• "DOT-COM Activity: Botswana - ICTs in African Schools Conference" April 1 - July 1, 2003

• Short Description: dot-EDU worked with Internews (dot-GOV) to help policymakers in Botswana understand e-rate and consider it for a universal service mechanism that they are putting in place. [pilot project]

Language policy / Politique de langue

(Source: UNESCO, 1985)

ICT policy / Politique de TIC

Localisation policy / Politique de localisation

UNESCO (1985) reported the following periodicals (name, frequency of publication, circulation, language). Updated information is needed:

• Mobile subscriptions:
  • 493,000 (28.0/100 population) (ITU 2004 cited in Vodafone 2005)
  • Telephones - mobile cellular: 823,100 (2005) (CIA)
  • GSM companies & coverage : http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_bw.shtml

"Mobile phones and radio enjoy the largest diffusion rate of ICT technologies. ... mobile teledensity is 31%. ... Fixed line telephony, at a teledensity of 7.9%, is still struggling to break through the 10% barrier, further constraining the spread of the latest ICT technologies such as the Internet." (Towards an African e-Index)

• ISPs / FSI : 11 (2001) (Wikipedia)
• Internet hosts :
  • 5815 on .bw domain (ISC 2007)
  • 5,499 (2006) (CIA)

• Project telecentres / Télécentres de projets:

"ADSL has been introduced in the following areas: Gaborone, Tlkokweng, Mogoditsane, Phakalane, Francistown, Lobatse, Palapye, Maun, Kasane, Selibe-Phikwe, Letlhakane, Jwaneng, Orapa" (Wikipedia)

Internet Systems Consortium (ISC), "Distribution of Top-Level Domain Names by Host Country, Jan 2007" http://www.isc.org/index.pl?/ops/ds/reports/2007-02/dist-bynum.php

______, "Communications in Botswana," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_in_Botswana

• International internet bandwidth / Bande passante internationale d'internet :
• ISPs / FSI :
• Internet hosts : 5,499 (2006) (CIA)
• Geographic coverage / Couverture géographique] :

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), "The World Factbook: Botswana," https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bc.html

Information relevant to Botswana's NICI (National Information and Communications Infrastructure) policy is available at http://www.uneca.org/aisi/nici/country_profiles/botswana/botspol.htm & http://www.uneca.org/aisi/nici/country_profiles/botswana/botsab.htm

Setswana is the de facto national language. It is spoken by the vast majority of the population. It is used in deliberations of the National Assembly. (Aménagement linguistique)

Tswana (Setswana)

UNDP (2006) gives a literacy figure (without reference to which language[s]) of: 81.2%

Wikipedia, "Botswana," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botswana#External_links

______, "Botswana," http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botswana

• In the context of education, WikiEducator notes: "Whilst there is a stated commitment to develop local content, not much digital content is available that is aligned specifically to Botswana’s national curriculum or that is available in local languages."

• WikiEducator has a list of ICT in education initiatives and a table on enabling and constraining factors

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), "The World Factbook: Botswana," https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bc.html

WikiEducator, "ICT4Africa/Country Report Botswana," http://www.wikieducator.org/ICT4Africa/Country_Report_Botswana

• Fixed lines: Telephone mainlines:
  • 91 per 1000 people (APC)
  • Telephones - main lines in use: 132,000 (2005) (CIA)

• "Access to radio is enjoyed by more than 70% countrywide." (Towards an African e-Index)
• Radio broadcast stations: AM 8, FM 13, shortwave 4 (2001) (CIA)

• According to CIA, "internet hosts" number 5,499 (2006)

• "DOT-COM Activity: Botswana - ICTs in African Schools Conference" April 1 - July 1, 2003
  • http://www.dot-com-alliance.org/activities/activitydetails.php?activity_id=46
  • Short Description: dot-EDU worked with Internews (dot-GOV) to help policymakers in Botswana understand e-rate and consider it for a universal service mechanism that they are putting in place. [pilot project]
• WikiEducator has a table on enabling and constraining factors for ICTs in education

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), "The World Factbook: Benin," https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bn.html

