Botswana - Population, total

The value for Population, total in Botswana was 2,351,625 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 2,351,625 in 2020 and a minimum value of 502,733 in 1960.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 502,733
1961 512,688
1962 523,777
1963 535,692
1964 547,870
1965 559,996
1966 571,957
1967 584,098
1968 596,946
1969 611,297
1970 627,714
1971 646,350
1972 667,096
1973 689,906
1974 714,701
1975 741,346
1976 769,982
1977 800,532
1978 832,467
1979 865,073
1980 897,860
1981 930,412
1982 962,859
1983 996,124
1984 1,031,439
1985 1,069,585
1986 1,110,948
1987 1,154,904
1988 1,200,073
1989 1,244,484
1990 1,286,756
1991 1,326,321
1992 1,363,541
1993 1,399,110
1994 1,434,061
1995 1,469,173
1996 1,504,724
1997 1,540,424
1998 1,575,827
1999 1,610,260
2000 1,643,333
2001 1,674,674
2002 1,704,637
2003 1,734,387
2004 1,765,533
2005 1,799,077
2006 1,835,911
2007 1,875,458
2008 1,915,636
2009 1,953,495
2010 1,987,106
2011 2,015,406
2012 2,039,551
2013 2,062,551
2014 2,088,619
2015 2,120,716
2016 2,159,925
2017 2,205,076
2018 2,254,067
2019 2,303,703
2020 2,351,625

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population