Botswana (1966): a new system that brought prosperity

• The wave: world demand for diamonds.

• What was new: a 50/50 partnership with De Beers instead of seizing the mines or giving them away.

• How it united people: stable institutions and low corruption from day one.

• Result: from one of the poorest countries at independence to upper-middle income.

• Wikipedia: Economy of Botswana

How it stood up government on day one

Botswana started as one of the poorest countries on earth, with almost nothing built. It became upper-middle income by spending diamond money carefully and mixing a modern parliament with traditional chiefs.

Why it matters: one of the poorest states became prosperous by managing its resources carefully and keeping its traditional leaders involved.

• Day one: about 12 km of paved road, 22 university graduates and about 100 secondary-school graduates. Al Jazeera
• New capital: the seat of government moved from Mahikeng in South Africa to a newly built Gaborone in 1965. Botswana
• Hybrid design: a Westminster-style parliament, plus an advisory House of Chiefs. Parliament is the only law-making body. Seretse Khama, the independence leader, was first president.
• Defence: Botswana had no army at independence. The Botswana Defence Force was formed only in 1977, after neighbouring armies raided its territory.
• Treasury: diamond production started at Orapa in 1972. The state owns 50% of the mining company (Debswana) with De Beers. Diamonds give about 50% of government revenue. The government has mostly run budget surpluses and holds large reserves. Economy of Botswana
• Savings fund: the Pula Fund keeps part of diamond wealth for future generations and cushions price shocks. Al Jazeera
• Results: GDP grew about 13.9% a year from 1965 to 1980. In 1994 Botswana was the first country to leave the UN least-developed list. Income per person is about $7,800 (2025). Poverty fell from 30.6% (2002/03) to about 14.5% (2022). Roads reached almost 35,000 km by 2024.