WikiEducator, "ICT4Africa/Country Report Benin," http://www.wikieducator.org/ICT4Africa/Country_Report_Benin

Policy / Politique

Writing in national/indigenous languages / Ecriture en langues nationales/indigènes

Other comments / Autre commentaire

Infrastructure / Infrastructure

The APC page, "ICT Policy in Botswana," has some information and links:

• In English: http://rights.apc.org/africa/index.shtml?apc=s21811e_1
• En français: http://afrique.droits.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=s21811e_1

Resources / Ressources

Projects & organisations / Projets et organisations

Localisation policy / Politique de localisation

APC, "ICT Policy in Botswana," Africa ICT Policy Monitor, http://rights.apc.org/africa/index.shtml?apc=s21811e_1 ("Politiques de TIC en/au Botswana," Observatoire des politiques des TIC en Afrique, http://afrique.droits.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=s21811e_1 )

This is the localisation, language & ICT profile for
Botswana. For the BW-L10n wikigroup, click on the flag.

Botswana (BW) http://www.PanAfriL10n.org/wikidoc/flags/BOT.GIF

< Benin | Countries | Burkina Faso >

(:toc:)

Language information / Données sur les langues

Languages spoken / Langues parlées

a) Official / Officielle(s) :

b) National, indigenous / Nationale(s), indigène(s) :

c) Relevant pages in the Major Languages section of this report / Pages appropriées dans la section de ce rapport sur les Langues principales :

Policy / Politique :

a) Laws/legislation / Lois/législation :

b) Agencies / Agences :

c) Languages in education/literacy / Langues dans l'éducation/l'alphabétisation :

Writing in national/indigenous languages / Ecriture en langues nationales/indigènes :

a) Orthographies / Orthographes :

1981 Standard Setswana Orthography. All languages of Botswana use the Latin alphabet.

b) Print publications / Editions imprimées :

Other comments / Autre commentaire :

ICT situation / Situation des TIC

Infrastructure / Infrastructure

a) Telephones / Téléphones :

• Fixed lines: Telephone mainlines: 91 per 1000 people (APC)

b) Radio stations / Stations de radio :

c) Connectivity / Connectivité :

Computer & internet access / Accès aux ordinateurs et à l'internet

a) Computers & points of access / Ordinateurs et lieux d'accès :

• Number of computers / Nombre d'ordinateurs: 38.7 per 1000 people (APC)
• Cybercafés / Cybercafés:
• Project telecentres / Télécentres de projets:

"Botswana has no telecentres to talk of, other than the few dedicated business centres mostly offering their services from major hotels, shopping malls or perhaps as part of Internet cafes." (Towards an African e-Index)

b) Internet / Internet :

"Access to ICT technologies in Botswana is very low, with less than 2% of the population owning Internet subscriptions. In urban areas, the Internet is accessed in three main ways: Internet cafés, educational institutions and workplaces. In the rural areas, where more than 50% of the population lives, there is virtually no access to the Internet. Access to Internet cafés is on an individual basis, and relatively few people use them due to the high costs of Internet connectivity, bandwidth and basic computing hardware, as well as the lack of local content creation." (Towards an African e-Index)

c) Other / Autre :

• Digital Opportunity Index (DOI): 0.35 (ITU 2006)

Policy / Politique

ICT4D/E & ICT training / TIC pour le développement/éducation, et formation en TIC

Localisation situation / Situation de localisation

Country web content / Contenu web du pays

Web content in indigenous languages / Contenu web en langues indigènes

Software localisation / Localisation de logiciel

References / Références

APC, "ICT Policy in Botswana" Africa ICT Policy Monitor, http://rights.apc.org/africa/index.shtml?apc=s21811e_1

International Telecommunications Union (ITU). 2006. World Information Society Report 2006. Geneva: ITU. http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/worldinformationsociety/2006/wisr-web.pdf

______. 2004. African Telecommunication Indicators 2004. Geneva: ITU.

Vodafone. 2005. "Africa: The Impact of Mobile Phones." The Vodafone Policy Paper Series, Number 3, March 2005. http://www.vodafone.com/assets/files/en/GPP%20SIM%20paper.pdf

• Mobile subscriptions: 493,000 (28.0/100 population) (ITU 2004 cited in Vodafone 2005)

ITU (International Telecommunications Union). 2004. African Telecommunication Indicators 2004. Geneva: ITU.

