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Botswana

Southern Africa

Botswana

Botswana hosts long-term refugees and asylum-seekers, primarily in Dukwi camp, where UNHCR supports protection, livelihoods, and the rollout of cash assistance to enhance self-reliance and inclusion.

Office contact details ↓ 

Botswana. Refugees receive donations of new clothing from UNIQLO.

Key statistics

919

people are estimated to be forcibly displaced and in the country as of end 2024

826

people are identified as registered refugees in the country by the end of 2024

$33 million

are needed this year to ensure operations covered by the South Africa multi-country office* are sustained

*UNHCR’s operations in Botswana are managed by the South Africa multi-country office, which also oversees operations in the Comoros, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, and South Africa, with needs budgeted jointly.

In Botswana, 760 refugees and asylum-seekers live in the Dukwi Refugee camp located some 580 km from the capital Gaborone, managed by Botswana’s Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security and supported by three UNHCR protection staff.
 
A small number of the caseload is resident in the urban areas of Gaborone and Botswana’s second-largest city, Francistown. Although many Zimbabweans returned voluntarily from Botswana last year, there has been a gradual increase in the population since April 2021 due to new arrivals – including onward movers - from the African Great Lakes region.
 
In Namibia and Botswana, UNHCR worked with government counterparts on verification exercises for the 5,669 and 1,055 refugees and asylum-seekers in the respective countries to streamline population figures and ensure that refugees and asylum-seekers are correctly documented.
Interest in voluntary repatriation is growing, and UNHCR has supported 394 people to return safely to their countries of origin from Botswana and South Africa since the start of the year. Ending statelessness, enhancing the protection environment, and strengthening partnerships are also priorities in the region.

Population and financial overview

Data on population and financials are available at the multi-country office level, which oversees operations across several countries.

Botswana

Use the year selector to access information from previous years.

Populations

Population types

Note: The "Stateless" category does not include stateless people who are also in other categories, to avoid double counting. The total number of stateless, across all categories, is  .

NB: 2025 figures are planning figures.

Source: UNHCR Refugee Data Finder for years until 2022, UNHCR planning figures (COMPASS) otherwise.

Population by country

NB: 2025 figures are planning figures.

Source: UNHCR Refugee Data Finder for years until 2022, UNHCR planning figures (COMPASS) otherwise.

Population by origin

NB: 2025 figures are planning figures.

Source: UNHCR Refugee Data Finder for years until 2022, UNHCR planning figures (COMPASS) otherwise.

Financial

Budget and expenditure trend

Source: 2025 budget was approved by ExCom in October 2024 while the 2024 budget figures include the latest supplementary appeals and are updated on a monthly basis.

Budget by pillar
Budget by objective

Note: The table presents the  budget for this operation broken down at the objective level. Resource allocation at the objective level is subject to change during the course of the year as the operational situation evolves and priorities shift. The current budget, reflected in the bottom line of this table, is updated on a monthly basis and is replaced by the final budget at year-end.

Expenditure by Outcome Area
Budget by Impact Area
Protect: Attaining favourable protection environments
Respond: Realizing rights in safe environments
Empower: Empowering communities and achieving gender equality
Solve: Securing solutions

Source: 2023 budget as approved by the Executive Committee in October 2022.
2022 current budget as approved by the High Commissioner as of October 2022; pending presentation to the ExCom's Standing Committee.

Budget by Outcome and Enabling Areas

Source: 2023 budget as approved by the Executive Committee in October 2022.
2022 current budget as approved by the High Commissioner as of October 2022; pending presentation to the ExCom's Standing Committee.

Budget by Impact Area
Protect: Attaining favourable protection environments
Respond: Realizing rights in safe environments
Empower: Empowering communities and achieving gender equality
Solve: Securing solutions

Source: 2024 budget and 2023 current budget are taken from the budget document approved by UNHCR's Executive Committee in October 2023.

Budget by Impact Area
Protect: Attaining favourable protection environments
Respond: Realizing rights in safe environments
Empower: Empowering communities and achieving gender equality
Solve: Securing solutions

Source: 2025 budget was approved by ExCom in October 2024 while the 2024 budget figures include the latest supplementary appeals and are updated on a monthly basis.

Budget by Outcome and Enabling Areas

Source: 2025 budget was approved by ExCom in October 2024 while the 2024 budget figures include the latest supplementary appeals and are updated on a monthly basis.

Budget by Outcome and Enabling Areas

Source: 2025 budget was approved by ExCom in October 2024 while the 2024 budget figures include the latest supplementary appeals and are updated on a monthly basis.

Budget by Impact Area
Protect: Attaining favourable protection environments
Respond: Realizing rights in safe environments
Empower: Empowering communities and achieving gender equality
Solve: Securing solutions
Budget by Outcome and Enabling Areas

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Strategy - Country

Strategy

For information about our work in Botswana:

Refworld

Find legislation, case law and UNHCR policy relating to claims for international protection.
 

Visit Refworld
 

Office contact details

For information about our operation in Botswana, please contact us through our Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.