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Zambia



 
 
The Republic of Zambia is a landlocked country in Southern Africa
Southern Africa

Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics, consisting of numerous territories....
. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo , is a country in central Africa with a small length of Atlantic coastline. It is the third largest list of African countries in order of geographical area....
 to the north, Tanzania
Tanzania

Tanzania , officially the United Republic of Tanzania , is a country in East Africa that is bordered by Kenya and Uganda on the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique on the south....
 to the north-east, Malawi
Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast and Mozambique, which surrounds it on the east, south and west....
 to the east, Mozambique
Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest....
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo River rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east....
, Botswana
Botswana

The Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Citizens of Botswana are called "Batswana" , regardless of ethnicity. Formerly a British protectorate of Bechuanaland Protectorate, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth of Nations on 30 September 1966....
, and Namibia
Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa on the Atlantic Ocean coast. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east, and South Africa to the south....
 to the south, and Angola
Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordering Namibia to the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, and Zambia to the east, and with a west coast along the Atlantic Ocean....
 to the west. The capital city is Lusaka
Lusaka

Lusaka is the capital city and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau of the country, at an elevation of 1300 m ....
, located in the southeast of the country. The population is concentrated mainly around the capital Lusaka
Lusaka

Lusaka is the capital city and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau of the country, at an elevation of 1300 m ....
 in the south and the Copperbelt to the northwest.

Zambia has been inhabited for thousands of years by hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer

A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary List of subsistence techniques involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild, foraging and hunting without significant recourse to the domestication of either....
s and migrating tribes.






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The Republic of Zambia is a landlocked country in Southern Africa
Southern Africa

Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics, consisting of numerous territories....
. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo , is a country in central Africa with a small length of Atlantic coastline. It is the third largest list of African countries in order of geographical area....
 to the north, Tanzania
Tanzania

Tanzania , officially the United Republic of Tanzania , is a country in East Africa that is bordered by Kenya and Uganda on the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique on the south....
 to the north-east, Malawi
Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast and Mozambique, which surrounds it on the east, south and west....
 to the east, Mozambique
Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest....
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo River rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east....
, Botswana
Botswana

The Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Citizens of Botswana are called "Batswana" , regardless of ethnicity. Formerly a British protectorate of Bechuanaland Protectorate, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth of Nations on 30 September 1966....
, and Namibia
Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa on the Atlantic Ocean coast. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east, and South Africa to the south....
 to the south, and Angola
Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordering Namibia to the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, and Zambia to the east, and with a west coast along the Atlantic Ocean....
 to the west. The capital city is Lusaka
Lusaka

Lusaka is the capital city and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau of the country, at an elevation of 1300 m ....
, located in the southeast of the country. The population is concentrated mainly around the capital Lusaka
Lusaka

Lusaka is the capital city and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau of the country, at an elevation of 1300 m ....
 in the south and the Copperbelt to the northwest.

Zambia has been inhabited for thousands of years by hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer

A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary List of subsistence techniques involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild, foraging and hunting without significant recourse to the domestication of either....
s and migrating tribes. After sporadic visits by European explorers starting in the 18th century, Zambia was gradually claimed and occupied by the British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 as protectorate of Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia

Northern Rhodesia was a territory in southern Africa initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by Amalgamation North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia....
 towards the end of the nineteenth century. On 24 October 1964, the protectorate gained independence with the new name of Zambia, derived from the Zambezi
Zambezi

The Zambezi is the List of rivers by length river in Africa, and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The area of its drainage basin is 1,390,000 km? , slightly less than half that of the Nile....
 river which flows through the country. After independence the country moved towards a system of one party rule
Single-party state

A single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election....
 with Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth Kaunda

File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F031748-0006, Frankfurt-Main, Kenneth Kaunda bei Hoechst.jpgKenneth David Kaunda, commonly known as KK served as the first President of Zambia, from 1964 to 1991....
 as president. Kaunda dominated Zambian politics until multiparty elections were held in 1991.

Zambia's economy has been traditionally dominated by the copper mining industry; however, the government has recently been pursuing an economic diversification programme. During the 1970s, the country began sliding into a poverty from which it has not recovered. Zambia's total foreign debt exceeded $6 billion in 2000; the growing population strains the economic growth and HIV/AIDS is widespread
HIV/AIDS in Zambia

Zambia is experiencing a generalized HIV/AIDS epidemic, with a national HIV prevalence rate of 17 percent among adults ages 15 to 49. The primary modes of HIV transmission are through heterosexual sex and mother-to-child transmission....
. The average per capita income is US $800 (World Bank, 2007), placing Zambia as one of the world's poorest countries. 51% of the population are reportedly living on less than one dollar per day.

History

The area of modern Zambia was inhabited by Khoisan hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer

A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary List of subsistence techniques involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild, foraging and hunting without significant recourse to the domestication of either....
s until around AD 300, when technologically-advanced migrating tribes began to displace or absorb them. In the 12th century, major waves of Bantu
Bantu languages

The Bantu languages constitute a grouping belonging to the Niger-Congo languages family. This grouping is deep down in the genealogical tree of the Bantoid grouping, which in turn is deep down in the Niger-Congo tree....
-speaking immigrants arrived during the Bantu expansion
Bantu expansion

The Bantu expansion was a millennia-long series of migrations of speakers of the original proto-Bantu languages language group. This group is hypothesized to have originated from the southwestern border of modern Nigeria and Cameroon....
. Among them, the Tonga people
Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe

The Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe are a Bantu peoples ethnic group of southern Zambia and neighbouring northern Zimbabwe, and to a lesser extent, in Mozambique....
 (also called Batonga) were the first to settle in Zambia and are believed to have come from the east near the "big sea". The Nkoya
Nkoya

The Nkoya people are found in the Central Western Part of Zambia, Africa. They are believed to be the oldest group to have arrived in present day Zambia with the exception of the Tonga People found on the Southern part of Zambia....
 people also arrived early in the expansion, coming from the Luba
Luba Empire

The Kingdom of Luba or Luba Empire was a pre-colonial Central African state, which arose in the marshy grasslands of the Upemba Depression in what is now southern Democratic Republic of Congo....
-Lunda kingdoms located in the southern parts of the modern Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo , is a country in central Africa with a small length of Atlantic coastline. It is the third largest list of African countries in order of geographical area....
 and northern Angola
Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordering Namibia to the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, and Zambia to the east, and with a west coast along the Atlantic Ocean....
, followed by a much larger influx, especially between the late 12th and early 13th centuries. In the early 18th century, the Nsokolo people settled in the Mbala district of Northern province. During the 19th century, the Ngoni people
Ngoni people

The Ngoni people are an ethnic group living in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia, in east-central Africa. The Ngoni trace their origins to the Zulu people of kwaZulu-Natal in South Africa....
s arrived from the south. By the late 19th century, most of the various peoples of Zambia were established in the areas they currently occupy.

