Zambia
The Republic of Zambia, a landlocked country in Southern Africa, gained independence from the United Kingdom on 24 October 1964.
Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered to the north by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania to the northeast, Malawi to the east, Mozambique to the southeast, Botswana (via a tiny border of Chobe District) and Zimbabwe to the south, Namibia (via the Caprivi Strip) to the southwest, and Angola to the west. The capital city of Zambia is Lusaka, located in the south-central part of Zambia. The population is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the Copperbelt Province to the north, the core economic hubs of Zambia.
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Lusaka
- Region
- Southern Africa
- Languages
- English
- Currency
- Zambian kwacha
- Official languages
- English (plus 7 major indigenous languages)
- Geographic feature
- Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya)
- Primary economic driver
- Copper Mining and Agriculture
- Political system
- Unitary Presidential Constitutional Republic
Lore & Background
Originally inhabited by Khoisan peoples, the region was affected by the Bantu expansion of the thirteenth century. Following European expeditions in the nineteenth century, the British Empire began to consolidate control of the area following the 1890 British Ultimatum against the Portuguese, who had claimed the area between Angola and Mozambique in the 1885 Pink Map. Britain formed the British protectorates of Barotziland–North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia towards the end of the nineteenth century. These were merged in 1911 to form Northern Rhodesia, which was already a British protectorate. For most of the colonial period, the protectorate was administered by the British South Africa Company until 1924, after which it came under the direct control of the Colonial Office. On 24 October 1964, Zambia became independent of the United Kingdom as a republic in the Commonwealth, and Kenneth Kaunda became the inaugural president. Kaunda's socialist United National Independence Party (UNIP) maintained power from 1964 until 1991, with him playing a role in regional diplomacy, often at odds with US policy—for instance, over US support for UNITA in Angola—while seeking solutions to conflicts in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Angola, and Namibia. From 1972 to 1991, Zambia was a one-party state with UNIP as the sole legal political party under the motto 'One Zambia, One Nation' coined by Kaunda. Following the introduction of a multiparty system in the early 1990s, Kaunda was defeated in the 1991 Zambian general election. Zambia has since continued to experience peaceful transitions of power.
Reader's Guide
Natural resources in Zambia include minerals, wildlife, forestry, freshwater, and arable land. As of an estimate in 2018, 47.9% of the population is affected by multidimensional poverty. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is headquartered in Lusaka.
Did You Know?
- The name 'Zambia' derives from the Zambezi river, which may mean 'the grand river'.
- Zambia was known as Northern Rhodesia from 1911 to 1964.
- The fossil skull remains of the Broken Hill Man, dated between 300,000 and 125,000 years BC, show the area was inhabited by early humans.
- The Bantu expansion, one of the largest human migrations in history, began around 3000–4000 years ago from what is today Cameroon and Nigeria.
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