Zambia
Encyclopedia
Zambia officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa
. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo
to the north, Tanzania
to the north-east, Malawi
to the east, Mozambique
, Zimbabwe
, Botswana
and Namibia
to the south, and Angola
to the west. The capital city is Lusaka
, located in the south-central part of the country. The population is concentrated mainly around the capital Lusaka
in the south and the Copperbelt to the northwest.
Originally inhabited by Khoisan
peoples, the region of what is now Zambia was reached by the Bantu expansion
by ca. the 12th century. After visits by European explorers
starting in the 18th century, Zambia became the British colony of Northern Rhodesia
towards the end of the nineteenth century. For most of the colonial period, the country was governed by an administration appointed from London
with the advice of the British South Africa Company
.
On 24 October 1964, the country declared independence from the United Kingdom
and prime minister Kenneth Kaunda
became the first head of state.
Zambia was governed by Kenneth Kaunda
of the socialist United National Independence Party
(UNIP) from 1964 until 1991. From 1972 to 1991 Zambia was a one-party state with UNIP the sole legal political party. From 1991 to 2002, Zambia was governed by president Frederick Chiluba
of the social-democratic Movement for Multi-Party Democracy during which the country saw a rise in social-economic growth and increased decentralisation of government. Levy Mwanawasa
was the third President of Zambia. He presided over the country from January 2002 until his death in August 2008. He is credited with having initiated a campaign to rid the country of corruption, and increasing standards of living from the levels left by Frederick T.J. Chiluba. Rupiah Banda became president in 2008. Michael Sata defeated Banda's re-election bid in 2011 and was set to become president in 2012.
The World Bank in 2010 named Zambia as one of the world's fastest economically reforming countries. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has its headquarters in the capital Lusaka
.
from 1911.
It was renamed to Zambia on the occasion of its independence, in 1964.
The new name of Zambia was derived from the Zambezi
river (Zambezi may mean "God's river") which flows through the western region of the country and forms its southern border.
hunter-gatherer
s until around AD 300, when more technologically advanced migrating ethnic groups began to displace or absorb them. In the 12th century, major waves of Bantu
-speaking immigrants arrived during the Bantu expansion
. Among them, the Tonga people
(also called Ba-Tonga, "Ba-" meaning "woman") were the first to settle in Zambia and are believed to have come from the east near the "big sea".
The Nkoya
people also arrived early in the expansion, coming from the Luba–Lunda kingdoms located in the southern parts of the modern Democratic Republic of the Congo
and northern Angola
, followed by a much larger influx, especially between the late 12th and early 13th centuries. In the early 19th century, the Nsokolo people settled in the Mbala district of Northern Province. During the 19th century, the Ngoni
and Sotho peoples 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 arrival of Europeans was just yet another such influx.
The earliest account of a European visiting the area was Francisco de Lacerda
in the late 18th century, followed by other European visitors in the 19th century. The most prominent of these was David Livingstone
, who had a vision of ending the slave trade
through the "3 Cs" (Christianity, Commerce and Civilization).
He was the first European to see the magnificent waterfall on the Zambezi River
in 1855, naming them "Victoria Falls
" after Queen Victoria
- he described them thus: "Scenes so loovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight". Locally the falls are known as "Mosi-o-Tunya" or "(the) thundering smoke" (in the Lozi or Kololo dialect). The town of Livingstone
, near the Falls, is named after him. Highly publicised accounts of his journeys motivated a wave of European visitors, missionaries and traders after his death in 1873.
In 1888, the British South Africa Company
(BSA Company), led by Cecil Rhodes, obtained mineral rights from the Litunga
, the Paramount Chief of the Lozi or Ba-rotse
for the area which later became North-Western Rhodesia
. To the east, in December 1897 a section of the Angoni or Ngoni
(originally from Zululand) under Tsinco, the son of King Mpezeni
, rebelled, but the rebellion was put down, and Mpezeni
accepted the Pax Britannica
. That part of the country then came to be known as North-Eastern Rhodesia
. In 1895, Rhodes asked his American scout Frederick Russell Burnham
to look for minerals and ways to improve river navigation in the region, and it was during this trek that Burnham discovered major copper deposits along the Kafue River
.
North-Eastern Rhodesia and North-Western Rhodesia were administered as separate units until 1911 when they were merged to form the British Colony of Northern Rhodesia
. In 1923, the BSA 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
), a conquered territory which was also administered by the BSA Company, became a self-governing British Dominion. In 1924, after negotiations, administration of Northern Rhodesia transferred to the British Colonial Office
. In 1953, the creation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
grouped together Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland (now Malawi
) as a single semi-autonomous region. This was undertaken despite opposition from a sizeable minority of the population, 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
's African National Congress (ANC) led the campaign that Kenneth Kaunda
's United National Independence Party (UNIP) subsequently took up.
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
based on a broader, more democratic franchise. The federation was dissolved on 31 December 1963, and in January 1964, Kaunda won the first and only election for Prime Minister of Northern Rhodesia. The Colonial Governor
, Sir Evelyn Hone
, was very close to Kaunda and urged him to stand for the post. Soon after, there was an uprising in the north of the country known as the Lumpa
Uprising led by Alice Lenshina
– Kaunda's first internal conflict as leader of the nation.
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 over 70,000 British in Zambia in 1964, who were of great economic importance. During the next decade, Kaunda's regime supported movements such as UNITA
in Angola; the Zimbabwe African People's Union
(ZAPU); the African National Congress
(ANC) in South Africa; and the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO).
Kaunda developed close relations with communist regimes in the Soviet Union
and the People's Republic of China. Kaunda also developed a close friendship with Iraqi dictator
Saddam Hussein
.
Kaunda's support for the terrorists/freedom-fighters attacking neighbouring Rhodesia, and the setting up of training camps for them in Zambia resulted in cross-border raids in both directions, leading to the closure of the border with Rhodesia in 1973 and severe problems with international transport and power supply. However, the Kariba hydroelectric
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 side of the border). A railway to the Tanzania
n port of Dar es Salaam
, built with Chinese 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. The Tazama oil pipeline
was also built from Dar-es-Salaam to Ndola
in Zambia.
By the late 1970s, Mozambique and Angola had attained independence from Portugal. Zimbabwe achieved independence in 1980 in accordance with the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement
. Zambia's problems, however, were not solved. Civil war in the former Portuguese colonies created an influx of refugee
s and caused continuing transportation problems. The Benguela railway, which extended west through Angola, was essentially closed to traffic from Zambia by the late 1970s. Zambia's strong support for the ANC (despite both the Zambian ANC and the SA ANC being banned within Zambia), which had its external headquarters in Lusaka, created security problems as South Africa raided South African ANC military training camps in Zambia.
In the mid-1970s, the price of copper
, 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, particularly as much aid was syphoned off into Swiss bank accounts. By the mid-1990s, despite limited debt relief, Zambia's per capita foreign debt remained among the highest in the world.
In June 1990 riots against Kaunda accelerated. Many protesters were killed by the regime in breakthrough June 1990 protests. In 1990 Kaunda survived an attempted coup, and in 1991 he agreed to re-instate multiparty democracy (having instituted one party rule under the Chona Commission of 1972) and following multiparty elections Kaunda was removed from office (see below).
