a republic in southern Africa: established as the British protectorate of Bechuanaland in 1885 as a defence against the Boers; became an independent state within the Commonwealth in 1966; consists mostly of a plateau averaging 1000 m (3300 ft), with the extensive Okavango swamps in the northwest and the Kalahari Desert in the southwest. Languages: English and Tswana. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: pula. Capital: Gaborone. Pop: 2 291 661 (2017 est). Area: about 570 000 sq km (220 000 sq miles)