Internet World Stats: Africa. 2007. http://internetworldstats.com/africa.htm

Vodafone. 2005. "Africa: The Impact of Mobile Phones." The Vodafone Policy Paper Series, Number 3, March 2005. http://www.vodafone.com/assets/files/en/GPP%20SIM%20paper.pdf

2.d. ICT4D/E & ICT training / TIC pour le développement et formation en TIC

"DOT-COM Activity: Botswana - ICTs in African Schools Conference" April 1 - July 1, 2003

• http://www.dot-com-alliance.org/activities/activitydetails.php?activity_id=46
• Short Description: dot-EDU worked with Internews (dot-GOV) to help policymakers in Botswana understand e-rate and consider it for a universal service mechanism that they are putting in place. [pilot project]

This is the localisation, language & ICT profile for Botswana. For the BW-L10n wikigroup, click on the flag.

This is the localisation, language & ICT profile for Botswana. For the ZW-L10n wikigroup, click on the flag.

Botswana (BW) http://www.PanAfriL10n.org/wikidoc/flags/BOT.GIF

This is the localisation, language & ICT profile for Zimbabwe. For the ZW-L10n wikigroup, click on the flag.

UNDP (2006) gives a literacy figure (without reference to which language[s]) of: 81.2%

UNDP. 2006. ''Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis. Human Development Report 2006.'' New York: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). [Human development index Adult literacy rate (% ages 15 and older) (HDI) http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/indicators/3.html ]

Botswana

Department of Linguistics
University of Botswana
GABORONE
(Source: UNESCO, 1985)

UNESCO (1985) reported the following periodicals (name, frequency of publication, circulation, language). Updated information is needed:

• Botswana Daily News, daily, 7,000, Setswana
• Kutlwanomonthly, 18,000, English/Setswana
• Mpatlatsane, monthly, -, Setswana/English
• Therisanyo (Consultation), irregular, 3,000, Setswana/English
• Masa (Dawn), irregular, -, Setswana/English
• Puo Pha (Straight Tall), irregular, -, Setswana/English
• Narang, irregular, -, Setswana/English

Otlogetswe, Thapelo. 2004. "The BNC Design as a Model for a Setswana Language Corpus." Paper delivered at the 7th Annual CLUK Research Colloquium, University of Birmingham, U.K. http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~mgl/cluk/papers/otlogetswe.pdf

UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Africa. 1985. African Community Languages and Their Use in Literacy and Education: A Regional Survey. Dakar: UNESCO.

• Internet users / Utilisateurs de l'internet : 60,000 internet users as of Dec/02, 3.3% of the population, per ITU (Internet World Stats)

Balancing Act Africa. 2006. African Internet Country Profiles, Part 3, Southern and Central Africa. London: Balancing Act. http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profile3.html

Internet World Stats: Africa. 2006. http://internetworldstats.com/africa.htm

English (de facto; the constitution gives special status to no language). Laws and regulations are in English, and command of written English is required to be elected to the National Assembly. (Aménagement linguistique)

Setswana is the de facto national language. It is spoken by the vast majority of the population. It is used in deliberations of the National Assembly. (Aménagement linguistique)

"Instruction in government schools is in Setswana between standard 1 and 4 across all subjects, after which English is used as a medium of instruction. However, Setswana is frequently used for explaining difficult concepts through standard 7 and the first 2 years of secondary school. Setswana as a subject is compulsory from primary to the highest level of secondary education for all Batswana learners in government schools." (Otlogetswe)

There is a Setswana language independent daily newspaper, Mokgosi, founded in 2002.