The earliest account of a European visiting the area was Francisco de Lacerda
Francisco de Lacerda

Dr Francisco Jos? Maria de Lacerda was a Portugal explorer in the 18th century. He led an expedition to the Kazembe region of Zambia in 1798. After his death on this mission, the group was led by Francisco Pinto....
 in the late 18th century, followed by other explorers in the 19th century. The most prominent of these was David Livingstone
David Livingstone

Doctor David Livingstone was a Scotland Congregational church pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and List of explorers in Central Africa Africa....
, who had a vision of ending the slave trade
History of slavery

The history of slavery covers many different forms of human exploitation across many cultures throughout history. Slavery, generally defined, refers to a situation where one human being is considered to be the property of another, and is therefore obligated to perform tasks for their owner without any choice involved....
 through the "3 C's" (Christianity, Commerce and Civilisation). He was the first European to see the magnificent waterfalls on the Zambezi River
Zambezi

The Zambezi is the List of rivers by length river in Africa, and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The area of its drainage basin is 1,390,000 km? , slightly less than half that of the Nile....
 in 1855, naming them Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls

The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya is a waterfall situated in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe....
 after Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was from 20 June 1837 the Queen regnant of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and from 1 May 1876 the first Empress of India of the British Raj until her death....
. Locally the falls are known "Mosi-oa-Tunya" or "(the) thundering smoke" (in the Lozi or Kololo dialect). The town of Livingstone
Livingstone, Zambia

Livingstone is a historic Colonialism city and present capital of the Southern Province, Zambia of Zambia, a tourism centre for Mosi-oa-Tunya lying south on the Zambezi River, and a border town with road and rail connections to Zimbabwe on the other side of the Falls....
, near the falls, is named after him. Highly publicised accounts of his journeys motivated a wave of explorers, missionaries and traders after his death in 1873.

In 1888, the British South Africa Company
British South Africa Company

The British South Africa Company was established by Cecil Rhodes through the amalgamation of the Central Search Association and the Exploring Company Ltd., receiving a Royal Charter in 1889....
, (BSA Company) led by Cecil Rhodes, obtained mineral rights from the Litunga
Litunga

The Litunga of Barotseland is the king or paramount chief of the Lozi people. The Litunga resides near the Zambezi River and the town of Mongu, at Lealui on the floodplain in the dry season, and on higher ground at Limulunga on the edge of the floodplain in the wet season....
, the king of the Lozi
Lozi people

The Lozi people are an ethnic group primarily of western Zambia, inhabiting the region of Barotseland. Lozi are also found in Namibia , Angola and Botswana....
 for the area which later became North-Western Rhodesia
North-Western Rhodesia

North-Western Rhodesia in Southern Africa was formed and administered from 1891 under charter by the British South Africa Company which in 1890 had signed a treaty with King Lewanika of the Barotse, the most powerful traditional ruler in the territory....
. To the east, King Mpezeni
Mpezeni

Mpezeni was warrior-king of one of the largest Ngoni people groups of central Africa, based in what is now the Chipata of Zambia, at a time when the British South Africa Company of Cecil Rhodes was trying to take possession of the territory for the British Empire....
 of the Ngoni
Ngoni people

The Ngoni people are an ethnic group living in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia, in east-central Africa. The Ngoni trace their origins to the Zulu people of kwaZulu-Natal in South Africa....
 resisted but was defeated in battle and that part of the country came to be known as North-Eastern Rhodesia
North-Eastern Rhodesia

North-Eastern Rhodesia in Southern Africa was formed by and administered by the British South Africa Company as the other half, with North-Western Rhodesia, of the huge territory lying mainly north of the Zambezi River into which it expanded its charter in 1891....
. The two were administered as separate units until 1911 when they were merged to form Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia

Northern Rhodesia was a territory in southern Africa initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by Amalgamation North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia....
. In 1923, the Company ceded control of Northern Rhodesia to the British Government after the government decided not to renew the Company's charter.

That same year, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo River rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east....
), which was also administered by the BSA Company, became self-governing. In 1924, after negotiations, administration of Northern Rhodesia transferred to the British Colonial Office
Secretary of State for the Colonies

The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom official in charge of managing the various British colonies....
. In 1953, the creation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland

The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as Central African Federation , was a semi-independent state in southern Africa that existed from 1953 to the end of 1963, comprising the former Self-Governing Colony of Southern Rhodesia and the United Kingdom protectorates of Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland....
 grouped together Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland
History of Malawi

The History of Malawi covers the area of present-day Malawi. The region was once part of the Maravi Empire. In colonial times it was known as British Central Africa and Nyasaland and was at one time part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland....
 (now Malawi
Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast and Mozambique, which surrounds it on the east, south and west....
) as a single semi-autonomous region. This was undertaken despite opposition from a sizeable minority of Africans, who demonstrated against it in 1960-61. Northern Rhodesia was the centre of much of the turmoil and crisis characterizing the federation in its last years. Initially, Harry Nkumbula
Harry Nkumbula

Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula was a Northern Rhodesian/Zambian nationalist leader who assisted in the struggle for the independence of Northern Rhodesia from British colonialism....
's African National Congress (ANC) led the campaign that Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth Kaunda

File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F031748-0006, Frankfurt-Main, Kenneth Kaunda bei Hoechst.jpgKenneth David Kaunda, commonly known as KK served as the first President of Zambia, from 1964 to 1991....
's United National Independence Party (UNIP) subsequently took up.

In January 1964, Kaunda won the first and only election for Prime Minister of Northern Rhodesia. The Colonial Governor
Governor of Northern Rhodesia

This page contains a list of Governors of Northern Rhodesia from 1924 to 1964. See also the List of Presidents of Zambia....
, Sir Evelyn Hone
Evelyn Dennison Hone

Sir Evelyn Dennison Hone, Order of St Michael and St George, was the last governor in Northern Rhodesia from 1959-1964.Northern Rhodesia became independence in 1964 as Zambia, of which Hone was a great contributor to....
, was very close to Kaunda and urged him to stand for the post. Soon afterwards there was an uprising in the north of the country known as the Lumpa
Lumpa Church

The Lumpa Church, an independent Christian church, was established in 1953 by Lenshina Mulenga in the village of Kasoma, Northern Rhodesia . The church promoted a blend of Christian and traditional religious values and practices, including a belief in the role of women as spiritual mediums....
 Uprising led by Alice Lenshina
Alice Lenshina

Alice Lenshina was born Alice Mulenga Mubisha in the Chinsali district of the northern province of Northern Rhodesia. Alice was the name she was given at baptism, while Mulenga was her traditional African name....
 – Kaunda's first internal conflict as leader of the nation.

A two-stage election held in October and December 1962 resulted in an African majority in the legislative council and an uneasy coalition between the two African nationalist parties. The council passed resolutions calling for Northern Rhodesia's secession from the federation and demanding full internal self-government under a new constitution and a new National Assembly
National Assembly of Zambia

The unicameral National Assembly of Zambia is the country's legislative body.The current National Assembly, formed following elections held on 27 December 2001, has a total of 158 members....
 based on a broader, more democratic franchise. The federation was dissolved on 31 December 1963, and Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia on 24 October 1964, with Kaunda as the first president.

