The economy Boko is inheriting from the Masisi Administration in Botswana

Botswana’s newly elected President Duma Boko inherits an economy amongst the most stable in the Southern African region. One thing of particular importance is that for a country with a population of just two and a half million people, Botswana has a GDP per capita of US$7,000, which is the best of any economy on the continent. 

The southern African country has had a relatively upward trajectory, historically, when it comes to its Gross Domestic Product which the World Bank estimated to be at US$19.4 Billion as of 2023. However, President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s term was marred by allegations of corruption, mismanagement and an economic slump, but in all fairness, GDP was on the decline before his term in office, when we zoom into the last decade. 

Matters that were outside of the administration’s control, which are shown by the decline of 8.73% in GDP in 2020, were due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This period saw a decrease in diamond production and falling tourism revenue due to the strict travel restrictions that were a feature of the pandemic. The Bank of Botswana noted in its 2020 Annual Report that the economy was expected to expand by 4.4%, predicated on the mining industry output. However, things didn’t play out quite as expected as the pandemic forced every country on Earth to weather the storm of the instability it brought. 

2021, was characterised by highs a return to normal for Botswana’s GDP and Diamond production respectively. The latter wasn’t at its pre-COVID levels, only surpassing that mark in 2022. The rebound was felt across non-mining GDP in Botswana with all sectors showing massive improvements in 2020/2021. The former, on the other hand, grew to 11.92%, the second biggest increase the county has witnessed in GDP in over a decade and the highest peak GDP figure over the same period.