Botswana Botswana is a landlocked country in southern Africa, roughly the size of Texas. It covers 224,607 square miles, yet contains only 1,444,000 people, making it one the most thinly populated countries in Africa. The eastern portion is where most people reside, because the Kalahari Desert covers almost all the rest of the nation. Botswana's climate is a semiarid one, consisting of very hot summers, and warm winters. Flat and rolling land make up the topography of Botswana, with the Kalahari in the southwest. There are several major ethnic groups in Botswana. Most Botswanans are black Africans called Tswana, and the largest group of the Tswana are the Bamangwato. The Bamangwato make up almos