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Botswana

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Southern Africa

Botswana is home to 4 documented ethnic groups in Southern Africa — led by Tswana (~79%), Kalanga (~11%), Botswana Other (~7%), Khoisan San (~3%). This page blends their phenotype and demographic data into one weighted reference: skin tone, facial features, hair texture and build, drawn from published census and ancestry sources.

Demographic Composition

Composition weights are derived from self-identification in published census and demographic surveys. Each row links to the source ethnic-group atlas page.

Ethnic groupWeightSource
TswanaTswana79.0%Statistics Botswana 2022 Census; Tswana (~79%, ~1.9M+ of ~2.4M total). Bantu / Setswana language. Major sub-groups: Bangwato, Bakwena, Bangwaketse, Bakgatla, Batawana, Barolong, Balete, Batlokwa
KalangaKalanga11.0%Botswana 2022 Census; Kalanga (~11%, ~265,000+); Bantu / Kalanga language. Cross-border with Zimbabwean Kalanga
Botswana OtherBotswana Other7.0%Botswana 2022 Census residual; includes Kgalagadi, Yeyi, Herero (~31,000+ Herero-Botswana), Mbukushu, Lozi-related, plus white-Botswana (~3%) and Indian-Botswana communities
Khoisan SanKhoisan San3.0%Botswana 2022 Census plus academic estimates; San / Basarwa (~3%, ~63,000+); the Indigenous Khoisan-language foraging population. Cross-border with Namibian / South African Khoisan

Botswana Phenotype Profile

Botswana has a Tswana-majority demographic profile (~79%) with substantial Kalanga (~11%), San / Khoisan Indigenous (~3%), and other (~7%) communities. The San represent one of the deepest-rooted human source populations globally.

A descriptive view, not a claim about individuals

This page shows a weighted aggregate of phenotype observations across the Botswana population, based on demographic composition from published census and ancestry sources. Phenotypes within any country are far more varied than the aggregate suggests; this is a descriptive reference, not a deterministic claim about any individual. For source-level detail on individual ethnic groups, see the constituent atlas pages linked below.

Methodology Notes

Composition weights derived from Statistics Botswana 2022 Census.

See full project methodology →

Primary Sources

  1. 1.Statistics Botswana. Population and Housing Census 2022. Gaborone: SB; 2023.
  2. 2.Schapera I. The Tswana (rev ed). Routledge; 1953.
  3. 3.Schlebusch CM, Skoglund P, Sjödin P, et al. Genomic variation in seven Khoe-San groups reveals adaptation and complex African history. Science. 2012;338(6105):374-379.
  4. 4.Bock J, Johnson SE. Demography and Reproductive Ecology of the Okavango Delta. Hum Nat. 2002;13(2):219-250.
  5. 5.Hitchcock RK. Khoisan Indigenous Issues in Southern Africa. International Journal on Minority and Group Rights. 2002;9(2):143-172.

Other countries in Southern Africa

Aggregate phenotype references for neighbouring Southern Africa nations, weighted by demographic composition.

Browse all Southern Africaethnic groups & countries →