In the 2000s, the economy stabilized, attaining single-digit inflation in 2006–2007, real GDP growth, decreasing interest rates, and increasing levels of trade. Much of its growth is due to foreign investment in Zambia's mining sector and higher copper prices on the world market. All this led to Zambia being courted enthusiastically by aid donors, and saw a surge in investor confidence in the country.
representative democratic
republic
, whereby the President of Zambia is both head of state
and head of government
in a pluriform multi-party system
. The government exercises executive power, while legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. Zambia became a republic immediately upon attaining independence in October 1964. Zambia's current president is H.E. Michael Chilufya Sata
s, each administered by an appointed deputy minister. Each province is subdivided into several district
s with a grand total of 72 districts. The provinces are:
Zambia is a landlocked
country in southern Africa, with a tropical climate
and consists mostly of high plateau
, with some hills and mountains, dissected by river valleys. At 752614 km² (290,586 sq mi) it is the 39th-largest country in the world (after Chile
) and slightly larger than the US state of Texas
. The country lies mostly between latitudes 8°
and 18°S
, and longitudes 22°
and 34°E
.
Zambia is drained by two major river basins: the Zambezi/Kafue basin in the centre, west and south covering about three-quarters of the country; and the Congo
basin in the north covering about one-quarter of the country. A very small area in the northeast forms part of the internal drainage basin of Lake Rukwa
in Tanzania.
In the Zambezi basin, there are a number of major rivers flowing wholly or partially through Zambia: the Kabompo
, Lungwebungu
, Kafue
, Luangwa
, and the Zambezi itself, which flows through the country in the west and then forms its southern border with Namibia
, Botswana
and Zimbabwe
. Its source is in Zambia but it diverts into Angola, and a number of its tributaries rise in Angola's central highlands. The edge of the Cuando River
floodplain (not its main channel) forms Zambia's southwestern 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
respectively. Before its confluence, the Luangwa River forms part of Zambia's border with Mozambique
. From Luangwa town, the Zambezi leaves Zambia and flows into Mozambique, and eventually into the Mozambique Channel
.
The Zambezi falls about 100 metres (328 ft) over the 1.6 km (0.994196378639691 mi) wide Victoria Falls
, located in the south-west corner of the country, subsequently flowing into Lake Kariba
. The Zambezi valley, running along the southern border, is both deep and wide. From Lake Kariba going east it is formed by graben
s and like the Luangwa, Mweru-Luapula, Mweru-wa-Ntipa and Lake Tanganyika valleys, is a rift valley
.
The north of Zambia is very flat with broad plains. In the west the most notable being the Barotse Floodplain
on the Zambezi, which floods from December to June, lagging behind the annual rainy season (typically November to April). The flood
dominates the natural environment and the lives, society and culture of the inhabitants and those of other smaller, floodplains throughout the country.
In Eastern Zambia 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 (2,953 ft) in the south to 1200 m (3,937 ft) in the centre, reaching 1800 m (5,906 ft) in the north near Mbala. These plateau areas of northern Zambia have been categorised by the World Wildlife Fund as a large section of the Central Zambezian Miombo woodlands
ecoregion
.
Eastern Zambia shows great diversity. 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
. Hills and mountains are found by the side of some sections of the valley, notably in its north-east the Nyika Plateau (2200 m (7,218 ft)) on the Malawi border, which extend into Zambia as the Mafinga Hills, containing the country's highest point, Kongera (2187 m (7,175 ft)). 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 1700 m (5,577 ft). Their culminating peak Mumpu is at the western end and at 1892 m (6,207 ft) is the highest point in Zambia away from the eastern border region. The border of the Congo Pedicle
was drawn around this mountain.
The southernmost headstream of the Congo River rises in Zambia and flows west through its northern area firstly as the Chambeshi
and then, after the Bangweulu Swamps
as the Luapula
, which forms part of the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo
. The Luapula flows south then west before it turns north until it enters Lake Mweru
. The lake's other major tributary is the Kalungwishi River
, which flows into it from the east. The Luvua River
drains Lake Mweru, flowing out of the northern end to the Lualaba River
(Upper Congo River).
Lake Tanganyika
is the other major hydrographic
feature that belongs to the Congo basin. Its south-eastern end receives water from the Kalambo River
, which forms part of Zambia's border with Tanzania. This river has Africa's second highest uninterrupted waterfall, the Kalambo Falls
.
. In the Köppen climate classification
, 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
(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 (68 °F) over most of the country for eight or more months of the year.
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
. 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 Nyanja-Chewa, Bemba
, Tonga
, Tumbuka
, Lunda
, Luvale
, Kaonde
, Nkoya
and Lozi
. 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, live mainly in Lusaka and in the Copperbelt in northern Zambia, where they are either employed in mines, financial and related activities or retired. There were 70,000 Europeans in Zambia in 1964, but many have since left the country. Zambia also has a small but economically important Asian population, most of whom are Indians
and Chinese
. An estimated 80,000 Chinese are resident in Zambia. In recent years, several hundred dispossessed white farmers have left Zimbabwe
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
(40,800; see Angolans in Zambia
) and Rwanda
(4,000).
Beginning in May 2008, the number of Zimbabweans in Zambia
also began to increase significantly; the influx consisted largely of Zimbabweans formerly living in South Africa who were fleeing xenophobic violence there. 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.
Population of major cities
The Europeans in the Colony numbered 14,000 at the 1931 census and the Africans 1,400,000, or just one hundred times as many. Of the Europeans, more than 10,000 had entered the country in the previous ten years, since the census in 1921 (mostly to work on the copper mines). In 1938 there were only eight doctors in the entire country.
and Nyanja are spoken in the urban areas in addition to other indigenous languages which are commonly spoken in Zambia. 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 Bemba and Nyanja on the Copperbelt; Nyanja is dominantly spoken in Lusaka and Eastern Zambia. English is used in official communications and is the chosen language at home among - now common - intertribal families. If one does visit Zambia it becomes evident that language continuously evolves and has led to Zambian slang
which can be heard in daily life throughout Lusaka and other major cities. As a member of the SADC
, Portuguese was introduced into the primary school system, to cater for the increasing Angolan population
in the country.
Zambia is officially a Christian
nation according to the 1996 constitution, but a wide variety of religious traditions exist. Traditional religious thoughts blend easily with Christian beliefs in many of the country's syncretic
churches. Christian denominations include: Roman Catholic
, Anglican
, Pentecostal
, New Apostolic Church
, Lutheran
, Seventh-day Adventist
, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses
and a variety of Evangelical
denominations. These grew, adjusted and prospered from the original missionary settlements (Portuguese
and Catholicism in the east from Mozambique
) 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
(a Pentecostal Christian) became President in 1991, Pentecostal congregations expanded considerably around the country.
Approximately 87% of the population are Christians. Approximately 1% of the population are Muslims
with most living in urban areas. There is also a small Jewish community, composed mostly of Ashkenazis
. Notable Jewish Zambians include Simon Zukas, retired Minister, MP and a member of Forum for Democracy and Development
and earlier on the Movement for Multiparty Democracy
(MMD) and United National Independence Party
. Additionally, the economist Stanley Fischer
, currently the governor of the Bank of Israel
and formerly Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) was born and partially raised in Zambia's Jewish community. The Baha'i
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.
About 68% of Zambians live below the recognised national poverty line, with rural poverty rates standing at about 78% and urban rates of 53%. Zambia ranked 117th out of 128 countries on the 2007 Global Competitiveness Index, which looks at factors that affect economic growth. 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
/AIDS
-related issues place on the economy.
During the decades of Kaunda's socialist policies, Zambia fell into poverty, especially after international copper prices declined in the 1970s. The socialist regime made up for falling revenue with several abortive attempts at International Monetary Fund
structural adjustment
programmes (SAPs). After the dictatorship ended, successive governments have begun limited reforms. The economy stagnated until late 1990s. In 2007 Zambia recorded its ninth consecutive year of economic growth. Inflation
was 8.9%, down from 30% in 2000.
Zambia is still dealing with economic reform issues such as the size of the public sector
and improving Zambia's social sector delivery systems. Economic regulations and red tape
are extensive, and corruption is widespread. 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
. 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 International Monetary Fund
and World Bank
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 tax hike and public sector wage freeze prohibited salary increases and new hires. This sparked a nationwide strike in February 2004.
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.
The Zambian government is pursuing an economic diversification program 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.
Agriculture plays a very important part in Zambia's economy providing many more jobs than the mining industry. Private local company Zambeef Products Ltd. is the leading agri-business in Zambia with over 4.000 employees, producing row crops (5.000 ha irrigated, 1.500 ha non-irrigated), cattle (Zambeef), pork (Master Pork), chicken (ZamChick), eggs (ZamChick Egg), dairy products, leather, fish, feedstock (Novatek) and edible oil (Zamanita). Zambeef operates eight abattoirs, four farms and numerous retail stores (also in cooperation with Shoprite) and a fast-food chain (ZamChick Inn) throughout the country.
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
.
Zambia was ranked the 127th safest investment destination in the world in the March 2011 Euromoney Country Risk rankings.
targeted at low-capacity households, including social assistance (protection) and social insurance
programmes (prevention), and programmes to improve economic productivity (promotion). However, these programmes face immense challenges and the actual coverage is very low and, in some cases, actually declining. Some analysts describe the programmes' coverage as patchy and transitory and not especially coherent or logical.
Public works, such as PUSH, and cash transfers
are the main instruments used to protect consumption among low-capacity households by providing (1) seasonal safety nets to address cyclical poverty and vulnerability at times of need by offering employment and (2) community assets that are beneficial for productive activities. In practice, however, the programme prioritises food transfers to areas affected by natural disasters where vulnerability is acute and infrastructure development has remained a secondary objective. NGOs also have implemented short-term public works programmes implemented by NGOs, such as CARE’s agricultural inputs-for-assets (AICA) programme.
Social insurance initiatives, such as micro-insurance, health insurance
and other contributory schemes exist, but these are very limited in their membership. Formal sector workers are protected by well-resourced pension, sickness and disability benefits, but most low-capacity households, especially in rural areas, work outside the formal sector.
The emphasis on protection of the expense of prevention and promotion means that households move out of poverty only very slowly because they are unable to invest in activities that have greater returns. They remain highly at risk of sliding back into poverty and applying negative coping strategies. A balance between protection, prevention and promotion, however can only be achieved through more and consistent resources. Further improvements might also include
rate was estimated to be 80.6% (86.8% male and 74.8% female).
Education in Zambia is provided at two 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
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.
Educational opportunities beyond secondary school are limited in Zambia. After secondary school, most students study at the various colleges, around the country. There are three main universities: the University of Zambia
(UNZA), Mulungushi University
(MU) and the Copperbelt University
(CBU). Normally they all select students on the basis of ability; 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.
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. Several Christian schools offer seminary-level training.
Public expenditure on health was at 3.4 of the GDP in 2004. Expenditure on health was at 2.9 % in the same year. Health expenditure was at US$ 63 (PPP) in 2004. Infant mortality was at 102 per 1,000 in 2005.
released a report on The State of the World's Midwifery. It contained new data on the midwifery workforce and policies relating to newborn and maternal mortality for 58 countries. The 2010 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Zambia is 470. This is compared with 602.9 in 2008 and 594.2 in 1990. The under 5 mortality rate, per 1,000 births is 145 and the neonatal mortality as a percentage of under 5's mortality is 25. The aim of this report is to highlight ways in which the Millennium Development Goals
can be achieved, particularly Goal 4 – Reduce child mortality and Goal 5 – improve maternal death. In Zambia the number of midwives per 1,000 live births is 5 and 1 in 38 shows us the lifetime risk of death for pregnant women.
Traditional culture is very visible through colourful annual Zambian traditional ceremonies
. Some of the more prominent are: Kuomboka
and Kathanga (Western Province), Mutomboko (Luapula Province), Ncwala (Eastern Province), Lwiindi
and Shimunenga
(Southern Province), Lunda Lubanza (North Western), 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
), 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
, African-American music and Jamaican reggae. Several psychedelic rock artists emerged in the 1970s to create a genre known as "Zamrock," including The Witch, Musi-O-Tunya, Rikki Ililonga, Amanaz, the Peace, Chrissy Zebby Tembo, Blackfoot, and the Ngozi Family.
The Zambian staple diet
is based on maize
. It is normally eaten as a thick porridge, called Nshima
(Nyanja Word), 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
is also prepared from cassava
, a staple food in some parts of the country.
Zambia declared its independence on the day of the closing ceremony of the 1964 Summer Olympics
, thereby becoming the first country ever to have entered an Olympic games as one country, and left it as another.
Football is the most popular sport in Zambia, and the Zambia national football team
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
, 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. Despite this, in 1996, Zambia was ranked 15th on the official FIFA World Football Team rankings, the highest attained by any Southern African team. The national team is currently ranked 86th on the rankings.
Zambia also produced the first black African (Madalitso Muthiya
) to play in the United States Golf Open, one of the four major golf tournaments.
Rugby
, boxing
and cricket
are also popular sports in Zambia. Notably, at one point in the early 2000s, the Australia
and South Africa
national rugby teams were captained by players born in the same Lusaka
hospital, George Gregan
and Corné Krige
. Zambia boasts having the highest rugby poles in the world, located at Luanshya Sports Complex in Luanshya
. Rugby union in Zambia
is a minor but growing sport. They are currently ranked 73rd by the IRB
and have 3,650 registered players and three formally organised clubs. Zambia used to play cricket as part of Rhodesia
. Zambia has also strangely provided a shinty
international, Zambian-born Eddie Tembo
representing Scotland in the compromise rules Shinty/Hurling game against Ireland in 2008.
In 2011, Zambia was due to host the tenth All-Africa Games
, for which three stadiums were to be built in Lusaka
, Ndola
, and Livingstone
. 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 has since revoked its bid to host the 2011 All-Africa Games, citing a lack of funds. Instead, Mozambique will be hosting.
Zambia took part in the 2008 Summer Olympics
in Beijing.
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
to the north, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
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 on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
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 African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
and Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
to the south, and Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
to the west. The capital city is Lusaka
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
, located in the south-central part of the country. The population is concentrated mainly around the capital Lusaka
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
in the south and the Copperbelt to the northwest.
Originally inhabited by Khoisan
Khoisan
Khoisan is a unifying name for two ethnic groups of Southern Africa, who share physical and putative linguistic characteristics distinct from the Bantu majority of the region. Culturally, the Khoisan are divided into the foraging San and the pastoral Khoi...
peoples, the region of what is now Zambia was reached by the Bantu expansion
Bantu expansion
The Bantu expansion or the Bantu Migration was a millennia-long series of migrations of speakers of the original proto-Bantu language group...
by ca. the 12th century. After visits by European explorers
European exploration of Africa
European exploration of Africa began with Ancient Greeks and Romans, who explored and established settlements in North Africa. Fifteenth Century Portugal, especially under Henry the Navigator probed along the West African coast. Scientific curiosity and Christian missionary spirit soon were...
starting in the 18th century, Zambia became the British colony of Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
towards the end of the nineteenth century. For most of the colonial period, the country was governed by an administration appointed from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with the advice of 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...
.
On 24 October 1964, the country declared independence from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and prime minister Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth David Kaunda, known as KK, served as the first President of Zambia, from 1964 to 1991.-Early life:Kaunda was the youngest of eight children. He was born at Lubwa Mission in Chinsali, Northern Province of Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia...
became the first head of state.
