Country Foundations

Botswana

Constitution in force since 1966, 30,713 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
64%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
72%
mean across compared rights
Gap
+8%
delivers more than promised
Executive respects constitution
70%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 100%, practiced 72%, gap −28%Right to life100%72%−28%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 68%, gap −32%Freedom from torture100%68%−32%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 50%, practiced 71%, gap +21%Freedom from slavery and forced labour50%71%+21%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 70%, gap −30%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%70%−30%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 100%, practiced 68%, gap −32%Right to a fair and public trial100%68%−32%Presumption of innocence — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure100%——Right to legal counsel — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure100%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure100%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure100%——Due process of law — declared 0%, practiced 61%, gap +61%Due process of law0%61%+61%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 72%, gap −28%Freedom of expression100%72%−28%Freedom of the press — declared 50%, practiced 63%, gap +13%Freedom of the press50%63%+13%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 72%, gap −28%Freedom of thought and conscience100%72%−28%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 84%, gap −16%Freedom of religion100%84%−16%Separation of religion and state — declared 50%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure50%——Academic freedom — declared 0%, practiced 70%, gap +70%Academic freedom0%70%+70%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 69%, gap −31%Freedom of assembly100%69%−31%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 82%, gap −18%Freedom of association100%82%−18%Right to petition government — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure0%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 50%, practiced 70%, gap +20%Right to form and join trade unions50%70%+20%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 0%, practiced 78%, gap +78%Right to vote and universal suffrage0%78%+78%Right to privacy — declared 100%, practiced 83%, gap −17%Right to privacy100%83%−17%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 80%, gap −20%Freedom of movement100%80%−20%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 25%, practiced 82%, gap +57%Right to own property25%82%+57%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 72%, gap −28%Equality before the law100%72%−28%Right to education — declared 0%, practiced 54%, gap +54%Right to education0%54%+54%Right to health care — declared 0%, practiced 67%, gap +67%Right to health care0%67%+67%Right to shelter or housing — declared 0%, practiced 69%, gap +69%Right to shelter or housing0%69%+69%Independent judiciary — declared 100%, practiced 73%, gap −27%Independent judiciary100%73%−27%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
050100197019801990200020102020

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1966–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Right to life −28%
  • Freedom from torture −32%
  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) −30%
  • Right to a fair and public trial −32%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Due process of law +61%
  • Academic freedom +70%
  • Right to vote and universal suffrage +78%
  • Right to own property +57%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 2000
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)no action
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1974
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1996
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 2000
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1995
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2021
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)no action
Migrant Workers (ICMW)no action

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaiti

Data generated 2026-08-08.