Chipata District

Chipata District
District location in Zambia
District location in Zambia
Country Zambia
ProvinceEastern Province
CapitalChipata
Area
 • Total1,691.1 km2 (652.9 sq mi)
Elevation
1,181 m (3,875 ft)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total327,059
 • Density190/km2 (500/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (CAT)

Chipata District is a district of Zambia, located in Eastern Province. The capital lies at Chipata. As of the 2022 Zambian Census, the district had a population of 327,059 people.[1]

Chipata City Centre is located about 570 km from Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia, on the Great East Road while it is only 130 km from Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi. Thus, Chipata accesses its imports mainly from Nacala and Dar es Salaam ports in Mozambique and Tanzania respectively, all routes passing through Malawi to Mwami Border. The District has a firm foundation of being a trade centre dating back to the colonial era of the current Zambia, when it was called Fort Jameson and was the capital of North-Eastern Rhodesia up to 1911. This cornerstone has left the town as the hub of Eastern Province, by maintaining its position as a Provincial Headquarters.[2] Chipata was declared a city on 24 February 2017 (no-longer a town).[2][3]

Traffic sign on Great East Road in Chipata
  1. ^ 2022 Census of Population and Housing - Preliminary Report (PDF)
  2. ^ a b "Times of Zambia". 2020-05-30.
  3. ^ Mwendabai, Darlington (25 February 2017). "Chipata: Newest city on the hills". Zambia Daily Mail. Lusaka. Retrieved 22 November 2018.