
40–44	1,054	2,155	1,824	1,880	2,002	1,798
45–49	348	562	438	260	245	156
50–54	18	32	20	9	7	2
All babies	18,806	33,278	46,859	61,294	55,367	41,374

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

BWA · healthy years · 2021

Years in good health in Botswana

In Botswana, WHO puts the healthy years a newborn could expect in 2021 at 53.1 (95% range 52.1–54.4), out of 61.2 in all. That leaves 8.1 years in less than full health, fewer than the world's 9.5, which mostly means lives are shorter here, with fewer years in which to be ill.

Women

53.9 in full health, 9.3 not: 63.2 years

Men

52.3 in full health, 6.9 not: 59.2 years

a year in full health a year in less than full health

How to read this: each square is a year of life, each row ten years; filled squares are years in full health, rounded to whole years.

Women: 53.9 healthy years of 63.2. Men: 52.3 of 59.2. In 2019, before the pandemic, the healthy years were 56.1.

BWA · forced from home · end of 2025

Displacement in Botswana

At the end of 2025, Botswana was hosting 868 people who had crossed a border into it, about 0.3 of every 1,000 people living there.

hosted from abroad868
Botswana nationals abroad1,173

stayed inside their own country crossed a border

How to read this: count the squares — 20 people each, so the rows can be compared with one another. The last row is people from Botswana living in another country, wherever they are.

In 2025, 26 people asked for asylum in Botswana for the first time; 331 people from Botswana asked for asylum in another country. Of every 100 people from Botswana whose claims were decided that year, 14 were given protection. Who asks for asylum, and who is given it

How the world's displacement is counted

BWA · of every 100 people

How people live in Botswana

Of every 100 people in Botswana in 2025, 21 lived in a city, 49 in a town or suburb and 30 in the countryside.

cities towns and suburbs rural areas

19.8 of every 100 have no electricity at home (2024). 42.5 of every 100 do not use the internet (2024).

How to read this: one square for every hundredth person, coloured as the key shows. Because the rule behind the colours is the same everywhere, two countries' squares can be compared directly.

How the world's people live

BWA · adults 25 and over · 2020

How far people in Botswana went in school

Of every 100 adults in Botswana in 2020, 11 never went to school and 43 finished upper secondary or went further.

11 never went to school 8 some primary 18 finished primary 20 finished lower secondary 23 finished upper secondary 20 studied after school

The young went further: 1.7 of every 100 women aged 25–29 never went to school, against 32.9 of every 100 aged 60–64 (men: 2.3 against 36.9).

The middle projection has its working-age people most numerous in 2065; those among them who finished upper secondary are most numerous later, in 2075.

How to read this: 100 squares, one for every hundredth adult aged 25 or over, from least schooling on the left to most on the right. Counted by the Wittgenstein Centre for 2020.

How far the world's people went in school

BWA · cities · 2025

Cities in Botswana

Botswana had 4 cities in 2025, home to 537,913 people. The largest, Gaborone, holds 10 of every 100 people in Botswana.

Gaborone254,517
Francistown101,014
Molepolole93,871
Lobatse88,511

How to read this: the 4 biggest cities here in 2025, drawn on a single scale so the bars can be compared. Each is a built-up area on the UN's rule rather than a city government's patch.

All the world's cities

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual country tables (estimates to 2023, projections with 95% intervals from 2024), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

The censuses, surveys and registers behind the UN's estimates for Botswana are listed, source by source, on the UN's own data sources page.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UNHCR · country code lists · UN WUP 2025 · Wittgenstein Centre · WHO GHO · flag-icons · Natural Earth. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.