Discover Botswana, largest Diamond producer in Africa, and second in the world
In 1966, when Bechuanaland, the land known today as Botswana, gained independence it had minimal literacy and widespread poverty with an average per-capita income of just $83. Fortunately, just a year later diamonds were discovered at Orapa 325 miles north of Jwaneng and the country’s destiny changed forever.
Since early 1980s, Botswana has been one of the world's largest producers of gem diamonds, and as of today, Botswana is the second largest producer of diamonds, after Russia.
What has become the single richest diamond mine in the world opened in Jwaneng in 1982. The mine was discovered when termites looking for water brought grains of diamond to the surface. Botswana produced a total of 21.3 million carats of diamonds from its three Debswana mines at the time, in 1999, and is the highest producer of diamonds by value in the world.
Botswana has produced more than 728 million carats of rough diamonds since operations began there in 1971 and is the source of many of the world’s largest and most beautiful diamonds. Two of which are the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona, second largest diamond gem in the world, sold in 2017 for $53 million, and the 1098 carat diamond found in 2021, third-largest diamond ever mined on Earth worth $55 million.
The revenue raised from selling these precious stones has gone into improving the lives of Botswana’s small population of 2 million people.
For the Botswana people, every diamond purchase represents food on the table, better living conditions, better healthcare, potable and safe drinking water, more roads to connect remote communities, and much more,” as explained by Festus Mogae, former president of Botswana and current member of the Diamond Empowerment Fund’s Advisory Board.
Botswana's diamond industry in partnership with De Beers, the world's largest supplier of diamonds, currently contributes around 20 percent to the southern African nation's GDP. Since diamonds were discovered in the country in 1967, the revenue from mining has been invested in infrastructure, schools and medical centres.
It is what transformed Botswana from one of the poorest to the fourth-wealthiest country on the continent, after Seychelles, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
And with that have come jobs, stability and education, with a literacy rate of 83 percent. Today, some 20 percent of Botswana's 2-million-strong population is employed by the diamond mining industry.
The economy of Botswana is currently one of the world's fastest growing economies, averaging about 5% per annum over the past decade. Growth in private sector employment averaged about 10% per annum during the first 30 years of the country's independence. After a period of stagnation at the turn of the 21st century, Botswana's economy registered strong levels of growth, with GDP growth exceeding 6-7% targets.
Botswana has been praised by the African Development Bank for sustaining one of the world's longest economic booms. Economic growth since the late 1960s has been on par with some of Asia's largest economies. The government has consistently maintained budget surpluses and has extensive foreign-exchange reserves, thanks to its diamonds.
With reserves dwindling, the industry fears an expiration date of its diamond reign, estimated at 20 to 30 years from now. Additionally, like all precious commodities, international demand for diamonds has greatly declined, notably with a sharp downturn in 2015.
With this possibility looming, Botswana is now looking to capitalise on its second-largest income earner: tourism!
According to official figures, the country received 1.6 million visitors in 2015, generating an estimated €780 million. While this only accounts for 3.3 percent of its GDP, the sector has created some 140,000 jobs, according to estimates.
In a bid to expand the sector, the country is looking at various tourism models including adventure, cultural, urban, business and above all sustainable tourism.