At independence, despite its considerable mineral wealth, Zambia faced major challenges. Domestically, there were few trained and educated Zambians capable of running the government, and the economy was largely dependent on foreign expertise. There were 70,000 Europeans in Zambia in 1964. Three neighbouring countries – Angola
Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordering Namibia to the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, and Zambia to the east, and with a west coast along the Atlantic Ocean....
, Mozambique
Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest....
 and Southern Rhodesia – remained under colonial rule. Southern Rhodesia's white-ruled government unilaterally declared independence
Unilateral Declaration of Independence (Rhodesia)

The Unilateral Declaration of Independence of Rhodesia from the United Kingdom was signed on November 11, 1965 by the administration of Ian Smith, whose Rhodesian Front party opposed black majority rule in the then Crown colony....
 in November 1965. In addition, Zambia shared a border with South West Africa
South West Africa

South-West Africa was the name of what is today the Republic of Namibia....
 (Namibia
Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa on the Atlantic Ocean coast. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east, and South Africa to the south....
) which was administered by South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
. Zambian sympathies lay with forces opposing colonial or white-dominated rule, particularly in Southern Rhodesia (subsequently called Rhodesia
Rhodesia

Rhodesia was the name adopted when the formerly British colonies of Southern Rhodesia declared itself independent on 11 November 1965. The name was also used with the establishment of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979....
). During the next decade, it actively supported movements such as UNITA
UNITA

The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought with the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola in the Angolan War for Independence and then against the MPLA in the ensuing Angolan Civil War ....
 in Angola; the Zimbabwe African People's Union
Zimbabwe African People's Union

The Zimbabwe African People's Union is a once militant organization and political party that fought for the national liberation of Zimbabwe from its founding in 1961 until it merged with the Zimbabwe African National Union in December 1987....
 (ZAPU); the African National Congress
African National Congress

The African National Congress has been South Africa's governing party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in May 1994....
 (ANC) in South Africa; and the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO).

Conflict with Rhodesia resulted in the closure of the border with that country in 1973 and severe problems with international transport and power supply. However, the Kariba hydroelectric
Kariba Dam

The Kariba Dam is a hydroelectric dam in the Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi river basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is one of the largest dams in the world at 128 m high and 579 m long....
 station on the Zambezi River provided sufficient capacity to satisfy the country's requirements for electricity (despite the fact that the control centre was on the Rhodesian
Rhodesian

Rhodesian may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Rhodesia, the name adopted by a self declared state, in the then Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe....
 side of the border). A railway to the Tanzania
Tanzania

Tanzania , officially the United Republic of Tanzania , is a country in East Africa that is bordered by Kenya and Uganda on the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique on the south....
n port of Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre....
, built with Chinese
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
 assistance, reduced Zambian dependence on railway lines south to South Africa and west through an increasingly troubled Angola. Until the completion of the railway, however, Zambia's major artery for imports and the critical export of copper was along the TanZam Road, running from Zambia to the port cities in Tanzania. A pipeline for oil was also built from Dar-es-Salaam to Ndola
Ndola

Ndola is the second-largest city in Zambia, with a population of 374,757 . It is the Industry, Commerce, Administration and distribution hub of the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper extraction region, and capital of Copperbelt Province....
 in Zambia.

By the late 1970s, Mozambique and Angola had attained independence from Portugal
Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
. Zimbabwe achieved independence in accordance with the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement
Lancaster House Agreement

The Lancaster House Agreement ended biracial rule in Zimbabwe Rhodesia following negotiations between representatives of the Patriotic Front , consisting of ZAPU and ZANU and the Zimbabwe Rhodesia government, represented by Bishop Abel Muzorewa and Ian Smith....
, however Zambia's problems were not solved. Civil war in the former Portuguese colonies created an influx of refugee
Refugee

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecutionOwing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of their nationality,...
s and caused continuing transportation problems. The Benguela railway
Benguela railway

The Benguela railway is operated by the Caminho de Ferro de Benguela that connects the Atlantic port of Lobito, Angola, to the eastern bordertown of Luau, Moxico and to the rail networks of south-eastern DR Congo, of Zambia and beyond....
, which extended west through Angola, was essentially closed to traffic from Zambia by the late 1970s. Zambia's strong support for the ANC, which had its external headquarters in Lusaka, created security problems as South Africa raided ANC targets in Zambia.

In the mid-1970s, the price of copper
Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
, Zambia's principal export, suffered a severe decline worldwide. In Zambia's situation, the cost of transporting the copper great distances to market was an additional strain. Zambia turned to foreign and international lenders for relief, but, as copper prices remained depressed, it became increasingly difficult to service its growing debt. By the mid-1990s, despite limited debt relief, Zambia's per capita foreign debt remained among the highest in the world.

Government

Zambian politics take place in a framework of a presidential
Presidential system

A presidential system is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides separately from the legislature, to which it is not wikt:accountable and which cannot, in normal circumstances, wikt:dismiss it....
 representative democratic
Representative democracy

File:Electoral democracies.pngRepresentative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of Election individuals representing the people, as opposed to either autocracy or direct democracy....
 republic
Republic

A republic is a state or country that is not led by a hereditary monarch but in which the people have an impact on its government. The word originates from the Latin term res publica....
, whereby the President of Zambia is both head of state
Head of State

Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchic or republican nation-state, federation, commonwealth or any other political state....
 and head of government
Head of government

The head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet . In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled Prime Minister, President of the Government, Premier, etc....
 in a pluriform multi-party system. The government exercises executive power, whilst legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. Zambia became a republic immediately upon attaining independence in October 1964.

Provinces

Zambia is divided into nine province
Province

A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state....
s, each administered by an appointed deputy minister. Each province is subdivided into several district
District

Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipality, or subdivisions of municipalities....
s with a grand total of 73 districts. The provinces are:

  • Central
    Central Province, Zambia

    Central Province is one of Zambia's nine Provinces of Zambia. The provincial capital is Kabwe, home of the Mulungushi Rock of Authority, founder home of UNIP, the ruling political party in the second republic ....
  • Copperbelt
    Copperbelt Province

    Copperbelt Province in Zambia covers the mineral-rich Copperbelt, and farming and bush areas to the south. It was the backbone of the Northern Rhodesian economy during United Kingdom colonial rule and fuelled the hopes of the immediate post-independence period, but its economic importance was severely damaged by a crash in global copper pr...
  • Eastern
    Eastern Province, Zambia

    Eastern Province is one of Zambia's nine Provinces of Zambia. The provincial capital is Chipata. Within the province lies the South Luangwa National Park....
  • Luapula
    Luapula Province

    Luapula Province is one of Zambia's nine Provinces of Zambia, and is located in the north of the country. The provincial capital is Mansa, Zambia....
  • Lusaka
    Lusaka Province

    Lusaka Province is one of Zambia's nine Provinces of Zambia. The provincial capital is Lusaka, which is also the national capital....
  • Northern
    Northern Province, Zambia

    Northern Province is one of Zambia's nine Provinces of Zambia. It covers approximately one fifth of Zambia in land area. The provincial capital is Kasama,_Zambia....
  • North-Western
    North-Western Province, Zambia

    North-Western Province is one of Zambia's nine Provinces of Zambia. It covers an area of 125,826 km? and has a population of 583,350 . It is the most sparsely populated province in the country....
  • Southern
    Southern Province, Zambia

    Southern Province is one of Zambia's nine Provinces of Zambia, and home to Zambia's premier tourist attraction, Mosi-oa-Tunya , shared with Zimbabwe....
  • Western
    Western Province, Zambia

    In Western Province, Certain parts mostly around Limulunga and Senanga areas were formerly known as the Barotseland while the Eastern, Northern and Southern parts of Western Province were formely known as Mankoya area named after the Nkoya tribe who are believed to be the early settlers of not only some parts of current Western Province but...


Population of major cities

CityPopulation
Lusaka
Lusaka

Lusaka is the capital city and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau of the country, at an elevation of 1300 m ....
 
1,218,200
Ndola
Ndola

Ndola is the second-largest city in Zambia, with a population of 374,757 . It is the Industry, Commerce, Administration and distribution hub of the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper extraction region, and capital of Copperbelt Province....
 
