Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
Bantu-speaking groups mainly from the Luba and Lunda Kingdoms in the Congo River Basin and from the Great Lakes region in East Africa settled in what is now Zambia beginning around A.D. 300, displacing and mixing with previous population groups in the region. The Mutapa Empire developed after the fall of Great Zimbabwe to the south in the 14th century and ruled the region, including large parts of Zambia, from the 14th to 17th century. The empire collapsed as a result of the growing slave trade and Portuguese incursions in the 16th and 17th centuries.
- Capital
- Lusaka
- Government
- presidential republic
- Population
- 22,021,971
- Area
- 752,618 sq km
- Location
- Southern Africa, east of Angola, south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Climate
- tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to April)
- Natural resources
- copper; cobalt; zinc; lead; coal; emeralds…
- Languages
- Bemba 33.4%; Nyanja 14.7%; Tonga 11.4%; Lozi 5.5%…
- Religions
- Protestant 75.3%; Roman Catholic 20.2%; other 2.7% (includes Muslim; Buddhist…
- Independence
- 24 October 1964 (from the UK)
- Administrative divisions
- 10 provinces; Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka, Muchinga, Northern, North-Western, Southern, Western
- Currency
- Zambian kwacha (ZMK)
- Export partners
- Switzerland 27%; China 15%; India 13%; UAE 12%…
- Import partners
- South Africa 25%; China 15%; UAE 10%; India 5%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain