Total natural resource rents in Botswana
Botswana: Total natural resource rents was 1.0% in 2021. ◆ Volatile
Total natural resource rents in Botswana, 1970–2021
Source: The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Botswana recorded 1.0% for total natural resource rents in 2021.
That represents a change of up 53.8% on the previous year and down 45.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total natural resource rents in Botswana peaked at 8.4% in 1976 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 2019.
Botswana ranks 119th of 211 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Total natural resource rents in Botswana, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 3.2% | — |
| 1971 | 2.1% | -33.2% |
| 1972 | 1.9% | -10.3% |
| 1973 | 2.5% | +30.1% |
| 1974 | 4.7% | +91.8% |
| 1975 | 4.5% | -4.5% |
| 1976 | 8.4% | +87.1% |
| 1977 | 7.2% | -14.5% |
| 1978 | 3.6% | -50.3% |
| 1979 | 4.8% | +33.1% |
| 1980 | 4.3% | -9.5% |
| 1981 | 3.1% | -27.2% |
| 1982 | 3.5% | +11.2% |
| 1983 | 2.3% | -34.1% |
| 1984 | 1.6% | -28.6% |
| 1985 | 1.9% | +14.6% |
| 1986 | 1.5% | -21.2% |
| 1987 | 1.1% | -23.1% |
| 1988 | 7.3% | +534.7% |
| 1989 | 5.6% | -23.2% |
| 1990 | 2.0% | -63.2% |
| 1991 | 3.1% | +49.9% |
| 1992 | 2.0% | -35.8% |
| 1993 | 1.1% | -41.8% |
| 1994 | 1.6% | +41.9% |
| 1995 | 2.3% | +42.5% |
| 1996 | 1.2% | -46.2% |
| 1997 | 1.4% | +10.7% |
| 1998 | 0.9% | -38.4% |
| 1999 | 1.4% | +59.4% |
| 2000 | 2.4% | +75.0% |
| 2001 | 1.2% | -51.0% |
| 2002 | 0.9% | -21.5% |
| 2003 | 1.9% | +111.3% |
| 2004 | 3.2% | +66.9% |
| 2005 | 2.3% | -27.3% |
| 2006 | 6.4% | +174.9% |
| 2007 | 7.4% | +15.1% |
| 2008 | 4.0% | -46.5% |
| 2009 | 2.2% | -43.3% |
| 2010 | 2.1% | -6.3% |
| 2011 | 1.9% | -10.0% |
| 2012 | 2.3% | +19.2% |
| 2013 | 1.4% | -36.9% |
| 2014 | 0.9% | -34.9% |
| 2015 | 0.8% | -13.3% |
| 2016 | 0.8% | -5.3% |
| 2017 | 0.9% | +15.5% |
| 2018 | 0.9% | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 0.7% | -24.6% |
| 2020 | 0.7% | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 1.0% | +53.8% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 1.0% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.8%, 56% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 1.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 7.7%, 14% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Total natural resource rents in Botswana changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | +534.7% | 1.1% | 7.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.3% | 1.9% | 8.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.2% | 1.1% | 7.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.7% | 0.9% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.2% | 0.9% | 7.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.3% | 0.7% | 2.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
More reference data data for Botswana
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0472 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0078 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1582 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0825 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.97 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.25 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0424 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total natural resource rents in Botswana?
- Total natural resource rents in Botswana was 1.0% in 2021, according to The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest total natural resource rents recorded in Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 8.4% in 1976.
- What is the lowest total natural resource rents recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 2019.
- How does Botswana rank for total natural resource rents?
- Botswana ranks 119th out of 211 countries with data for 2021.
- Is total natural resource rents rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 45.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Botswana data come from?
- The figures come from The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Total natural resource rents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 52 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Natural resources rents are estimated as the difference between the price of a commodity and the average cost of producing it. Total natural resources rents are the sum of oil rents, natural gas rents, coal rents, mineral rents, and forest rents.