According to global management consulting company McKinsey's latest report titled "Reimagining economic growth in Africa: Turning diversity into opportunity", in Africa, Botswana falls in the category of countries labelled as "slow growers."
Almost half of Africa’s people live in countries where GDP growth between 2010 and 2019 exceeded the continent’s average growth rate of 4.2% since 2000. These countries, which fall into clusters classed as “consistent growers” and “recent accelerators,” are largely midsize economies that benefited from higher-than-average increases in investment, exports, and urbanization, which increased productivity.
Botswana, unfortunately, is not one of these.
Between 2010 and 2019, the country's GDP grew by 4.2%, matching the continental average between the preceding ten years 2000 to 2019. This puts it in the same category as the likes of Lesotho, eSwatini and South Africa. However, on the bright side, Botswana is the "best of the worst" in the "slow growers" category, topping that category.
For context, Zambia has been put in the "consistent growers" category with its economy having grown by a percentage point over the last decade compared to the preceding decade. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, was classed as a "recent accelerator", with its economy growing by two percentage points over the last decade.
Together, the countries which fall into the “recent slowdown” and “slow growers” clusters accounted for almost 75% of the continent’s GDP in 2019, showing the vast amount of economic growth that can be unlocked if these countries accelerate their economic growth.