547,900
Kitwe
Kitwe

Kitwe is the Third- largest city in Zambia, with a population of 363,734 . It is in the centre of the Copperbelt, Zambia's Copper extraction region, in the Copperbelt Province...
 
368,800
Kabwe
Kabwe

Kabwe is the capital of the Zambian Central Province, Zambia with a population estimated at 210,000. Formerly named Broken Hill, it was founded when the Broken Hill lead and zinc deposits were discovered in 1902....
 
213,800
Chingola
Chingola

Chingola is a city in Zambia's Copperbelt Province, the country's copper extraction region, with a population of 147,448 . It is the home of Nchanga Open Pit Mine, the second largest open cast mine in the world....
 
150,500
Luanshya
Luanshya

Luanshya is a town in Zambia, in the Copperbelt Province near Ndola. It has a population of 115,579 .Luanshya was founded in the early part of the 20th century after a prospector/explorer, William Collier, shot and killed a Roan Antelope on the banks of the Luanshya River, discovering a copper deposit in the process....
 
124,800
Livingstone
Livingstone, Zambia

Livingstone is a historic Colonialism city and present capital of the Southern Province, Zambia of Zambia, a tourism centre for Mosi-oa-Tunya lying south on the Zambezi River, and a border town with road and rail connections to Zimbabwe on the other side of the Falls....
 
108,100


Languages

The official language of Zambia is English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
, which is used to conduct official business and is the medium of instruction in schools. However, there are also a large number of indigenous languages which are commonly-spoken in Zambia, including:Ambo, Aushi, Bemba, Bisa, Chikunda, Cishinga, Cokwe, Gova, Ila, Inamwanga, Iwa, Kabende, Kaonde, Kosa, Kunda, Kwandi, Kwandu, Kwangwa, Lala, Lamba, Lenje, Leya, Lima, Liyuwa, Lozi, Luano, Lucazi, Lumbu, Lunda, Lundwe, Lungu, Luunda, Luvale, Makoma, Mambwe, Mashasha, Mashi, Mbowe, Mbukushu, Mbumi, Mbunda, Mbwela, Mukulu, Mulonga, Ndembu, Ng'umbo, Nkoya, Nsenga, Nyanja, Nyengo, Nyiha, Sala, Seba, Senga, Shanjo, Shila, Simaa, Soli, Subiya, Swaka, Tabwa, Tambo, Toka, Tonga, Totela, Tumbuka, Twa, Unga, Wandya and Yombe. Estimates of the total number of languages spoken in Zambia add up to 72, thirteen (13) dialects are counted as languages in their own right which brings this number to 85. The process of urbanisation has had a dramatic effect on some of the indigenous languages, including the assimilation of words from other indigenous languages and English. Urban dwellers sometimes differentiate between urban and rural dialects of the same language by prefixing the rural languages with 'deep'. Most will thus speak Nyanja in Lusaka to all and sundry, English in official communications and the chosen (husbands/wives) language at home if (as is now common) there is an intertribal family. Languages like Bemba, Kaonde, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja and Tonga come from other country explorers.

Education

Education in Zambia is provided at three levels: Basic education (years 1 to 9), and upper secondary (years 10 to 12). Some schools provide a "basic" education covering years 1 to 9, as year 9 is considered to be a decent level of education for the majority of children. However, tuition is only free up to year 7, and UNESCO
UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945....
 estimated that 80% of children of primary school age in 2002 were enrolled. Most children drop out after year 7 when fees must be paid.

Both government and private schools exist in Zambia. The private school system began largely as a result of Christian mission efforts during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Amongst famous private schools are the International School of Lusaka, the Roman Catholic run St Mary's Seminary located in the Msupadzi area, south of Chipata, Eastern Province and Simba International School close to Ndola, Copperbelt Province. Private schools operate under either the British or American way of schooling, but also offer curricula approved by the Examinations Council of Zambia (ECZ).

Educational opportunities beyond secondary school are limited in Zambia. After secondary school, most students study at the various colleges, around the country. There are two main universities: the University of Zambia
University of Zambia

The University of Zambia is Zambia's largest university, founded in 1966. It has a student population of about 6,000. Its main campus is located on the Great East Road , about 7km from Lusaka City....
 (UNZA) and the Copperbelt University
Copperbelt University

Copperbelt University was established by an act of the act of the Zambian Parliament in 1987. It is located in Ndola and earlier it was part of the University of Zambia....
 (CBU). Normally both select students on the basis of ability but competition for places is intense. The introduction of fees in the late 1990s has made university level education inaccessible for some, although the government does provide state bursaries. The Copperbelt University opened in the late 1980s, taking over most of the former Zambia Institute of Technology site in Kitwe. Other centres of education include the Public Administration College (NIPA), the Northern Technical College (NORTEC), the National Resources Development College (NRDC), the Evelyn Hone College, and Northrise University. There are also several teacher training colleges offering two-year training programmes, whilst missionary hospitals around the country offer internationally acceptable training for nurses and several Christian schools offer seminary-level training.

Geography

Za Map
Kalambo Falls, Zambia
Zambia is a landlocked
Landlocked

A landlocked country is commonly defined as one enclosed or nearly enclosed by land. As of 2008, there are 44 landlocked countries in the world....
 country in southern Africa, with a tropical climate
Tropical climate

A tropical climate is a kind of climate typical in the tropics. Wladimir K?ppen's widely-recognized K?ppen climate classification defines it as a non-arid climate in which all twelve months have mean temperatures above ....
 and consists mostly of high plateau
Plateau

In geology and earth science, a plateau, also called a high plateau or tableland, is an area of highland , usually consisting of relatively flat terrain....
, with some hills and mountains, dissected by river valleys. At 752,614 km˛ (290,566 sq. mi.) it is the 39th-largest country in the world (after Chile
Chile

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean....
) and slightly larger than the US state of Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
. Zambia is drained by two major river basins: the Zambezi basin in the south covering about three-quarters of the country; and the Congo
Congo River

The Congo River is the largest river in Western Central Africa. Its overall length of 4,700 km makes it the second longest in Africa ....
 basin in the north covering about one-quarter of the country. A very small area in the north-west forms part of the internal drainage basin of Lake Rukwa
Lake Rukwa

Lake Rukwa is a lake in southwestern Tanzania. The alkaline Lake Rukwa lies midway between Lake Tanganyika and Lake Nyasa at an elevation of about 800 metres, in a parallel branch of the rift system....
 in Tanzania.

In the zambezi basin, there are a number of major rivers flowing wholly or partially through Zambia: the Kabompo
Kabompo River

The Kabompo River is one of the main tributary of the upper Zambezi River river. It flows entirely in Zambia, rising to the east of the source of the Zambezi, in North-Western Province, Zambia along the watershed between the Zambezi and Congo River river basins which also forms the border between Zambia and DR Congo....
, Lungwebungu
Lungwebungu River

The Lungwebungu River of south-west-central Africa is the largest tributary of the upper Zambezi. The headwaters of the Lungwebungu are in central Angola at an elevation around 1400 m, and it flows south-east across the southern African plateau....
, Kafue
Kafue River

The Kafue River sustains one of the world's great wildlife environments. It is a major tributary of the Zambezi, and of Zambia's principal rivers, it is the most central and the most urban, and the longest and largest lying wholly within the country....
, Luangwa
Luangwa River

The Luangwa River is one of the major tributaries of the Zambezi River, and one of the four biggest rivers of Zambia. The river generally floods in the rainy season and then falls considerably in the dry season....
, and the Zambezi itself, which flows through the country in the west and then forms its southern border with Namibia
Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa on the Atlantic Ocean coast. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east, and South Africa to the south....
, Botswana
Botswana

The Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Citizens of Botswana are called "Batswana" , regardless of ethnicity. Formerly a British protectorate of Bechuanaland Protectorate, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth of Nations on 30 September 1966....
 and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo River rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east....
. Its source is in Zambia but it diverts into Angola, and a number of its tributaries arise in Angola's central highlands. The edge of the Cuando River
Cuando River

The Cuando River is a river in south-central Africa, also called the Linyanti River and the Chobe River in its lower section before it flows into the Zambezi River....
 floodplain (not its main channel) forms Zambia's south-western border, and via the Chobe River that river contributes very little water to the Zambezi because most is lost by evaporation).