Zambia was governed by Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth David Kaunda, known as KK, served as the first President of Zambia, from 1964 to 1991.-Early life:Kaunda was the youngest of eight children. He was born at Lubwa Mission in Chinsali, Northern Province of Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia...
of the socialist 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 presidency of Kenneth Kaunda....
(UNIP) from 1964 until 1991. From 1972 to 1991 Zambia was a one-party state with UNIP the sole legal political party. From 1991 to 2002, Zambia was governed by president Frederick Chiluba
Frederick Chiluba
Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba was a Zambian politician who was the second President of Zambia from 1991 to 2002. Chiluba, a trade union leader, won the country's multi-party presidential election in 1991 as the candidate of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy , defeating long-time President...
of the social-democratic Movement for Multi-Party Democracy during which the country saw a rise in social-economic growth and increased decentralisation of government. Levy Mwanawasa
Levy Mwanawasa
Levy Patrick Mwanawasa was the third President of Zambia. He ruled the country from January 2002 until his death in August 2008. He is credited for having initiated a campaign to rid the country of corruption...
was the third President of Zambia. He presided over the country from January 2002 until his death in August 2008. He is credited with having initiated a campaign to rid the country of corruption, and increasing standards of living from the levels left by Frederick T.J. Chiluba. Rupiah Banda became president in 2008. Michael Sata defeated Banda's re-election bid in 2011 and was set to become president in 2012.
The World Bank in 2010 named Zambia as one of the world's fastest economically reforming countries. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has its headquarters in the capital Lusaka
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
.
Etymology
The territory of what is now Zambia was known as Northern RhodesiaNorthern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
from 1911.
It was renamed to Zambia on the occasion of its independence, in 1964.
The new name of Zambia was derived from the Zambezi
Zambezi
The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The area of its basin is , slightly less than half that of the Nile...
river (Zambezi may mean "God's river") which flows through the western region of the country and forms its southern border.
History
The area of modern Zambia was inhabited by KhoisanKhoisan
Khoisan is a unifying name for two ethnic groups of Southern Africa, who share physical and putative linguistic characteristics distinct from the Bantu majority of the region. Culturally, the Khoisan are divided into the foraging San and the pastoral Khoi...
hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
s until around AD 300, when more technologically advanced migrating ethnic groups began to displace or absorb them. In the 12th century, major waves of Bantu
Bantu languages
The Bantu languages constitute a traditional sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages...
-speaking immigrants arrived during the Bantu expansion
Bantu expansion
The Bantu expansion or the Bantu Migration was a millennia-long series of migrations of speakers of the original proto-Bantu language group...
. Among them, the Tonga people
Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe
The Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe are a Bantu ethnic group of southern Zambia and neighbouring northern Zimbabwe, and to a lesser extent, in Mozambique. They are related to the Batoka who are part of the Tokaleya people in the same area, and also to the Tonga people of Malawi...
(also called Ba-Tonga, "Ba-" meaning "woman") 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 a Bantu people native to Zambia, mostly found in the Western and Southern provinces and the Mankoya area.Their language is a member of zone L of the Bantu languages.As of 2006, they were estimated to number 146,000 people....
people also arrived early in the expansion, coming from the Luba–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 state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
and northern Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, followed by a much larger influx, especially between the late 12th and early 13th centuries. In the early 19th century, the Nsokolo people settled in the Mbala district of Northern Province. During the 19th century, 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...
and Sotho peoples 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 arrival of Europeans was just yet another such influx.
Francisco de Lacerda
Dr Francisco José Maria de Lacerda was a Portuguese 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.-External links:*...
in the late 18th century, followed by other European visitors in the 19th century. The most prominent of these was David Livingstone
David Livingstone
David Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and an explorer in Africa. His meeting with H. M. Stanley gave rise to the popular quotation, "Dr...
, who had a vision of ending the slave trade
History of slavery
The history of slavery covers slave systems in historical perspective in which one human being is legally the property of another, can be bought or sold, is not allowed to escape and must work for the owner without any choice involved...
through the "3 Cs" (Christianity, Commerce and Civilization).
He was the first European to see the magnificent waterfall on the Zambezi River
Zambezi
The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The area of its basin is , 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 located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.-Introduction:...
" after Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
- he described them thus: "Scenes so loovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight". Locally the falls are known as "Mosi-o-Tunya" or "(the) thundering smoke" (in the Lozi or Kololo dialect). The town of Livingstone
Livingstone, Zambia
Livingstone or Maramba is a historic colonial city and present capital of the Southern Province of Zambia, a tourism centre for the Victoria Falls lying north of 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 European visitors, 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 Paramount Chief of the Lozi or Ba-rotse
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.-Name:...
for the area which later became North-Western Rhodesia
North-Western Rhodesia
North-Western Rhodesia in south central 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, in December 1897 a section of the Angoni or 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...
(originally from Zululand) under Tsinco, the son of King Mpezeni
Mpezeni
Mpezeni was warrior-king of one of the largest Ngoni groups of central Africa, based in what is now the Chipata District 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...
, rebelled, but the rebellion was put down, and Mpezeni
Mpezeni
Mpezeni was warrior-king of one of the largest Ngoni groups of central Africa, based in what is now the Chipata District 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...
accepted the Pax Britannica
Pax Britannica
Pax Britannica was the period of relative peace in Europe when the British Empire controlled most of the key maritime trade routes and enjoyed unchallenged sea power...
. That part of the country then came to be known as North-Eastern Rhodesia
North-Eastern Rhodesia
North-Eastern Rhodesia in south central 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...
. In 1895, Rhodes asked his American scout Frederick Russell Burnham
Frederick Russell Burnham
Frederick Russell Burnham, DSO was an American scout and world traveling adventurer known for his service to the British Army in colonial Africa and for teaching woodcraft to Robert Baden-Powell, thus becoming one of the inspirations for the founding of the international Scouting Movement.Burnham...
to look for minerals and ways to improve river navigation in the region, and it was during this trek that Burnham discovered major copper deposits along the Kafue River
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 Zambia....
.
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
. In 1923, the BSA 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
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
(now Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
), a conquered territory which was also administered by the BSA Company, became a self-governing British Dominion. 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 British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....
. 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 the 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 British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia,...
grouped together Northern Rhodesia, Southern 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 on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
) as a single semi-autonomous region. This was undertaken despite opposition from a sizeable minority of the population, 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. He was born in the village of Maala in the Namwala district of Zambia's southern province...
's African National Congress (ANC) led the campaign that Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth David Kaunda, known as KK, served as the first President of Zambia, from 1964 to 1991.-Early life:Kaunda was the youngest of eight children. He was born at Lubwa Mission in Chinsali, Northern Province of Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia...
's United National Independence Party (UNIP) subsequently took up.
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 20 September 2011, has a total of 156 members . 150 members are directly elected in single-member constituencies using the simple majority system...
based on a broader, more democratic franchise. The federation was dissolved on 31 December 1963, and 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.-List of Governors:...
, Sir Evelyn Hone
Evelyn Dennison Hone
Sir Evelyn Dennison Hone, KCMG was the last Governor of Northern Rhodesia, from 1959 until Zambia's independence in 1964.-Life:Hone was born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia, on 13 December 1911. After studying at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, Hone entered the Colonial Service and served...
, was very close to Kaunda and urged him to stand for the post. Soon after, 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 "Alice" Lenshina Mulenga in the village of Kasoma, Northern Rhodesia...
