Southern African grid crisis.
prob 0.53
severity 3.8 / 5 · revision 2026-05-10elevated · 10 Southern African economies · power + mining$ shortage country get BWA > stress_index: 0.48 WATCH > 1 events · 1 scenarios > refreshed 2026-05-17
BRENT $84.27 ▲ TTF €31.50 ▼ OPEC_SP 3.8 mb/d ● SPR_US 372.4 Mb FAO_FFPI 121.4 ▲
The v3.2 stress index is a six-axis composite of energy and food exposure, geopolitical pressure, fiscal headroom, demography and supply concentration, normalised to a 0–1 scale.
Botswana, a stable diamond-rich economy, imports all of its fuel and part of its electricity from South Africa, though new domestic coal plants have cut that reliance. An arid, sparsely populated country, it imports most of its food. Diamond exports dominate the economy.
Botswana is mostly Kalahari desert under severe drought; the Okavango Delta is its great water feature.
| STOCK TYPE | RESERVE | DAYS COVER | STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oil · imported fuel stocksAll fuel is imported into an arid, landlocked country. | moderate | 25days | WATCH |
| Electricity · domestic coal and importsNew coal plants have cut reliance on electricity imported from South Africa. | balanced | — | WATCH |
| Food · commercial stocksWith an arid climate, Botswana imports most of its food. | limited | 35days | WATCH |
$ curl -s https://api.shortage.life/v1/countries/BWA | jq '.stress' > 0.48