We arrived in our 4th Sub-Saharan country: Botswana. With its 2 million inhabitants the country is (similar to Namibia) one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. It ranks very high (good) in Transparency’s Corruption Index and it ranks also quite high (negative) on a very sad calculation: Botswana has one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world (close to 20% of the whole population is affected), one of the reasons that life expectancy is below 60 years. However in the last few years they have made great progress and the infection rate has fallen sharply.
Botswana became independent in 1966 (they just celebrated their 50th independence day 6 weeks ago). While having been one of the poorest countries in the world, they developed to become one of the most politically stable and economically successful African Lions. Not least thanks to the diamonds that were found only after independency and also due to tourists who love this country despite the high prices for lodging.
Wir sind im vierten Land angekommen, Botswana. Mit seinen zwei Mio Einwohnern ist es eines der am dünnsten besiedelten Länder der Welt. Deshalb ebenso beliebt wie Namibia bei Touristen wie uns. Vor 50 Jahren ist das Land in die Unabhängigkeit entlassen worden (was vollkommen gewaltfrei ablief, selten genug) und hat in dieser Zeit einen gewaltigen wirtschaftlichen Sprung nach vorne gemacht. Grund waren die Diamantenfunde (an denen natürlich DeBeers beteiligt ist) und die steigenden Einnahmen von Touristen bei einem gegenüber Namibia deutlich höheren Preisniveau. Kein Wunder, hier urlaubt ja auch der europäische Hochadel.
Schreibe einen Kommentar