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Short answer: Botswana is a mostly free-market system, with heavy government involvement in the diamond mining market. Most of Botswana's GDP comes from extraction of resources.

Long answer: Botswana is one of the world's fastest-growing economies (an astronomical 9% yearly growth from independence in 1966-1999, and the per capita GDP is $16,029 at purchasing power parity.

Botswana has very little foreign debt, and has not relied on the very high government spending that has characterized some other developing nations' policy. Transparency International has rated Botswana as the least corrupt country in Africa, and there have been free and fair elections since independence.

Mining is the largest sector of Botwana's economy, at 38% of total GDP. The country is the world's largest producer of diamonds, and copper, gold, nickel, and soda ash are also important commodities. Tourism (especially ecotourism) encompasses 12% of GDP, and agriculture is 3%. A large part of Botswana's success has come from careful management of diamond exports; the government (which owns 50% of the diamond mines) has been careful not to saturate the market, which would lower prices.

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12y ago

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