Zambia
Zambia (/ˈzæmbiə, ˈzɑːm-/), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa,[7] although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point.[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 of Zambia is Lusaka, located in the south-central part of Zambia. The nation's population of around 19.5 million 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 | |
|---|---|
| Motto: "One Zambia, One Nation" | |
| Anthem: "Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free" | |
.svg) | |
| Capital and largest city | Lusaka 15°25′S 28°17′E |
| Official languages | English |
| Recognised regional languages | |
| Ethnic groups (2010[1]) | List
|
| 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 | |
| 5 January 2016 | |
| 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 | $76.33 billion[4] |
• Per capita | $3,810[4] |
| GDP (nominal) | 2022 estimate |
• Total | $27.03 billion[4] |
• Per capita | $1,350[4] |
| Gini (2015) | 57.1[5] high |
| HDI (2021) |  0.565[6]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 |
Originally inhabited by Khoisan peoples, the region was affected by the Bantu expansion of the thirteenth century. Following the arrival of European explorers in the eighteenth 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 nineteenth 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. Kaunda played 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 one of the world's fastest economically reformed countries.[12] The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is headquartered in Lusaka.