Gross poverty despite Botswana's high per capita GDP

Brian Benza
Staff Writer | Friday October 9, 2009 00:00

The 2009 Human Development Index (HDI) report released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) shows that with a U$13,000 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita - the highest in Africa - Botswana has managed to reduce the number of people living under US$2 a day from 55 percent to 49 percent of the population as the country continues to fair poorly in human development.

The figure compares poorly with South Africa, which has 42 percent of its population living on less than US$2 a day, and favourably with Namibia, which is at 62 percent.
The report, which uses 2007 data before the financial crisis, says Botswana is placed at position 125 out of 185 countries in the study; from position 124 out of 177 countries last year.

South Africa is at position 129 from last year's 121, while Namibia is at position 128.
Other African countries ranked ahead of Botswana in terms of human development such as Gabon, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria have nearly half as much GDP per capita, a development which suggests Botswana's inadequate efforts in turning resources into poverty alleviation.

According to the UNDP, the HDI provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and gross enrolment in education) and having a decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity, PPP, income).

According to the report, the life expectancy of a Motswana at birth is 53 years compared to South Africa's 51 years and Namibia's 60 years. On education, 82 percent of Batswana are able to read and write, compared with South Africa and Namibia at 88 percent each.

The report says that as measured by the Human Poverty Index (HPI), 22.9 percent of Botswana's 2 million people live below minimum threshold levels in each of the dimensions of the human development index. South Africa's HPI is at 25 percent while Namibia's is at 17 percent.

In poverty rankings, Botswana is positioned at 81 from 135 developing countries, with factors such as the high probability of a Motswana's inability to reach the age of 40 dragging the country's rankings down.

Illustrating the poverty index, there is a 31 percent probability of a Motswana not reaching the age of 40, compared to South Africa's 36 percent while 17 percent of Botswana's adult population above 15 are illiterate. South Africa's illiteracy is at 12 percent.The report says four percent of the people in Botswana do not use an improved source of water, showing the great lengths to which the government has gone to provide safe and clean water for citizens.

However, the government still has a long way to go in terms of childcare, especially nutrition. The report says 13 percent of children under 5 years of age are underweight.
The 2009 HDI report, which is themed Overcoming Barriers: Human Mobility and Development, also touches on human migration and its effects on development. 'Every year, millions of people cross national or international borders seeking better living standards,' it notes.

'Most migrants - internal and international - reap gains in the form of higher incomes, better access to education and health, and improved prospects for their children. Most of the world's 195 million international migrants have moved from one developing country to another or between developed countries.'

The report shows that Botswana has an emigration rate of 0.9 percent. The major continent of destination for migrants from Botswana is Africa with 60.3 percent of emigrants living there.

The report says as at 2007, Botswana had a mere 80, 000 official immigrants.