Here is an overview comparing Botswana with South Africa. They are two completely different countries despite being neighbours. Development can mean many things but here I enumerate them with an inexhaustive list of just a few favourite indicators:
BW = Botswana
ZA = South Africa
- Gross Domestic Product[1] – South Africa is the larger economy.
BW – USD 17.41 Billion per annum
ZA – USD 349.4 Billion per annumSouth Africa is one of the leading African economies and has an almost 60 million human population against Botswana’s which is just over 2 million people. The population density in ZA is *46.8 people per square km as opposed to BW’s *4.04 people per square kilometre – think Urban Metropolis versus Modern Country Living.
*1 square kilometre = 0.386102 square miles - Economic Growth[2] – Botswana is growing much faster at the time of writing.
BW – 2.359% per annum
ZA – 1.32% per annum
Botswana’s economy is growing at almost twice the pace of South Africa’s. It is on the move while the South African economy is slowing down but this may change. - Political Stability – Equal, different dynamics, solid governance in both. BW is less socially volatile.
South Africa has the larger political challenge with 11 distinct official languages representing different cultures vying for prominence vs Botswana’s 2 major cultures that have a much more unified feel and tied together by one commonly understood indigenous language.
South Africa has a much more complex political fabric that has deeper problems but South African democracy seems to be persevering and standing the test of time since 1994. Botswana has had a solid democracy since it’s founding at Independence in 1966. Both countries have relatively good governance structures & institutions. - Corruption[3] – Botswana is far less corrupt.
Since corruption is such an issue in Africa and affects development and the general ease of life, I have included it here. Botswana is the least corrupt country in Africa according to Transperancy International’s Corruption Perceptions Index in 2017 while South Africa lags behind significantly. - Crime – Botswana is significantly safer.
Crime is higher in South Africa than in Botswana and it significantly affects life differences in the two nations. Botswana feels secure in general with little criminal drama while South Africans are more cautious & watchful due to higher organised and opportunistic crime.
Illegal weapons which fuel crime infiltrate ZA from countries like Mozambique. ZA gun laws are much more relaxed than in BW and citizens can obtain gun licenses via a controlled process. Within BW there is very low gun ownership and weapons are restricted. Most citizens do not qualify to own guns and semi- and fully automatic weapons are for use only by the security forces.
The police force is armed in ZA and unarmed in BW but BW police can call upon the SSG (Special Support Group), a militarised battle-grade force that can be used to fight crime where necessary and are often seen patrolling the streets during holidays – a practise that is welcomed by most of the population. - Social Progress – Equal, the two have similar social progress in terms of government’s provision of certain basic general services. This excludes provision of services to the poor and aged in which BW is the better provider referred to in the point about economic equality.
Social progress defines a measure of the quality of life:
> Water and Sanitation,
> Access to Basic Knowledge
> Personal Rights
> Nutrition and Basic Medical Care
..and so on. - Equality (Economic) – The Gini Indices of both countries are very close showing close economic inequality measures (the distance between the wealthy and the poor).
Be that as it may, the bottom rung of society in South Africa appears to have fewer options because BW has more advanced social support programmes for the very poor and for the aged. BW’s success in sustainably lifting people out of poverty has been fraught with difficulty. However, the social programmes in BW tend to make the quality of life in BW better than in ZA for the bottom rungs of society.
So the verdict?
If one is looking for a quiet country with peace and security along with very low corruption and a fast developing economy then the more “developed country” would be Botswana. If you prefer a fast-moving metropolis with a complex structure and more urban, then South Africa would be the more “developed country”. South Africa can also offer a less urban “country life” & is more diverse but the downside would be the lack of security and some fairly unstable turbulent social structures.
Footnotes
[1] World Development Indicators
[2] World Development Indicators