Two of the Zambezi's longest and largest tributaries, the Kafue and the Luangwa, flow mainly in Zambia. Their confluences with the Zambezi are on the border with Zimbabwe at Chirundu and Luangwa town
Luangwa, Zambia

Luangwa is a town in Zambia, at the confluence of the Luangwa River and Zambezi Rivers, which was previously called Feira. It is headquarters of a district of the same name in Lusaka Province....
 respectively. Before its confluence, the Luangwa River forms part of Zambia's border with Mozambique
Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest....
. From Luangwa town, the Zambezi leaves Zambia and flows into Mozambique, and eventually into the Mozambique Channel
Mozambique Channel

The Mozambique Channel is a portion of the Indian Ocean between the island of Madagascar and southeast Africa, namely Mozambique. It was a World War II clashpoint during the Battle of Madagascar....
.

The Zambezi falls about 100 metres (328 ft) over the 1.6 km (1 mile) wide Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls

The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya is a waterfall situated in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe....
, located in the south-west corner of the country, subsequently flowing into Lake Kariba
Lake Kariba

Lake Kariba is a large, man-made lake and reservoir located on the Zambezi river, about halfway between the river's source and mouth, about 1300 kilometers upstream from the Indian Ocean....
. The Zambezi valley, running along the southern border, is both deep and wide. From Lake Kariba going east it is formed by graben
Graben

A graben is a depression block of land bordered by parallel Fault s. Graben is German language for ditch.A graben is the result of a block of land being downthrown producing a valley with a distinct Escarpment on each side....
s and like the Luangwa, Mweru-Luapula, Mweru-wa-Ntipa and Lake Tanganyika valleys, is a rift valley
Rift valley

A rift valley is a linear-shaped lowland between highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift or fault . This action is manifest as crustal extension, a spreading apart of the surface which is subsequently further deepened by the forces of erosion....
.

The west of Zambia is very flat with broad plains, the most notable being the Barotse Floodplain
Barotse Floodplain

The Barotse Floodplain also known as the Bulozi Plain, Lyondo or the Zambezi Floodplain is one of Africa's great wetlands, on the Zambezi River in the Western Province, Zambia of Zambia....
 on the Zambezi, which floods from December to June, lagging behind the annual rainy season (typically November to April). The flood
Floodplain

||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||}A floodplain, or flood plain, is flat or nearly flat land adjacent to a stream or river that experiences occasional or periodic flooding....
 dominates the natural environment and the lives, society and culture of the inhabitants and those of other smaller, floodplains throughout the country.

Eastern Zambia shows greater diversity. The plateau which extends between the Zambezi and Lake Tanganyika valleys is tilted upwards to the north, and so rises imperceptibly from about 900 m (3000 ft) in the south to 1200 m (4000 ft) in the centre, reaching 1800 m (6000 ft) in the north near Mbala. In the east, the Luangwa Valley splits the plateau in a curve north east to south west, extended west into the heart of the plateau by the deep valley of the Lunsemfwa River
Lunsemfwa River

The Lunsemfwa River is a tributary of the Lukasashi River and Luangwa Rivers in Zambia and part of the Zambezi River basin. It is a popular river for fishing, containing large populations of tigerfish and bream....
. Hills and mountains are found by the side of some sections of the valley, notably in its north-east the Nyika Plateau (2200 m) on the Malawi border, which extend into Zambia as the Mafinga Hills, containing the country's highest point, Kongera (2187m). The Muchinga Mountains, the watershed between the Zambezi and Congo drainage basins, run parallel to the deep valley of the Luangwa River and form a sharp backdrop to its northern edge, although they are almost everywhere below 1700m. Their culminating peak Mumpu is at the western end and at 1892m is the highest point in Zambia away from the eastern border region. The border of the Congo Pedicle
Congo Pedicle

The Congo Pedicle refers to the southeast salient of the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo which sticks into neighbouring Zambia almost dividing it into two lobes, like the wings of a butterfly....
 was drawn around this mountain.

The southernmost headstream of the Congo River rises in Zambia and flows through its north firstly as the Chambeshi
Chambeshi River

The Chambeshi River is a river in northeastern Zambia. It is the furthest headstream of the Congo River in terms of length. . The Chambeshi rises as a stream in the mountains of northeast Zambia near Lake Tanganyika at an elevation of 1760 metres above sea level....
 and then, after the Bangweulu Swamps
Lake Bangweulu

Bangweulu ? 'where the water sky meets the sky' ? is one of the world's great wetland systems, comprising Lake Bangweulu, the Bangweulu Swamps and the Bangweulu Flats or floodplain....
 as the Luapula
Luapula River

The Luapula River is a section of Africa's second-longest river, the Congo River. It is a transnational river forming for nearly all its length part of the border between Zambia and the DR Congo....
, which forms part of the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo , is a country in central Africa with a small length of Atlantic coastline. It is the third largest list of African countries in order of geographical area....
. The Luapula flows south then west before it turns north until it enters Lake Mweru
Lake Mweru

Lake Mweru is a freshwater lake on the longest arm of Africa's second-longest river, the Congo River. Located on the border between Zambia and Democratic Republic of the Congo, it makes up 110 km of the total length of the Congo, lying between its Luapula River and Luvua River segments....
. The lake's other major tributary is the Kalungwishi River
Kalungwishi River

The Kalungwishi River flows west in northern Zambia into Lake Mweru. It is known for its waterfalls, including the Lumangwe Falls, Kabweluma Falls, Kundabwiku Falls and Mumbuluma Falls....
, which flows into it from the east. The Luvua River
Luvua River

The Luvua River is a river in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It flows from the northern end of Lake Mweru on the Zambia-Congo border in a northwesterly direction for 350km to its confluence with the Lualaba River opposite the town of Ankoro....
 drains Lake Mweru, flowing out of the northern end to the Lualaba River
Lualaba River

The Lualaba River is the greatest headstream of the Congo River by volume of water. However, by length the Chambeshi River is the furthest headstream....
 (Upper Congo River).

Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika is a large lake in central Africa . It is estimated to be the List of lakes by volume in the world by volume, and the List of lakes by depth, after Lake Baikal in Siberia....
 is the other major hydrographic
Hydrography

Hydrography focuses on the measurement of physical characteristics of waters and marginal land. In the generalized usage, "hydrography" pertains to measurement and description of any waters....
 feature that belongs to the Congo basin. Its south-eastern end receives water from the Kalambo River
Kalambo River

The Kalambo River forms part of the border between Zambia and Tanzania. It is a comparatively small stream which rises in the highlands north-east of Mbala at an elevation of about 1800 m and descends into the Eastern Great Rift Valley, entering the southeastern end of Lake Tanganyika at an elevation of about 770 m, in a straight line distanc...
, which forms part of Zambia's border with Tanzania. This river has Africa's second highest uninterrupted waterfall, the Kalambo Falls
Kalambo Falls

Kalambo Falls on the Kalambo River is a 772ft single drop waterfall on the border of Zambia and Tanzania at the southeast end of Lake Tanganyika....
.

