Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 1, 2026
Who holds the health record in Botswana?
In 2026, Botswana scores 39 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 99th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 74th to 128th allowing for scoring error, in the Weak band (25 to 44). Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026.
Doctors, hospitals and insurers decide. Its strongest right, compared with the typical country, is privacy and security (58 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country). The furthest behind is doctors see it when treating you (22 out of 100, against 33 to 34 for the typical country).
Botswana has a modern data law with an active regulator, but clinic and hospital systems do not share records and patients have no portal.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 1, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Weak band, 25 to 44
39/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 74th to 128th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 45 out of 100 in Botswana; the typical country scores 40 to 45. The Data Protection Act 2024 gives a free copy of your data within one month, and the Public Health Act lets facilities only temporarily deny record access. There is no patient portal, and we quote the published Bill because the enacted text was not verified. Source: DataGuidance, July 26, 2024, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Botswana?
In 2026, doctors, hospitals and insurers hold the keys to your health record in Botswana. Control over who sees it scores 30 out of 100 in Botswana; the typical country scores 30. Health data may be processed without consent for diagnosis, treatment and health system management, and there is no shared record with sharing choices or an access log. Patients keep only general rights to object. Source: DataGuidance, July 26, 2024, and the other sources below.
How does Botswana compare?
In 2026, Botswana scores 39 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Uganda (39 out of 100), Côte d'Ivoire (38 out of 100) and Ghana (38 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Uganda, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
45
45 · 35 · 40
Control over who sees it20%
30
30 · 30 · 30
Privacy and security15%
58
48 · 48 · 45
One record across your care15%
28
35 · 38 · 35
Protection from sale and ads10%
48
50 · 45 · 48
Doctors see it when treating you10%
22
25 · 36 · 28
Your say over research use5%
49
46 · 49 · 49
Rules for AI in your care5%
40
25 · 25 · 40
Black dot: Botswana. Hollow dots: Uganda, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Botswana 39 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Botswana need to change to score higher?
Botswana sits in Weak (25 to 44); Mixed starts at 45. Its two weakest rights, compared with the typical country and weighted by how much each counts, are one record across your care (28 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country) and doctors see it when treating you (22 out of 100, against 33 to 34 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
One record across your care: Family doctors, hospitals, labs, pharmacies, insurers and public health all linked to one record that is used across the country.
Doctors see it when treating you: Doctors who treat you able to see your full record from other providers, with your consent and emergency rules in place.
Which laws give health record rights in Botswana?
Data Protection Act 18 of 2024: Health is sensitive data; access, objection and portability rights; 72-hour breach notice; fines up to P50 million.
Public Health Act 11 of 2013: Permanent health records, user access, record protection offences, research use with user and ethics authorisation.
Medicines and Related Substances Act 29 of 2025: Continues BoMRA and widens regulation of medical devices and diagnostics; device regulations still in draft.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
4.3 2024
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
30.2 2024
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
18.0% 2023
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
We found no real cases published in the last two years.
In 2026, Botswana scored 39 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 99th of 198 countries and territories (could be 74th to 128th), in the Weak band. Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/botswana/
The 13 sources for Botswana
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (3 sources)
“Data Protection Bill, 2024 (Bill No. 19 of 2024), enacted as Data Protection Act 18 of 2024”
DataGuidance (law or regulation) · Title in English
Dated July 26, 2024 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it; Privacy and security; Protection from sale and ads; Your say over research use
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Something wrong? Tell us · Questions or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: healthrecordrights.com
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/botswana/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
