About IWGIAIndigenous peoples in Botswana
3.3% of the population in Botswana considers itself to be indigenous. There are no specific laws on indigenous peoples’ rights in Botswana nor is the concept of indigenous peoples included in the Constitution since the Botswana government does not recognize any specific groups as indigenous to the country, maintaining instead that all citizens of the country are indigenous.
The San of Botswana
Some groups in Botswana however maintain that they are indigenous, including the San (known in Botswana as the Basarwa) who, in July 2010, numbered some 54,000. The San in Botswana were traditionally seen as hunter-gatherers but, in fact, the vast majority of them are small-scale agropastoralists and people with mixed economies who reside both in rural and urban areas, especially in the Kalahari Desert and in the eastern part of the country.
Subdivision of the San
The San are sub-divided in Botswana into a large number of named groups, most of whom speak their own mother-tongue. Some of these groups include the Ju/’hoansi, Bugakhwe, //Anikhwe, Tsexakhwe, !Xoo, Naro, G/wi, G//ana, Kua, Tshwa, Deti, ‡Khomani, ‡Hoa, //’Xau‡esi, Balala, Shua, Danisi and /Xaisa. The San are some of the poorest and most underprivileged people in Botswana, with a high percentage of them living below the poverty line.
Other indigenous peoples in Botswana
In the south of the country are the Balala, who number some 1,300 in Southern (Ngwaketse) District and extending into Kgalagadi District.
The Nama, a Khoekhoe-speaking people who number 1,600 are also found in the south, extending into Namibia and South Africa.
The status of the UN Declaration
Botswana is a signatory to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Read more about the current situation of indigenous peoples in Botswana
Yearly update
The Botswana government does not recognize any specific groups as indigenous to the country, maintaining instead that all citizens of the country are indigenous. Some groups in Botswana maintain that they are indigenous, including the San (known in Botswana as the Basarwa) who, in July 2010, numbered some 54,000. The San in Botswana were traditionally seen as hunter-gatherers but, in fact, the vast majority of them are small-scale agropastoralists and people with mixed economies who reside both in rural and urban areas, especially in the Kalahari Desert and in the eastern part of the country. The San are sub-divided in Botswana into a large number of named groups, most of whom speak their own mother-tongue. Some of these groups include the Ju/’hoansi, Bugakhwe, //Anikhwe, Tsexakhwe, !Xoo, Naro, G/wi, G//ana, Kua, Tshwa, Deti, ‡Khomani, ‡Hoa, //’Xau‡esi, Balala, Shua, Danisi and /Xaisa. The San are some of the poorest and most underprivileged people in Botswana, with a high percentage of them living below the poverty line.
