Statistics Botswana (StatsBots) is the National statistical bureau of Botswana. The organization was previously under the Ministry of Finance and development planning as a department and was called Central Statistics Office. The organisation was initially set up in 1967 through an Act of Parliament – the Statistics Act (Cap 17) and thereafter transformed into a parastatal through the revised Statistics Act of 2009.^[1] This act gives the Statistics Botswana the mandate and authority to collect, process, compile, analyse, publish, disseminate and archive official national statistics. It is also responsible for "coordinating, monitoring and supervising the National Statistical System" in Botswana.^[2][3] The office has its main offices in Gaborone and three satellite offices in Maun, Francistown and Ghanzi. The different areas in statistics that should be collected are covered under this Act and are clearly specified. The other statistics that are not specified can be collected as long as they are required by the Government, stakeholders and the users.

Statistics Botswana conducts the Population and Housing Census (PHC) within the jurisdiction of two (2) key legal instruments namely:

• Census Act (Cap 17:02) of 1904
• Statistics Act (Cap 17:01) of 2009 ^[4]

The legal instruments  stipulates that the census population of Botswana should be carried out every 10 years and any other censuses and surveys as it is determined or necessary. The Statistics Act 2009 authorizes the Statistician General to have access to records (administrative data, financial, geographic information etc.) from other statistics producing agencies.

The Statistics Act 2009 provides for confidentiality and disclosure of information. All staff of Statistics Botswana, including any contractors of Statistics Botswana are sworn to secrecy to not disclose any information that they came across by virtue of their employment (Section 20) of the Act and penalties are also provided for in the Act. In addition, .

Data collection is the process of gathering data for purposes of measuring information on variables of interest in an established systematic fashion that enables one to

answer stated research question, test hypothesis and evaluate outcomes. Data is collected through various methods. The primary methods used by Statistics Botswana include questionnaires, face to face interviews, online interviews and desktop data collection.

Statistics Botswana compiles and analyses economic statistics from administrative data and business surveys sources. The release of the key indicators varies in periodicity from monthly, quarterly or annually.