Zambia

Republic of Zambia
Republic of Zambia
	Flag Coat of arms of Zambia Coat of arms
	Motto: One Zambia, One Nation
	Anthem: Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free
Capital and largest city	Lusaka
Official languages	English
Government	Republic
Independence
• Water (%)	1%
Population
• July 2005 estimate	11,668,000 1 (71st)
• 2003 census	9,582,418
GDP (PPP)	2005 estimate
• Total	$10.28 billion (138th)
• Per capita	$900 (215th)
HDI (2003)	0.394; low (166th)
Currency	Zambian Kwacha (ZMK)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (not observed)
Calling code	260
ISO 3166 code	ZM
Internet TLD	.zm
	1.) Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected

Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in southern Africa. It borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania on the north-east, Malawi on the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola on the west. Formerly Northern Rhodesia, the country is named after the Zambezi river.

History

The indigenous Khoisan hunter-gatherer occupants of Zambia began to be displaced or absorbed by technologically advanced migrating tribes about 2,000 years ago. The major waves of Bantu-speaking immigrants—the Bantu expansion—began in the 12th century.

Among them, the Tonga people (also called Batonga) were first to settle in Zambia and are believed to have come from the far east near the "big sea." Other groups followed with the greatest influx coming between the late 17th and early 19th centuries. These later migrants came primarily from the Luba and Lunda tribes of southern Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Angola but were joined in the 19th century by Ngoni peoples from the south. By the later part of that century, the various peoples of Zambia were largely established in the areas they currently occupy.

Except for the occasional Portuguese explorer, the area lay untouched by Europeans for centuries. After the mid-19th century, it was penetrated by Western explorers, missionaries, and traders. In 1855, missionary and explorer David Livingstone, became the first European to see the magnificent waterfalls on the Zambezi River. He named them Victoria Falls after Queen Victoria.The falls are known in Zambia as Mosi-O-Tuna (a Kololo dialect), "the smoke that Thunders". The Zambian town, Livingstone, near the falls is named after him.

In 1888, Cecil Rhodes, spearheading British commercial and political interests in Central Africa, obtained a mineral rights concession from local chiefs. In the same year, Northern and Southern Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe, respectively) were proclaimed to be within the British sphere of influence. Southern Rhodesia was annexed formally and granted self-government in 1923, and the administration of Northern Rhodesia was transferred to the British Colonial Office in 1924 as a protectorate. Mining began in the Copperbelt in 1934.

In 1953, both Rhodesias were joined with Nyasaland (now Malawi) to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Northern Rhodesia was the centre of much of the turmoil and crisis that characterized the federation in its last years. At the core of the controversy were insistent African demands for greater participation in government and European fears of losing political control.

A two-stage election held in October and December 1962 resulted in an African majority in the legislative council and an uneasy coalition between the two African nationalist parties. The council passed resolutions calling for Northern Rhodesia's secession from the federation and demanding full internal self-government under a new constitution and a new National Assembly based on a broader, more democratic franchise. On 31 December 1963, the federation was dissolved, and Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia on 24 October 1964.

At independence, despite its considerable mineral wealth, Zambia faced major challenges. Domestically, there were few trained and educated Zambians capable of running the government, and the economy was largely dependent on foreign expertise. Abroad, three of its neighbors--Southern Rhodesia and the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola--remained under white-dominated rule. Southern Rhodesia's white-ruled government unilaterally declared independence in November, 1965. In addition, Zambia shared a border with South African-controlled South-West Africa (now Namibia). Zambia's sympathies lay with forces opposing colonial or white-dominated rule, particularly in Southern Rhodesia. During the next decade, it actively supported movements such as the National Union for Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), the African National Congress of South Africa (ANC), and the South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO).

Conflicts with Rhodesia (so re-named from Southern Rhodesia) resulted in the closing of Zambia's borders with that country and severe problems with international transport and power supply. However, the Kariba hydroelectric station on the Zambezi River provided sufficient capacity to satisfy the country's requirements for electricity (despite the fact that the hydro control center was on the Rhodesian side of the border). A railroad to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam, built with Chinese assistance, reduced Zambian dependence on railroad lines south to South Africa and west through an increasingly troubled Angola. Until the completion of the railroad, however, Zambia's major artery for imports and the critical export of copper was along the TanZam Road, running from Zambia to the port cities in Tanzania.

By the late 1970s, Mozambique and Angola had attained independence from Portugal. Zimbabwe achieved independence in accordance with the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement, but Zambia's problems were not solved. Civil war in the former Portuguese colonies generated an influx of refugees and caused continuing transportation problems. The Benguela Railroad, which extended west through Angola, was essentially closed to traffic from Zambia by the late 1970s. Zambia's strong support for the ANC, which had its external headquarters in Lusaka, created security problems as South Africa raided ANC targets in Zambia.