Uprising led by Alice Lenshina
Alice Lenshina
Alice Lenshina was a Christian religious leader who founded the Lumpa Church. She was born Alice Mulenga Lubusha 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.
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 over 70,000 British in Zambia in 1964, who were of great economic importance. During the next decade, Kaunda's regime 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 civil war .The war was one...
in Angola; the Zimbabwe African People's Union
Zimbabwe African People's Union
The Zimbabwe African People's Union was a 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 – Patriotic Front in December 1987....
(ZAPU); the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political 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 April 1994. It defines itself as a...
(ANC) in South Africa; and the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO).
Kaunda developed close relations with communist regimes in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and the People's Republic of China. Kaunda also developed a close friendship with Iraqi dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
.
Kaunda's support for the terrorists/freedom-fighters attacking neighbouring Rhodesia, and the setting up of training camps for them in Zambia resulted in cross-border raids in both directions, leading to the closure of the border with Rhodesia 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, standing tall and long.- Construction :...
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 side of the border). A railway to the Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
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. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
, built with Chinese 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. The Tazama oil pipeline
Tazama Pipeline
The Tazama Pipeline ' is a long crude oil pipeline from the Single Point Mooring terminal at the outer anchorage of in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, to the TIPER refinery in Dar-es-Salaam and the Indeni refinery in Ndola, Zambia. It was commissioned in 1968. The pipeline was designed for a throughput...
was also built from Dar-es-Salaam to Ndola
Ndola
Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia, with a population of 495,000 . It is the industrial, commercial, on the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper-mining region, and capital of Copperbelt Province. It is also the commercial capital city of Zambia and has one of the three international airports, others...
in Zambia.
By the late 1970s, Mozambique and Angola had attained independence from Portugal. Zimbabwe achieved independence in 1980 in accordance with the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement
Lancaster House Agreement
The negotiations which led to the Lancaster House Agreement brought independence to Rhodesia following Ian Smith’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965. The Agreement covered the Independence Constitution, pre-independence arrangements, and a ceasefire...
. Zambia's problems, however, were not solved. Civil war in the former Portuguese colonies created an influx of refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s and caused continuing transportation problems. The Benguela railway, which extended west through Angola, was essentially closed to traffic from Zambia by the late 1970s. Zambia's strong support for the ANC (despite both the Zambian ANC and the SA ANC being banned within Zambia), which had its external headquarters in Lusaka, created security problems as South Africa raided South African ANC military training camps 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. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, 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, particularly as much aid was syphoned off into Swiss bank accounts. By the mid-1990s, despite limited debt relief, Zambia's per capita foreign debt remained among the highest in the world.
In the 2000s, the economy stabilized, attaining single-digit inflation in 2006–2007, real GDP growth, decreasing interest rates, and increasing levels of trade. Much of its growth is due to foreign investment in Zambia's mining sector and higher copper prices on the world market. All this led to Zambia being courted enthusiastically by aid donors, and saw a surge in investor confidence in the country.
Politics
Zambian politics take place in a framework of a presidentialPresidential 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 responsible and which cannot, in normal circumstances, dismiss it....
representative democratic
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
, whereby the President of Zambia is both head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
and head of government
Head of government
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, chief minister, premier, etc...
in a pluriform multi-party system
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
. The government exercises executive power, while legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. Zambia became a republic immediately upon attaining independence in October 1964. Zambia's current president is H.E. Michael Chilufya Sata
Subdivisions
into nine provinceProvince
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
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 municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
s with a grand total of 72 districts. The provinces are:
Geography
Zambia is a landlocked
Landlocked
A landlocked country is a country entirely enclosed by land, or whose only coastlines lie on closed seas. There are 48 landlocked countries in the world, including partially recognized states...
country in southern Africa, with a tropical climate
Tropical climate
A tropical climate is a climate of the tropics. In the Köppen climate classification it is 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 plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
, with some hills and mountains, dissected by river valleys. At 752614 km² (290,586 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, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
) and slightly larger than the US state of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The country lies mostly between latitudes 8°
8th parallel south
The 8th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 8 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America....
and 18°S
18th parallel south
The 18th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 18 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America....
, and longitudes 22°
22nd meridian east
The meridian 22° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
and 34°E
34th meridian east
The meridian 34° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Europe, Turkey, Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
.
Zambia is drained by two major river basins: the Zambezi/Kafue basin in the centre, west and south covering about three-quarters of the country; and the Congo
Congo River
The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
basin in the north covering about one-quarter of the country. A very small area in the northeast 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. The lake has seen large fluctuations in its size over the years, due to varying inflow of streams...
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 tributaries 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 along the watershed between the Zambezi and Congo river basins which also forms the border between Zambia and DR...
, Lungwebungu
Lungwebungu River
The Lungwebungu River of south-west-central Africa is the largest tributary of the upper Zambezi River. 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 Zambia....
, 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 whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. Its source is in Zambia but it diverts into Angola, and a number of its tributaries rise in Angola's central highlands. The edge of the Cuando River
Cuando River
The Cuando River is a river in south-central Africa flowing through Angola and Namibia's Caprivi Strip, into the Linyanti Swamp on the northern border of Botswana...
floodplain (not its main channel) forms Zambia's southwestern 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 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 located between the island nation of Madagascar and southeast Africa, primarily the country of 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 (0.994196378639691 mi) wide Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls
The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.-Introduction:...
, located in the south-west corner of the country, subsequently flowing into Lake Kariba
Lake Kariba
Lake Kariba is the world's largest artificial lake and reservoir. It lies 1300 kilometers upstream from the Indian Ocean, along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe...
. The Zambezi valley, running along the southern border, is both deep and wide. From Lake Kariba going east it is formed by graben
Graben
In geology, a graben is a depressed block of land bordered by parallel faults. Graben is German for ditch. Graben is used for both the singular and plural....
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...
.
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 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 a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
dominates the natural environment and the lives, society and culture of the inhabitants and those of other smaller, floodplains throughout the country.
In Eastern Zambia 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 (2,953 ft) in the south to 1200 m (3,937 ft) in the centre, reaching 1800 m (5,906 ft) in the north near Mbala. These plateau areas of northern Zambia have been categorised by the World Wildlife Fund as a large section of the Central Zambezian Miombo woodlands
Central Zambezian Miombo woodlands
The densely forested Central Zambezian Miombo woodlands that cut across southern central Africa are one of the largest ecozones on the continent and home to a great variety of wildlife including many large mammals.-Location and description:...
ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
.
Eastern Zambia shows great diversity. 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 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 (7,218 ft)) on the Malawi border, which extend into Zambia as the Mafinga Hills, containing the country's highest point, Kongera (2187 m (7,175 ft)). 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 1700 m (5,577 ft). Their culminating peak Mumpu is at the western end and at 1892 m (6,207 ft) 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. In area the pedicle is similar in size to Wales or New Jersey...
was drawn around this mountain.
The southernmost headstream of the Congo River rises in Zambia and flows west through its northern area firstly as the Chambeshi
Chambeshi River
The Chambeshi River of northeastern Zambia is the most remote headstream of the Congo River and therefore considered its source...
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. 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 state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
. 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. 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.Mweru...
. 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 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 farthest headstream. The Lualaba is 1800 km long, running from near Musofi in the vicinity of Lubumbashi in Katanga Province. The whole of its length lies within the...
(Upper Congo River).
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is estimated to be the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia; it is also the world's longest freshwater lake...
is the other major hydrographic
Hydrography
Hydrography is the measurement of the depths, the tides and currents of a body of water and establishment of the sea, river or lake bed topography and morphology. Normally and historically for the purpose of charting a body of water for the safe navigation of shipping...