Climate

The climate of Zambia is tropical modified by elevation
Elevation

The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, often the above mean sea level. Elevation, or geometric height, is mainly used when referring to points on the Earth's surface, while altitude or geopotential height is used for points above the surface, such as an aircraft in flight or a s...
. In the Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification

The K?ppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classifications. It was developed by Wladimir K?ppen, a Russian climatologist, around 1900 ....
, most of the country is classified as humid subtropical or tropical wet and dry, with small stretches of semi-arid steppe climate in the south-west and along the Zambezi valley.

There are two main seasons, the rainy season (November to April) corresponding to summer, and the dry season
Dry season

The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillation from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year....
 (May/June to October/November), corresponding to winter. The dry season is subdivided into the cool dry season (May/June to August), and the hot dry season (September to October/November). The modifying influence of altitude gives the country pleasant subtropical weather rather than tropical conditions during the cool season of May to August. However, average monthly temperatures remain above 20°C over most of the country for eight or more months of the year.

Economy

About 68% of Zambians live below the recognised national poverty line, with rural poverty rates standing at about 78% and urban rates of 53%. Per capita annual incomes are currently at about one-half their levels at independence and, at $395, place the country among the world's poorest nations. Social indicators continue to decline, particularly in measurements of life expectancy at birth (about 40.9 years) and maternal mortality (830 per 100,000 pregnancies). The country's rate of economic growth cannot support rapid population growth or the strain which HIV
HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that can lead to AIDS , a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections....
/AIDS
AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the HIV ....
 related issues (i.e. rising medical costs, decline in worker productivity) place on government resources.

Once a middle-income country, Zambia began to slide into poverty in the 1970s when copper prices declined on world markets. The socialist government made up for falling revenue with several abortive attempts at International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund is an international organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rates and the balance of payments....
 structural adjustment
Structural adjustment

Structural adjustment is a term used to describe the policy changes implemented by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in developing countries....
 programmes (SAPs), which ended after popular outcries from the people. After democratic multi-party elections, the Chiluba government (1991-2001) came to power in November 1991 committed to an economic reform programme. The government privatised most of the parastatals (state-owned corporations), maintained positive real interest rate
Interest rate

An interest rate is the price a borrower pays for the use of money they do not own, for instance a small company might borrow from a bank to kick start their business, and the return a lender receives for deferring the use of funds, by lending it to the borrower....
s, eliminated exchange controls, and endorsed free market principles. Corruption
Political corruption

Political corruption is the use of governmental powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption....
 grew dramatically under the Chiluba government. It remains to be seen whether the Mwanawasa government will be aggressive in continuing economic reform. Zambia is still dealing with economic reform issues such as the size of the public sector
Public sector

The public sector is the part of economic and administrative life that deals with the delivery of goods and services by and for the government, whether national, regional or local/municipal....
 and improving Zambia's social sector delivery systems. NGOs and other groups have contended that the SAPs, in Zambia and other countries, have had very detrimental effects on the poor. Zambia's total foreign debt exceeded $6 billion when the country qualified for Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) debt relief in 2000, contingent upon meeting certain performance criteria
Conditionality

Conditionality is a concept in international development, political economy and international relations and describes the use of conditions attached to a loan, debt relief, bilateral aid or membership of international organizations, typically by the international financial institutions, regional organizations or donor countries....
. Initially, Zambia hoped to reach the HIPC completion point, and benefit from substantial debt forgiveness, in late 2003. In January 2003, the Zambian government informed the IMF and World Bank
World Bank

The World Bank is a bank that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs with the stated goal of reducing poverty....
 that it wished to renegotiate some of the agreed performance criteria calling for privatisation of the Zambia National Commercial Bank and the national telephone and electricity utilities. Although agreements were reached on these issues, subsequent overspending on civil service wages delayed Zambia's final HIPC debt forgiveness from late 2003 to early 2005, at the earliest. In an effort to reach HIPC completion in 2004, the government drafted an austerity budget for 2004, freezing civil service salaries and increasing a number of taxes. The labour movement and other components of civil society have objected to the sacrifices called for in the budget, and, in some cases, the role of the international financial institutions in demanding austerity.

The Zambian economy has historically been based on the copper mining industry. Output of copper had fallen, however, to a low of 228,000 metric tons in 1998, after a 30 year decline in output due to lack of investment, low copper prices, and uncertainty over privatisation. In 2002, following privatisation of the industry, copper production rebounded to 337,000 metric tons. Improvements in the world copper market have magnified the effect of this volume increase on revenues and foreign exchange earnings. Recently, firms like Vedanta Resources
Vedanta Resources

Vedanta Resources plc is a global diversified and integrated metals and mining group headquartered in London, England. Headed by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal , most of Vedanta's operations are located in India....
, a London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
-based miner acquired Konkola Copper Mines
Konkola Copper Mines

Konkola Copper Mines is a copper mining and smelting company in Zambia. Konkola is a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, a mining conglomerate based in Mumbai and London....
 (KCM). Vedanta transformed the company and continues investing in the Zambian economy. For example, it is undertaking the largest single investment in the country in early 2006.

The Zambian government is pursuing an economic diversification programme to reduce the economy's reliance on the copper industry. This initiative seeks to exploit other components of Zambia's rich resource base by promoting agriculture, tourism, gemstone mining, and hydro-power. In 2003, exports of nonmetals increased by 25% and accounted for 38% of all export earnings, previously 35%. The Zambian government has recently been granting licenses to international resource companies to prospect for minerals such as nickel, tin, copper and uranium. It is hoped that nickel will take over from copper as the country's top metallic export. In 2009, Zambia has been badly hit by the world economic crisis
Late 2000s recession

File:2007-2009 World Financial Crisis.svgFile:800px-The Great Asset Bubble.jpgIn 2008-2009 much of the industrialized world entered into a deep recession....
.

Demographics

Zambia is one of the most highly urbanised countries in sub-Saharan Africa with 44% of the population concentrated in a few urban areas along the major transport corridors, while rural areas are sparsely populated. Unemployment and underemployment in urban areas are serious problems, while most rural Zambians are subsistence farmers
Subsistence agriculture

Subsistence agriculture is self-sufficiency farming in which farmers grow only enough food to feed their family and pay taxes. The typical subsistence farm has a range of crops and animals needed by the family to eat during the year....
. The population comprises approximately 72 ethnic groups, most of which are Bantu-speaking. Almost 90% of Zambians belong to the nine main ethnolinguistic groups: the Bemba
Bemba people

The Bemba belong to a large group of peoples mainly in the Northern Province, Zambia, Luapula Province and Copperbelt Provinces of Zambia who trace their origins to the Luba and Lunda states of the upper Congo basin, in what became Katanga Province in southern Congo-Kinshasa ....
, Nyanja-Chewa
Chewa

The Chewa are a people of Central Africa/Southern Africa. They are closely related to people who surround them, especially the Tumbuka and Nsenga....
, Tonga
Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe

The Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe are a Bantu peoples ethnic group of southern Zambia and neighbouring northern Zimbabwe, and to a lesser extent, in Mozambique....
, Tumbuka
Tumbuka