In the mid-1970s, the price of copper, Zambia's principal export, suffered a severe decline worldwide. In Zambia's situation, the cost of transporting the copper great distances to market was an additional strain. Zambia turned to foreign and international lenders for relief, but as copper prices remained depressed, it became increasingly difficult to service its growing debt. By the mid-1990s, despite limited debt relief, Zambia's per capita foreign debt remained among the highest in the world.

Politics

Error: no page names specified (help). Politics of Zambia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Zambia is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. Zambia (formerly Northern Rhodesia) became a republic immediately upon attaining independence in October 1964.

Administrative Divisions

Main article: Provinces of Zambia, Districts of Zambia

Zambia is divided into nine provinces, each administered by an appointed deputy minister who essentially performs the duties of a governor. The provinces are divided into 56 districts.

The provinces are: Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka (home of the capital city, Lusaka), Northern, North-Western, Southern, and Western.

Districts: see Districts of Zambia

Education

Lower Education

Schooling usually falls into three levels - Primary (Years 1 to 7), Junior Secondary (Years 8 to 9) and Upper Secondary (Years 10 to 12). So-called "Basic" schools teach Years 1 to 9, as Year 9 is considered to be a decent level of schooling for the majority of children; however, schooling is only free up to Year 7 and most children drop out then.

Both government and private schools exist in Zambia. The private school system began largely as a result of Christian mission efforts during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Private schools operate under either the British or American way of schooling.

Higher Education

Educational opportunities beyond high school are very limited in Zambia. There are few schools offering higher education and most Zambians cannot afford the fees. The University of Zambia is the primary institution of higher learning.

Several Teacher Training Colleges offer two-year programs beyond high school, and there are several Christian schools which offer seminary-level training.

See the following:

Geography

Zambia is a landlocked country in southern Africa, with a tropical climate and consists mostly of high plateau with some hills and mountains.

Three major rivers run through Zambia: The Kafue, the Luangwa and the Zambezi. The last forms part of the border with Namibia and the whole border with Zimbabwe. The Kafue and Luangwa are major tributaries of the Zambezi, which spills into the Indian Ocean in Mozambique.

The Zambezi falls 360 feet (100 m) over the one-mile wide (1.6 km) Victoria Falls, located in the SW corner of the country and later fills the mighty Lake Kariba.

The Zambezi Valley, running along the southern border, is both deep and wide. Moving northwards the terrain shifts into a high plateau ranging from 3,000-4,000 feet (900–1,200 m) up to over 6,000 feet (1,800 m) in the northern area of the Copperbelt. In the east, the Luangwa valley curves its way south with hills on either side until it enters the Zambezi.In the west, large plains are key geographic feature, flooding the western plains during the annual rainy season (typically October though April).

Economy

Over 70 percent of Zambians live in poverty. Per capita annual incomes are currently at about one-half their levels at independence and, at $395, place the country among the world's poorest nations. Social indicators continue to decline, particularly in measurements of life expectancy at birth (about 37 years) and maternal mortality (729 per 100,000 pregnancies). The country's rate of economic growth cannot support rapid population growth or the strain which HIV/AIDS related issues (i.e., rising medical costs, decline in worker productivity) place on government resources. Zambia is also one of Sub-Saharan Africa's most highly urbanized countries. Almost one-half of the country's 10 million people are concentrated in a few urban zones strung along the major transportation corridors, while rural areas are underpopulated. Unemployment and underemployment are serious problems.

HIV/AIDS is the nation's greatest problem, with 17% prevalence among the adult population. HIV/AIDS will continue to ravage Zambian economic, political, cultural, and social development for the foreseeable future.

Once a middle-income country, Zambia began to slide into poverty in the 1970s when copper prices declined on world markets. The socialist government made up for falling revenue with several abortive attempts at International Monetary Fund structural adjustment programmes (SAPs), which ended after popular outcries from the people. After democratic multi-party elections, the Chiluba government (1991-2001) came to power in November 1991 committed to an economic reform program. The government privatized most of the parastatals (state-owned corporations), maintained positive real interest rates, eliminated exchange controls, and endorsed free market principles. Corruption grew dramatically under the Chiluba government. It remains to be seen whether the Mwanawasa government will be aggressive in continuing economic reform. Zambia is still dealing with economic reform issues such as the size of the public sector and improving Zambia's social sector delivery systems. NGOs and other groups have contended that the SAPs, in Zambia and other countries, have had very detrimental effects on the poor.[1] Zambia's total foreign debt exceeded $6 billion when the country qualified for Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) debt relief in 2000, contingent upon meeting certain performance criteria. Initially, Zambia hoped to reach the HIPC completion point, and benefit from substantial debt forgiveness, in late 2003. In January 2003, the Zambian Government informed the IMF and World Bank that it wished to renegotiate some of the agreed performance criteria calling for privatization of the Zambia National Commercial Bank and the national telephone and electricity utilities. Although agreements were reached on these issues, subsequent overspending on civil service wages delayed Zambia's final HIPC debt forgiveness from late 2003 to early 2005, at the earliest. In an effort to reach HIPC completion in 2004, the government drafted an austerity budget for 2004, freezing civil service salaries and increasing a number of taxes. The labor movement and other components of civil society have objected to the sacrifices called for in the budget, and, in some cases, the role of the international financial institutions in demanding austerity.

