Daily Almanac for
Jul 10, 2009
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Zambia

Facts & Figures

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

Flag of Zambia
Index
  1. Zambia Main Page
  2. Political and Economic Turmoil

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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Zaire Countries Zimbabwe

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