# Zambia

| Republic of Zambia |
| --- |
|
Flag

Coat of arms

 |
| **Motto:** "One Zambia, One Nation" |
| **Anthem:** "Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free"  |
|  |
| Capitaland largest city | Lusaka ﻿ / ﻿ |
| Official languages | English |
| Recognised regional languages |
List
* 33.5% Bemba
* 14.8% Nyanja
* 11.4% Tonga
* 5.5% Lozi
* 4.5% Chewa
* 3.0% Nsenga
* 2.6% Tumbuka
* 1.9% Lunda
* 1.9% Kaonde
* 1.8% Lala
* 1.8% Lamba
* 1.7% English
* 1.5% Luvale
* 1.3% Mambwe
* 1.2% Lenje
* 1.2% Namwanga
* 1.0% Bisa
* 0.9% Ushi
* 0.7% Ila
* 0.7% Mbunda
* 0.7% Ngoni
* 0.7% Senga
* 0.6% Lungu
* 0.5% Toka-Leya
* 4.7% Others
 |
| Ethnic groups (2010) |
List
* 21.0% Bemba
* 13.6% Tonga
* 7.4% Chewa
* 5.7% Lozi
* 5.3% Nsenga
* 4.4% Tumbuka
* 4.0% Ngoni
* 3.1% Lala
* 2.9% Kaonde
* 2.8% Namwanga
* 2.6% Lunda (Northern)
* 2.5% Mambwe
* 2.2% Luvale
* 2.1% Lamba
* 1.9% Ushi
* 1.6% Bisa
* 1.6% Lenje
* 1.2% Mbunda
* 0.9% Lunda (Luapula)
* 0.9% Senga
* 0.8% Ila
* 0.8% Lungu
* 0.7% Tabwa
* 0.7% Soli
* 0.7% Kunda
* 0.6% Ngumbo
* 0.5% Chishinga
* 0.5% Chokwe
* 0.5% Nkoya
* 5.4% Other ethnics
* 0.8% Major racial
* 0.4% Unclassified
 |
| Religion (2010) | * 95.5% Christianity
* –75.3% Protestantism
* –20.2% Other Christian
* 2.7% Others
* 1.8% No religion
 |
| Demonym(s) | Zambian |
| Government | Unitary presidential constitutional republic |
|  |
| • President  | Hakainde Hichilema |
| • Vice President  | Mutale Nalumango |
|  |
| Legislature | National Assembly |
| Independence from the United Kingdom |
| History |   |
|  |
| • North-Western Rhodesia  | 27 June 1890 |
| • Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia  | 28 November 1899 |
| • North-Eastern Rhodesia  | 29 January 1900 |
| • Amalgamation of Northern Rhodesia  | 17 August 1911 |
| • Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland  | 1 August 1953 |
| • Republic of Zambia  | 24 October 1964 |
| • Current constitution  | 5 January 2016 |
|  |
|  |
| • Established  | 1964 |
|  |
| Area |
| • Total | 752,618 km2 (290,587 sq mi) (38th) |
| • Water (%) | 1 |
| Population |
| • 2021 estimate | 19,473,125 (65th) |
| • 2010 census | 13,092,666 |
| • Density | 17.2/km2 (44.5/sq mi) (191st) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2019 estimate |
| • Total | $75.857 billion |
| • Per capita | $4,148 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2019 estimate |
| • Total | $23.946 billion |
| • Per capita | $1,307 |
| Gini (2015) | 57.1 high |
| HDI (2019) |  0.584 medium · 146th |
| Currency | Zambian kwacha (ZMW) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (CAT) |
| Driving side | left |
| Calling code | +260 |
| ISO 3166 code | ZM |
| Internet TLD | .zm |

The **Republic of Zambia** is a country in southern Africa. It shares its borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the northeast, Malawi to the east, Mozambique to the southeast, Zimbabwe and Botswana (Via a very tiny border) to the south, Namibia (Via the Caprivi Strip) to the southwest, and Angola to the west. It used to be called Northern Rhodesia and it is currently named after the Zambezi River. Zambia is home to one of the seven natural wonders of the world, Victoria falls. Zambia has at least 72 spoken languages.

The capital of Zambia is Lusaka, which is also the largest city in the country. Hakainde Hichilema is the current president. Its motto is *One Zambia, One Nation* and its national anthem is *Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free*. Its official language is English.

## History

Zambia originated from Northern Rhodesia. On 24 October 1964, Zambia became an independent country. The first president was Kenneth Kaunda, who ruled Zambia from 1964 to 1991. Zambia was a one party state. His United National Independence Party was the only legal party, and all other parties were banned.

After protests, democratic elections were held in 1991. Kenneth Kaunda lost the elections and gave away his power in an orderly manner to his successor Frederick Chiluba, a former union leader.

Zambia is now a multi-party democracy. It has had four democratic elections since 1991. The latest presidential election was in 2021, which was won by Hakainde Hichilema against Edgar Lungu.

## Economy

In 1969, Zambia was making a lot of money because of the copper deposits that were mined in Copperbelt province. When copper became cheaper in the 1970s, the economy got worse because people in Zambia were not making as much money from selling copper. Today, Zambia is a poor country. It does not have many industries. Copper is still its main export. Commercial farming in Zambia is starting to make more money.

## Provinces

The provinces of Zambia
Zambia is divided into ten provinces. Each province is divided into several districts. There are 117 districts all together. The provinces are:

* Central
* Copperbelt
* Eastern
* Luapula
* Lusaka
* Muchinga
* Northern
* North-Western
* Southern
* Western

### Cities

The important places in Zambia are:

|  |
| --- |
| **Cities in Zambia** |
| **Rank** | **City** | **Population** | **Province** | **Image** |
| **Census 1980** | **Census 1990** | **Census 2000** | **Est. 2007** |
| 1. | Lusaka | 735,830 | 1,069,353 | 1,684,703 | 2,146,522 | Lusaka |  |
| 2. | Ndola | 297,490 | 367,228 | 397,757 | 467,529 | Copperbelt |  |
| 3. | Kitwe | 283,962 | 288,602 | 363,734 | 409,865 | Copperbelt |  |
| 4. | Kabwe | 127,422 | 154,318 | 176,758 | 193,100 | Central |  |
| 5. | Chingola | 130,872 | 142,383 | 147,448 | 148,469 | Copperbelt |  |
| 6. | Mufulira | 138,824 | 123,936 | 122,336 | 119,291 | Copperbelt |  |
| 7. | Livingstone | 61,296 | 76,875 | 97,488 | 113,849 | Southern |  |
| 8. | Luanshya | 113,422 | 118,143 | 115,579 | 112,029 | Copperbelt |  |
| 9. | Kasama | 36,269 | 47,653 | 74,243 | 98,613 | Northern |  |
| 10. | Chipata | 33,627 | 52,213 | 73,110 | 91,416 | Eastern |  |

## Related pages

* List of rivers of Zambia
* Zambia at the Olympics
* Zambia national football team

**Notes**