Botswana: Gross national expenditure (current LCU)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Botswana's gross national expenditure (current LCU) fell 3.3% on 2024 (from 296.15 billion to 286.34 billion).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +12% and a typical year strayed about 8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 52.1% in 1989 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.3% in 2025. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 17.13 billion a year. A straight line explains 97% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 335.46 billion for 2028. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2023 to 2025 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 35.11 billion, against 44.25 billion for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2025, Botswana had the 99th highest value of the 130 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Botswana in the 2025 ranking

• Namibia — 96th of 130: 321.64 billion
• Portugal — 97th of 130: 303.95 billion
• Belarus — 98th of 130: 291.24 billion
• Finland — 100th of 130: 277.04 billion
• Greece — 101st of 130: 259.6 billion
• Gambia, The — 102nd of 130: 254.39 billion

What this measures

Gross national expenditure is the sum of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, and gross capital formation. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.

All 66 values

Gross national expenditure (current LCU) in nearby economies

• Angola — 91.62 trillion (2024)
• Benin — 14.73 trillion (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 15.28 trillion (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 333.16 billion (2025)
• Cameroon — 36.46 trillion (2025)
• Central African Republic — 2.04 trillion (2025)
• Chad — 10.91 trillion (2025)
• Comoros — 968.52 billion (2025)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 244.48 trillion (2025)
• Congo, Rep. — 9.06 trillion (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for Botswana

• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$6.27 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 84.72 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 31.48% (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$9.12 billion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 123.17 billion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 45.77% (2025)
• Final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$15.4 billion (2025)
• Final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 207.88 billion (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Botswana's gross national expenditure (current LCU)?

286.34 billion in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 1.14 million% from 25.17 million in 1960 (15.45% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 296.15 billion in 2024 and the lowest 25.17 million in 1960.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NE.DAB.TOTL.CN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.