15 Jul 2025

Zimbabweans, followed by those from the Indian sub-continent, lead in the number of expatriates holding work permits in the country.

A Statistics Botswana report on work permit holders for the second quarter of 2023, released this month, indicates that Zimbabweans and those from the Indian subcontinent constituted over 60 per cent of work permit holders by June 2023.

Out of the 4 319 valid work permit holders that year, 2 135 were Zimbabweans with valid permits, followed by 479 from the Indian subcontinent.

South Africa, China, and Zambia followed, although the latter three constituted approximately nine per cent, six per cent and five per cent, respectively.

When segregating work permit holders by employment type and country of origin, the report reveals that Zimbabweans lead in the number of those employed, while the majority of Indian sub-continent, South African, and Chinese nationals are self-employed.

In addition, the reports states that regarding the distribution of employee and self-employed work permit holders by industry, the highest proportion of work permit holders are registered in agriculture, followed by education, wholesale and retail trade.

“Agriculture also recorded the highest proportion of employee work permit holders, followed by education, while in the self-employed work permit holder category, wholesale and retail trade were above other industries, followed by construction and manufacturing industries.”

For work permits by occupation, the Statistics Botswana data indicates that elementary occupations accounts for the largest share at 1 161 permit holders, followed by professionals with 1 027 individuals.

The distribution of employee work permit holders by training and sex, the report indicates that the proportion of employee work permit holders with no training accounts for 1 601 of all employee work permits.

This is followed by degree holders at 1 188 persons, diploma holders at 470 persons, and certificate holders at 153 persons.

The Botswana Statistics report further states that there is a significant decrease in work permit holders between 2017 and 2021, from 5 766 to 3 409, representing a decrease of 40 per cent.

Between 2021 and 2023, the number of work permit holders increased from 3 409 to 4 319, an increase of 27 per cent. ENDS