Zambia
Zambia (/ˈzæmbiə, ˈzɑːm-/), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa,[7] and is typically referred to as being in South-Central Africa.[8] Its neighbours are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the northeast, 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 is Lusaka, located in the south-central part. The population of around 20.1 million (2023) is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the Copperbelt Province to the north, the core economic hubs of the country.
Republic of Zambia | |
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Motto: "One Zambia, One Nation" | |
Anthem: "Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free" | |
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Capital and largest city | Lusaka 15°25′S 28°17′E |
Official languages | English |
Recognised regional languages | |
Ethnic groups (2010[1]) | List
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Religion | Christianity (official) |
Demonym(s) | Zambian |
Government | Unitary presidential republic |
Hakainde Hichilema | |
Mutale Nalumango | |
• Speaker | Nelly Mutti |
Mumba Malila | |
Legislature | National Assembly |
Independence from the United Kingdom | |
27 June 1890 | |
28 November 1899 | |
29 January 1900 | |
17 August 1911 | |
1 August 1953 | |
24 October 1964 | |
Area | |
• Total | 752,617 km2 (290,587 sq mi)[2] (38th) |
• Water (%) | 1 |
Population | |
• 2022 estimate | 19,610,769[3] (63rd) |
• Density | 26.1/km2 (67.6/sq mi) |
GDP (PPP) | 2022 estimate |
• Total | ![]() |
• Per capita | ![]() |
GDP (nominal) | 2022 estimate |
• Total | ![]() |
• Per capita | ![]() |
Gini (2015) | 57.1[5] high |
HDI (2021) | ![]() medium · 154th |
Currency | Zambian kwacha (ZMW) |
Time zone | UTC+2 (CAT) |
Date format | dd/mm/yyyy |
Driving side | left |
Calling code | +260 |
ISO 3166 code | ZM |
Internet TLD | .zm |
The region was affected by the Bantu expansion of the 13th century. Following the arrival of European explorers in the 18th century, the British colonised the region into the British protectorates of Barotseland-North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia comprising 73 tribes, 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.[10] From 1972 to 1991 Zambia was a one-party state with the United National Independence Party 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 government decentralisation.
Zambia contains minerals, wildlife, forestry, freshwater and arable land.[11] In 2010, the World Bank named Zambia one of the world's fastest economically reformed countries.[12]