"Three-fourths (74%) of Batswana say they are gsomewhat freeh or gcompletely freeh to say what they think, although 24% disagree. The share who feel free to speak their minds is up by 6 percentage points since 2022 (68%) but remains below the historic high of 93% in 2008. Botswana ranks above average on perceived freedom of expression among seven Southern African countries. Three-fourths (76%) of citizens support press freedom, while 21% say the government should have the right to prevent the media from publishing anything it disapproves of. Support for media freedom is particularly strong among regular news consumers. Support for a free press has climbed by 21 percentage points over the past decade. Botswana is more supportive of press freedom than most other Southern African countries for which data are available. Eight in 10 respondents (79%) say the media should constantly investigate government corruption and mistakes. One-fifth (20%) think such negative reporting only harms the country. Support for the mediafs watchdog role has remained consistently above 70% over the past decade and is the strongest in the region. A slim majority (52%) of Batswana say the country's media is 'somewhat free' or 'completely free' to report and comment on the news without censorship or interference by the government, but 41% believe the opposite. The level of perceived media freedom in Botswana is slightly below average for the region." (Key findings)