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...
, 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. The falls are some of the tallest uninterrupted falls in Africa...
.
Climate
The climate of Zambia is tropical modified by elevationElevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
. In the Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
, 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 oscillates 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 (68 °F) over most of the country for eight or more months of the year.
Demographics
Zambia is one of the most highly urbanized countries in sub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
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 the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed their families. The typical subsistence farm has a range of crops and animals needed by the family to eat and clothe themselves during the year. Planting decisions are made with an eye...
. 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 Nyanja-Chewa, Bemba
Bemba people
The Bemba belong to a large group of peoples mainly in the Northern, Luapula 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...
, Tonga
Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe
The Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe are a Bantu ethnic group of southern Zambia and neighbouring northern Zimbabwe, and to a lesser extent, in Mozambique. They are related to the Batoka who are part of the Tokaleya people in the same area, and also to the Tonga people of Malawi...
, Tumbuka
Tumbuka
The Tumbuka are a Bantu 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 Lunda originated in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo along the Kalanyi River and formed the Kingdom of Lunda in the 17th century under their ruler, Mwata Yamvo or Mwaant Yav, 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. In Zambia they are found mainly in the North-Western Province of Zambia, centred in the town of Zambezi which was previously called Balovale...
, Kaonde
Kaonde language
Kaonde, also known as Chikaonde and Kawonde, is a Bantu language that is spoken primarily in Zambia but also in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kaonde and its dialects are spoken and understood by perhaps 350,000 people or more. It is estimated that approximately 3% of Zambians are native...
, Nkoya
Nkoya
The Nkoya people are a Bantu people native to Zambia, mostly found in the Western and Southern provinces and the Mankoya area.Their language is a member of zone L of the Bantu languages.As of 2006, they were estimated to number 146,000 people....
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.-Name:...
. 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, live mainly in Lusaka and in the Copperbelt in northern Zambia, where they are either employed in mines, financial and related activities or retired. There were 70,000 Europeans in Zambia in 1964, but many have since left the country. Zambia also has a small but economically important Asian population, most of whom are Indians
Indians in Zambia
There is a small community of Indians in Zambia. Unlike the better-known Indian communities of East Africa, they were little-studied by historians until the 2000s.-Migration history:...
and Chinese
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
. 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 African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
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
U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants is an international advocacy and domestic refugee resettlement organization, headquartered in Washington, DC...
, 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 bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
(40,800; see Angolans in Zambia
Angolans in Zambia
-Migration history:With Zambia's 1964 independence from the British Empire, many members of national liberation movements in neighbouring countries, including Angola, found the country a hospitable base for their operations...
) and Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
(4,000).
Beginning in May 2008, the number of Zimbabweans in Zambia
Zimbabweans in Zambia
Zambian and international media estimate there to be tens of thousands of Zimbabweans in Zambia.-Migration history:Around 2007, the number of Zimbabweans crossing the border into Zambia began to grow, rising as high as 1,000 per day from a previous average of sixty per day. By late 2007 and early...
also began to increase significantly; the influx consisted largely of Zimbabweans formerly living in South Africa who were fleeing xenophobic violence there. 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.
Population of major cities
| City | Pop. 2000 | Pop. 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Lusaka Lusaka Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head... |
1,084,703 | 1,460,566 |
| 2. | Ndola Ndola Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia, with a population of 495,000 . It is the industrial, commercial, on the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper-mining region, and capital of Copperbelt Province. It is also the commercial capital city of Zambia and has one of the three international airports, others... |
374,757 | 495,004 |
| 3. | Kitwe Kitwe Kitwe is the second largest city in terms of size and population in Zambia. With a population of 547,700 Kitwe is one of the most developed commercial and industrial areas in the nation, alongside Ndola and Lusaka... |
363,734 | 547,700 |
| 4. | Kabwe, Broken Hill | 176,758 | 215,015 |
| 5. | Chingola Chingola Chingola is a city in Zambia's Copperbelt Province, the country's copper-mining region, with a population of 157,340 . It is the home of Nchanga Copper Mine, a deep-shaft high-grade content copper mining operation, which subsequently led to the development of two open pit operations, Chingola... |
147,448 | 178,092 |
| 6. | Mufulira Mufulira Mufulira is a town in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. It grew up in the 1930s around the site of the Mufulira Copper Mine on its north-western edge... |
122,336 | 141,056 |
| 7. | Luanshya Luanshya Luanshya is a town in Zambia, in the Copperbelt Province near Ndola. It has a population of 117,579 .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... |
115,579 | 132 117 |
| 8. | Livingstone Livingstone, Zambia Livingstone or Maramba is a historic colonial city and present capital of the Southern Province of Zambia, a tourism centre for the Victoria Falls lying north of the Zambezi River, and a border town with road and rail connections to Zimbabwe on the other side of the Falls... |
97,488 | 133,936 |
| 9. | Kasama Kasama, Zambia Kasama is the capital of the Northern Province of Zambia, situated on the central-southern African plateau at an elevation of about 1400 m. Its population, according to the 2000 census, is approximately 200,000. It grew considerably in the 1970s and 1980s after construction of the TAZARA Railway... |
74,243 | 111,588 |
| 10. | Chipata, Ft. Jameson | 73,110 | 109,344 |
The Europeans in the Colony numbered 14,000 at the 1931 census and the Africans 1,400,000, or just one hundred times as many. Of the Europeans, more than 10,000 had entered the country in the previous ten years, since the census in 1921 (mostly to work on the copper mines). In 1938 there were only eight doctors in the entire country.
Languages
The official language of Zambia is English, which is used to conduct official business and is the medium of instruction in schools. The main local language, especially in Lusaka, is Nyanja. However, BembaBemba language
The Bemba language, ChiBemba , is a major Bantu language spoken primarily in north-eastern Zambia by the Bemba people and as a lingua franca by about 18 related ethnic groups, including the Bisa people of Mpika and Lake Bangweulu, and to a lesser extent in Katanga in the Democratic Republic of the...
and Nyanja are spoken in the urban areas in addition to other indigenous languages which are commonly spoken in Zambia. 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 Bemba and Nyanja on the Copperbelt; Nyanja is dominantly spoken in Lusaka and Eastern Zambia. English is used in official communications and is the chosen language at home among - now common - intertribal families. If one does visit Zambia it becomes evident that language continuously evolves and has led to Zambian slang
Zambian slang
Like many other countries or cultures Zambia contains a mixture of euphemisms in various provinces or different parts of Towns/Areas/Regions that often leave Zambians from various backgrounds/foreigners scratching their heads wondering the meanings of the catch phrases or terminologies.While most...
which can be heard in daily life throughout Lusaka and other major cities. As a member of the SADC
Southern African Development Community
The Southern African Development Community is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security cooperation among 15 southern African states...
, Portuguese was introduced into the primary school system, to cater for the increasing Angolan population
Angolans in Zambia
-Migration history:With Zambia's 1964 independence from the British Empire, many members of national liberation movements in neighbouring countries, including Angola, found the country a hospitable base for their operations...
in the country.
Religion
Zambia is officially a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
nation according to the 1996 constitution, but a wide variety of religious traditions exist. Traditional religious thoughts blend easily with Christian beliefs in many of the country's syncretic
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
churches. Christian denominations include: Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
, Pentecostal
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
, New Apostolic Church
New Apostolic Church
The New Apostolic Church is a chiliastic church, converted to Protestantism as a free church from the Catholic Apostolic Church. The church has existed since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands...
, Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
, Seventh-day Adventist
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
and a variety of Evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
denominations. These grew, adjusted and prospered from the original missionary settlements (Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
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 was a Zambian politician who was the second President of Zambia from 1991 to 2002. Chiluba, a trade union leader, won the country's multi-party presidential election in 1991 as the candidate of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy , defeating long-time President...
(a Pentecostal Christian) became President in 1991, Pentecostal congregations expanded considerably around the country.
Approximately 87% of the population are Christians. Approximately 1% 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 Said. Arab slave traders...
with most living in urban areas. There is also a small Jewish community, composed mostly of Ashkenazis
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
. Notable Jewish Zambians include 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.The FDD was founded in 2001 by former members of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy , disaffected by Frederick Chiluba's efforts to change the constitution to allow him to stand for a third term...
and earlier on the Movement for Multiparty Democracy
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...
(MMD) 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 presidency of Kenneth Kaunda....
. Additionally, the economist Stanley Fischer
Stanley Fischer
Stanley "Stan" Fischer is an American-Israeli economist and the current Governor of the Bank of Israel. He previously served as Chief Economist at the World Bank.-Biography:...
, currently the governor of the Bank of Israel
Bank of Israel
The Bank of Israel is the central bank of Israel. It is located in Kiryat HaMemshala in Israel's capital city of Jerusalem, with a branch office in Tel Aviv. The current governor is Stanley Fischer.-History:...
and formerly Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
(IMF) was born and partially raised in Zambia's Jewish community. The Baha'i
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
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.
Economy
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
-related issues place on the economy.
During the decades of Kaunda's socialist policies, Zambia fell into poverty, especially after international copper prices declined in the 1970s. The socialist regime made up for falling revenue with several abortive attempts at International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
structural adjustment
Structural adjustment
Structural adjustments are the policies implemented by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in developing countries. These policy changes are conditions for getting new loans from the International Monetary Fund or World Bank, or for obtaining lower interest rates on existing loans...
programmes (SAPs). After the dictatorship ended, successive governments have begun limited reforms. The economy stagnated until late 1990s. In 2007 Zambia recorded its ninth consecutive year of economic growth. Inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
was 8.9%, down from 30% in 2000.
Zambia is still dealing with economic reform issues such as the size of the public sector
Public sector
The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
and improving Zambia's social sector delivery systems. Economic regulations and red tape
Red tape
Red tape is excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or decision-making...
are extensive, and corruption is widespread. 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...
. 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 International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
and World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of 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 tax hike and public sector wage freeze prohibited salary increases and new hires. This sparked a nationwide strike in February 2004.
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.
The Zambian government is pursuing an economic diversification program 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.
Agriculture plays a very important part in Zambia's economy providing many more jobs than the mining industry. Private local company Zambeef Products Ltd. is the leading agri-business in Zambia with over 4.000 employees, producing row crops (5.000 ha irrigated, 1.500 ha non-irrigated), cattle (Zambeef), pork (Master Pork), chicken (ZamChick), eggs (ZamChick Egg), dairy products, leather, fish, feedstock (Novatek) and edible oil (Zamanita). Zambeef operates eight abattoirs, four farms and numerous retail stores (also in cooperation with Shoprite) and a fast-food chain (ZamChick Inn) throughout the country.
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
The late-2000s recession, sometimes referred to as the Great Recession or Lesser Depression or Long Recession, is a severe ongoing global economic problem that began in December 2007 and took a particularly sharp downward turn in September 2008. The Great Recession has affected the entire world...
.
Zambia was ranked the 127th safest investment destination in the world in the March 2011 Euromoney Country Risk rankings.
Social protection in Zambia
Zambia officially has extensive social protectionSocial protection
Social protection, as defined by the United Nations Research Institute For Social Development, is concerned with preventing, managing, and overcoming situations that adversely affect people’s well being...
targeted at low-capacity households, including social assistance (protection) and social insurance
Social insurance
Social insurance is any government-sponsored program with the following four characteristics:* the benefits, eligibility requirements and other aspects of the program are defined by statute;...
programmes (prevention), and programmes to improve economic productivity (promotion). However, these programmes face immense challenges and the actual coverage is very low and, in some cases, actually declining. Some analysts describe the programmes' coverage as patchy and transitory and not especially coherent or logical.
Public works, such as PUSH, and cash transfers
Cash transfers
Cash transfers are direct transfer payments of money to eligible people. Cash transfers are usually provided by the state and federal government.-Targeting:...
are the main instruments used to protect consumption among low-capacity households by providing (1) seasonal safety nets to address cyclical poverty and vulnerability at times of need by offering employment and (2) community assets that are beneficial for productive activities. In practice, however, the programme prioritises food transfers to areas affected by natural disasters where vulnerability is acute and infrastructure development has remained a secondary objective. NGOs also have implemented short-term public works programmes implemented by NGOs, such as CARE’s agricultural inputs-for-assets (AICA) programme.
Social insurance initiatives, such as micro-insurance, health insurance
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
and other contributory schemes exist, but these are very limited in their membership. Formal sector workers are protected by well-resourced pension, sickness and disability benefits, but most low-capacity households, especially in rural areas, work outside the formal sector.
The emphasis on protection of the expense of prevention and promotion means that households move out of poverty only very slowly because they are unable to invest in activities that have greater returns. They remain highly at risk of sliding back into poverty and applying negative coping strategies. A balance between protection, prevention and promotion, however can only be achieved through more and consistent resources. Further improvements might also include
- improved implementation of existing programmes; and
- better coordination between different implementers and programmes.
Education
In 2003, the literacyLiteracy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
rate was estimated to be 80.6% (86.8% male and 74.8% female).
Education in Zambia is provided at two 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
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
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.
Educational opportunities beyond secondary school are limited in Zambia. After secondary school, most students study at the various colleges, around the country. There are three 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 10,000.-Academics:The University of Zambia is divided into the following faculties:*School of Agricultural Sciences *School of Engineering...
(UNZA), Mulungushi University
Mulungushi University
Mulungushi University is located in Kabwe, Zambia.It was earlier the National College of Management and Development Studies and was turned into a university by the Zambian Government in a private public partnership with Konkola Copper Mines. The university provides Bachelor of Arts degrees on full...
(MU) and the Copperbelt University
Copperbelt University
"Knowledge and Service"Copperbelt University was established by an act of the Zambian Parliament in 1987. It is located in Kitwe and earlier it was part of the University of Zambia...
(CBU). Normally they all select students on the basis of ability; 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.
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. Several Christian schools offer seminary-level training.
Health
HIV prevalence exceeds 10%.Public expenditure on health was at 3.4 of the GDP in 2004. Expenditure on health was at 2.9 % in the same year. Health expenditure was at US$ 63 (PPP) in 2004. Infant mortality was at 102 per 1,000 in 2005.
Maternal and Child Health Care
In June 2011, the United Nations Population FundUnited Nations Population Fund
The United Nations Population Fund is a UN organization. The work of the UNFPA involves promotion of the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. This is done through major national and demographic surveys and with population censuses...
released a report on The State of the World's Midwifery. It contained new data on the midwifery workforce and policies relating to newborn and maternal mortality for 58 countries. The 2010 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Zambia is 470. This is compared with 602.9 in 2008 and 594.2 in 1990. The under 5 mortality rate, per 1,000 births is 145 and the neonatal mortality as a percentage of under 5's mortality is 25. The aim of this report is to highlight ways in which the Millennium Development Goals
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
can be achieved, particularly Goal 4 – Reduce child mortality and Goal 5 – improve maternal death. In Zambia the number of midwives per 1,000 live births is 5 and 1 in 38 shows us the lifetime risk of death for pregnant women.
Culture
The culture of Zambia is mainly indigenous Bantu culture mixed with European influences. Prior to the establishment of modern Zambia, the natives lived in independent tribes, each with their own ways of life. One of the results of the colonial era was the growth of urbanization. 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".Zambian traditional ceremonies
Zambian Traditional Ceremonies.1. Central ProvinceChibwela KumushiKulamba Kubwalo2. Copperbelt Province3. Eastern ProvinceKulambaNcwala4. Luapula ProvinceUmutomboko5. Lusaka ProvinceChibwela Kumushi6. Northern 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 people from around the country. It takes place at a Place called Gonde, near Chief Monze's place in Monze District...
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. Early in the morning of the first day, people gather at the shrine of Shimunenga, where traditional songs are chanted...
(Southern Province), Lunda Lubanza (North Western), 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
Tonga baskets are baskets woven by the Tonga women of the Southern Province of Zambia, who are renowned for their basket weaving. The 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
Music of Zambia
The music of Zambia has a rich heritage which falls roughly into three categories: traditional, popular and Christian.- Traditional music :Traditional Zambian music is rooted in the beliefs and practices of Zambia's various ethnic groups and has suffered some decline in the last three decades...
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 dance music 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. Several psychedelic rock artists emerged in the 1970s to create a genre known as "Zamrock," including The Witch, Musi-O-Tunya, Rikki Ililonga, Amanaz, the Peace, Chrissy Zebby Tembo, Blackfoot, and the Ngozi Family.
The Zambian staple diet
Staple food
A staple food is one that is eaten regularly and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a diet, and that supplies a high proportion of energy and nutrient needs. Most people live on a diet based on one or more staples...
is based on maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
. It is normally eaten as a thick porridge, called Nshima
Nshima
Nshima or nsima or Bidia is a cornmeal product and a staple food in Zambia, Malawi and the Kasai Oriental and Kasai Occidental provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is made from ground maize flour known locally as mealie-meal...
(Nyanja Word), prepared from maize flour commonly known as mealie meal
Mielie-meal
In South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and many other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, a relatively coarse flour made from maize ....
. 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 or Bidia is a cornmeal product and a staple food in Zambia, Malawi and the Kasai Oriental and Kasai Occidental provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is made from ground maize flour known locally as mealie-meal...
is also prepared from cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
, a staple food in some parts of the country.
Sports
1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
, thereby becoming the first country ever to have entered an Olympic games as one country, and left it as another.
Football is the most popular sport in Zambia, and the Zambia national football team
Zambia national football team
The Zambia national football team represents the country of Zambia in the sport of association football and is governed by the Football Association of Zambia. Before independence they were known as the Northern Rhodesia national football team. The side is nicknamed Chipolopolo as copper is one of...
has had its triumphant moments in football history. At the Seoul Olympics of 1988, the national team defeated the Italian national team
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
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 capped player, all-time top goalscorer, and is regarded as the greatest Zambian 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
1993 Zambia national football team air disaster
The 1993 Zambia national football team air disaster occurred in the late evening of 27 April 1993 when a Zambian Air Force Buffalo DHC-5D ditched into the Atlantic Ocean about 500 metres offshore from near Libreville, Gabon. The flight was carrying most of the Zambian national football team to a...
at Libreville, Gabon. Despite this, in 1996, Zambia was ranked 15th on the official FIFA World Football Team rankings, the highest attained by any Southern African team. The national team is currently ranked 86th on the rankings.
Zambia also produced the first black African (Madalitso Muthiya
Madalitso Muthiya
Madalitso Muthiya is a Zambian golfer. He took up golf at the age of six and at fifteen he caught the attention of Zambian president Frederick Chiluba, who helped to arrange for him to play a junior tournament in the United States, the 1999 Nolan Henke/Patty Berg Junior Masters in Fort Myers,...
) to play in the United States Golf Open, one of the four major golf tournaments.
Rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
are also popular sports in Zambia. Notably, at one point 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 New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
and South Africa
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
national rugby teams were captained by players born in the same Lusaka
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
hospital, George Gregan
George Gregan
George Musarurwa Gregan AM is an Australian rugby union halfback 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 "Corné" Krige was a South African rugby union footballer, now retired, who played flanker for Western Province in the Currie Cup, the Stormers in Super Rugby and captained the South African national side, the Springboks.-Career:Corne Krige was Zambian-born and his parents...
. Zambia boasts having the highest rugby poles in the world, located at Luanshya Sports Complex in Luanshya
Luanshya
Luanshya is a town in Zambia, in the Copperbelt Province near Ndola. It has a population of 117,579 .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...
. Rugby union in Zambia
Rugby union in Zambia
Rugby union in Zambia is a minor but growing sport. They are currently ranked 73rd by the IRB and have 3,650 registered plays and 3 formally organised clubs...
is a minor but growing sport. They are currently ranked 73rd by the IRB
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
and have 3,650 registered players and three formally organised clubs. Zambia used to play cricket as part of Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
. Zambia has also strangely provided a shinty
Shinty
Shinty is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands, and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread, being once competitively played on a widespread basis in England and other areas in the...
international, Zambian-born Eddie Tembo
Eddie Tembo
Edward "Eddie" Tembo is a Zambian-born Scottish international shinty player from the village of Drumnadrochit.He plays for Glenurquhart Shinty Club and was a member of the North Division One Championship side in 2008...
representing Scotland in the compromise rules Shinty/Hurling game against Ireland in 2008.
In 2011, Zambia was due to host the tenth All-Africa Games
2011 All-Africa Games
The 10th All-Africa Games took place between September 3–18, 2011 in Maputo, Mozambique. Maputo's hosting marked only the third time the Games was held in the southern part of the continent.-Host awarding:...
, for which three stadiums were to be built in Lusaka
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
, Ndola
Ndola
Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia, with a population of 495,000 . It is the industrial, commercial, on the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper-mining region, and capital of Copperbelt Province. It is also the commercial capital city of Zambia and has one of the three international airports, others...
, and Livingstone
Livingstone, Zambia
Livingstone or Maramba is a historic colonial city and present capital of the Southern Province of Zambia, a tourism centre for the Victoria Falls lying north of 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 has since revoked its bid to host the 2011 All-Africa Games, citing a lack of funds. Instead, Mozambique will be hosting.
Zambia took part in the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in Beijing.
See also
- Commonwealth of NationsCommonwealth of NationsThe Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
- List of countries by copper mine production
Further reading
- Burke, Mark, Glimmers of Hope : A Memoir of Zambia, (lulu.com, 2009)
- Ihonvbere, Julius, Economic Crisis, Civil Society and Democratisation: The Case of Zambia, (Africa Research & Publications, 1996)
- LaMonica, Christopher, Local Government Matters: The Case of Zambia , (Lambert Academic Publishing, 2010)
- Mcintyre, Charles, Zambia (Bradt Travel Guides), (Bradt Travel Guides, 2008)
- Murphy, Alan and Luckham, Nana, Zambia and Malawi (Lonely Planet Multi Country Guide), (Lonely Planet Publications, 2010)
- Phiri, Bizeck Jube, A Political History of Zambia: From the Colonial Period to the 3rd Republic, (Africa Research & Publications, 2005)
- Roberts, Andrew, A History of Zambia, (Heinemann, 1976)
- Sardanis, Andrew, Africa: Another Side of the Coin: Northern Rhodesia's Final Years and Zambia's Nationhood, (I.B.Tauris, 2003)
- Various, One Zambia, Many Histories: Towards a History of Post-colonial Zambia, (Brill, 2008).