Gaborone is the capital of what country?

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 the country.

The seat of government was transferred there from Mafeking, South Africa, in 1965, one year before Botswana became independent of Britain.

It's named after Chief Gaborone, who led his tribe to this area from the Magaliesberg around 1880. Ten years later Cecil John Rhodes chose this little settlement as the site of a colonial fort, where, it is said, the abortive Jameson Raid into South Africa was planned.

Still little more than an administrative village when Botswana began to move towards independence in the early sixties, it was chosen as the site for the new capital due to its strategic location, the availability of a reliable water supply and its proximity to the cross-continental railway line.

In a dry region, water is of crucial importance, and the fact that a large dam could be successfully created here was a necessary precondition for the growth of the city. It is located by the edge of the city, set among hills and dense bush.

A popular local resort, it is available for non-motorised water-sport, but a Water Utilities Corporation permit is needed. Bass, bream and barbel tempt the avid fishermen in summer, and the Gaborone Yacht Club has its own swimming pool - not a bad idea since the dam not only has the occasional crocodile that escapes translocation, but bilharzia as well.