The Republic of Botswana (formally Bechuanaland), located in south central Africa between Southwest Africa, (Namibia) and Zimbabwe has an area of 231,805 sq. km. and a population of 1.62 million. Capital: Gaborone. Botswana is a member of Customs Union with South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland. The economy is primarily pastoral with a rapidly developing mining industry, of which diamonds, copper, and nickel are the chief elements. Meat products and diamonds comprise 85 percent of the exports. Little is known of the origin of the peoples of Botswana. The early inhabitants, the Bushmen, did not develop a recorded history and are now dying out. The ancestors of the preset Botswana probably arrived around 1600 AD in Bantu migrations from the north and east. Bechuanaland was first united early in the 19th century under Chief Khama III to more effectively resist incursions by the Boer trekkers from Transvaal and by the neighboring Matabeles. As the Boer threat intensified, appeals for protection were made to the British Government, which proclaimed the whole of Bechuanaland a British protectorate in 1885. In 1895, the southern part of the protectorate was annexed to a Cape Province. The northern part, known as the Bechuanaland Protectorate, remained under British administration until it became the independent Republic of Botswana on September 30, 1966. Botswana is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The president is Chief of State and Head of Government.,,, Monetary System:,,, ,1 Pula (Rand) = 100 Thebe (Cents),,