Information, please

The story's two main characters are from Botswana. I chose Botswana because of it's economic record in recent years. Here are some tidbits from the Economist's Pocket World in Figures (2007):

1. #25 in economic growth from 1994-2004 (The U.S. is not in the top 50; Singapore was #34, South Korea #38) with an average annual percent increase in real GDP of 5.8%
2. #4 in economic growth from 1984-1994 (again ahead of Singapore (#7) and Hong Kong (#16); U.S. was not in the top 20) with an average annual percent increase in real GDP of 8.1%
3. #30 in their economic freedom index (U.S. was tied for #9; ahead of #33 Spain and #37 Taiwan)
4. A $483 million current account surplus (#48) to the U.S.' $9 trillion current account deficit (#1 in the world)
5. #26 largest surplus as percent of GDP at 5.4% (U.S. is neither in the top 50 largest surpluses as percent of GDP or top 40 largest deficits as percent of GDP; but Australia is at #38 in deficits)
6. And Botswana isn't a bunch of farmers stuffing money under their mattresses; its economy is ranked 22nd in being least dependent on agriculture (U.S. is #9)
7. #41 highest growth in number of listed companies from 2000-2005 at 12.5% (#5 Spain was up 223.8%; #7 Canada 162.4%; U.S. was out of the top 48)

Botswana also avoids mention among:

1. Largest refugee nationalities
2. Origin of asylum applications to industrialized countries
3. Lowest quality of life
4. Lowest GDP per head
5. Lowest purchasing power
6. Lowest human development index
7. Lowest services growth 1994-2004 (Brazil was #15)
8. Consumer price inflation
9. Lowest growth in industrial output
10. Lowest primary education enrollment (particularly impressive considering their small percentage of education funding)
11. Least literate (ditto)
12. Highest infant morality
13. Lowest health spending (which raises other questions)
14. Obesity (The U.S. is 5th and 8th for men and women respectively (from 1999-2003, most recent data) at 27.7% and 34%. Ouch.)
15. Crime (though they must have a high conviction rate - see below)
    

Not to say everything's peachy there:

1. #10 in lowest percent of population in labor force at 35% (U.S. has 50.9% highest percentage)
2. #8 in unemployment at 19.6% (4.7% in the U.S.; I am trusting the U.S. gubment on this one...)
3. Despite their success, Botswana only spends 2.2% of its GDP on education, 10th lowest. That being said, they seem to be getting a lot of bang for their buck.
4. Most disturbingly, Botswana's life expectancy is 33.9 years (2nd lowest globally). This figure kinda fucks me up. Who cares if your country is successful if you're dead by 34? Tuberculosis is a big killer (7th worst in the world) as is HIV/AIDS (4th most estimated deaths worldwide with 24.1% of the 15-49 year old population as carriers (2nd worst)).
   
5. #1 in most road accident deaths with 30 people dying per 100,000 (then again only 36 out of every 1,000 Botswanans own a car so perhaps it's because of lack of practice? Hmmm.)
6. 22nd highest percent of population in the slammer, but still a bunch of goody-two-shoes compared to the good ol' U.S. of A which ranks second behind Rwanda; yeah, that hurts.
   
7. Botswana also spends more on defense (4% of GDP) than the U.S. (3.8%). Then again, if they were neighbors with Canada and Mexico instead of Angola and Zimbabwe I'd like to think this number would be lower.
8. Lastly, Botswana's seen an annual average change of 118,000 hectares of forested land from 2000-2005 (26th most; Brazil's #1 with over 3 million).

While it's easy to explain Botswana's economic gains as the product of starting off so poor, their successes are still nothing to sneeze at. That being said, their challenges (HIV/AIDS, TB and their predilection for playing chicken) prove that they are still human, fallible and without all the answers. No one wants to read about a bunch of preachy know-it-alls, even if they're funny. If I can address their faults as well as their strengths, it'll give the characters and the story additional depth. It'll also introduce elements of doubt into the story which should keep readers on edge: "Susie, no! Don't get in the car with him!" Ah, the possibilities.

That's a look at Botswana. Up next: The state famous for its sing-songy spelling, delta blues and school yard rush counts: One Mississippi.