Republic of Botswana

Botswana is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa, north of South Africa. Botswana has land boundaries shared with Namibia to the west, South Africa to the south-east, Zimbabwe and Zambia to the north-east. Much of the population of Botswana is concentrated in the eastern part of the country.

The Batswana coat of arms was adopted on January 25, 1966. The centre shield is supported by two zebras. On the top portion of the shield are three cogwheels that represent industry. The three waves symbolise water and rain, or in pula seTswana, which also means good luck and is the name of the nation’s currency. Pula, which is also found on the bottom ribbon of the coat of arms, represents the importance of water to Batswana.

At the bottom of the shield there is a head of cattle, which symbolises the importance of cattle herding in Botswana. The two zebras also symbolise the importance of wildlife, through tourism, in the national economy. Also, zebras have black and white stripes which represents equality of people of all colors in Botswana. The zebra on the right holds an ear of sorghum, an important crop in the nation. The zebra on the left holds a tusk of ivory, symbolic of the former ivory trade in Botswana. There is also a view that the ivory tusk represents wild life preservation. Botswana has one of the highest elephant populations in Africa.