The landlocked Republic of Botswana is bounded on the northeast by Zimbabwe, on the south and southeast by South Africa, and on the west and north by Namibia (formerly called South-West Africa). In the north Botswana also shares a short border with Zambia.

Botswana is sparsely populated. With an area of about 224,600 square miles (581,700 square kilometres) and a population of 1,406,000 (1994 estimate), it has about 6 persons per square mile (2 persons per square kilometre). Much of both the south and the west is covered by the Kalahari Desert, inhabited only by aboriginal San (Bushmen). In the north-central portion lie the swampland of the Okovango Basin and the salt pans of the Makgadikgadi area.

Herds of wild game inhabit Botswana's plains, and the national parks and game reserves are well stocked. Besides many species of large and small antelopes, there are lions, elephants, leopards, hippopotamuses, giraffes, buffalo, and crocodiles. Poisonous snakes abound, among them the cobra and puff adder. There are also many varieties of scorpions, tarantulas, spiders, and termites. Birds are also abundant and include ostriches, pelicans, and bustards, which are a type of game bird.

The climate of Botswana is generally a subtropical one. Rainfall is light, ranging from about 27 inches (69 centimetres) a year in the northern areas to less than 9 inches (23 centimetres) in the southwest; droughts are frequent. The country is geologically a vast tableland and has an average elevation of about 3,300 feet (1,000 meters).

It is a land of harsh contrasts, yet compelling beauty. The most famous area of Botswana is without any doubt the Okavango Delta, one of the most beautiful and unique inland deltas of the world. The Okavango river rises in Angola and enters the country via the Caprivi in Namibia. It flows into the Kalahari sand and creates the enormous inland delta, over 15,000 sq. km.

The Chobe river on the north east side of the Delta is another one of Botswana’s big rivers. It is this river which creates conditions favourable for the famed elephant herds that rely on its water during the dry winter period.

The centre of Botswana is a hollow basin, that over many years has been filled by wind blown sand. The Kalahari is, for most, an inhospitable place to survive, especially for humans. Again, the indigenous San people, the Tswana, were here long before the Bantus arrived and much later the white man.