The Tumbuka are a Bantu peoples ethnic group living in Northern Malawi, Eastern Zambia and Southern Tanzania. Their chief god is called Chiuta, who is all-powerful, omniscient and self-created, just like the God of the Abrahamic religions....
, Lunda
BaLunda

The BaLunda arose in what is now DR Congo along the Kalanyi River and formed the Lunda Kingdom in the 17th century under their ruler, Mwata Yamvo, with their capital at Musumba....
, Luvale
Balovale

Balovale means the Lovale people, also spelled Luvale and also called the Luena or Lwena, an ethnic group in Zambia and Angola....
, Kaonde
Kaonde language

Kaonde, also known as Chikaonde and Kawonde, is a Bantu languages language that is spoken primarily in Zambia but also in the Democratic Republic of the Congo....
, Nkoya
Nkoya

The Nkoya people are found in the Central Western Part of Zambia, Africa. They are believed to be the oldest group to have arrived in present day Zambia with the exception of the Tonga People found on the Southern part of Zambia....
 and Lozi
Lozi people

The Lozi people are an ethnic group primarily of western Zambia, inhabiting the region of Barotseland. Lozi are also found in Namibia , Angola and Botswana....
. In the rural areas, each ethnic group is concentrated in a particular geographic region of the country and many groups are very small and not as well known. However, all the ethnic groups can be found in significant numbers in Lusaka and the Copperbelt.

Expatriates, mostly British or South African, as well as some white Zambian citizens (about 120,000), live mainly in Lusaka and in the Copperbelt in northern Zambia, where they are either employed in mines, financial and related activities or retired. Zambia also has a small but economically important Asian population, most of whom are Indians
Indians in Zambia

Adventurous Indians from Gujarat arrived in 1905 through Malawi to do business. Initial settlers were Muslims, but soon they were followed by Hindu traders....
 and Chinese
Overseas Chinese

Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese people birth or descent who live outside the territories administered by the rival governments of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China ....
. An estimated 80,000 Chinese are resident in Zambia. In recent years, several hundred dispossessed white farmers have left Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo River rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east....
 at the invitation of the Zambian government, to take up farming in the Southern province.

According to the World Refugee Survey 2008 published by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, Zambia has a population of refugees and asylum seekers numbering approximately 113,200. The majority of refugees in the country came from the Democratic Republic of Congo (55,400 refugees from the DRC living in Zambia in 2007), Angola
Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordering Namibia to the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, and Zambia to the east, and with a west coast along the Atlantic Ocean....
 (40,800) and Rwanda
Rwanda

The Republic of Rwanda is a small landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of east-central Africa, bordered by Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania....
 (4,000). Nearly 60,000 refugees live in camps in Zambia, while 50,000 are mixed in with the local populations. Refugees who wish to work in Zambia must apply for official permits which can cost up to $500 per year.

John Floria Couvaras is responsible for naming the famous street by the name of 'Cairo Road' which rests in the heart of Lusaka. John Floria; the earliest member of the Couvaras family to settle in Zambia from Greece, is survived by his grandchildren and great-grand children, who currently reside in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Southern Province (Zambia); one of his relatives is author Michael Couvaras.

Religion

Zambia is officially a Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
 nation, but a wide variety of religious traditions exist. Traditional religious thought blends easily with Christian beliefs in many of the country's syncretic churches. Christian denominations include: Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
, Anglican
Anglicanism

Anglicanism is a tradition of Christianity faith. Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs, worship and church structures....
, Pentecostal
Pentecostalism

Pentecostalism is a renewalist religious movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the baptism of the Holy Spirit....
, New Apostolic Church
New Apostolic Church

The New Apostolic Church is a Millennialism church , existing since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands. It came forth from the Hamburg Schism in 1863 in the Catholic Apostolic Church, which was founded in 1847 in England and started in the 1830s as a renewal movement in, among others, the Anglican Church and Church of Scotlan...
, Lutheran
Lutheranism

Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century Germans Reformer Martin Luther....
, Seventh-day Adventist
Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Christianity Religious denomination which is distinguished mainly by its observance of Saturday, the original Days of the week of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath and Seventh-day Adventism....
, Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses is a restorationism, Millenarianism Christianity religious movement. Sociology of religion have classified the group as an Adventism sect....
 and a variety of Evangelical
Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism is a Protestantism Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s.Most adherents consider its key characteristics to be: a belief in the need for personal conversion ; some expression of the gospel in effort; a high regard for Biblical authority; and an emphasis on the death and resurrection of Jesus....
 denominations. These grew, adjusted and prospered from the original missionary settlements (Portuguese
Portuguese people

The Portuguese people are the ethnic group or nation native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of Southern Europe-Western Europe Europe....
 and Catholicism in the east from Mozambique
Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest....
) and Anglicanism (English and Scottish influences) from the south. Except for some technical positions (e.g. physicians), western missionary roles have been assumed by native believers. After Frederick Chiluba
Frederick Chiluba

Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba is a Zambia politician. He served as the President of Zambia from 1991 to 2002, when Zambians elected former Vice President Levy Mwanawasa as his successor....
 (a Pentecostal Christian) became President in 1991, Pentecostal congregations expanded considerably around the country.

Approximately 5% of the population are Muslims
Islam in Zambia

The arrival of Islam in Zambia dates to the fourth Hijri century when Muslims established emirates on the coast of East Africa. During that period Muslim slave merchants extended their business to the interior regions reaching Zambia in the period of the Omani dynasty Al Bu Sa'id Dynasty....
 with most living in urban areas. There is also a small Jewish community, composed mostly of Ashkenazis
Ashkenazi Jews

File:Juden 1881.JPGAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish ethnic divisions of the Rhineland in the west of Germany....
. Notable Jewish Zambians have included Simon Zukas, retired Minister, MP and a member of Forum for Democracy and Development
Forum for Democracy and Development

The Forum for Democracy and Development is a political party in Zambia.At the legislative elections in Zambia on 27 December 2001, the party won 15.3% of popular votes and 12 out of 159 seats....
 and earlier on the MMD
Movement for Multiparty Democracy

The Movement for Multi-party Democracy is a political party in Zambia. Originally formed to oust the previous government, MMD controlled an absolute majority in parliament between 1991 and 2001, when its past leader, Frederick Chiluba was president of the country....
 and United National Independence Party
United National Independence Party

The United National Independence Party is a political party in Zambia. It governed that country from 1964 to 1991 under the president of Kenneth Kaunda....
. Additionally, the economist Stanley Fischer
Stanley Fischer

Stanley "Stan" Fischer is an economist and the current Governor of the Bank of Israel.Born in Northern Rhodesia on 15 October, 1943, he obtained his Bachelor of Science and Master's degree at the London School of Economics from 1962-1966 and his Doctor of Philosophy at MIT in 1969, all in economics....
, currently the governor of the Bank of Israel
Bank of Israel

The Bank of Israel is the central bank of Israel. The Bank of Israel is located in Jerusalem, Israel, with a branch office in Tel Aviv. The current governor is Stanley Fischer....
 and formerly head of the IMF
International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund is an international organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rates and the balance of payments....
 also was born and partially raised in Zambia's Jewish community. The Baha'i
Bahá'í Faith

The 'Bah?'? Faith' is a monotheism religion founded by Bah?'u'll?h in nineteenth-century Persian Empire#Persia and Europe , emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind....
 population of Zambia is over 160,000, or 1.5% of the population. The William Mmutle Masetlha Foundation run by the Baha'i community is particularly active in areas such as literacy and primary health care.

