Botswana is a large country (582,000 km2
) with a small population (1.5 million in 2001).
It is considered an upper middle class income country, as classified by the international
financial institutions, with a per capita GNP of about US$4,100 in 2001.However, in
spite of this rosy picture, poverty has also been endemic. While poverty in Botswana is
predominantly rural, the rate of urbanization (at 8.4% per annum) is the highest in Africa,
and marked rural migration has led to increasing concern about social and physical
changes in urban areas. In 1997, the UNDP reported that 20% of the people living in
urban areas in Botswana were considered 'poor' and 9% 'very poor'. In Gaborone, 20% of
the total population is poor and 7% are very poor.