Gaborone

Approximately 10% of the population of Botswana lives in Gaborone, the capital and largest city in the country. Found in the southeastern corner of Botswana only 15 km (9.3 mi) from South Africa, Gaborone is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.

Up until 1963, Britain’s Bechuanaland Protectorate (present-day Botswana) was administered from Mafikeng in South Africa. Botswana was the only territory in the world to have an administrative centre outside of its boundaries. In 1963 it was decided to name the capital in Botswana and Gaborone was one of nine possible sites. Gaborone was eventually chosen because of its accessibility to most of the major tribes without belonging to anyone in particular, and for its proximity to both a railway line and a major source of water. Within eighteen months, Gaborone was transformed from a tiny village settlement to a capital city in time for Botswana’s independence in 1966.