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 Zambia| Facts & Figures |
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| President: Rupiah Banda (2008) Land area:
285,994 sq mi (740,724 sq km); total area: 290,586 sq mi (sq
km) Population (2009 est.): 11,862,740
(growth rate: 1.6%); birth rate: 40.2/1000; infant mortality rate:
101.2/1000; life expectancy: 38.6 density per sq mi: 40 Capital and largest city (2003
est.): Lusaka, 1,773,300 (metro. area),
1,265,000 (city proper) Other large
cities: Ndola, 349,300; Kitwe, 306,200; Kabwe, 219,600, Chingola,
151,100 Monetary unit: Kwacha More Facts & Figures |
Republic of Zambia
Major sources and definitions
Geography Zambia, a
landlocked country in south-central Africa, is about one-tenth larger than
Texas. It is surrounded by Angola, Zaire, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique,
Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia. The country is mostly a plateau that rises
to 8,000 ft (2,434 m) in the east.
Government Republic.
History Early humans inhabited present-day Zambia
between one and two million years ago. Today the country is made up almost
entirely of Bantu-speaking peoples. Empire builder Cecil Rhodes obtained
mining concessions in 1889 from King Lewanika of the Barotse and sent
settlers to the area soon thereafter. The region was ruled by the British
South Africa Company, which Rhodes established, until 1924, when the British
government took over the administration.
From 1953 to 1964, Northern
Rhodesia was federated with Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Nyasaland
(now Malawi) in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. On Oct. 24, 1964,
Northern Rhodesia became the independent nation of Zambia.
Kenneth
Kaunda, the first president, kept Zambia within the Commonwealth of Nations.
The country's economy, dependent on copper exports, was threatened when
Rhodesia declared its independence from British rule in 1965 and defied UN
sanctions, which Zambia supported, an action that deprived Zambia of its
trade route through Rhodesia. The U.S., Britain, and Canada organized an
airlift in 1966 to ship gasoline into Zambia.
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