From 22 Graduates to an African Success Story

The remarkable transformation of a country you might not know by its former name

Here's a trivia question for you: What was Botswana formerly called?

If you know the answer, you're ahead of most people. And if you don't — the story behind it is one of the most remarkable transformation stories in modern African history.

A Country Born With Almost Nothing

On September 30, 1966, a new nation was born in southern Africa. It had 12 kilometres of paved roads. It had 22 university graduates. Its GDP per capita was among the lowest on the continent. The British, who had administered it as a protectorate for 81 years, had invested almost nothing in its infrastructure or education.

The country was called Bechuanaland under British rule. On independence day, it became Botswana — and what happened next is the kind of story that makes you stop and think about what's actually possible.

Diamonds Change Everything

Two years after independence, geologists discovered one of the world's largest diamond deposits beneath the Kalahari Desert. What happened next is what separates Botswana from so many other resource-rich African nations: the government managed the windfall with extraordinary discipline.

Rather than allowing the wealth to be captured by a small elite or squandered on short-term spending, Botswana invested in education, healthcare and infrastructure. It negotiated hard with De Beers — eventually becoming a 50% partner in the diamond business. It built institutions. It maintained democracy.

The result? Botswana went from one of the world's poorest countries to one of Africa's wealthiest within a single generation — achieving the fastest sustained economic growth rate of any country in the world between 1966 and 1999. Today it has one of the highest per-capita incomes on the continent and is consistently ranked as one of Africa's least corrupt and most stable democracies.

Why the Name Changed

"Bechuanaland" was a colonial name — derived from the Tswana people (the Batswana) who had lived in the region for centuries. The new name "Botswana" means "land of the Tswana" in Setswana, the national language. It was a deliberate act of reclamation: the same people, the same land, but named on their own terms.

This is the story behind our upcoming "Formerly Known As" round — a geography round where every question gives you the current name of a country and the year it changed, and asks you to name what it was called before. Some are easy. Some will surprise you. And now you know at least one answer in advance.

Come and test your knowledge of the world's changing map at a Quizzards night near you. Follow us on Facebook for more stories like this — and the occasional head start on what's coming up in the next pack. 🌍