8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Africa / Southern Africa

Born in Botswana

About 1 in 2,155 people born in 2023 started life in Botswana. A boy can expect to live 67 years and a girl 72, up from 44 and 48 in 1950. Most people live in cities, and 92% have basic drinking water.

1 in 2,155
odds of being born here
61,300 births · Ranked 125th of 230
67 / 72
years of life, boys / girls
Was 44 / 48 in 1950
$4,793
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 125th of 203 · extrapolated
67%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 23 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 218 in every 1,000 births to 38.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth66.7 years for boys, 71.7 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 537.6 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year14,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.4World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles97%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV16.6%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year175 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year0 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.4 children on average in 1950. Now it is 2.7.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman2.73UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth28.7 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 60 and the poorest fifth 4.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2015
4%Poorest fifth
7%Second
11%Middle
19%Fourth
60%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $4,793 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth60% / 4% (2015)World Bank PIP
Unemployment23.4% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises5.1% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person1.5% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming18% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed28% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment71% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Gaborone, with 246,325 people.

67%
live in cities
76%
have electricity at home
92%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Gaborone246,325
Francistown103,417
Mogoditshane88,004
Maun85,350
Molepolole74,861
Languages
Share of people who can use each
English81%
Tswana62%
English, Tswana is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Central256,241
Gaborone246,325
Kweneng233,652
South-East105,632
City of Francistown103,417
North-West85,350
Ngwaketsi71,886
Kgatleng50,321
Selibe Phikwe42,488
Lobatse29,772

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

All 12 regions
  • Central256,241
  • Gaborone246,325
  • Kweneng233,652
  • South-East105,632
  • City of Francistown103,417
  • North-West85,350
  • Ngwaketsi71,886
  • Kgatleng50,321
  • Selibe Phikwe42,488
  • Lobatse29,772
  • Ghanzi19,012
  • Jwaneng18,784

People on the move

About 0.7% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are South Africa, Zimbabwe, Australia.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
South Africa8,004
Zimbabwe3,985
Australia1,736
Residents born abroad4.6% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 0.7% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostSouth Africa (8,004), Zimbabwe (3,985), Australia (1,736)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $164.9 million a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

100% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

100%
of older people receive a pension (2022)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 20242,801Our World in Data, from WHO

Now live it.

Born in Botswana, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Botswana

Elsewhere in Africa

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences