How big is Botswana's transmission network?

OverWatts maps 2,555 km of transmission line in Botswana, across 87 segments, plus 2 substations. This is mapped length from OpenStreetMap, not an operator-reported total — where OSM is incomplete the figure is a floor, never a ceiling.

What voltage is Botswana's grid?

Most of the mapped network is high voltage (220–379 kV): 1,527 km of 2,555 km. The highest voltage tagged anywhere in the country is 400 kV.

How complete is the grid map for Botswana?

Sparse — 4.3 km of mapped line per 1,000 km² of land, ahead of 16% of the 153 countries with any mapped grid. Coverage grades how completely OpenStreetMap has drawn the network, not how much network exists; large, sparsely-populated countries score low for geographic reasons alone.

Who operates the grid in Botswana?

Botswana Power are tagged as operators on mapped segments. Operator tags are present on 13% of Botswana's segments, so this ranks who is *recorded*, not market share.

What interconnectors connect Botswana to its neighbours?

1,285 MW of cross-border transfer capacity to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, plus 600 MW planned. Capacities are from the Global Transmission Database (v1.0, 2023).

Botswana · electricity network

Botswana power grid

OverWatts maps 2,555 km of Botswana's electricity transmission network across 87 line segments and 2 substations, the 80th most-mapped grid of 153 countries. Its backbone is high voltage (220–379 kV), carrying 1,527 km — 60% of the mapped length, with the highest tagged voltage at 400 kV. That works out to 4.3 km per 1,000 km² of land — sparse OpenStreetMap coverage, ahead of 16% of mapped countries. It is connected to 3 neighbouring grids by 1,285 MW of existing cross-border transfer capacity, with a further 600 MW planned.

Open the grid lens →Botswana profile →

2,555 km

Mapped transmission line

Substations

#80

of 153 mapped grids

1.3 GW

cross-border · 3 neighbours

400 kV

Highest voltage

OpenStreetMap coverage

Sparse4.3 km / 1,000 km²ahead of 16% of 153 mapped countries

This grades how completely OpenStreetMap has drawn Botswana's network — not how much network exists. Large, sparsely-populated countries score low for geographic reasons alone, and every kilometre here is mapped length, so the totals are a floor rather than an operator-reported figure. 7% of segments carry a real line name and 13% an operator tag.

Mapped line length by voltage

380–764 kV1,028 km 40%
220–379 kV1,527 km 60%

87 segments · a segment is credited to the country containing its midpoint, so a border-crossing line counts once, on one side.

Cross-border links from Botswana

South Africa615 MW
Zimbabwe420 MW
Zambia250 MW
Zambia300 MW · planned
Zimbabwe300 MW · planned

1.3 GW existing · 600 MW planned · capacities from the Global Transmission Database v0.1 (CC BY 4.0), existing as of 2023

On the interactive map

Open the interactive map →

Load against the network

852 MW

Operating generation

1278

km of line per substation

4.3

km per 1,000 km²

Where there is room to connect a new load depends on published hosting capacity, which most operators release only as their own map. OverWatts does not yet ingest those feeds, so these are the density measures the open data supports — generation and mapped demand against mapped network — not a headroom figure.

Operators tagged on Botswana's network

Botswana Power11 100%

Segment counts from OSM `operator` tags, merged across spellings. Present on 13% of segments — this ranks who is recorded, not market share.

How Botswana compares · mapped grid by country

1. People's Republic of China624,300 km
78. Kyrgyzstan2,809 km
79. Georgia2,671 km
80. Botswana2,555 km
81. Oman2,512 km
82. Bosnia and Herzegovina2,442 km

Frequently asked

How big is Botswana's transmission network?: OverWatts maps 2,555 km of transmission line in Botswana, across 87 segments, plus 2 substations. This is mapped length from OpenStreetMap, not an operator-reported total — where OSM is incomplete the figure is a floor, never a ceiling.
What voltage is Botswana's grid?: Most of the mapped network is high voltage (220–379 kV): 1,527 km of 2,555 km. The highest voltage tagged anywhere in the country is 400 kV.
How complete is the grid map for Botswana?: Sparse — 4.3 km of mapped line per 1,000 km² of land, ahead of 16% of the 153 countries with any mapped grid. Coverage grades how completely OpenStreetMap has drawn the network, not how much network exists; large, sparsely-populated countries score low for geographic reasons alone.
Who operates the grid in Botswana?: Botswana Power are tagged as operators on mapped segments. Operator tags are present on 13% of Botswana's segments, so this ranks who is *recorded*, not market share.
What interconnectors connect Botswana to its neighbours?: 1,285 MW of cross-border transfer capacity to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, plus 600 MW planned. Capacities are from the Global Transmission Database (v1.0, 2023).

Elsewhere in Botswana

Transmission lines Substations Power plants Data centres

Network geometry: OpenStreetMap (ODbL) © OpenStreetMap contributors, ingested and measured by OverWatts · derived 2026-07-26. Counts every mapped line of 220 kV and above; the map layer draws the ≥380 kV backbone only, so it shows less than is measured here.