Culture

The culture of Zambia is mainly indigenous Bantu culture mixed with European influences. Prior to the establishment of modern Zambia, the indigenous people lived in independent tribes, each with their own ways of life. One of the results of the colonial era was the growth of urbanisation. Different ethnic groups started living together in towns and cities, influencing each other as well as adopting a lot of the European culture. The original cultures have largely survived in the rural areas. In the urban setting there is a continuous integration and evolution of these cultures to produce what is now called "Zambian culture".

Traditional culture is very visible through colourful annual Zambian traditional ceremonies
Zambian traditional ceremonies

Zambian Traditional Ceremonies.1. Central ProvinceChibwela Kumushi2. Copperbelt Province3. Eastern ProvinceNcwala4. Luapula Province...
. Some of the more prominent are: Kuomboka
Kuomboka

Kuomboka is a word in the Lozi language; it literally means ?to get out of water?. In today's Zambia it is applied to a traditional ceremony that takes place at the end of the rain season, when the upper Zambezi River floods the plains of the Western Province....
 and Kathanga (Western Province), Mutomboko (Luapula Province), Ncwala (Eastern Province), Lwiindi
Lwiindi

Lwiindi is an annual festival of the Tonga people of southern Zambia. It is a thanksgiving ceremony which attracts a lot of people from around the country....
 and Shimunenga
Shimunenga

In Zambia, the Shimunenga Ceremony of the Ba-Ila people of Maala in Namwala District is celebrated on the weekend of the full moon in September or October....
 (Southern Province), Likumbi Lyamize (North Western), Chibwela Kumushi (Central Province), Ukusefya Pa Ng’wena (Northern Province).

Popular traditional arts are mainly in pottery, basketry (such as Tonga baskets
Tonga baskets

The Tonga people women of the Southern Province of Zambia are famous for their basket weaving. Tonga baskets have a distinctive design with a square bottom forming the foundation of the basket....
), stools, fabrics, mats, wooden carvings, ivory carvings, wire craft and copper crafts. Most Zambian traditional music is based on drums (and other percussion instruments) with a lot of singing and dancing. In the urban areas foreign genres of music are popular, in particular Congolese rumba
Soukous

Soukous is a musical genre that originated in the two neighbouring countries of Belgian Congo and French Congo during the 1930s and early 1940s, and which has gained popularity throughout Africa....
, African-American music and Jamaican reggae.

The Zambian staple diet is based on maize
Maize

Maize , known as corn in some countries, is a cereal domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents....
. It is normally eaten as a thick porridge, called Nshima
Nshima

Nshima or nsima is a cornmeal product and a staple food in Zambia and Malawi. It is made from ground maize flour known locally as mielie-meal....
, prepared from maize flour commonly known as mealie meal. This may be eaten with a variety of vegetables, beans, meat, fish or sour milk depending on geographical location/origin. Nshima
Nshima

Nshima or nsima is a cornmeal product and a staple food in Zambia and Malawi. It is made from ground maize flour known locally as mielie-meal....
 is also prepared from cassava
Cassava

The cassava, cassadaIn page 25, Darwin says "Mandioca or cassada is likewise cultivated in great quantity."See it also in ,yuca, 'manioc, 'mogo...
, a staple food in some parts of the country.

Sports


Zambia declared its independence on the day of the closing ceremony of the 1964 Summer Olympics
1964 Summer Olympics

The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964....
, thereby becoming the first country ever to have entered an Olympic games as one country, and left it as another.

Today, the most popular sport in Zambia is football and the Zambia national football team
Zambia national football team

The Zambia national football team represents the country of Zambia and is governed by the Football Association of Zambia. The side is nicknamed Chipolopolo as copper is one of the southcentral African nation's main exports....
 has had its triumphant moments in football history. At the Seoul Olympics of 1988, the National Team defeated the Italian National team by a score of 4-0. Kalusha Bwalya
Kalusha Bwalya

Kalusha Bwalya , known as simply Kalusha, is a Zambian footballer and coach . He is Zambia's most cap player, all-time top goalscorer, and is regarded as the greatest Zambia national football team player to play the game....
, Zambia's most celebrated football player and one of Africa's greatest football talents had a hat trick in that match. However to this day, many pundits say the greatest team Zambia has ever assembled was the one that perished on 28 April 1993 in a plane crash at Libreville, Gabon. Rugby, boxing and cricket are also popular sports in Zambia. Notably, at one time in the early 2000s, the Australia
Australia national rugby union team

The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the "Wallabies" and competes annually with All Blacks and South Africa national rugby union team in the Tri Nations , in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the Mandela Challenge Plate with...
 and South Africa
South Africa national rugby union team

The South Africa national rugby union team , are the current holders of the Rugby World Cup and are currently ranked number 2 in the IRB World Rankings....
 national teams were captained by players born in the same Lusaka hospital, respectively George Gregan
George Gregan

George Musarurwa Gregan Order of Australia is an Australian rugby union Rugby union positions#9. Scrum-half who has made more appearances for his national team than any other player in the sport's history....
 and Corné Krige
Corné Krige

Cornelius Petrus Johannes "Corn?" Krige was a South African rugby union footballer, now retired, who played flanker for Western Province in the Currie Cup, the Stormers in Super 14 and captained the South African national side, the South Africa national rugby union team....
. Zambia used to play cricket as part of Rhodesia
Rhodesia

Rhodesia was the name adopted when the formerly British colonies of Southern Rhodesia declared itself independent on 11 November 1965. The name was also used with the establishment of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979....
.

In 2011, Zambia is due to host the tenth All-Africa Games
2011 All-Africa Games

The 10th All-Africa Games will take place in 2011 in Lusaka, Zambia. Lusaka's hosting will be only the third time the games will have been held in the southern part of the continent....
, for which three stadiums will be built in Lusaka
Lusaka

Lusaka is the capital city and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau of the country, at an elevation of 1300 m ....
, Ndola
Ndola

Ndola is the second-largest city in Zambia, with a population of 374,757 . It is the Industry, Commerce, Administration and distribution hub of the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper extraction region, and capital of Copperbelt Province....
, and Livingstone
Livingstone, Zambia

Livingstone is a historic Colonialism city and present capital of the Southern Province, Zambia of Zambia, a tourism centre for Mosi-oa-Tunya lying south on the Zambezi River, and a border town with road and rail connections to Zimbabwe on the other side of the Falls....
. The Lusaka stadium will have a capacity of 70,000 spectators while the other two stadiums will hold 50,000 people each. The government is encouraging the private sector to get involved in the construction of the sports facilities because of a shortage of public funds for the project.

Zambia took part in the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, People's Republic of China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008....
 in Beijing
Beijing

is a metropolis in northern China and the Capital of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the four municipality of China, which are equivalent to province in China's Political divisions of China....
.

See also


Bibiography

  • James Ferguson
    James Ferguson

    James Ferguson may refer to:*James Ferguson , Scottish astronomer and instrument maker*James Ferguson , Scottish Member of Parliament for Aberdeenshire ...
    , Expectations of Modernity: Myths and Meanings of Urban Life in the Zambian Copperbelt. University of California Press 1999.


External links

Government
  • [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/world-leaders-1/world-leaders-z/zambia.html Chief of State and Cabinet Members]


General* from UCB Libraries GovPubs*

Media


Tourism


Other