Can Botswana Optimise on Harnessing the Demographic Dividend?

Abstract

Botswana has entered the window of opportunity as occasioned by the bulging labour force relative to those outside. This paper seeks to give a narrative of Botswana’s population transition and drawing on international experience endeavour to calibrate the extent to which the country might be able to harness the dividend. To this end some variables that impact on the country’s ability to enhance economic growth and development are analysed. The global competitiveness report has been the main source of data used. Graphical presentations have been the mode of analysis used to calibrate on the country’s relative competitiveness in the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The country has shown a trend of a loss of competitiveness against other countries of late, a factor the authors argue could tanish the country’s prospects of harnessing the dividend