File:The_main_square_in_Francistown_(3297095166).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Francistown
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Francistown is the second-largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 inhabitants and 147,122 inhabitants in its agglomeration at the 2022 census. It is located in eastern Botswana, about north-northeast from the capital, Gaborone. Francistown is located at the confluence of the Tati and Ntshe rivers, and near the Shashe River (tributary to the Limpopo) and from the international border with Zimbabwe.
OverviewAI-generated
Francistown is a city in Botswana, serving as the capital of the North-East District. Established in 1897, the city is situated at an elevation of 1001 meters above sea level. It operates within the Central Africa Time zone, which is UTC+02:00. The local languages used in the area include Kalanga, Tswana, English, and Shona.
The city is twinned with Genk. While specific population figures for the city itself are not provided in the available data, a nearby location named Minestone within the City of Francistown is recorded with a population of 0 and an elevation of 989 meters.
Synthesized by Vinony from 40 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, Openweathermap, OpenStreetMap, GeoNames, Open Meteo, Vinony graph, Geo. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
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via Open-Meteo
Place details
- Locality
- Francistown
- Region
- City of Francistown
- Country
- Botswana
- Population
- 103,417
- Timezone
- Africa/Gaborone
via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames
Key facts
- Settlement.official_name
- Francistown
- Settlement.native_name
- Ghetto
- Settlement.type
- City
- Settlement.image_caption
- Top to bottom: Institute of Health Sciences in Francistown CBD, Phillip Gaonwe Matante International Airport, Obed Itani Chilume Stadium
- Settlement.image_flag
- Flag_of_Francistown.png
- Settlement.pushpin_map
- Botswana
- Settlement.pushpin_relief
- yes
- Settlement.map_caption
- Location in Botswana
- Settlement.subdivision_type
- Country
- Settlement.subdivision_type1
- District
- Settlement.subdivision_name1
- North-East District
- Settlement.leader_title
- Mayor
- Settlement.leader_name
- Godisang Radisigo
- Settlement.established_title
- Founded
- Settlement.established_date
- 1897
- Settlement.population_as_of
- 2022 census
- Settlement.population_metro
- 147122
- Settlement.elevation_m
- 1001
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- city
- Official name
- Francistown
- Country
- Botswana
- Located in
- North-East District
- Elevation
- 1001
- Time zone
- UTC+02:00
- Capital of
- North-East District
- Image
- Francistown bus terminal.jpg
Show 9 more facts
- Commons category
- Francistown
- topic's main category
- Category:Francistown
- inception
- 1897-00-00
- category of associated people
- Category:People from Francistown
- twinned administrative body
- Genk
- P8168
- Ibrahim Böhme
- language used
- Ndebele
- native label
- Francistown
- P12749
- June 18
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
Travel guide
Get in
Francistown is a major transportation hub in Northeastern Botswana and is the gateway to northern Botswana.
Get around
There is a daily night train each way between Francistown and Lobatse using refurbished trains from South Africa.
Buy
Prices are comparable to the U.S.
Sleep
Camping with your own tent is the most low-cost way.
Go next
As of March 2025, there are direct buses to Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) at 03:00 & 17:00 (City Bus & Zikhale, P160). If you prefer daytime travel: From Francistown bus rank (southern end) to Ramokgwebana Border, combi bus, P50 (leaves when full, you could wait several hours. ) From Botswana to Zimbabwe border post, shared taxi, P20 From Zimbabwe border post to Plumtree, shared taxi, P20 From Plumtree to Bulawayo, combi bus, US$
Travel guide from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0)
~11 min read
Encyclopedic overview
15 sectionsContents
- History
- Economy
- Mining
- Media
- Climate
- Demographics
- Culture
- Places of worship
- Education
- Transport and infrastructure
- Sports
- Twin towns – sister cities
- See also
- References
- External links
Francistown is the second-largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 inhabitants and 147,122 inhabitants in its agglomeration at the 2022 census. It is located in eastern Botswana, about north-northeast from the capital, Gaborone. Francistown is located at the confluence of the Tati and Ntshe rivers, and near the Shashe River (tributary to the Limpopo) and from the international border with Zimbabwe.
Francistown was the centre of Southern Africa's first gold rush and is still surrounded by old and abandoned mines. The City of Francistown is an administrative district, separated from North-East District. It is administered by Francistown City Council. The main language spoken and used in and around Francistown is Kalanga. Other languages used in the area are isiNdebele, ChiShona as well as SeTswana. Francistown is the only city in Botswana with an English name. There are no English-language named towns and only a couple of villages with English names.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Francistown” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
Gallery (16)
On the map
5 mapped locations