98 babies born on New Year's Day in Botswana

A total of 98 babies were born in Botswana on Jan. 1, 2025, Botswana's Ministry of Health announced Friday.

GABORONE, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- A total of 98 babies were born in Botswana on Jan. 1, 2025, Botswana's Ministry of Health announced Friday.

This was an incredible increase from the previous year when 46 babies were born on the same day, the ministry said in a statement, noting that the majority of these babies were born in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, followed by Francistown and Maun, two other key cities of the country.

The estimated population of Botswana from the 2022 Population and Housing Census was 2,346,179 people, a 15.9-percent increase from 2,024,904 registered in the 2011 census. The latest results indicated that the southern African country's population, as a nation, is not growing, and it will take at least 58 years for it to be more than 4 million.

Botswanan President Duma Boko recently told a public consultative meeting in Mahalapye that the new government would introduce programs aimed at encouraging locals to get more babies. ■