{
  "title": "IMF Staff Completes 2025 Article IV Mission to Botswana",
  "publication": "IMF News, September 26, 2025",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2025/09/26/pr-25317-botswana-imf-staff-completes-2025-article-iv-mission-to-botswana",
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  "summary": "An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, led by Mr. Édouard Martin, Mission Chief for Botswana, visited Gaborone and held discussions on the 2025 Article IV consultation from September 15–26, 2025.",
  "publishDate": "2025-09-26",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Mission overview",
      "content": "- An IMF team, led by Mr. Édouard Martin, Mission Chief for Botswana, visited Gaborone and held discussions on the 2025 Article IV consultation from September 15–26, 2025.\n- End-of-Mission press releases convey preliminary findings; staff will prepare a report for the IMF's Executive Board subject to management approval."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Recent economic performance",
      "content": "- Real activity:\n  - Growth of 3.2 percent in 2023.\n  - Contraction of 3 percent in 2024.\n  - Mining output declined by 24 percent in 2024.\n  - Non-mineral activity slowed to 2.8 percent in 2024.\n- External position:\n  - Current account balance moved from a surplus of 1.5 percent of GDP in 2023 to a deficit of 4.2 percent of GDP in 2024.\n  - International reserves declined to about 5 months of imports cover.\n- Outlook:\n  - Botswana’s economic activity is expected to contract by about 1 percent in 2025, owing primarily to a further decline in diamond production, before starting to recover in 2026.\n  - Over the medium term, with ambitious reforms, growth could recover gradually to more than 4 percent."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Inflation, exchange rate, and monetary policy",
      "content": "- Inflation:\n  - Inflation has remained below the lower bound of Bank of Botswana’s objective range of 3–6 percent.\n  - It is expected to get back within this range over the next few months as the recent depreciation of the Pula partly passes through to consumer prices.\n- Policy rate:\n  - Bank of Botswana has kept its policy rate unchanged at 1.9 percent since August 2024.\n- Exchange rate adjustments:\n  - Effective July 11th, authorities increased the Pula rate of deprecation against its currency basket while widening the trading margin.\n  - The Pula has since depreciated by 6.0 percent against the U.S. dollar and 8.6 percent against the South African rand.\n- Rationale:\n  - Measures were taken to safeguard competitiveness of domestic industries, promote diversification, and preserve official foreign exchange reserves."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Fiscal developments and public debt",
      "content": "- Fiscal balance:\n  - Preliminary estimates indicate the fiscal deficit increased further in fiscal year 2024/25, to 7.1 percent of GDP.\n  - Drivers: decline in mineral revenues and increase in current spending, only partly offset by lower capital spending.\n- Public debt:\n  - Public debt has increased to more than 30 percent of GDP.\n- Government action:\n  - Authorities have initiated efforts to streamline government spending."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Financial sector",
      "content": "- Condition:\n  - Banking sector remains well capitalized and profitable, but liquidity has tightened.\n- Recommended actions:\n  - Accelerate implementation of the remaining 2023 Financial Sector Assessment Program recommendations to reduce financial sector risks and reinforce stability.\n  - Key recommendations aim at enhancing financial sector resilience, improving monetary policy transmission, and operationalizing new regulations and laws."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Policy recommendations and structural reforms",
      "content": "- Short- and medium-term priorities recommended by IMF staff:\n  - Enhance domestic revenue mobilization.\n  - Streamline the wage bill.\n  - Better target social assistance programs.\n  - Strengthen the management of state-owned enterprises.\n  - Create a more conducive business environment, with emphasis on reducing red tape and promoting financial deepening.\n- Growth and diversification:\n  - Accelerating growth and job creation requires greater private sector participation, a more diversified export base, and a more efficient public sector.\n  - Government initiatives to reduce wasteful public spending, better prioritize public investment, and promote private sector-led investment, including as part of Botswana Economic Transformation Program, are welcome.\n  - The government is encouraged to include the recommended reforms into its new five-year National Development Plan.\n\nPress Release No. 25/317 — IMF Staff Completes 2025 Article IV Mission to Botswana, September 26, 2025.\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- People's Republic of China and the IMF\n- Botswana and the IMF\n- IMF Policy Advice -- A Factsheet\n- Press Releases\n- PRESS CENTER\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2025/09/26/pr-25317-botswana-imf-staff-completes-2025-article-iv-mission-to-botswana"
    }
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    "Published: September 26, 2025",
    "An IMF team, led by Mr. Édouard Martin, Mission Chief for Botswana, visited Gaborone and held discussions on the 2025 Article IV consultation from September 15–26, 2025.",
    "End-of-Mission press releases convey preliminary findings; staff will prepare a report for the IMF's Executive Board subject to management approval.",
    "Real activity:",
    "External position:",
    "Outlook:",
    "Inflation:",
    "Policy rate:",
    "Exchange rate adjustments:",
    "Rationale:",
    "Fiscal balance:",
    "Public debt:",
    "Government action:",
    "Condition:",
    "Recommended actions:",
    "Short- and medium-term priorities recommended by IMF staff:",
    "Growth and diversification:",
    "[People's Republic of China and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/CHN/index.htm)",
    "[Botswana and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/BWA/index.htm)",
    "[IMF Policy Advice -- A Factsheet](https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/imf-surveillance)",
    "[Press Releases](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)",
    "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)",
    "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)"
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