This archive report was first published on 26 October 2019.
Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi has made economic reform a top priority after his re-election on Friday, October 26, 2018. The country is facing significant challenges, including income inequality, high unemployment, and a high HIV prevalence rate.
According to the World Bank, Botswana has been one of the world's fastest-growing economies since independence in 1966, with business activity expanding by about five percent a year over the past decade. However, the country has been hit hard by a drop in diamond prices in 2009 and a record drought in 2015.
Botswana is one of the world's biggest diamond producers, but it has sought to diversify its economy, particularly through tourism. Nevertheless, income inequality in Botswana is among the highest in the world, with 16 percent of the population living in poverty.
Unemployment is running at 20 percent, and the HIV prevalence rate is the world's third-highest, with 23 percent of adults aged between 15 and 49 living with the Aids-causing virus, according to UNAids 2019 data.
President Masisi, 58, first became President of Botswana in April 2018 as the hand-picked successor to Ian Khama, who resigned. He won his first election on Friday after the ruling Botswana Democratic Party secured more than 51 percent of parliamentary votes.
However, the main opposition has protested the outcome, saying the ballot was "massively rigged."
