There is a significant population of Zimbabweans in Botswana.
Numbers and distribution
Economic and political problems in
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
have led to significant increases in migration to
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
since the early 2000s. By 2003, it was estimated that there were 40,000 Zimbabwean migrants in the country, of whom only one-third were resident legally. Many reside in the Ledumadumane suburb of the capital
Gaborone
Gaborone ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census.
Gaboron ...
. There is also a camp for Zimbabwean refugees at Dukwe.
Migration
The number of Zimbabwean migrants in Botswana was estimated at between forty and one hundred thousand . In 2012, Botswana deported 17,402 undocumented Zimbabweans, while in 2013 it had already deported 22,675 in the first ten months of the year.
The growth of migration, legal and illegal, has produced various tensions between the governments of Botswana and Zimbabwe, with
Paul Mangwana
Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana (born 10 August 1961) is a Zimbabwean politician, who has previously served in the cabinet of Zimbabwe. Botswana claims to have deported 26,717 Zimbabweans residing in the country illegally in 2002. Beginning the following year, they also began to build an electrifiedfence along their boundary with Zimbabwe. Botswana's agricultural officials assert that the main purpose of the fence is to stop animal rather than human migration, with the aim of preventing the transmission of
foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, followe ...
, but Zimbabwe's high commissioner in
Gaborone
Gaborone ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census.
Gaboron ...
rejects this explanation, calling it an attempt to make Zimbabwe into a "Gaza Strip". One survey found a support rate of 63% for the fence.
Human rights abuses faced by Zimbabweans in Botswana have also become the subject of a play entitled "Voice of the People", with actors from both countries.
Employment
Zimbabweans are the most numerous nationality among registered foreign workers in Botswana. More than half of Zimbabwean migrant workers are employed in
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
and agricultural occupations, while others work in construction, real estate, retail, education, hospitality, health and manufacturing. As a result, a disproportionate number of Zimbabweans form part of Botswana's skilled workers, making them a great asset to the economy. Others, especially the more irregular migrants, are engaged as maids, herders or in cross-border trading, with female migrants facing the risk of being exploited as maids or sex workers.
See also
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Chinese people in Botswana
There were estimated to be roughly five to six thousand Chinese people in Botswana .
Employment
, Chinese formed the largest group of self-employment permit holders in Botswana, though Zimbabwean expatriates were the largest group of foreign wo ...
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Indians in Botswana
Indians in Botswana do not form a very large population. As of 2016, an estimated 7,000-8,000 residents of Botswana are of Indian origin, of which 3,000-4,000 are citizens of Botswana. Most Indians are employed in the retail, manufacturing, teach ...
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...