The Zambian economy has historically been based on the copper mining industry. Output of copper had fallen, however, to a low of 228,000 metric tons in 1998, after a 30-year decline in output due to lack of investment, low copper prices, and uncertainty over privatization. In 2002, following privatization of the industry, copper production rebounded to 337,000 metric tons. Improvements in the world copper market have magnified the effect of this volume increase on revenues and foreign exchange earnings.

The Zambian Government is pursuing an economic diversification program to reduce the economy's reliance on the copper industry. This initiative seeks to exploit other components of Zambia's rich resource base by promoting agriculture, tourism, gemstone mining, and hydro power. In 2003, nonmetal exports increased by 25%, and accounted for 38% of all export earnings, up from 35%.

Demographics & People Groups

File:Zambian Church by spooceman.jpg

A thatched roof Church in a Zambian Village

File:Zambian Field by spooceman.jpg

Zambian Field

Zambia's population is comprised of about 72 Bantu-speaking ethnic groups but almost 90% of Zambians belong to the eight main ethnolinguistic groups, which are the Bemba, Nyanja-Chewa, Tonga, Lunda, Luvale, Kaonde, Nkoya and Lozi. Each ethnic group is concentrated in a particular geographic region of the country and many groups are very small and not as well known. Most Zambians are subsistence farmers. The predominant religion is Christianity which is also the official national religion. Expatriates, mostly British (about 15,000) or South African, live mainly in Lusaka and in the Copperbelt in northern Zambia, where they are employed in mines and related activities. Zambia also has a small but economically important Asian population, most of whom are Indians. In recent years over 300 dispossesed white farmers left Zimbabwe at the invitation of the Zambian government and have taken up farming in the southern region. The country is 44% urban. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is ravaging Zambia. Nearly 1 million Zambians are HIV positive or have AIDS. An estimated 100,000 died of the epidemic in 2004. Over a half-million Zambian children have been orphaned. Life expectancy at birth is just under 40.

Religion

Zambia's constitution identifies the country as a Christian nation, but a variety of religious traditions exist. Traditional religious thought blends easily with Christian beliefs in many of the country's syncretic churches. Islam also has a visible presence especially in urban settings.

Within the Christian community, a variety of denominations can be found: Roman Catholic, Anglican, Pentecostal, Lutheran, a variety of Evangelical denominations. These grew, adjusted and prospered from the original missionary settlements (Portuguese and Catholicism in the east from Mozambique)and Anglican (English and Scottish influences) from the south. Except for some technical positions (e.g. physicians), western missionary roles have been assumed by native believers. After Frederick Chiluba (a pentecostal Christian) became President in 1991, Pentecostal congregations sprouted around the country.

Culture

Zambia's present-day culture exhibits a blend of historical and cultural features from the past as well as the present. Traditional African practices and understandings continue to influence many aspects of Zambian culture. The impact of the colonial era can also be seen in the lives of the people. Finally, present-day global expressions and forces contribute to the cultural landscape.

Music of Zambia: traditional, popular, Christian
Traditional Zambian ceremonies and rituals: 'Ncwala' (Eastern Province)'Umutomboko' (Luapula Province), 'Kuomboka' (Western Province)and other dances such as 'Cing'ande' (in Sothern Province).

Traditional Zambian Arts: Tonga baskets, stools, fabrics
Zambian Theatre
Games: Nsolo
Dress: traditional, contemporary
Zambian Languages: Chibemba, Nkoya, Chichewa or Chinyanja, Chilunda or Lunda, ChiTonga or Tonga, Ila, Mambwe, Namwanga, Kaonde, Lozi, Luvale, Shona, Tumbuka, Yauma, Aushi, Lenje, Lamba, Lala*, Fanagalo (a pidgin language used mainly used in the South African mines) and others (78 in total)
Food - Nshima, ibwatu, and other Zambian foods