"Mmegi, the largest newspaper which writes in English, has a two and a half pages Setswana insert called Naledi." (Otlogetswe)

Otlogetswe, Thapelo. 2004. "The BNC Design as a Model for a Setswana Language Corpus." Paper delivered at the 7th Annual CLUK Research Colloquium, University of Birmingham, U.K. www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~mgl/cluk/papers/otlogetswe.pdf

• Fixed lines:
• Mobile subscriptions:

• International internet bandwidth / Bande passante internationale d'internet :
• ISPs / FSI :
• Geographic coverage / Couverture géographique :

• Dial-up subscribers / Abonnés par ligne téléphonique :
• Internet users / Utilisateurs de l'internet :

"Ibis" has a directory of Botswanan websites at http://www.info.bw/resource/local/index.shtml

1981 Standard Setswana Orthography

• Fixed lines: 136,463 (March 2005) (Balancing Act)
• Mobile subscriptions: 563,782 (March 2005) (Balancing Act)

• International internet bandwidth / Bande passante internationale d'internet : 40 Mbps (2005) (Balancing Act)
• ISPs / FSI : 22 (March 2005) (Balancing Act)
• Geographic coverage / Couverture géographique : "BTA [Botswana Telecommunications Authority] has completed a fibre-optic ring around the country. ... Rural communities have been reached by breaking out spurs from this ring." (Balancing Act)

• Dial-up subscribers / Abonnés par ligne téléphonique : 5,000 (2005) (Balancing Act)
• Internet users / Utilisateurs de l'internet : 40,000 (2005) (Balancing Act)

Gaborone had 13 cybercafés in 2002 (Balancing Act)

"Hundreds of Community Access Centres will be established throughout the country." (Balancing Act)

Balancing Act mentions that Botswana's new ICT policy is an ambitious plan to achieve various changes and has resources, time-phased targets, and a clear implementation structure.

There is a directory of Botswanan websites at the "Ibis" site http://www.info.bw/resource/local/index.shtml (Balancing Act)

Balancing Act Africa. 2006. African Internet Country Profiles, Part 3, Southern and Central Africa. London: Balancing Act.

Sebusang Sebusang, et al. 2005. "Botswana." In Gillwald, Alison (ed.), Towards an African e-Index: Household and individual ICT Access and Usage Across 10 African Countries. (Research ICT Africa!, http://www.researchictafrica.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=504 )

Tswana

"Botswana has no telecentres to talk of, other than the few dedicated business centres mostly offering their services from major hotels, shopping malls or perhaps as part of Internet cafes." (Towards an African e-Index)

"Mobile phones and radio enjoy the largest diffusion rate of ICT technologies. ... mobile teledensity is 31%. ... Fixed line telephony, at a teledensity of 7.9%, is still struggling to break through the 10% barrier, further constraining the spread of the latest ICT technologies such as the Internet." (Towards an African e-Index)

"Access to radio is enjoyed by more than 70% countrywide." (Towards an African e-Index)

"Access to ICT technologies in Botswana is very low, with less than 2% of the population owning Internet subscriptions. In urban areas, the Internet is accessed in three main ways: Internet cafés, educational institutions and workplaces. In the rural areas, where more than 50% of the population lives, there is virtually no access to the Internet. Access to Internet cafés is on an individual basis, and relatively few people use them due to the high costs of Internet connectivity, bandwidth and basic computing hardware, as well as the lack of local content creation." (Towards an African e-Index)

"The total Internet market in Botswana stands at about 15,000 dial-up customers and about 1,000 leased line/wireless corporate customers. It has been estimated that, in total, about 40,000 people have access to Internet via their home connection or from their workplace." (Towards an African e-Index)

"The commercialisation of the telecommunications sector in Botswana started with the creation of the Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC), through the BTC Act of 1980, to develop, operate and manage Botswana’s national and international telecommunications services. The BTC Act was repealed through the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that established a regulatory authority, the Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA), which is mandated to promote free and fair competition within the telecommunications and ICT sector in the country." (Towards an African e-Index)

Gillwald, Alison (ed.). 2005. "Towards an African e-Index: Household and individual ICT Access and Usage Across 10 African Countries." (Research ICT Africa!, http://www.researchictafrica.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=504 )

Information relevant to Botswana's NICI (National Information and Communications Infrastructure) policy is available at http://www.uneca.org/aisi/nici/country_profiles/botswana/botspol.htm & http://www.uneca.org/aisi/nici/country_profiles/botswana/botsab.htm

(See also specific language pages.)

(See also specific language pages.)

1. Language information / Données sur les langues

1.a. Languages spoken / Langues parlées

1.a.1. Official / Officielle(s) :

1.a.2. National, indigenous / Nationale(s), indigène(s) :

Setswana is the de facto national language. It is spoken by the vast majority of the population.

Ethnologue lists 28 languages at http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=BW

1.a.3. Relevant pages in the Major Languages section of this report / Pages appropriées dans la section de ce rapport sur les Langues principales :

1.b. Policy / Politique :

1.b.1. Laws/legislation / Lois/législation :

1.b.2. Agencies / Agences :

1.b.3. Languages in education/literacy / Langues dans l'éducation/l'alphabétisation :

1.c. Writing in national/indigenous languages / Ecriture en langues nationales/indigènes :

1.c.1. Orthographies / Orthographes :

1.c.2. Print publications / Editions imprimées :

1.d. Other comments / Autre commentaire :

2. ICT situation / Situation des TIC

2.a. Infrastructure / Infrastructure

2.a.1. Telephones / Téléphones :

• Fixed lines:
• Mobile subscriptions:

2.a.2. Radio stations / Stations de radio :

2.a.3. Connectivity / Connectivité :

• International internet bandwidth / Bande passante internationale d'internet :
• ISPs / FSI :
• Geographic coverage / Couverture géographique :

2.b Computer & internet access / Accès aux ordinateurs et à l'internet

2.b.1. Internet / Internet :

• Dial-up subscribers / Abonnés par ligne téléphonique :
• Internet users / Utilisateurs de l'internet :

2.b.2. Cybercentres / Cybercentres :

2.b.3. Project telecentres / Télécentres des projets :

2.c. Policy / Politique

2.d. ICT4D & ICT training / TIC pour le développement et formation en TIC

3. Localisation situation / Situation de localisation

3.a. Country web content / Contenu web du pays

3.b. Web content in indigenous languages / Contenu web en langues indigènes

3.c. Software localisation / Localisation de logiciel

4. References / Références

1. Language information / Données sur les langues

a. Languages spoken / Langues parlées :

i. Official / Officielle(s) :

ii. National (indigenous, often with legislated status other than official) / Nationale(s) (indigène ; souvent avec un statut légale autre qu' "officielle") :

iii. Other indigenous / Autres indigènes :

iv. Relevant pages in the Major Languages section of this report / Pages appropriées dans la section de ce rapport sur les Langues principales :

b. Policy / Politique :

i. Laws/legislation / Lois/législation :

ii. Agencies / Agences :

iii. Languages in education/literacy / Langues dans l'éducation/l'alphabétisation :

c. Writing in national/indigenous languages / Ecriture en langues nationales/indigènes :

i. Orthographies / Orthographes :

ii. Print publications / Editions imprimées :

d. Other comments / Autre commentaire :

2. ICT situation / Situation des TIC

3. Localisation situation / Situation de localisation

4. References / Références

Sotho/Tswana

SothoTswana

ii. National (indigenous, often with legislated status other than official):

Setswana (de facto). It is spoken by the vast majority of the population.

4. References

Leclerc, Jacques. L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, "Botswana," http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/botswana.htm

SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Languages of Botswana," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=BW

iii. Languages in education/literacy:

c. Writing in national/indigenous languages:

i. Orthographies:

ii. Print publications:

d. Other comments:

4. References

ii. National (indigenous, usually with legislated status other than official):

1. Language information

a. Languages spoken:

i. Official:

English

ii. National (indigenous usually with legislated status other than official):

Setswana (de facto)

iii. Other indigenous:

Ethnologue has an extensive list at http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=BW

iv. Relevant pages in the Major Languages section of this report:

b. Policy:

i. Laws/legislation:

The site L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde has a page on Botswana at http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/botswana.htm

ii. Agencies:

c. Other comments:

There is a Setswana language independent daily newspaper.

2. ICT situation

3. Localisation situation

4. References: