Zambia

Republic of Zambia
Icitungu ca Zambia (Bemba)
Motto: 
"One Zambia, One Nation"
Anthem: "Stand And Sing For Zambia Proud and Free"
Location of Zambia
Capital
and largest city
Lusaka
15°25′S 28°17′E / 15.417°S 28.283°E / -15.417; 28.283
Official languagesEnglish
Recognised regional languages
List
Ethnic groups
(2010[1])
List
Religion
Christianity (official)[2]
Demonym(s)Zambian
GovernmentUnitary presidential republic
• President
Hakainde Hichilema
Mutale Nalumango
• Speaker
Nelly Mutti
Mumba Mulila
LegislatureNational Assembly of Zambia
Independence 
27 June 1890
28 November 1899
29 January 1900
17 August 1911
1 August 1953
24 October 1964
5 January 2016
Area
• Total
752,617 km2 (290,587 sq mi)[3] (38th)
• Water (%)
1
Population
• 2023 estimate
20,216,029[4] (64th)
• Density
17.2/km2 (44.5/sq mi) (191st)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $83.687 billion[5] (100th)
• Per capita
Increase $4,068[5] (155th)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
Decrease $29.536 billion[5] (113th)
• Per capita
Decrease $1,435[5] (159th)
Gini (2022)Positive decrease 51.5[6]
high inequality
HDI (2022)Decrease 0.569[7]
medium (153rd)
CurrencyZambian kwacha (ZMW)
Time zoneUTC+2 (CAT)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy
Drives onleft
Calling code+260
ISO 3166 codeZM
Internet TLD.zm

Zambia,[a] officially the Republic of Zambia,[b] is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa.[8] It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bordered to the north by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique to the southeast, Zimbabwe and Botswana to the south, Namibia 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 the country.

Originally inhabited by Khoisan peoples, the region was affected by the Bantu expansion of the thirteenth century. Following European colonizers in the 18th century, the British colonised the region into the British protectorates of Barotziland–North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia towards the end of the 19th century. These were merged in 1911 to form Northern Rhodesia. For most of the colonial period, Zambia was governed by an administration appointed from London with the advice of the British South Africa Company.[9]

On 24 October 1964, Zambia became independent of the United Kingdom and prime minister Kenneth Kaunda became the inaugural president. Kaunda's socialist United National Independence Party (UNIP) maintained power from 1964 until 1991 with him playing a key role in regional diplomacy, cooperating closely with the United States in search of solutions to conflicts in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Angola, and Namibia.[10] 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. Kaunda was succeeded by Frederick Chiluba of the social-democratic Movement for Multi-Party Democracy in 1991, beginning a period of socio-economic development and government decentralisation. Zambia has since become a multi-party state and has experienced several peaceful transitions of power.

Zambia contains abundant natural resources, including minerals, wildlife, forestry, freshwater, and arable land.[11] In 2010, the World Bank named Zambia among the top 10 reformers in the World Bank's Ease of doing business index.[12] As of the latest estimate in 2018, 47.9 percent of the population is affected by multidimensional poverty.[13] The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is headquartered in Lusaka.

  1. ^ Census of Population and Housing National Analytical Report 2010 Archived 14 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine Central Statistical Office, Zambia
  2. ^ "Amended Constitution of Zambia". Government of Zambia. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  3. ^ United Nations Statistics Division. "Population by sex, rate of population increase, surface area and density" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 October 2007. Retrieved 9 November 2007.
  4. ^ "Zambia". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency.
  5. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Zambia)". International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Gini Index coefficient". The World Factbook. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  7. ^ "HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2023-24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. pp. 274–277. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  8. ^ Henderson, Ian (1970). "The Origins of Nationalism in East and Central Africa: The Zambian Case". The Journal of African History. 11 (4): 591–603. doi:10.1017/S0021853700010471. ISSN 0021-8537. JSTOR 180923. S2CID 154296266.
  9. ^ "History | Zambian High Commission". www.zambiapretoria.net. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  10. ^ Andy DeRoche, Kenneth Kaunda, the United States, and Southern Africa (London: Bloomsbury, 2016).
  11. ^ Eckman, Karlyn (2007), Gender Mainstreaming in Forestry in Africa: Zambia, Food and Agriculture Organization
  12. ^ Ngoma, Jumbe (18 December 2010). "World Bank President Praises Reforms In Zambia, Underscores Need For Continued Improvements In Policy And Governance". World Bank.
  13. ^ "Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023: Zambia" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme Human Development Reports. 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 April 2024. Retrieved 29 April 2024.


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